Sega Hires Senior VP Of Product Development

In a move to step up its acquisition strategy, Sega of America has named William Petro as its new Senior Vice President of Product Development. Petro, who previously worked at Atari, Westwood Studios, and the National Security Agency, has over 20 years in product development experience. Petro's responsibility as VP of Product Development will be to oversee new internally-developed content from Sega's own studios; to increase acquisition of externally developed titles such as the upcoming Condemned: Criminal Origins from Monolith and Full Auto by Pseudo Interactive; and to acquire development studios wholesale to add to Sega's roster of talent. Sega of America's parent company, Sega Sammy Holdings, most recently released positive financials, but largely based on the company's pachinko and Japanese arcade ownership, with the company's worldwide console/handheld game portfolio losing $18 million for the quarter, so Sega will be keen to continue to develop its Western reach, with recent announcements impressing many with their progressive nature. "We are extremely excited to have added an industry veteran such as Bill to the Sega executive team," said Sega of America COO Simon Jeffery. "In addition to leading our new focus on aggressively acquiring new content through partnerships and outright purchases, Bill is the ideal candidate to help in our efforts to continue the development of existing Sega IP."