The Future of Sega (Possible buy out)

[Debug Mode]

Now lately, I've been hearing some rumours every now and then about the future of Sega. As you do with such big rumours, you push it aside in your mind but keep it fresh and try and see if there's a pattern. There's a reason why I've posted this in the Wii U board, so don't call me out just yet!

 

Just for some background here, Sega is not in the best of shape. In Japan, Sega is doing well on the video games but the additional industries ventured by the company as part of the merger of Sega and Sammy such as the arcades and pachinko, are dragging down the company. Many games are exceeding projections, but those additional profits are being drowned out by heavy losses else where.

 

On the Western front, Sega is in a real mess. A lack of good judgement regarding which IP's to release and when are hurting it, and the leading IP's such as Sonic and Football Manager are not keeping it afloat.

 

A couple of weeks ago, started hearing a couple of whispers around how Sega might be interested in a buyer. One of the main companies supposedly in talks with them at the time was Disney. I actually find this slightly believable, especially in the light of the recent buddying up and offering Wreck-It Ralph as ingame character for the new All Stars Racing title.

 

But as I said earlier, it quickly died down so I just pushed it away in my mind.

 

And then, this surfaces. Now, I pretty much believe zero of what Zelda Informer reports because as you guys have known, I'll call out bias and rip it to shreds. But the video in question has provided the thought of quite a very realistic situation.

 

Is Nintendo interested in acquiring Sega? We've had some very weird partnerships between the two companies lately, especially considering their heavily competitive past. We had Sonic start to appear on Nintendo consoles, then we had the cameo in Smash Brothers, then we had the joint titles. But I think the most striking will yet again be the exclusive acquisition of Bayonetta 2.

 

Sega, despite their current problems, have some very lucrative IP's, especially in Japan, that they're not willing to take further chances on. It's also worth noting that those IP's have so far been for Sony consoles.

 

Bayonetta

Yakuza

Valkyria Chronicles

Phantasy Star

Project Diva etc

 

Could Bayonetta be testing the grounds for a possible acquisition? I think it's very possible. Although I personally believe there may be more of an interest in very select studios, Platinum Games being the key example here, it's fairly obvious that Sega isn't keen on letting go of one of their greatest assets.

 

So, what do you guys think? Any truth to the rumour? Any acquisitions you think may be more realistic and arguably more beneficial?

[Cube]

The chances that a representative that goes to those kinds of events knows anything about the internal workings of Nintendo is probably about a billion to one.

 

Sega and Nintendo don't seem that big buddies. Sure, there's a few crossovers, but Nintendo platform still miss out on a lot of Sega games. Also, Nintendo would either need to sell Football Manager to another company (unlikely), develop it as a multiplatform title (would never happen) or simply let it wither and die - so the life of the franchise would likely factor in to and kind of decision.

 

The Disney rumour sounds much more likely. They can help Sega with some direction, give it a massive hand in the western market while still allowing various departments to work how they are now.

 

Edit: They could also get Sega to develop a "Disney All-Stars" game - Disney, Marvel, Lucasfilm/arts, Sega (and possibly Hasbro).

Edited December 9, 2012 by Cube

[Debug Mode]

The problem with multiplatforms is a point I completely missed, thanks for reminding me! It's actually a rather big deal considering the strength some Sega titles have on mobile devices and the PC.

 

The main reason why I think it might be becoming more and more likely is due to the fact that Sega's biggest market used to be Sony country and we're seeing a very big transition. Sega has done its rounds of pledging the usual suspects on Sony hardware and it's seeming to me they are no longer seeing the appeal they once did in the platforms. I think they're keeping with the Playstation 3 for now, but are keeping their eyes on jumping ship as the inevitable comes for Sony.

 

But this is where you're definitely onto something, their philosophies are very different and Nintendo would need to make a lot of sacrifices. Sega's step into the F2P market exceeding their expectations is just one of those things. As for Football Manager, I think it would be expected that they'll cherry pick which studios to sell off and Sports Interactive will be one of them.

[Rummy]

I could see Nintendo putting some stake in Sega - it wouldn't exactly be unwise if they can afford to. Regarding stuff on 3rd parties though...I wouldn't know what Nintendo would want to do. I understand Sega publish a lot of 3rd party stuff, but do they develop it? If Sega are gonna go under, those things will still exist(albeit publisherless), Nintendo could take them more as a 2nd party dev? I dunno. It'd be weird, imagine having Sonic as a Nintendo exclusive! Mario's greatest competition, exclusively on his home systems.

 

Yeah, no idea. I'm just rambling.

 

EDIT: Ah, I see Sports Interactive is OWNED by Sega. Definitely a Nintendo acquisition would involved some downsizing of Sega and selling off certain aspects; Football Manager just isn't something I'd ever peg as Nintendo's business - even as a publisher.

