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Sega announces extraordinary loss of 7.1 bn yen, layoffs, restructures, cancels games

Koralsky

Member
Binary Domain is just 17 euro in zavvi right now - just after one month on the market ffs.

It starter at 35 place in weekly UK chart which is simply terrible for a title of that caliber. The shitty Resident Evil: Operation Racoon City was N2 in the first week in UK.

And Capcom didn't marketed that game either.

Like Dusk Golem says, most of the people just din't care/hate for SEGA games.

Even worst - almost everyone hated SEGA these days (even in these boards) and I simply cannot understand why?

For the last two or three years they have one of the best digitally distributed titles.

They have best new AAA Japanesse IPs in the form of Bayonetta, Vanquish, Valkyria Chronicles, Binary Domain (all of which with metascore of 8 and up).

They have very good brands like Yakuza, Football Manager and Total War series. They sell more then two millions from the average Aliens vs Predator and even more from Sonic and Mario sport titles.

They even made Sonic cool again with Colors and Generations.

And yet, almost everyone is not happy with SEGA and mostly remember their poor Marvel efforts. It's like to hate Activision and THQ because of poor Marvel and Disney's titles they release in the last couple of years.

IMO, it's normal what happen to SEGA - when most of the hard-core gamers hated them (maybe because they hated them when SEGA was in the hardware console business) and SEGA didn't have the cash to market his big/promising titles, other than the usual Aliens, Total War, Sonic, Virtua Tennis and Football Manager IPs.
 

LiK

Member
http://www.theverge.com/gaming/2012...-billion-yen-loss-kills-games-shrinks-company

Citing the challenging economic climate and changes in the video game market in the U.S. and Europe, Sega Sammy this morning said they expect their operating losses for the previous year to reach into the billions of yen and that they need to cancel game development and shrink the company.

Reeling from an expected 7.1 billion yen loss, Sega Sammy officials say they need to "streamline organizations in the field of video game software in the U.S. and Europre." That means a significant cut in games under development, shifting to the digital market and a high likelihood of layoffs.

The measures outlined in an early morning press release are significant, though not very specific. They include creating a smaller company positions for sustained profitability and narrowing the sale titles down to their strong franchises like Sonic the Hedgehog, Football Manager, Total War and Aliens.

They are canceling the development of some games, but the company hasn't yet said which.

Oh man....
 

semiconscious

Gold Member
I would have also linked to the thread with Vigil and Relic cuts.

The reality is neither Western nor Eastern developers are doing well. It just happens that Eastern developers are hemorrhaging faster.

The Blockbuster mentality really does have to stop. Sure, it makes average game quality better, but, if the result is higher game prices and studios shutting down, I think its much better to have an industry with solid B-C tier titles that are budgeted as such with a smattering of big budget titles.

i wish...

it's already come to dominate the book, film, & music industries, & it won't stop until these industries basically implode. if you can hype the public into believing it loves/needs this or that particular basket, you can then put all your eggs in it, knowing you're gonna clean up. it's all about eliminating risk & maximizing profit, & has nothing whatsoever to do with offering people either quality or choice...
 

lordmrw

Member
They are games made for kids. Kids aren't gonna be bothered by bad graphics, shitty friends, werehog, glitches, terrible stories, interspecies romance, Shadow the AngstHog or finding the computer room.

Whoa, hey now, there are many criticisms you can lobby at recent Sonic games but bad graphics sure as hell ain't one of them. The Sonic games this generation aside from Sonic 2006 have been fucking brilliant from a technical standpoint.
 
This is so weird to me as I thought Sega was doing quite well lately. I guess it was just that they brought out a few of my favorite titles over the last few years and I was far more oblivious than I realized as to how well they sold.

I guess Binary Domain and Yakuza are probably safe now that Nagoshi is a big honcho?
 
I'll go buy a 40 after work and hold on to it until there's a definitive obituary on some titles. Got a feeling a few dead homies are going to need respecting.
 

Combichristoffersen

Combovers don't work when there is no hair
Whoa, hey now, there are many criticisms you can lobby at recent Sonic games but bad graphics sure as hell ain't one of them. The Sonic games this generation aside from Sonic 2006 have been fucking brilliant from a technical standpoint.

I wasn't talking about this generation alone, but Sonic games all the way back to Sonic Adventure. Hell, all the way back to Chaotix, for that matter.
 

bengraven

Member
Don't worry guys I'm sure Anarchy Reigns will boost that budget.

k29oT.gif
 

rvy

Banned
Fuck. My Bayonetta sequel, Yakuza 5 and the Virtua Fighter series.

...

Fuck! I'll show some love by buying Binary Domain and double dipping on Vanquish for the 360.
 

SykoTech

Member
I'll have to be sure and nab JSR and VF5: Final Showdown off PSN quickly. One last hurrah before Sega becomes "the Sonic people" to me.

Does this mean the end of Virtua Fighter?

If this is the case, I'm quitting fighters once FS comes out.

Akira and some other VF characters are in Dead or Alive 5. Surely that will lead to a huge revitalization of the brand in the West!

...yeah.
 

frequency

Member
Binary Domain is just 17 euro in zavvi right now - just after one month on the market ffs.

It starter at 35 place in weekly UK chart which is simply terrible for a title of that caliber. The shitty Resident Evil: Operation Racoon City was N2 in the first week in UK.

And Capcom didn't marketed that game either.

Like Dusk Golem says, most of the people just din't care/hate for SEGA games.

Even worst - almost everyone hated SEGA these days (even in these boards) and I simply cannot understand why?

For the last two or three years they have one of the best digitally distributed titles.

They have best new AAA Japanesse IPs in the form of Bayonetta, Vanquish, Valkyria Chronicles, Binary Domain (all of which with metascore of 8 and up).

