entremet
Member
I would call licensed IP safe personally.
Gearbox poisoned pilled the Alien brand sadly.
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Why has Sega managed their IPs so badly?
- Thread starter entremet
- Start date
I would call licensed IP safe personally.
Gearbox poisoned pilled the Alien brand sadly.
So very true. Brilliant post.
ZettaiSeigi
Member
It's depressing that Sakura Taisen (Sakura Wars) no longer has a mainline game after the fifth game. To think that it was among the biggest SEGA franchises during the Saturn and Dreamcast eras.
I want my Berlin Kagekidan, SEGA! Or wherever the heck the next game was supposed to take place.
Btw, there's no information about Phantasy Star Nova getting localized, is there?
I want my Berlin Kagekidan, SEGA! Or wherever the heck the next game was supposed to take place.
Btw, there's no information about Phantasy Star Nova getting localized, is there?
You'd think gearbox would be a safe bet when it comes to FPS.
SerTapTap
Member
Sega seems to not give a fuck outside of Japan, though impressively they actually released Project Diva F and realized "oh hey people buy this"
On the other hand they've been oddly good about PC ports for a lot of their older catalog (lots of DC era and some gen 7 stuff even). They're not consistently bad or anything they're just...extremely baffling in how they operate. Even VC coming to PC was baffling, they seem to have a great job, but they don't consistently port to PC, it's an old game and an IP they seem to not care much about in the west, but suddenly boom, surprisingly quality PC port 6 years after release, okay then.
Atlus is (allegedly) allowed to operate exactly as they did before
On the other hand they've been oddly good about PC ports for a lot of their older catalog (lots of DC era and some gen 7 stuff even). They're not consistently bad or anything they're just...extremely baffling in how they operate. Even VC coming to PC was baffling, they seem to have a great job, but they don't consistently port to PC, it's an old game and an IP they seem to not care much about in the west, but suddenly boom, surprisingly quality PC port 6 years after release, okay then.
Atlus is (allegedly) allowed to operate exactly as they did before
entremet
Member
I don't remember the controversy, but didn't Gearbox lie about something?
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
I'm not sure they have (managed their IPs badly). Most of those IPs were smaller, quirkier IPs that naturally became outmoded when market expectations moved up. I think Sega probably could do a better job of seeking out digital or non-traditional opportunities for their games (notably, the fact that the XBLA/PSN peak passed by without Monkey Ball or Chu Chu Rocket is kind of shocking to me) but there's no scenario where "better management" would have lead to Shinobi being a competitive full price game in 2014. Sunsetting an IP that is no longer viable is a good business decision.
In Sega's case, they haven't been able to do much to replace their sunsetted stuff, but that's OK too. They've remade themselves as a leaner company driven by catalogue sales, with fewer marquee hits.
One fundamental problem for Japanese publishers is the overall divergence of taste between Japan and ROW over the last few years. Which means if you're a Japanese publisher and you get, say, 75% of your income from Japan, it's very tough. Because Japan is a shrinking slice of the overall pie, but a) you're better at selling in Japan, b) your designers are more attuned to Japanese tastes, and c) the alternative of pursuing western tastes risks alienating the Japanese audience, which you're not prepared to do. I think this is a structural constraint that has impacted most, maybe even all Japanese publishers.
Another example of this is Square Enix wrt Final Fantasy 13. One might argue that "better management" would have led to Final Fantasy 13 being a best-of-breed world-renowned acclaim game. Instead the conventional wisdom is that the brand is tarnished, reduced to somewhat of a ho-hum thing. But the challenge is that much of what people complained about over here--the characters, the script, the dull worldbuilding, the endless linearity--may have been received differently in Japan (and we know SE feels the characters were well-received over there!). So if you're SE, you don't want to make a western-targeted product because you still make a lot of your bank in Japan, but making a Japanese-targeted product gets you increasing flak over here.
