Former Sega CEO Mike Hayes joins Serious Games application studio

Former Sega of America and Europe CEO Mike Hayes has joined Serious Games International, a studio that will produce game-like applications, such as training programs for corporate firms, reports MCV.

Hayes will serve as executive chairman for the UK-based studio, which also holds offices in Singapore and North America. The company will focus on gamifying teaching and training programs, with the belief that games are a more effective way to instruct employees.

"The games industry is skilled in capturing and retaining the player's attention, and encouraging them to explore, learn and develop within a game environment," Hayes said. "Bringing this experience to immersive environments and corporate programmes will give Serious Games International a significant competitive edge in this market."

The company told MCV that it plans to dominate the instructional-based gaming portion of the industry, which they call the "serious games" section. Serious Games estimates this sector will be worth nearly $2.5 billion by 2015.