SEGA to focus on non console future

[Dcubed]

SEGA boosted Genesis' power at the last minute to combat the release of the SNES

 

Coming from a Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works interview with product designer Masami Ishikawa...

 

G: How much did other home consoles of the era influence you?

 

MI: There was a rumor that Nintendo was going to release the Super Famicom, so towards the end of the design process my manager asked me to consider doubling the graphic memory capacity to dramatically improve the console's performance. I had to redesign the way timing worked — the memory access 
cycle — and minimize the additional 
circuit size and number of IC pins needed. I managed to increase the graphic memory capacity, but it resulted in only a very incremental performance improvement, for example, increasing the number of display characters. This was when I hit a brick wall. I learned the painful lesson that designers need to imagine all the eventualities that may appear later in a process, and so must design in a way that makes it easy to change the design later.

 

http://www.polygon.com/features/2015/2/3/7952705/sega-genesis-masami-ishikawa

 

That reminds me, I still need to pick up that book!

[Hero-of-Time]

Is Sega in Trouble? Sega Restructuring Roundtable Discussion Part 1 w/ BSC, ClementJ642, & More!

 

 

 

Cheers for that, Wii. It was quite an interesting discussion.

 

Sega are essentially having to rely on the Sonic brand to get the sales they are after. Of course they could be more protective of it and stop putting out shoddy Sonic games.

 

During the discussion they mention the amount of great IPs Sega have at their disposal. The problem is that these other IPs don't get the sales Sega wants from them. Sad really.

 

The mobile/Superbowl talk was a good point and one that Gaf made a topic about as well. Superbowl advert time comes at a premium price and the fact that mobile games can afford to advertise during that slot just shows how far they have come. It's very understandable that gaming companies want a piece of that pie.

[Shorty]

There seems to be a big problem in Japan these days with quantity/quick results towering over quality. There's no love behind what they're making, just profitability charts and looking for a quick buck. They can't see the bigger picture. It even ties in with their work ethics, causing staff to be over-loyal, over-worked and heck, it's even effecting their population growth. It's that kind of loyalty that lead Nintendo to claim they'd never played on an Xbox when asked why they didn't do online like the competition.

 

Seeing it a lot with anime, licensing single seasons because they're a "risk" even though it could leave fans never knowing what happens next. Or even worse, refusing to stop making a series even when you have no story to tell because you've caught up with the source material, then outsourcing your animation to cheap Korean labour because your viewing figures fall through the floor....

 

Sega ignore the fact that Sonic became a franchise because the games were amazing first. For a new generation, you need new amazing games to keep the interest. The only reason kids today still love Mario is because of the great Mario Kart and 3DS games.

 

Making a great Sonic game is the investment they need to make, but instead they spread themselves too thin.

 

Ironically Sonic Dash is probably the best Sonic game I've played in years, and that's a mobile game made by a British studio.

Edited February 5, 2015 by Shorty

[Wii]

SEGA Has Begun Targeting YouTubers With Copyright Claims

 

It seems as though Sega is the latest company that has begun targeting YouTubers with a range of copyright claims for content and soundtracks using Content ID. Interestingly, Sega US says that they do not deal with Content ID on YouTube anymore, so this could be a move by Sega Japan. Who knows? Anyway, it’s happening and its causing a number of core Sega fans to become frustrated. Hopefully it gets resolved soon for all those affected by this.

 

http://mynintendonews.com/2015/02/04/sega-has-begun-targeting-youtubers-with-copyright-claims/

 

http://www.tssznews.com/2015/02/04/sega-youtube-videos-hit-with-elicense-content-id-matches/

[Hero-of-Time]

http://mynintendonews.com/2015/02/04/sega-has-begun-targeting-youtubers-with-copyright-claims/

 

http://www.tssznews.com/2015/02/04/sega-youtube-videos-hit-with-elicense-content-id-matches/

 

Didn't they also do this a couple of years ago with the Shining series? Any video that was related to the older and better Shining games were getting deleted from YouTube by Sega.