The result is a bifurcated company, where the "Eidos" ("Square Enix London" or whatever they're calling it now) side of the company makes games for western audiences (any Japanese sales are just gravy), and the "Square Enix" side makes games for Japanese audiences (with western sales being significant, but not controlling to their design decisions).
The bifurcation is even more apparent in mobile tastes. The stuff that's driving Japanese mobile success is NOT the stuff that's driving western mobile success. Another challenge for a Japanese publisher.
Sonic's brand management is also a torn-between-two-worlds problem. There's a significant audience of 8-12 year olds who want a hip, badass, quippy type Sonic. This is clearly the audience that drove the Sonic Boom reboot. Now, obviously the game is poorly made, it has problems, it's iffy. Personally I find the designs repulsive and I really hate everything I've just described. But that's a very valid audience to chase. That audience, incidentally, also drives the merchandise business which for Sonic I think is pretty significant. By contrast, there's also a significant audience of older people who remember old Sonic games and want to have classic platforming action. But products that go for one audience alienate the other, and it's not clear Sonic is viable without both. Making matters worse, the IP has been dead in Japan since the early-00s. So there's a disconnect between the development team and the global sales patterns.
Might I recommend you PM Nirolak and tell him to reply to this thread? He's very good at talking through this kind of stuff and thinking about macro-level industry threads and I doubt he'd click if no one called his attention to it.
In Sega's case, they haven't been able to do much to replace their sunsetted stuff, but that's OK too. They've remade themselves as a leaner company driven by catalogue sales, with fewer marquee hits.
One fundamental problem for Japanese publishers is the overall divergence of taste between Japan and ROW over the last few years. Which means if you're a Japanese publisher and you get, say, 75% of your income from Japan, it's very tough. Because Japan is a shrinking slice of the overall pie, but a) you're better at selling in Japan, b) your designers are more attuned to Japanese tastes, and c) the alternative of pursuing western tastes risks alienating the Japanese audience, which you're not prepared to do. I think this is a structural constraint that has impacted most, maybe even all Japanese publishers.
Another example of this is Square Enix wrt Final Fantasy 13. One might argue that "better management" would have led to Final Fantasy 13 being a best-of-breed world-renowned acclaim game. Instead the conventional wisdom is that the brand is tarnished, reduced to somewhat of a ho-hum thing. But the challenge is that much of what people complained about over here--the characters, the script, the dull worldbuilding, the endless linearity--may have been received differently in Japan (and we know SE feels the characters were well-received over there!). So if you're SE, you don't want to make a western-targeted product because you still make a lot of your bank in Japan, but making a Japanese-targeted product gets you increasing flak over here.
The result is a bifurcated company, where the "Eidos" ("Square Enix London" or whatever they're calling it now) side of the company makes games for western audiences (any Japanese sales are just gravy), and the "Square Enix" side makes games for Japanese audiences (with western sales being significant, but not controlling to their design decisions).
The bifurcation is even more apparent in mobile tastes. The stuff that's driving Japanese mobile success is NOT the stuff that's driving western mobile success. Another challenge for a Japanese publisher.
Sonic's brand management is also a torn-between-two-worlds problem. There's a significant audience of 8-12 year olds who want a hip, badass, quippy type Sonic. This is clearly the audience that drove the Sonic Boom reboot. Now, obviously the game is poorly made, it has problems, it's iffy. Personally I find the designs repulsive and I really hate everything I've just described. But that's a very valid audience to chase. That audience, incidentally, also drives the merchandise business which for Sonic I think is pretty significant. By contrast, there's also a significant audience of older people who remember old Sonic games and want to have classic platforming action. But products that go for one audience alienate the other, and it's not clear Sonic is viable without both. Making matters worse, the IP has been dead in Japan since the early-00s. So there's a disconnect between the development team and the global sales patterns.
Might I recommend you PM Nirolak and tell him to reply to this thread? He's very good at talking through this kind of stuff and thinking about macro-level industry threads and I doubt he'd click if no one called his attention to it.
