United Game Artists
Native name | 株式会社ユナイテッド・ゲーム・アーティスツ |
|---|---|
Romanized name | Kabushiki-gaisha Yunaiteddo gēmu ātisuto |
| Company type | Division |
| Industry | Video games |
| Predecessor | AM Annex (1996-1998) Sega Software R&D Dept. #9 (AM9) (1999-2000) |
| Founded | 21 April 2000 |
| Defunct | 2003 |
| Fate | Merged into Sonic Team |
| Headquarters | Shibuya, Tokyo , Japan |
Key people | |
| Products | Space Channel 5 series Rez |
| Parent | Sega |
| Website | u-ga.com (archived) |
United Game Artists (UGA) was a subsidiary of Sega headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 2000, UGA was headed by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, who had previously worked at the Sega AM3 division. It is known for developing the Space Channel 5 series and Rez.
In 1996, Mizuguchi and Sega Rally Championship director Kenji Sasaki left AM3 to form AM Annex, and would go on to develop arcade games such as Sega Touring Car Championship and Sega Rally 2. Mizuguchi later left Sasaki's team to form another division briefly known as Sega Consumer Development 4 (CS4), later becoming Research and Development #9 (R&D #9, or AM9). In 2000, the division was spun off into United Game Artists, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sega, with Mizuguchi acting as CEO. In 2003, due to financial issues, UGA was merged into Sonic Team, another of Sega's subsidiary companies. Mizuguchi subsequently left Sega in October of that year.
Several games developed by United Game Artists are notable for their reception. Space Channel 5 is frequently credited with being a unique concept that helped bring about music-based video games. Rez is a highly well received title critically.