[Agent Gibbs]

how does this leave the Alien licence then? I'm 99% certain if someone else picks it up they'd keep the isolation developer onboard but.....there is that nagging doubt because sometimes legal shit complicates everything

[Wii]

how does this leave the Alien licence then? I'm 99% certain if someone else picks it up they'd keep the isolation developer onboard but.....there is that nagging doubt because sometimes legal shit complicates everything

 

When you're dealing with movie licences it's always a nightmare.

 

Following up on that Youtube story regarding SEGA. Say it's nothing to do with them and they're taking legal action against the company involved.

 

SEGA says they are not tied to YouTube claims/eLicense, taking action against the company

 

Coming from Julian, a SEGA community manager...

 

Regarding eLicense, this company is not working on behalf of SEGA in any capacity. We are issuing a Cease & Desist to eLicense and reaching out to YouTube directly to work on resolving this problem. eLicense is acting independently and Sega intends to take the necessary action to prevent this from happening again.

 

http://www.gonintendo.com/s/246671-sega-says-they-are-not-tied-to-youtube-claims-elicense-taking-action-against-the-company

 

http://forums.sega.com/showthread.php?521403-Elicense-is-making-copyright-claims-on-Sega-material/page2post8944386

 

https://twitter.com/jimmyelgringito

[flameboy]

how does this leave the Alien licence then? I'm 99% certain if someone else picks it up they'd keep the isolation developer onboard but.....there is that nagging doubt because sometimes legal shit complicates everything

 

Hmmm it's a good question....I would think Creative Assembly are relatively safe right now due to the Total War Franchise, those games along with Football Manager represent their biggest cash cows on the PC side right now. Alien was a hit so depending on their studio size could see them doing something new with the franchise after the newest Total War (if not before if they can cope with 2 projects at once)

 

I mean a lot of Genesis classics are already available on PC so I can't see that being a cash cow. Outside of that I can't see them porting Saturn games, outside of the usual Dreamcast ports of Crazy Taxi, Sonic Adventure, Jet Radio etc...I can't see them bothering with any others so they don't have a lot else happening on PC.

 

As they continue to move away from console you have to wonder if/when (or if not then why the hell not) they will start to outsource their huge wealth of franchises, they have long since been unable to make the most of their rich history. Bring back Golden Axe, Ecco, Comix Zone, Streets of Rage the list goes on and on... co publish do what ever make it happen. New entries in popular franchises!

Edited February 9, 2015 by flameboy

[Zechs Merquise]

As sad as this is for some, the truth is SEGA did this to themselves.

 

As much as Nintendo annoy people, at the core of Nintendo's strategy and business is highly polished and well made games.

 

The same can't be said for SEGA. They have destroyed their own name with appalling entries in Sonic series and by wasting a vast number of top IPs which were once adored by gamers.

 

A great example of this is Nights, a game which was much loved. Yet when they saw fit to release a sequel, it was mediocre and forgettable. The once loved franchises that made consoles like the Master System and Megadrive household names are just pale shadows of what they once were.

[The Bard]

Well they own Relic and Creative Assembly, the two best strategy game developers in the world to my mind, so this is probably a propitious direction for them to take. Also Sonic is and has almost always been hot street trash, so it's about time they jettisoned it, as much as it may hurt, like a dog howling during the outbound path of the plate of splintered bones it gobbled down two decades ago.

[Goron_3]

Well they own Relic and Creative Assembly, the two best strategy game developers in the world to my mind, so this is probably a propitious direction for them to take. Also Sonic is and has almost always been hot street trash, so it's about time they jettisoned it, as much as it may hurt, like a dog howling during the outbound path of the plate of splintered bones it gobbled down two decades ago.

 

Fuck you.

 

S3&K ftw.

[The Bard]

Look man, I liked jerking off to lingerie catalogues when I was eleven but I'm not here fourteen years later saying that it was a great experience. Like Sonic, there's that momentary euphoria but always followed by depression and pure embarrassment.