Yeah, I remember they having been doing pretty well for themselves throughout the ups and downs. I think the OP is blinded by nostalgia at this point.
Yes, Sonic is an IP of extremes. Ranging from good to bad. This has ALWAYS been the case with the IP though. Nothing new.
Yakuza games "get milked" because they sell very well in a country where console games don't generally sell well. They no longer make money in the West, so Sega doesn't bring them over. Get over it.
PSO2 is a head scratcher, but I honestly wonder how much of a success the game would be in the West at this point. Would it justify the backend costs? I can only assume this is why it is not here yet.
Valkyria Chronicles moving to PSP was not surprising. The PSP was a massive success in Japan, more so than the PS3 was/is. Almost 20 million units of hardware. We got the sequel in the US. No one bought it. Sega sees that, says Fuck you and stops it. Can't fault them. VC getting another chance on PC IS A MIRACLE at this point.
Shinobi is dead because people stopped caring.
Super Monkey Ball is dead because Sega ran it into the ground and people stopped caring.
You say Sega lacks vision? How about Alpha Protocol? How about funding all of those Platinum Games games? Bayonetta? Vanquish? MadWorld? Hello? How about bringing over all of those awesome 3DS Classics? Good stuff there. They just released Alien Isolation!
Yakuza IP - Still good.
Binary Domain - Fun, overlooked title that got new life on PC.
Sonic IP - Up and down as always.
Hatsune Miku IP - Great quality games
Total War IP - Still awesome.
Football Manager IP - Awesome and sells quite well.
Company of Heroes IP - Doing well.
Warhammer: Dawn of War IP - Great games.
Valkyria Chronicles - Revived on PC.
Platinum Games - They funded FIVE Platinum Games. FIVE!
Aliens IP - Alien vs. Predator? Good. Colonial Marines? Bad. (Fuck you Gearbox) Isolation? Great. Alien Infestation? Awesome.
There are ups and downs but I think Sega is going just fine thank you very much. They have found their successes on various platforms where other JP publishers have not. Just because you aren't getting all of the JP developed goodness anymore doesn't mean Sega isn't doing well. It means that the JP developed goodness...may not sell very well anymore. Time to realize that.
Yakuza had its chance. Valkyria got another chance. PSO2 may be too expensive. Hatsune Miku games are selling enough to continue being released in the West. Their PC games are doing well. They support indies.
Take off the nostalgia glasses and take a look.
entremet
Member
I think you make some good points, but a lot of their Western IP don't move me at all. That's more than half your list.
I also see their Platinum partnership as a very fruitful one, although it probably was a money loser for them. Sega's game used to have more global appeal. Now they're focusing more on specific silos--West, Japan.
I could go for a new Super Monkey Ball game on the Vita, and if they keep making Hatsune Miku games I'll keep buying them. Wish they would stop dragging Sonic's dead body out for new games though, and maybe go back to one of their other old IPs. Or how about just make some more Valkyria Chronicles games.
Crimsonclaw111
Member
I wish Sega AM2 would make all the games they used to make, they were amazing :/
So, you're not a fan of their western IP. Tough. They manage them well. Which the basis of your thread was that they don't.
I think you're frustrated because JP IP just does not justify much of their cost to bring over anymore. Some are. Some aren't. This isn't Sega handling their IPs poorly (for the most part). This is the market changing and shifting around them. Check out Stump's post.
As for Sonic? It's a miracle, IMO, that Sonic still exists. The IP has always been up and down as they attempt new things with successes and failures. The team behind the Sonics you loved are gone. Long gone. It started as a spunky underdog IP with good quality and its success, I believe, was always too much for it.
This is more about Sega's internal output more than the games the Western studios they own put out. Sega's internal development is a joke.
OP, I'd be fine with Yakuza being milked out if it got released anywhere other than Japan.
