Did the industry die along with Sega? Discuss!

[ROJM]

Read this article :here- http://voxelarcade.com/reaction/videogame-industry-die-along-sega/

or below

SE-GA!!!! Anyone who owned a Sega Megadrive/Genesis will know that word, sung with confidence and self glorifying haughtiness, at the start of many a classic Sega game. It was a seal of quality and quirkiness, a sign that you were playing a Sega game, and all the baggage and craziness that came with it. Yet, Sega very rarely use it to introduce their own games anymore, with only those games that are deemed ‘retro’ having any chance of having the logo heralded at the start.

The reason is that the confidence has gone, and those crazy blue skies are a thing of the past, because Sega are now just another videogame publisher. The difference between Sega and the others is that Sega bang out poor Sonic games every now and then, and manage to mess up enough classic game conversions of old titles that many don’t bother, looking to emulators instead for their Sega thrills.

I remember reading an article, when Sega decided to drop out of the hardware race, where the writer gleefully predicted that EA would soon ‘be looking in their rear mirror at the bright red Ferrari catching them up on the fast lane’.

That prediction proved false, with layoffs, poor financial results and a total lack of innovation and risk taking already getting the vultures taking notice, hungry for Sega’s many prized assets. Assets it has no idea what to do with itself. Essentially, the Sega of old, of Burning Rangers, Daytona USA, Crazy Taxi and the like, is dead, replaced by a Western focused Japanese publisher with no clear idea where to go.

So with ‘our’ Sega gone, what is the videogame industry becoming? Microsoft want to turn gaming on the Xbox into just one option on the screen of a money-making ‘do all’ set top box. Sony can’t decide if it wants to follow suite, although is more promising than Microsoft. Nintendo, who went their own way with the Wii, and did very well, is slowly being convinced that games should just be one part of a wider offering in a console.

In the realm of computer gaming, where we used to have Atari, Commodore, the PC and many, many more, we now have just the PC and Mac to choose from, which isn’t really a choice as 90% of Mac games are PC or iPhone ports. Where there were many, now there is one.

We also have mobile gaming in the form of the iPhone and Android, both of which started out well, but now both of which are being taken over by the evil of the IAP and ‘free to play’ nonsense, nonsense that is slowly but surely encroaching on the consoles and PC. Note: although the new platforms that let you play Android games on your TV look nice, just remember that having them on your TV will not make these Android games any less shit.

I don’t like where the industry is heading. A future where free to play, micro transactions and season passes are the norm, where all the consoles are almost identical aside from an exclusive here are there, where there is only the PC as an alternative, an alternative that itself is limited to slightly better looking and slightly better performing versions of console games, and where gaming as a whole is just one option to select in the black/grey box sitting under your TV.
Did The Videogame Industry Die Along With Sega gameplay



The industry may be making more money than ever, but that industry is looking less and less like a videogame industry and more and more like one facet of a wider industry that has that awful, nasty word emblazoned on it: multimedia. The passing of the Sega of old may just be a coincidence, happening at a time of great change in the industry, but it was all the money men needed to whisper in the ears of publishers and platform holders everywhere: “See? It doesn’t work, you need to expand and find new ways to make money”.

These same money men are right now whispering in the ears of Nintendo and Sony. They are already in charge at Microsoft, and have been since they decided to charge for online play. “See, we are now making millions charging them for playing the games they have already bought, just think what else we can do!”.

Sega, please come back. Please come back and save us from this inevitable future, a future of grey skies. Bring back the blue skies of old and cast these grey clouds, hovering over the landscape of gaming, away for good.

Hurry. They are closing in.

Now we know Sega is far from dead but you can defiantly argue that they a shadow of what they use to be. Does this guy have a point? Are we really fans of a video game industry anymore or something else? Has companies known for great solid gaming over generations also lost the spark that use to make them cool when we were younger? Was the DC the real last true games machine ever made despite the subsequent systems that had their own classics? You can argue that the guy may be over reacting a little bit but there are some things we have all noticed in where the games industry is going which seems abhorrent to the very nature of what gaming is meant to be about. What do you think?

[OriginalName]

YES.

Hahaha, to be fair, I would qualify the language of the initial thesis and give entirely different reasons as to why I feel that way.

To say that the industry "died" alongside Sega is overly alarmist, it's more that once the first-party race changed in dynamic from the former lineup of toy-oriented game design perfectionist (Nintendo), film and music industry integrated mega-conglomeration (Sony), and a technology-obsessed culture guru (Sega) to Nintendo and the Sony-Microsoft twins, the mainstream scene stopped building off eachother and creating a thriving, interesting gaming culture.