Edited December 9, 2012 by Rummy

[Lens of Truth]

Very interesting. I've been hoping something like this might happen for a while. Not at all sure of the likelihood.

 

Disney buying them though... hmmm. How do we feel about Disney interactive these days? They seem to be downsizing and in a bit of a mess themselves.

[Dcubed]

Disney have no real interest in the VG industry and have pulled out of console gaming almost entirely (Epic Mickey 2 aside - and after that bomba, Junction Point is probably done). With their only interest in the industry lying in merchandising their movie IPs with mobile and social games (admitting as much during their official response to the Lucasfilm buyout), they wouldn't want to buy SEGA.

 

That being said, Sammy won't sell them off. They've only just restructured recently. Why would they bother to do that, only to sell them off right afterwards?

[Grazza]

I can see there being some truth in this. Nintendo has enough money that they could make an aquisition if they thought it would be profitable. Sonic being Nintendo-exclusive may be of some benefit (not to me, personally, but financially), and there are already various Mario & Sonic at the Olympics titles. Bayonetta 2 being Nintendo-exclusive is an even bigger clue - remember what a genuine surprise that was. Nintendo seems to want titles that are seen as "mature" at the moment, and a number of Sega IPs fit that bill.

 

So yeah, I'm not a betting man, but I wouldn't be surprised at all.

 

...I long for the Sega of old. Golden Axe, Wonder Boy, Shinobi, Streets of Rage, Landstalker, Beyond Oasis... all done in beautiful 2D (actually, those last two could be 3D and Zelda rivals). I can dream.

 

[Will]

I hope Nintendo pay well!

[Tamazoid]

I highly doubt Sega Sammy is going to sell their gaming division.

 

As someone noted above they only just began restructuring and it seems to be working. Their financials for the recent quarter were good, they were able to reduce their deficit by a significant amount. They also announced that hey have aquired the Warhammer Fantasy license a couple of days ago, which I doubt they would have if they are in talks to sell their games division.

[Zechs Merquise]

The most interesting thing with a possible acquisition of Sega by Nintendo would be seeing Sega's output benefit from Nintendo's internal quality control. I'd love to see what Sonic in 3D would be like with a little Nintendo magic. Sega have a lot of good IPs, but they tend to mismanage most of them.

[Rummy]

Restructuring doesn't mean they wouldn't sell imo, if they're restructuring to be better or to survive then it's what they have to do, but it also means they'll be more valuble to the buyer, surely?

[Kagato]

Id really love to see Nintendo buy up Sega, i actually thought they would have done it long ago when Sega first started having issues back in the Gamecube days. As far as i know they did try to team up first with Microsoft when the dreamcast was on its last legs and then to Nintendo but neither company was interested.

 

Disney is swallowing up everyone at the moment, i think its more likely that with them already having bought up Marvel (for comics and movies), Lucas (for games and movies), they could probably make some use of Sega too, they have in the past published some games based on Marvel properties so it would seem like a good fit.

[Dcubed]

Disney is swallowing up everyone at the moment, i think its more likely that with them already having bought up Marvel (for comics and movies), Lucas (for games and movies), they could probably make some use of Sega too, they have in the past published some games based on Marvel properties so it would seem like a good fit.

 

They specifically said that they only bought them in order to own the Star Wars IP and to be able to make Episodes 7-9. Everything else (Indiana Jones, Lucasarts, ILM etc) was just a freebie bonus.

[Hogge]

At first, I thought no. The fact of the matter is that Sega haven't done anything that matters in years and years. But come to think of it, there's plenty of Sega games I'd like to see in HD, only for the Wii U.

 

Shenmue III: I've wanted it for SO long!

Yakuza: Beyond MGS4, the only feasible reason for buying a PS3

Sega GT: If Sega can manage to make the content up to par with the current competitors, this could make me stop complaining about the lack of a GT-competitor.

Virtua Fighter: Because Nintendo consoles have always lacked fighting games.

Shinobi: So we're not getting Metal Gear Rising? S**w you, Platinum! If we can't get that game, we're getting something better!

Space Harrier: Because Nintendo can't be arsed to make a proper Starfox on their own

Hang On: Because Nintendo can't be arsed to make a proper Excitebike either

Sega Rally: Sega Rally was Collin McRae Dirt before Colin McRae Dirt was popular *hipsterface*

Metropolis Street Racer: Because Project Gotham Racing is dead and Forza Horizon is going DOWN!

[The Peeps]

Interesting rumour... I think Nintendo would do well with Sonic but overall Disney seems like the better fit (or at least the more likely outcome here).