Junior Mint
Member
I feel like they invested more than enough bringing Yakuza to the west and it sold like shit each time, didn't it? Anyways, I feel like those games are past their prime anyways. Yakuza 1 and 2 are amazing but everything after 2 I completely lost interest in. I played through 3 and it was one of the least memorable games I played.
They are being sued for it. The demo they showed and the other PR stuff was nothing like the final game. http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=888116
But that just half of it. The other part is how A:CM ended up in that state to begin with, what exactly happened and who is to blame depends on who you ask.
Astral Dog
Member
Not just SEGA, but Capcom, Square Enix and Konami too. although they arent as bad,or still have more relevant western series.
For their relatonship with Platinum, i cant blame them, after Madworld, Infinite Space, and Vanquish sales, they took some risks,they at least made a sequel to Bayonetta with Nintendo.
Sonic is a disaster, however, its like somewhat decent games like Generations or Colors are something to be thankful.
For their relatonship with Platinum, i cant blame them, after Madworld, Infinite Space, and Vanquish sales, they took some risks,they at least made a sequel to Bayonetta with Nintendo.
Sonic is a disaster, however, its like somewhat decent games like Generations or Colors are something to be thankful.
Markitron
Is currently staging a hunger strike outside Gearbox HQ while trying to hate them to death
I know, that's why I started out by agreeing with the OP.
Internal development is a joke? I beg to differ.
Yakuza series.
PSO2
Sonic Colors
Sonic Generations
Project Diva series
Valkyria Chronicles
Mario & Sonic Olympic Games series
Border Break
Virtua Tennis
Initial D Arcade Games
Virtua Fighter
Now, since the REAL reason for this thread is to moan about getting most of these games in the West, go ahead and do that. Just don't lie and say Sega's internal divisions are a joke. They are not. They have some winners and losers like all publishers, but a joke? No. They just don't like to lose money and they run very lean. I don't like that most of the JP stuff I would like to play was never brought over, but I understand why and I treasure what I did get.
I suggest you do the same instead of wishing Sega go out of business with IPs that won't sell here.
Exterminieren
Banned
I don't think it's mismanagement, I think it's lean, ultra-conservative investment. They've stripped the business down to its very essence, and it's now financially sound- never mind the artistry.
It's plainly a terrible pair of games, but I'd be very surprised if Sonic Boom was any worse than a managable loss for them. Cheap, cut-corners games, heavy reuse of assets and voice actors, merchandising incomes, minimal promotion and advertising, whatever they got from their exclusivity deal from Nintendo... honestly, considering the variable quality of the games over the years, the fact that Sonic's still considered a worthwhile investment for Sega probably has to be applauded.
It's plainly a terrible pair of games, but I'd be very surprised if Sonic Boom was any worse than a managable loss for them. Cheap, cut-corners games, heavy reuse of assets and voice actors, merchandising incomes, minimal promotion and advertising, whatever they got from their exclusivity deal from Nintendo... honestly, considering the variable quality of the games over the years, the fact that Sonic's still considered a worthwhile investment for Sega probably has to be applauded.
SonicMegaDrive
Member
Sega Sammy
So not exactly. If they are smart at all they will let Atlus double down on their strength.
s_mirage
Member
Well, Sega of Europe and America see Steam as an asset, it's decidedly less clear what Sega of Japan's attitude is.
KnightHart
Member
Actually it's quite the opposite.
It's hard to believe sometimes, but Sega are really big supporters of the PC as a platform. They currently own 2 of the few remaining RTS franchises and are actively supporting them (Company of Heroes, Total War), and their PC ports tend to be competent (Sonic Allstars Racing Transformed, Valkyria Chronicles).
Where the angry Sega salt comes in is when I look through their back log of franchises and go "Where the fuck did these all go?" I'm basically saying I desperately want PSO Nova, Yakuza, and Valkyria Chronicles 3 to all release in the West.
With that said, the issue here isn't with Sega America or Sega Europe. It's Sega Japan that's fucking crazy.