They have very good brands like Yakuza, Football Manager and Total War series. They sell more then two millions from the average Aliens vs Predator and even more from Sonic and Mario sport titles.

They even made Sonic cool again with Colors and Generations.

And yet, almost everyone is not happy with SEGA and mostly remember their poor Marvel efforts. It's like to hate Activision and THQ because of poor Marvel and Disney's titles they release in the last couple of years.

IMO, it's normal what happen to SEGA - when most of the hard-core gamers hated them (maybe because they hated them when SEGA was in the hardware console business) and SEGA didn't have the cash to market his big/promising titles, other than the usual Aliens, Total War, Sonic, Virtua Tennis and Football Manager IPs.

Maybe I'm not paying enough attention, but I don't see any Sega hate. They get criticized for not localizing (or even developing) things that fans want and for their treatment of Sonic, but that's it. A lot of Sega titles are well received in the gaming community.

Hardcore gamers are there. It's the other people that aren't. Their stuff just doesn't sell outside of the hardcore niche market.

The folly of this generation is expecting your niche game to bring in mainstream money - and so budgeting development incorrectly.
 

jett

D-Member
What a sad state of affairs for Sega. I truly wish they find success, somehow, while still backing projects like PG's.
 

erpg

GAF parliamentarian
Binary Domain has wasted, tacked on multiplayer and Yakuza is a system exclusive. SEGA has some learning to do, that's for sure. Among that - drop all licences you don't own.

And bring back Shining.
 

Koralsky

Member
Maybe I'm not paying enough attention, but I don't see any Sega hate. They get criticized for not localizing (or even developing) things that fans want and for their treatment of Sonic, but that's it. A lot of Sega titles are well received in the gaming community.

Hardcore gamers are there. It's the other people that aren't. Their stuff just doesn't sell outside of the hardcore niche market.

The folly of this generation is expecting your niche game to bring in mainstream money - and so budgeting development incorrectly.

Well, I mostly read neogaf (a lot) and this is my observation :)
 

Mandoric

Banned
The folly of this generation is expecting your niche game to bring in mainstream money - and so budgeting development incorrectly.

If scrapping entire segments of development only writes off $40 million, that's nowhere close to a "mainstream" budget for the canned titles.
 
And bring back Shining.

Don't say this here. Someone will just link you to the inferior PSP games that you'll never get to play.

3...2...1... :p

But yeah. Some kind of Shining Force III re-release needs to happen. Best in the series and was released literally at the end of the Saturn's life. Get it out there!
 

Derrick01

Banned
At least the total war games are safe for a while. That's the only thing they have that I care about.

Well, they own Alpha Protocol too but I have a better chance at curing cancer than a sequel to that being made.
 

Tain

Member
So, if the consumer division specifically is having trouble, does that mean that their arcade division is pretty stable?

Obviously it isn't carrying anything, but I guess I'm surprised that it's still worth the investment.
 

Gartooth

Member
I don't know how much this affects their bottom line, but for what its worth, I think SEGA lost much of their identity after going 3rd party.

Compare the output and feel of SEGA games from the Genesis and Dreamcast to current gen, and it seems like SEGA has fallen quite a bit just on games alone. Really hope they recover from this, gaming just wouldn't be the same without them.
 

Juice

Member
Man, I hope SEGA completely folds, somebody buys the rights to Shenmue and then hires Yu Suzuki to finish out the series.

I wouldn't bat an eye at SEGA's demise if it meant I finally got more Shenmue.
 
I was wondering when this would happen for Sega. Their games didn't seem like they would ever have a wide audience. They seem to have lost touch with the Western audiences that they need in order to stay profitable.
 

Sentenza

Member
This is sad news, indeed.

Anyway, I'm quite surprised that two of their strongest franchises are PC exclusives.
 
I don't know how much this affects their bottom line, but for what its worth, I think SEGA lost much of their identity after going 3rd party.

Compare the output and feel of SEGA games from the Genesis and Dreamcast to current gen, and it seems like SEGA has fallen quite a bit just on games alone. Really hope they recover from this, gaming just wouldn't be the same without them.


I agree Sega lost some of its mojo after the Dreamcast died. Yes, it produced and distributed several great games. But there was a ton of garbage too. And unfortunately, its worst games were the most publicly visible; terrible Sonic titles, the Marvel movie adaptations and others.

People just didn't trust the quality of their products anymore.
 

Zia

Member
Sega Europe was so clever to invest in Creative Assembly and Sports Interactive. Not sure why Sega's other branches continue to be worthless.
 

Combichristoffersen

Combovers don't work when there is no hair
Man, I hope SEGA completely folds, somebody buys the rights to Shenmue and then hires Yu Suzuki to finish out the series.

I wouldn't bat an eye at SEGA's demise if it meant I finally got more Shenmue.

You'll get it. But it'll be a online-focused third person shooter where you play as a roided-up, older and more grizzled Ryo who's Earth's final hope against the invading army of alien sailors.
 

monome

Member
No more Vanquish :(

Just like God Hand...

Never say never (PG can buy back its IPs), and the tech for Vanquish can be used elsewhere, same for Bayonetta. I don't care for the those games to get trilogized anyways.
I want fun games, and new settings make for the best excuses to introduce new stuff.

Just rewatch Revengeance trailer, Vanquish LIVES.

Vanquish 2 wouldn't have Mikami anyways.

Not sure it makes one bit of difference. I still believe Mikami's involvement was far from 100% although the game is awesome and I had to rebuy it on GoD.
 

Tizoc

Member
...b...but Pachinkos! Don't the returns from that make up for the loss?!
DON'T CANCEL YAKUZA 5 PLEASE!!!!!
 
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