SEGAbits Forums
Gaming => General Gaming Discussion => Topic started by: max_cady on March 30, 2012, 06:52:39 am
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This is the reason why:
Eurogamer.net: SEGA cancelling titles, "streamlining" video game business (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-03-30-sega-cancelling-titles-streamlining-video-game-business)
Sega will cut jobs and cancel titles as it attempts to "streamline" the home video games business in Europe and the US.
Parent company Sega Sammy released a statement announcing the "structural reform" today. It comes as Sega braces investors for an "extraordinary loss" for the full financial year ending 31st March 2012.
'Sega cancelling titles, "streamlining" video game business' Screenshot sonic
"The Consumer Business centred on Sega Corporation is expected to post operating loss in the year ending March 2012, due to the challenging economic climate and significant changes in the home video game software market environment in the US and Europe.
Here's why I am angry:
Number One: Next to Zero effort in Marketing and standing up for the company's brands, has resulted in this;
Number Two: Video Game Press only mentions SEGA and SEGA games in general when this happens;
That's all I'm gonna say, anything beyond this will be just cussing.
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I think today we'll ALL be in a sour mood.
What games could they be canceling?? Who is getting fired??
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Made a main page post that we can all bitch about.
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Oh no...
I have a feeling that Hardlight's VITA game has been canceled. :'(
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I agree on the point of poor marketing from Sega, so many good games are left unknown and un-played. Another issue that I agree with you on is how Sega has low support from video game culture as a whole. Even when companies like Bioware and Capcom make poor moves they still manage to muster up support from the gaming community. If Sonic blinks the wrong way the gaming community tears him up.
The only positive I can see in this is that Sega is letting go of some of the people responsible for the poor marketing moves etc.. Perhaps in the long run it may work out. Lets cross are fingers and hope no fan favorites are being cancelled.
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Its worse than that i'm afraid. The "fearless" leader has been too busy purchasing new amusement parks or whatever they're supposed to be, in the last few months which probably explains why Sega west didn't have any money to market Binary Domain or continue other development on other titles.
When these games become known(if ever), i'm sure there's going to be many pretty pissed off Sega fans out there.
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Shenmue III got cancelled, obviously.
EDIT: Okay serious note, this is probably a good move for Sega. Let's face it, the industry is in a really hard position at the moment, all over the place people are hurting and things just don't sell, and even Call of Duty MW3 was outsold by Black Ops. (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-01-12-uk-2011-modern-warfare-3-sales-lower-than-2010-black-ops-sales) This is a big deal, even if you don't like COD, COD was always the safe bet. Yes it still sold a disgusting amount of units, but MW is meant to be the 'A' Call of Duty, and it got out-sold by the previous years 'B' game. If COD is in decline then that's a clear sign that publishers need to pay attention to.
Frankly, it's probably a good idea for Sega to cut some titles. As much as I loved Platinum Games, Anarchy Reigns is going to be a collossal dog. I would put money down now that this game is going to bomb hard. It looks like it might be fun, but honestly, it's very niche and I don't think that plastering ads everywhere for it will make much of a difference in this case either. Now I don't think Sega will cancel this title, seeing as how it's due for release in a few months, but would it really be a bad idea for them to cancel another title down the line that's similar? Take off your gamer's hat for a second and think about it, would it be a good idea to publish Platinum's next new IP, or wait for Bayonetta 2? Is it a good idea for them to get Creative Assembly to work on a new console action game that pushes the boundries of RTS, or make Total War: Rome 2? Is it better for them to push Rhythm thief on a dead-in-the-water console, or hold that money for marketing Aliens Colonial Marines while the hype for Prometheus is building?
I think that it's sad to see titles get cancelled (or maybe it is, none of us really know what they are and if we would even want them, except for maybe Joe who seems to be implying he might be privy to this information), but in this climate, I think this is really the only sensible choice.
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Unless it becomes a profitable IP via the rerelease of the first two. Then it will be deemed worthy. ... just keeping the dream alive...
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Edited my post with some serious points.
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Kate Burning has confirmed on her Twitter that she has been laid off. She was just hired as a community manager too.
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I have to side with MadeManG, its worrying, but I've been harping about a video game crash once more for years now and it is soon to take effect, SEGA is just reconstructing itself whilst it still can. To show my point at how bad it has gotten, Japan's top five selling games the last three years;
Famitsu 2011 Fiscal Year
1. [3DS] Mario Kart 7 (Nintendo) - 1,607,741
2. [3DS] Super Mario 3D Land (Nintendo) - 1,470,404
3. [3DS] Monster Hunter 3G (Capcom) - 1,289,794
4. [PS3] Final Fantasy XIII-2 (Square Enix) - 815,732
5. [PS3] One Piece: Pirate Warriors (Namco Bandai) - 770,873
Famitsu 2010 Fiscal Year
1. [NDS] Pokemon Black / White (Pokemon Co.) - 5,149,022
2. [PSP] Monster Hunter Freedom 3 (Capcom) - 4,372,182
3. [WII] Wii Party (Nintendo) - 1,826,857
4. [NDS] Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 (Square Enix) - 1,283,423
5. [WII] Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Nintendo) - 956,853
Famitsu 2009 Fiscal Year
1. [NDS] Dragon Quest IX (Square Enix) - 4,150,667
2. [NDS] Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver (Pokemon Co.) - 3,663,655
3. [Wii] New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Nintendo) - 3,587,755
4. [NDS] Tomodachi Collection (Nintendo) - 3,085,838
5. [PS3] Final Fantasy XIII (Square Enix) - 1,881,972
As for Europe? The UK chart numbers these days are laughable, Street Fighter x Tekken, two franchises combined you would expect to sell a large amount, only managed a minor 16,000 first week sales combined, now compare this with the sales of Street Fighter 4, which managed over 100,000 on its first week of release in the UK. Outside of Mass Effect 3, the UK charts has been in a sad state...