Sega and Nintendo bounced ideas off of eachother in the most fascinating ways, and through their entirely distinct approaches to rising technological capabilities and whatever inspiration motivated them that year, constantly out-did themselves and eachother. In the earliest years, Sega was geared toward the adrenaline-seeking punks in smoke-filled arcades who wanted drag-racing and fist-fights while Nintendo sought out the kind of imaginative, story-book family fun that the toy industry mined. Competition drove Sega to employ more off-the-wall imagination and for Nintendo to get in peoples' faces every once in awhile. Sega drew from the popular culture that Sony were purveyors of in their other endeavors (only VERY recently did Sony learn how to/buy up companies that could make games themselves) to the extent that many of the major hits that Sony published played off of Sega's action film and music video-inspired classics, which in turn lead to Sega's Dreamcast-era reinterpretation of the hip counter-cultural-yet-mainstream gaming that they themselves had inspired. This was great for Nintendo as well -- they backed their first-party IPs harder than ever in an attempt to make their names bonafide cultural entities in order to combat Sony, yet they were galvanized to keep moving forward with creative, off-the-wall concepts by Sega.

If I could go back to those dynamics, I would gladly do so. I'm not a Sony fan, but the way they rose the stakes inspired a lot of great creativity from the other two first-parties.

So tell me somethin': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxpvXnrNyuU

When Sega left and Microsoft took their place, this dynamic went away entirely. Nintendo became the revolutionizers, but they just don't follow Sega's act that well when it comes to nonstop teeth-smashing creative energy. It's like comparing first-wave punk to radio pop-punk. Sony's kind of coming into their own as a hyper-outsourcing games maker, but it's just to distinguish their brand from the otherwise identical Microsoft camp. While there are certainly some great games to come out in recent memory for every console, the urgency is gone. Well, let me correct that -- there's plenty of urgency, but most of the first parties are trying to fix their problems with bureaucracy instead of inspired, synaesthetic, heart-stoppingly modern game design.

Hell, Nintendo's TRYING, but no one's willing to risk supporting their console because it doesn't hit close enough the the mark scratched out by the PlayStation and Xbox brands, which made their mark with a LOT of stuff that has NOTHING to do with game design.

So, is the game industry dead? No. But it's no longer driven primarily by modernity in game design, and that's a huge disappointment that DID begin and practically arrive as soon as the bell tolled for the Dreamcast.

I'm holding on to hope that consoles fold, the industry moves to PC distribution, third-parties reject Sony and Microsoft online distribution since it will offer no significant advantages over pre-existing services, and that hardware innovation amongst game developers will largely come through highly imaginative proprietary controllers which can control either an extremely focused or vast array of different game types. It's here that developers can pick up the Sega torch and finally run with it again before it goes out completely. Hopefully that developer will be Sega themselves, but if not, I know for a fact we still have plenty of incredibly creative developers who are itching for a chance to make their mark once they get uncaged from the awful current state of this industry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf1KcumOS7M

[Yomofo]

Someone else had the same opinion on sega.com
His name is Sem

mod edit: hi Semmie, bye Semmie.

[Team Andromeda]

It's just some sad fanboy drivel . I would only agree that the old SEGA is long dead and Sammy have killed that SEGA and now SEGA is a shadow of its former self - That's pretty sad but we can blame Sammy for that .

[tarpmortar]

It's mostly true, SEGA was the main source of innovation on console and with their death the console industry slowed dramatically after PS2 rode out and gave the Japanese industry their console output swan song. DS kept the Japanese output great but it was a handheld, so different category altogether.

Now the Japanese industry is mostly useless due to their predominantly mobile focus.

[Deefy]

It's just some sad fanboy drivel . I would only agree that the old SEGA is long dead and Sammy have killed that SEGA and now SEGA is a shadow of its former self - That's pretty sad but we can blame Sammy for that .

Always Kudos for your thoughts TA.

[ROJM]

YES.

YES! YES! YES!YES! and one NO!

[Aki-at]

It's the like the article writer completely opted out Sony's recent titles, what Nintendo has planned too or has overlooked Sonic has become a somewhat respectable franchise.

Anyway I'd disagree, the industry seems to be in a good state thanks to the influx of indies and the Japanese gaming industry is coming back stronger than ever, seems a bit reactionary but they are definitely are more companies trying to exploit consumers so I'd agree with that sentiment.

[Nameless 24]

Anyway I'd disagree, the industry seems to be in a good state thanks to the influx of indies and the Japanese gaming industry is coming back stronger than ever, seems a bit reactionary but they are definitely are more companies trying to exploit consumers so I'd agree with that sentiment.

I agree. Although I think the likes of Vanillaware and Platimum Games are providing experiences that SEGA would otherwise give us.

Loving Dragon's Crown despite the whole controversy around it in addition to it's somewhat repetitive nature.

If more companies do what SEGA did, we'd have more innovation...but the Industry have spoken. They want CoD, FIFA and AssCreed to prevail! Hell...I know some people who HATE Sonic.

[Team Andromeda]

They want CoD, FIFA and AssCreed to prevail! Hell...I know some people who HATE Sonic.

There' innovation just very little of it from SEGA sadly .  Assains Creed was a new IP and a big risk - What new IP have we had from SEGA Japan this gen other than BD or Val ? . Even EA have taken more risks this gen with the likes of Mirror's Edge, Dead Space and on on , Capcom gave us 2 brand new IP every early in .

Now the Japanese industry is mostly useless due to their predominantly mobile focus.

Yep spot on and its killing the Japanse developers sadly

[Barry the Nomad]

The thought that the industry died is ludicrous. If it were dead we wouldn't be seeing a single game or console. Now I know the writer of the voxelarcade article didn't himself state that it is "dead", but he paints a very negative image of the industry that I disagree with.