DING FUCKING DING.
Paracelsus
Member
When even the lowest buggy piece of garbage manages to sell over 100k copies in America but Yakuza won't even get past 50k, the issue is not with marketing, nor with Sega. It's America.
I cannot believe that hasn't happened after Platinum did MGSR:R. The idea or proof of concept is like... right there.
Was FFXIII actually well-received in Japan? I remember the Amazon.jp user reviews being fairly negative. Also, be careful not to fall into a false dilemma with the idea that characters need to appeal only to Japan or only to the rest of the world. Consider the Persona series, which features more overt Japanese cultural influences in the recent entries. Those characters have been very well-received in both markets.
Another example from JRPGs is the Tales series. I can't say I'm much of a fan of their characters overall, but they have never tried to Westernize the series' aesthetics, and all indications seem to be that it is doing fairly well for them in the West. Games are getting released with greater frequency and with shorter localization delays than in the past.
Then you have Fire Emblem: Awakening, which could not meet demand in the US for weeks after launch.
Even Square's own Bravely Default performed pretty well.
Clearly it is possible to sell a couple hundred thousand copies of games with very strong Japanese sensibilities to a certain audience in the US.
Dragoon En Regalia
Member
Sakura Taisen merged with Skies of Arcadia to become Valkyria Chronicles. I'd worry more about the latter's prospects of development. SEGA may or may not decide to make a sequel mainly for the audience buying VC on PC right now and in the months to come. It comes down to whether or not SEGA of Japan can live without Japanese sales of a traditionally domestic-centered product—that, or they'll stop hiding themselves on Steam and firmly state an interest in the Japanese PC market, rather than a grudging obligation. SoJ most likely has a general phobia of showing they're interested in the Japanese PC audience, because the Tony Taka Shining games are already *this* close to turning into eroge, among other trends and popular assumptions of PC gaming over there.
Up for debate. The Mega Drive wasn't an underdog in Japan, where it flat-out failed to sell. SEGA intended to market Sonic as an underdog overseas, but the franchise concept never developed naturally like Bugs Bunny or, gasp, Jumpman to Mario. The games themselves couldn't escape Mario's influence on mechanics, instead focusing on a more linear progression and expanding on physics and base abilities relative to power-ups. And success wasn't Sonic's first issue: Naka started throwing his shade around early on, moving to SEGA of America with Yasuhara to force SEGA to pay them for Sonic 3. This could have fostered resentment between the American and Japanese branches, though I don't know if SoJ saw SoA as harboring refugees.
This is getting overlooked: SEGA of Europe was behind the VC port, not either of the other branches. No surprise that, once again, the money's being made in the branch SoJ typically overlooks regarding downsizing or reorganization.
Good point made about the SoR fan remake SEGA went out of their way to shut down. Parts of the company always perceive they know better than loyal customers, to the point that someone acting as SEGA's representative got Shining Force videos and related YouTube channels taken down via copyright flags. The Western branches do a good job of interfacing with their own, and with Japanese fans when permitted or practical, but SoJ doesn't know how to deal with us as well, even if PSO2 gets plenty of support from Sonic Team as one positive example.
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
The Genesis classics dump all over that turd.
As a mostly PC gamer I actually have gotten closer to SEGA than I have since the DC days. I dare say that stuff like Alien:I wouldn't have been put out by anybody else. Also their PC exclusives are quite good.
No argument about bad management though. I mean that has been true for decades.
But despite their flaws I'd take them over Acti, EA, or Ubi and fucking day of the week. They reek of some incompetence but not pure malice and evil.
No argument about bad management though. I mean that has been true for decades.
But despite their flaws I'd take them over Acti, EA, or Ubi and fucking day of the week. They reek of some incompetence but not pure malice and evil.