[Jonnas]

Look man, I liked jerking off to lingerie catalogues when I was eleven but I'm not here fourteen years later saying that it was a great experience. Like Sonic, there's that momentary euphoria but always followed by depression and pure embarrassment.

 

Well, feel free to speak for yourself, then.

 

S3&K holds up well after all these years, and I've played Sonic CD for the first time recently, having good fun with it. Would recommend.

[Shorty]

Yeah I can still replay S2 and S3&K and find them to be fantastic games. It's not nostalgia, it's not rose-tinted glasses, they're damn good games that flow nicely and have great level design.

[The Bard]

Well, feel free to speak for yourself, then.

 

S3&K holds up well after all these years, and I've played Sonic CD for the first time recently, having good fun with it. Would recommend.

 

Haha. Take it with a pinch of salt though, I just generally don't like platformers. They make me feel really nervous, and Sonic epitomises that feeling because it takes more control away from you than most platformers.

[Wii]

Not a good year for SEGA SAMMY.

 

Purpose of restructuring:

 

The Company established the Group Structure Reform Division on May 9, 2014, and has held discussions to review the earnings structure of the entire Group from a mid to long-term point of view and develop a structure to enable investment of management resources in growth areas, which include new fields such as Digital Games both in and out of Japan and Resort Business, while addressing issues in existing businesses.

 

As part of these measures, The Group announced on October 31 three initiatives: 1) restructuring into three business groups, 2) initiatives to drastically improve profitability, 3) appointment of personnel in charge of structure reform in SEGA CORPORATION (SEGA) and furthermore, the Group announced on January 30 that implementation of structure reform in SEGA, its subsidiary.

 

As a measure to continuously review businesses owned by the Group and to promote further business reorganization while clarifying each Group company’s business field, the following organizational restructuring within the Group will be implemented, centering on the Entertainment Content Business.

 

Overview of New Restructured Company:

 

Entertainment Contents Business

 

1) Establish SEGA Interactive Co., Ltd. through an incorporation-type demerger by divesting the amusement machine sales divisions of SEGA (including development/production divisions and assets of shares of some subsidiaries) and allocate shares of SEGA Interactive Co., Ltd. to the Company.

 

2) Establish SEGA Holdings Co., Ltd. through an incorporation-type demerger of

SEGA’s corporate divisions and others (including assets of shares of some subsidiaries)

and allocate shares of SEGA Holdings Co., Ltd. to the Company.

 

3) Conduct an absorption-type merger of SEGA and SEGA Networks Co., Ltd., with SEGA, centering around the Consumer Business division (including development/production divisions and assets of shares of some subsidiaries), as the surviving company, and change the name to SEGA Games Co., Ltd..

 

Restructure Costs:

 

A total of 15 billion yen of extraordinary loss for the full year is expected to arise from expenses related to the structure reform

Sega Sammy Previous Full-Year Guidance:

Net Sales: ¥370 billion yen

Operating Income: ¥18 billion yen

Net Income: ¥4 billion yen

Sega Sammy New Full-Year Guidance:

Net Sales: ¥352.25 billion yen (↓)

Operating Income: ¥16 billion yen (↓)

Net Income: -¥13 billion yen (↓)

 

 

http://www.segasammy.co.jp/english/pdf/release/201503_3q_tanshinhosoku_e_final.pdf

 

http://www.segasammy.co.jp/english/pdf/release/20150212_adjustment_e%20final.pdf

[flameboy]

Well, feel free to speak for yourself, then.

 

S3&K holds up well after all these years, and I've played Sonic CD for the first time recently, having good fun with it. Would recommend.

 

Yeah I can still replay S2 and S3&K and find them to be fantastic games. It's not nostalgia, it's not rose-tinted glasses, they're damn good games that flow nicely and have great level design.

 

Completely agreed those games have aged so so well. There are other developers out there who are perfectly capturing those old school feels they need get one of them to work on a new sonic game!