Sega today announced that it has entered an exclusive licensing deal with Chinese game developer and publisher AtGames to distribute Sega products in China. The move by Sega is designed to try to crack one of the industry's newest hotbeds of gaming activity.

　　"We are excited about this opportunity to establish Sega's brand in the highly competitive market of Greater China and look forward to being able to reach a whole new audience through the efforts of AtGames," commented Hisao Oguchi, president and COO of Sega, in a statement.

　　The deal allows AtGames the rights to distribute Sega's software on several platforms, including the all-important next-generation consoles. The deal also permits AtGames to make Sega products available for download via PCs, mobile phones, and PDAs.

　　In addition, AtGames will distribute software for Sega's proprietary gaming platforms, such as the Genesis, Game Gear, and Dreamcast, to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), chipmakers, and developers of other products. The software will be packaged with emulators for Sega's systems so that manufacturers can then create new products to play Sega's past hits and sell the products to the rest of the world.