It's kind of a shame their entire Dreamcast lineup didn't show up in some form on XBLA / PSN. The dreamcast had an online action RPG lootfest and musical instrument game before they became fads...yet the franchises nearly vanished when the genres gained momentum. Add to the fact that so many of the DC games play like quick and fun arcade titles, like Zombie Revenge, that it's almost silly for them to not make an appearance as budget digital titles.
The worst is playing Sega Superstar Tennis and being reminded of how charming the characters and franchises were. Oh well, at least we got one more Samba De Amigo in the form of a Wii title where the wiimotes registered movement worse than the PS2 Eyetoy port.
The worst is playing Sega Superstar Tennis and being reminded of how charming the characters and franchises were. Oh well, at least we got one more Samba De Amigo in the form of a Wii title where the wiimotes registered movement worse than the PS2 Eyetoy port.
But those examples are not really comparable. Atlus and Tales sell well on the west, by their standards, but how many units is that? 300k? 500k? They are niche games for a hungry and loyal fanbase that grows very very slowly.
With Final Fantasy they try to appeal to a much larger demographic, every mainline FF since VII has sold over 5m+ on the west I think.
I'm sad to say it but I feel many of the classic Sega IPs aren't as popular as their fans think they are while Sonic still sells somehow despite the many missteps. The Sega fanbase is very fractured backing completely different franchises for relaunch and I'm not sure how many could come back and sell enough units.
Sega possibly has a higher number of distinct IPs then even Nintendo as outside of Sonic and recently Yakuza(in Japan) they tended to do a sequel or two at best and then move on to something else in the next gen. Even if they were bringing stuff back there would still be a huge bunch of people asking "Why are you bothering with Streets of Rage 4! I want Skies of Arcadia 2/Panzer Dragoon Saga 2/Jet Set Radio 3/Shenmue 3" and so on.
The Sega I really miss is the one that took risks and made something new I didn't even know I wanted. And I got to watch as that didn't sell just like the previous franchise..
Sega possibly has a higher number of distinct IPs then even Nintendo as outside of Sonic and recently Yakuza(in Japan) they tended to do a sequel or two at best and then move on to something else in the next gen. Even if they were bringing stuff back there would still be a huge bunch of people asking "Why are you bothering with Streets of Rage 4! I want Skies of Arcadia 2/Panzer Dragoon Saga 2/Jet Set Radio 3/Shenmue 3" and so on.
The Sega I really miss is the one that took risks and made something new I didn't even know I wanted. And I got to watch as that didn't sell just like the previous franchise..
I simply dont think they have what it takes anymore, not on the development side and certainly not on the management side. Unfortunately these things often happen to companies that have been around for a while, cause they are often the last ones to realize that their methods, structures and strategies are outdated. Nintendo is the obvious exception (at least on the software side) but for some reason, a lot of japanese studios have fallen way behind in this fashion.
Sega has reinvented themselves essentially every generation. Look at their stellar blockbusters and major IPs from generation to generation, and the lineup changes essentially every generation. You have a few series that linger and get token representation as they go along -- they'll always revisit fantasy zone, or space harrier, or obviously Sonic - but the core of what Sega was about is constantly changing. And that's one of their best qualities, IMO. That's precisely why they have such a huge warchest of memorable IPs, because they typically don't milk the same IP generation after generation. Consider:
SMS days: Their biggest titles were stuff like Monster World, Phantasy Star, Space Harrier, Outrun, Shinobi, Alex Kidd, Fantasy Zone, and Afterburner
Genesis days: their biggest titles were stuff like Sonic the Hedgehog, console shinobi (which was decidedly different from the arcade shinobi of old), Shining Force, Ecco the Dolphin, Vectorman, Streets of Rage.
Saturn Days: Their biggest titles were stuff like Virtua Fighter, Daytona USA, Panzer Dragoon, NiGHTS, House of the Dead, Virtua Cop.