I do, however, agree that the Dreamcast died because the industry was making a transition. I don't agree with the direction the industry has taken, but at this point it is what it is. George and I talked about the death of the Dreamcast in the latest podcast ( http://segabits.com/blog/2013/08/23/swingin-report-show-49-sonic-into-dreams/ ) and one of the things we talked about was if we felt that the Dreamcast was of the same generation as the PS2 and Xbox. I honestly feel that the Xbox and the PS2 in its later life were not of the same gen as the Dreamcast. With the Xbox, the tech was just so advanced compared to the DC. However, with the DC the tech was far more advanced than the other consoles at the time (N64, PS1). I think that like the Xbox, the Dreamcast was ahead of its time. However, in the case of the Xbox I don't think it did nearly as much as the DC did in terms of innovation.

Talking what "died" with the Dreamcast, I think the idea of arcade ports on disc sold at full price died. I mean, you rarely see arcade ports sold on disc nowadays. Something like After Burner Climax would have been a $50+ release on the Dreamcast, whereas now it's a $10 digital title. I feel that after the Dreamcast died, the belief that a disc-based game HAD to be a big budget title with hours of gameplay became more of the norm, while shorter arcade-style games had to be on a compilation disc or a digital title to be published.

I've found that I am much more of a fan of those types of games, which probably explains why I haven't played that many games this gen. In the DC days, there were only a handful of expansive big budget titles, which made it easy to play a ton of games as most were short arcade titles and a few were big AAA games. Now it seems to be the opposite, where the smaller arcade titles are the minority.

[Trippled]

It was about 2003 when the Industry changed imo...right when Sega started to go downhill too (not just becaming 3rd party)

It wasn't just Sega putting out interresting games from 1999 to 2001...there were loads of games like Jet Set Radio, Rez or Space Channel 5 out on PS1 and early PS2. Gitaroo Man; Mr. Misquito to name a few.
That died down after a a while, and only the more generic products came to the market from both Japan and the West.
I'd say only Clover and Sony Japan were the only ones delivering interresting games like Sega did during the Dreamcast and Saturn Era.

[Team Andromeda]

It wasn't just Sega putting out interresting games from 1999 to 2001...there were loads of games like Jet Set Radio, Rez or Space Channel 5 out on PS1 and early PS2. Gitaroo Man; Mr. Misquito to name a few.
That died down after a a while, and only the more generic products came to the market from both Japan and the West.
I'd say only Clover and Sony Japan were the only ones delivering interresting games like Sega did during the Dreamcast and Saturn Era

Very True . There was lots of interesting and unusual games on the PS and lots either developed by or published by SONY. Ore-no Ryouri was one of the most original games I have ever played and its brilliant fun to boot

[Trippled]

Very True . There was lots of interesting and unusual games on the PS and lots either developed by or published by SONY. Ore-no Ryouri was one of the most original games I have ever played and its brilliant fun to boot

Yes stuff like that is what I mean.

Sega transitioned like the rest and put some quirky stuff on Handhelds like Feel the Magic or last year Rhythm Thief...but even on cheap systems like Wii or DS, they haven't a particular effort to stand out.

[OriginalName]

I think we should all agree from this point on that the idea that the industry "died" along with Sega is objectively false, but instead direct the conversation to if the industry as a whole changed, the ways in which it changed, and what can and should be done about it if anything. The original article shoots itself in the foot with a title that instantly dooms it to be discarded as alarmist, but there's an interesting and worthwhile conversation to be had about the changes in the industry that were concurrent with Sega's dropping out of the console race then mutating as a third-party after the Sammy buyout.

I honestly think that a strong case can be made that while the industry certainly did not die, the shift in dynamics following Sega's drop from influence had a tangible effect on the direction that the industry as a whole was going. If it seems my perspective is mislead, please let me know, but I do get the strong impression that the loss of Sega's influence in the mainstream did effectively result in an industry that became focused far too heavily on brand above design. Nintendo's toy company approach combined with Sony and Microsoft's more Hollywood-oriented mentality have their merits (well, I have almost nothing good to say about Microsoft in the console world personally, but I can empathize with their fans), yet I believe that the former balance afforded by a company like Sega at the forefront resulted in an industry which pushed itself a lot harder to constantly reinvent games themselves and come into their own as an entirely unique medium.

Plus, really, I don't think that consoles are going to be a viable platform down the road (in fact, I don't think they're one NOW), which the original article seems to be having an identity crisis over. Dreamcast used some hybrid elements of both traditional console design and PC-oriented cross-compatibility, but the "It's a PC with arbitrary restrictions because Xbox" thing paired with the incredible ease of building a computer in the modern world has got to come to its logical conclusion sooner or later. I don't think it's because somebody did anything wrong platform-wise either, it's just that technology has finally caught up with itself in this regard. I think that's just a coincidental chronological coincidence with Sega's dropping out, though -- really, ever since the crash consoles were just dedicated computers (case in point: "Famicom"), we're just now finally outgrowing that stage, though.