So yes, digital and just a few big AAA titles is probably the future, savour the good days friends, savour the good days.
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And to further stuff my point down people's throats... Here is the top ten selling games in the UK for Feb 2012!
UK Top 10 February, 2012 (Gfk Chart-Track/Enterbrain)
(Jan 29 - Feb 25 weeks 05-08)
01. [PS3] Final Fantasy Xiii-2 (Square Enix Europe) - 43,000
02. [360] Final Fantasy Xiii-2 (Square Enix Europe) - 37,000
03. [360] Metal Gear Solid Hd Collection (Konami) - 29,000
04. [PS3] Metal Gear Solid Hd Collection (Konami) - 27,000
05. [PSV] Uncharted: Golden Abyss (Sony Computer Ent.) - 27,000
06. [360] Battlefield 3 (Electronic Arts) - 26,000
07. [360] Fifa 12 (Electronic Arts) - 24,000
08. [WII] Just Dance 3 (Ubisoft) - 24,000
09. [360] Ufc Undisputed 3 (Thq) - 24,000
10. [360] Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Activision Blizzard) - 24,000
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=36506130&postcount=100
Such a sad sight...
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So yes, digital and just a few big AAA titles is probably the future, savour the good days friends, savour the good days.
Is it really such a bad thing though? Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown is a Digital Title after all... Yakuza games are still a pretty safe bet too, so we'll still see those I think.
Or maybe Sega will just make endless Sonic and Mario at the (Insert event here) games until the fanbase just implodes upon itself.
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I did some reflecting, lots of deep-in-thought walks by bodies of water, and came to the conclusion that this was a long time coming.
I thought back to the past four years and realized that the only games I truly enjoyed, and looked forward to, were either (A) major IPs or (B) new or rereleased digital titles. Of course, there were a few new IPs (Bayonetta, Rise of Nightmares, Vanquish) but in the end Bayonetta was the only title I can say I can't live without.
2010 had Sonic Colors (established IP), Yakuza 3 (ditto) and Bayonetta (new IP). Digital titles included Sonic 4 and the first few Dreamcast collection titles. Now these didn't get praise from fans, but Sonic 4 sold really well, as did Sonic Adventure.
2011's best titles were Sonic Generations (established IP), Yakuza 4 (ditto), Shogun 2 (ditto), Virtua Tennis 4 (ditto), Football Manager 2012 (ditto) Digital titles were amazing: Guardian Heroes, Daytona USA, Space Channel 5 Part 2, Renegade Ops and Sonic CD. The black sheep was Shinobi, which should have been an XBLA/PSN release in my opinion.
So really, SEGA's "new direction" in 2012 is what they did in 2011 but with all the fat trimmed. I do really really hope to see Rhythm Thief and Anarchy Reigns released, if only because they put so much money into them and the releases were so soon. Binary Domain is an odd title, and given SEGA's direction games like that might fall by the wayside in the future. However, given its a Nagoshi game, and he's in the position he's in, I don't know. We'll have to wait and see.
So aside from the questionable Rhythm Thief and Anarchy Reigns, what does 2012 promise? A slew of digital titles: Virtua Fighter 5, JSR, Sonic 4 Episode 2, Hell Yeah!, more Dreamcast Collection titles (Shenmue? Skies? SA2?). On the physical release front: Aliens Colonial Marines, SASASR2(?), PSO2, a Wii U Sonic title(?).
I don't know, I'm getting hopeful again. Nearly all the titles I'm excited for are still within SEGA's "new" direction, which like I said is a lot like 2011's direction streamlined.
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This really doesn't help after we've seen layoffs and closings from companies like Obsidian, THQ, and Zipper Interactive to name a few.
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Barry: I don't think Rythm Thief is in trouble since it's out like, next week or something (although it's worth noting that in Australia it's being distributed by Nintendo, and not Sega. I wonder if this is common around the world?).
As for Anarchy Reigns, I think that it's also not in trouble, at this point in it's cycle I think Sega would probably lose more money by dropping it than releasing it. Unless they palm it off to someone else (which probably isn't easy since Sega must own the IP, and owns Bayonetta/Jack etc).