Dreamcast/PS2/GCN/Xbox days: Their biggest titles were stuff like Sonic, Jet Set Radio, Crazy Taxi, Chu Chu Rocket, Shenmue, Phantasy Star Online, Skies of Arcadia
Xbox 360/PS3/Wii days: Their biggest titles were things like Bayonetta, Mad World, Binary Domain, Valkyria Chronicles, Vanquish, The Conduit, Sonic all-stars racing
Now we've got yet another all new sega, with yet another line up of titles that mean the most of them. I'd say Sega's biggest titles these days are: Sonic, Total War, Aliens, the Sega Heritage series, and Football Manager.
I find that when people say they are sega fans online, they typically mean they are fans of a very specific era of Sega's history, typically Genesis fans. But Sega, their entire history, is very diverse, and I actually very much approve of their current direction. I love their PC focus and I think it'll do them well going forward.
Would I like to see revivals of old franchises? Sure, Sega has always done that. Every generation you get call backs to previous days, be they Space Harrier 2 during the Genesis days or Outrun 2 during the Xbox days. Those types of games will always happen. But I like the way they constantly evolve. I'd say this makes them one of the more daring companies in history, actually.
SMS days: Their biggest titles were stuff like Monster World, Phantasy Star, Space Harrier, Outrun, Shinobi, Alex Kidd, Fantasy Zone, and Afterburner
Genesis days: their biggest titles were stuff like Sonic the Hedgehog, console shinobi (which was decidedly different from the arcade shinobi of old), Shining Force, Ecco the Dolphin, Vectorman, Streets of Rage.
Saturn Days: Their biggest titles were stuff like Virtua Fighter, Daytona USA, Panzer Dragoon, NiGHTS, House of the Dead, Virtua Cop.
Dreamcast/PS2/GCN/Xbox days: Their biggest titles were stuff like Sonic, Jet Set Radio, Crazy Taxi, Chu Chu Rocket, Shenmue, Phantasy Star Online, Skies of Arcadia
Xbox 360/PS3/Wii days: Their biggest titles were things like Bayonetta, Mad World, Binary Domain, Valkyria Chronicles, Vanquish, The Conduit, Sonic all-stars racing
Now we've got yet another all new sega, with yet another line up of titles that mean the most of them. I'd say Sega's biggest titles these days are: Sonic, Total War, Aliens, the Sega Heritage series, and Football Manager.
I find that when people say they are sega fans online, they typically mean they are fans of a very specific era of Sega's history, typically Genesis fans. But Sega, their entire history, is very diverse, and I actually very much approve of their current direction. I love their PC focus and I think it'll do them well going forward.
Would I like to see revivals of old franchises? Sure, Sega has always done that. Every generation you get call backs to previous days, be they Space Harrier 2 during the Genesis days or Outrun 2 during the Xbox days. Those types of games will always happen. But I like the way they constantly evolve. I'd say this makes them one of the more daring companies in history, actually.
kitschbeam
Member
It's just Sega being Sega
XMasterNemesisX
Member
Doesn't Sega make most of their money from casino machines and those prize skill machines you find in malls? They probably just focus more on those things.
Dragoon En Regalia
Member
The SEGA you miss doesn't exist because arcades died out in the West and have consolidated around big franchises (fighting games and redemption) in Japan. All of these promising little IPs came out as one-offs for making big arcade money; trying to retool Gain Ground or a Coreland game for today could be time-consuming, aka salary-consuming.
Re: gambling, the Sammy end of Sega-Sammy's been running pachinko parlors for ages. Now that the domestic government wants to promote casino development and traditional gambling, Sammy's in a bit of a rut.
Laevateinn
Member
I would take any of those.
I think Sega's main problem is that a lot of their old talent is gone or barely does anything anymore. Yu Suzuki's made a bunch of mobile games. Yuji Naka has Prope. Reiko Kodama hasn't made anything since 7th Dragon. Noriyoshi Ouba left. Yukio Futatsugi left. Sega either needs new talent or to bring back/contract their old talent to figure out what made them great to begin with.