[Iun]

Everything else (Indiana Jones, Lucasarts, ILM etc) was just a freebie bonus.

 

Christ, when the rest of us get a freebie it's like a 10% off next purchase voucher, or a keyring.

 

Anyway: SEGA haven't set the world on fire in years. As much as I love House of the Dead: Overkill, it just wasn't a system-seller and Football Manager might be the best sim out there, but it's really only of interest to a few.

 

In fact, SEGA has pretty much been trading on the Megadrive/Genesis era for the last 20 years: Sonic 2 was the last absolute world-beater they delivered internally and Shenmue was really an extremely niche product. I'm discounting second-party titles from my thinking, however.

 

This is not a good track record.

[Jonnas]

Christ, when the rest of us get a freebie it's like a 10% off next purchase voucher, or a keyring.

 

Anyway: SEGA haven't set the world on fire in years. As much as I love House of the Dead: Overkill, it just wasn't a system-seller and Football Manager might be the best sim out there, but it's really only of interest to a few.

 

In fact, SEGA has pretty much been trading on the Megadrive/Genesis era for the last 20 years: Sonic 2 was the last absolute world-beater they delivered internally and Shenmue was really an extremely niche product. I'm discounting second-party titles from my thinking, however.

 

This is not a good track record.

 

Were Panzer Dragoon Saga and Skies of Arcadia 2nd Party? (Seriously, I don't know, I'm just asking because you didn't lump them along with Shenmue as "niche", despite being praised by everyone who played them)

 

As for the rumour itself... If Sega should be bought by another company, I'd definitely prefer for it to be Nintendo. F-Zero GX was made by a Sega team, after all, and the talent that Sega still has could use better management.

[Iun]

Were Panzer Dragoon Saga and Skies of Arcadia 2nd Party? (Seriously, I don't know, I'm just asking because you didn't lump them along with Shenmue as "niche", despite being praised by everyone who played them)

 

As for the rumour itself... If Sega should be bought by another company, I'd definitely prefer for it to be Nintendo. F-Zero GX was made by a Sega team, after all, and the talent that Sega still has could use better management.

 

I have no idea aout those two titles, but let's be honest, they don't often appear in the top seller's lists. I can't find figures but it looks like Panzer Dragoon had a less than stellar sales run. Skies of Arcadia and Legends sold a combined total of 300,000.

 

My point in all this is that none of SEGA's supposedly "killer" IPs have delivered amazing sales figures in years: it would have been Mario Galaxy selling 200,000 units worldwide, Halo 4 being discounted to £19.99 a week after launch... (I can't think of anything negative to say aout the PS3 or its games... I'm not even sure it exists any more)

[Jonnas]

Oh, okay, thought you were including cult classics among the list. (Also, I just remembered Nights Into Dreams, yet another one of those)

 

I get your point. It's all part of what brought Sega down in the first place (poor business and marketing decisions, which included software releases).

[Grazza]

But really, Sega stayed strong for a lot longer than Sonic 2. The "AM" divisions carried them through the '90s, with Virtua Fighter, Sega Rally, Daytona etc. And, whether 2nd-party or not, they managed to have great console games like Landstalker, Beyond Oasis 2, Skies of Arcadia and the Panzer Dragoon series (which was Team Sonic, not to be confused with Sonic Team).

 

I will admit they were poor at continuing franchises through different generations, but if it was a flaw it was a noble one - the assumption that enough people loved gaming for its own sake to play fresh and original IPs...

[Jonnas]

Old-school Sega was the best Sega All-Stars Racing gives us a whiff of it, but it's a shame they aren't like that anymore (Platinum Games aside)

[Rummy]

Obviously Sega haven't done all that great/well in recent years; if they had there would be an issue of possible buyout. However, are Nintendo the sort of company that could invest more than just money and help them to make great products; the return being that they're great products on Nintendo systems? Sega were great once, for whatever reason; could Nintendo help them get back to that? Let's not forget Rare were great once too; and that basically all went downhill around the time they split from Nintendo. I'm not saying that's a guarantee - but could Nintendo work with some studios with such talent to make games that matter?

 

Tangentially splitting off for a bit: I would love to see it if they could. I would love to see the old days of games being system unique. Gaming now is getting more and more generic; it doesn't matter so much what you own - you can get the same game for either. I would love to see Nintendo take back the video game market of old; where a console is just as much about its games as it is the console itself. The Wii U Gamepad is an ideal step into that direction, making the Wii U version of games a unique/definitive experience - but truly console unique titles would be nice to see.

Edited December 12, 2012 by Rummy

[The-chosen-one]

The second Best game i have ever played, whas shenmue!!!! man i would love to see that game on the wii u, that game was just awesome.. they can even remake 1 and 2.