SEGA expects to further increase market share this year, pushing for a Top Five place on the back of its widest portfolio to date.

A significant ramping up of releases was shown to over 300 retailers and buyers from across Europe at the recent trade conference in Malta – with Mario & Sonic, Golden Compass and The Club amongst those winning rave responses.

“This is really our first year with a full range. We have products in a variety of areas, from Club and Sega Rally for the hardcore gamer to Mario & Sonic with universal appeal,” Sega Europe’s COO and president Mike Hayes told MCV.

Sega’s forthcoming range also includes PC RTS Universe At War, the return of the NiGHTS and Sonic Rush franchises, plus Ghost Squad on Wii and a sequel to The Condemned on 360.

Sega is already a top ten publisher in Europe and higher in the UK, but the investment of the past few years has been earmarked very much to become one of the elite.

“If we hit our plan then we should be a top five publisher in Europe by the time our fiscal year ends in March,” added Hayes. “But that’s not the target – the target is to grow revenue and build profit.”

He also acknowledges that Sega isn’t the only publisher with big expectations.

“Halo is coming back, plus GTA, Call of Duty, FIFA, Pro Evo and WWE. And this is a big year for movies. But publishers are smarter these days and will look to avoid clashes.

“Sega Rally is out on the same day as Halo 3, September 6th, but we’re on more than one format and there will be plenty of traffic in-store.”