As you said though, a lot of their best titles that we really enjoy are the ones that are safest at this point. The one title that I'm legitimately worried about is a sequel to Bayonetta. The first game was a success, but is it safe enough to warrant a sequel or would Sega rather hold fire on it? The fact that there hasn't been so much as a rumour since last year's TGS is a bit concerning for the future of our favourite witch.
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All star racing 2 might be lost? Now that will suck...
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It's hard to say at this point. SASASR2 isn't a AAA title, but it does fall under the Sonic banner and is basically an IP orgy. If they play up the Sonic-ness of it in adverts and throw in a few popular IPs, it should be okay.
I agree with Mademan, I think too much money was already put into RT and AR for them to be shifted elsewhere. I think it would be wise of SEGA to releases what has been announced and quietly can unannounced games. That way it won't look so grim to fans and investors. Can you imagine all the negative press SEGA would get if they canned those games now?
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@Aki-at
To be fair, Aki, since GAME was having it's credit crunch, I'm not surprised that basically every major game released these last two months have had dismal sales due to them not being able to stock pre-order goods in time.
It's sucks even for harder of SEGA because UK and Europe are vital strategic strongholds.
Anyway, I feel a little better now that I've read the PR today.
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Kotaku did a sloppy job reporting the news: http://kotaku.com/5898026/sega-of-america-walloped-by-layoffs-western-publishing-reduced-to-sonic-and-three-others
1. The four IPs were examples of what SEGA considered strong IPs, they weren't the only four to be focused on. Key word was "SUCH AS" in the SEGA West statement:
Due to the challenging economic climate and significant changes within the interactive gaming industry, SEGA has made the decision to consolidate its publishing business in order to focus on developing digital content and driving its existing IP such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Total War, Football Manager and the Aliens franchise. This realignment of the business around existing and digital IP is a necessity to ensure that SEGA continues to invest and enhance its digital business offering, whilst reducing its reliance on traditional packaged goods.
So it is not limited to, but it does include the four IPs mentioned. SEGA could very well also consider IPs like Virtua Tennis, Virtua Fighter and Bayonetta.
2. JSR isn't going anywhere, and this news does not kill off the idea of Shenmue HD. It's clearly said in the same paragraph that SEGA would like to drive digital content. The Genesis, Saturn and Dreamcast rereleases fall perfectly into that category. Rereleases that surely cost little to port, and yield high sales.
It just bugs me to see Kotaku, which has a large readership, doing such a shit job reporting the news.
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It's too bad took all of this to get them to focus on digital releases.
Say what you will about Nintendo, but they do a pretty good job of monetizing their older properties.
SEGA has so many amazing franchises that they just don't take advantage of. Hopefully now we'll start to see more ports of their Saturn and Dreamcast titles. I'm sure this could get them more revenue than poorly done licenced titles.
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Barry, never... ever put "Kotaku" and "news" in the same sentence!
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Feedback for Kotaku is so bad that they'll ban you if you correct them.
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Their website layout is enough to drive me insane.
But anyway, outside of Joystiq.com, other websites based on my twitter feed are taking a lot of time to issue the official statement.
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guys this restructuring has been a long time coming. The only sega game to sell decently in the past ten years had mario in the title. Even sonic is barely moving 2 million units these days. It's time for a new business model.
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Nobody's arguing about that...
SEGA should've gone more mainstream at least from Xbox 1 onwards. Take a cure from Activision and focus those resources on the strongest brands.
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Kotaku did a sloppy job reporting the news: http://kotaku.com/5898026/sega-of-america-walloped-by-layoffs-western-publishing-reduced-to-sonic-and-three-others
1. The four IPs were examples of what SEGA considered strong IPs, they weren't the only four to be focused on. Key word was "SUCH AS" in the SEGA West statement:
So it is not limited to, but it does include the four IPs mentioned. SEGA could very well also consider IPs like Virtua Tennis, Virtua Fighter and Bayonetta.
2. JSR isn't going anywhere, and this news does not kill off the idea of Shenmue HD. It's clearly said in the same paragraph that SEGA would like to drive digital content. The Genesis, Saturn and Dreamcast rereleases fall perfectly into that category. Rereleases that surely cost little to port, and yield high sales.
It just bugs me to see Kotaku, which has a large readership, doing such a shit job reporting the news.
lol, I've never understood the appeal of Kotaku. They OFTEN do a shitty job reporting the news. I've often seen them post trolling and biased nonsense as "articles".
The problem with a lot of these quick fire news blogs these days, Kotaku and GoNintendo included, is that they often get the fundementals of a story wrong. They'll read a title or a summary and write that up, regardless of the actual content of the article.
I can kind of understand GoNintendo, since their news is typically a small paragraph and a link to the real news. But Kotaku actually writes entire articles like a real news site, and they often get their stuff even more wrong.
This is why I used to have a prejudice against blogs. But then I found some good ones like the one I work at, lol.
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I don't mind Kotaku.
I don't really count on them for editorial, but I find they're an easy way to find out the main videogame headlines of the day. I'll just go to other sites for the more in depth bits.
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Wrote up a little article on why Kotaku is a poopie head: http://segabits.com/blog/2012/04/04/editorial-gaming-sites-who-failed-at-reporting-last-fridays-news/