SEGA published games where you didn't(don't) feel at home as a fan

[CrazyT]

Every now and then SEGA publishes chooses to publish some random games where people argue it to not recognize it as a SEGA game. We've all seen the arguements about lumber jack and such. Whether something is a SEGA game or not comes down to the publishing I agree with that, but feelings can be different.

Have you ever bought a SEGA published game where you just really didnt feel at home? My pick goes to The Cave from Double Fine studios



I genuinly tried my best to give it a chance and like it. But there was 0 appeal to it for me. Just dull, bad voice over with silly humor. Navigating was annoying as hell and the puzzles gave no sense of accomplishment at all. I mean aside from being a game I didnt enjoy much, the whole vibe to it had 0 SEGA appeal for me. So I questioned myself at the time, why the heck did I buy it? It was obviously the SEGA logo, but I realized it meant nothing in the case of the product.

This made me question,  is a brand identity important for a company? Do you think it is important for SEGA to publish games that suit its identity or doesnt that really matter when it comes to consumers?

[Trippled]

There are so many Mega Drive games developed in Europe/America that are pretty forgotten by many...


Ariel the Little Mermaid (1992)[/size]
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• Art Alive! (1991)[/size][/font]

• Asterix and the Great Rescue (1993)[/size][/font]

• Asterix and the Power of the Gods (1995)[/size][/font]

• Barney's Hide & Seek Game (1993)[/size][/font]

• Bonkers (1994)[/size][/font]

• California Games (1991)[/size][/font]

• Chakan: The Forever Man (1992)[/size][/font]

• Cheese Cat-Astrophe Starring Speedy Gonzales (1995)[/size][/font]

• College Football's National Championship (1994)[/size][/font]

• College Football's National Championship II (1995)[/size][/font]

• Cyborg Justice (1993)[/size][/font]

• Desert Demolition Starring Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote (1995)[/size][/font]

• Dick Tracy (1990)[/size][/font]

• Dinosaurs for Hire (1993)[/size][/font]

• Dungeons & Dragons: Warriors of the Eternal Sun (1992)[/size][/font]

• Evander Holyfield's "Real Deal" Boxing (1992)[/size][/font]

• Fantasia (1991)[/size][/font]

• Garfield: Caught in the Act (1995)[/size][/font]

• Greendog: The Beached Surfer Dude (1992)[/size][/font]

• Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1993)[/size][/font]

• Joe Montana II: Sports Talk Football (1991)[/size][/font]

• Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition (1994)[/size][/font]

• Jurassic Park (1993)[/size][/font]

• NFL Football '94 Starring Joe Montana (1993)[/size][/font]

• NFL Sports Talk Football '93 (1992)[/size][/font]

• The Ottifants (1994)[/size][/font]

• Quest for the Shaven Yak Starring Ren Hoëk & Stimpy (1994)[/size][/font]

• Richard Scarry's Busytown (1993)[/size][/font]

• Shadowrun (1994)[/size][/font]

• Striker (1995)[/size][/font]

• TaleSpin (1992)[/size][/font]

• Taz in Escape From Mars (1994)[/size][/font]

• The Adventures of Batman & Robin (1995)[/size][/font]

• The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin (1991)[/size][/font]

• The Berenstain Bears' Camping Adventure (1993)[/size][/font]

• The Lost World: Jurassic Park' (1997)[/size][/font]

• The Magic School Bus (1995)[/size][/font]

• The Ren & Stimpy Show: Stimpy's Invention (1993)[/size][/font]

• The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1994)[/size][/font]

• Toxic Crusaders (1992)[/size][/font]

• Ultimate Soccer (1993)[/size][/font]

• Wacky Worlds (1994)[/size][/font]

• World Series Baseball (1994)[/size][/font]

• World Series Baseball '95 (1995)[/size][/font]

• X-Men (1993)[/size][/font]

• X-Men 2: Clone Wars (1995)[/size][/font]

[MercenaryOne]

This made me question,  is a brand identity important for a company? Do you think it is important for SEGA to publish games that suit its identity or doesnt that really matter when it comes to consumers?

Brand identity should be important for a company, when people see something specific of a companies works, they know its that company. Whether its a swoosh on a shoe that immediately makes you think Nike Shoes, or a ram head that makes you think Dodge trucks. Same applies for games, unfortunately Sega really only has 1 that makes most people think Sega, and that is Sonic.

I don't think it is important at all for Sega to publish games that exclusively tie into their identity, or any company at that. Companies got other brand identifiers by straying from this mindset, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Either way, if you want to expand your brand recognition you have to take risks. Some brands will always be seen as that swoosh for shoes, or ram head for trucks, others will capitalize and have multiple identifiers. Its not important to the consumer as they don't think of it as that, for the company, getting someone to see a generic symbol or object and think of their brand is what they aim for.

[Centrale]

Sega is a lot more diversified than most publishers. I don't think there will ever be agreement on what constitutes "that Sega feeling" content-wise, so their identity should hinge on other qualitative characteristics: charm, quirkiness/weirdness, creative risk-taking, and technical innovation.

[FlareHabanero]

SEGA is a very diverse company that has tried many stuff so what has that SEGA feel is subjective.


However, I do have a more specific answer with the games developed by Sonic Team. When I think of a game developed by Sonic Team, I tend to think of games that are vibrant and colorful with a tendency to have some quirk to give it an identity. You can see what I mean with games like Sonic, Ristar, NiGHTS, Chu Chu Rocket, Puyo Puyo, and so on.


So with that in mind, I tend to think of Phantasy Star Online and Burning Rangers as blacksheep, since they try to go for a more realistic approach with the tone. For example, the humans (or humanoids) don't have that Sonic-esque proportions like they do for games like Sonic, Puyo Puyo, and Billy Hatcher. The colors are also handled differently, for example in Burning Rangers the colors are pretty dark with the occasional splashes of color from lights while Phantasy Star Online goes for a more subdued look unless it's a particularly hi-tech area. I'm not saying it's bad or good or whatever, but you can tell they have a different flavor from the norm. Hell even several of the Sonic games like Sonic 06 and Shadow the Hedgehog also gives me this vibe.

[Sharky]

Those fateful days between 06 and 09 when SEGA was publishing Marvel movie license games... The darkest of times.

[Centrale]

Here are some, perhaps semi-official, perspectives on Sega's philosophy and/or self-definition:

 According to Sega Consumer History, pp. 16-17:

 
Advanced Design.
Technical Power.
Unique Sense.
Various Genre.

 
According to Segagaga (from the seemingly in-limbo fan translation project):

 
Company motto: "Creation is the soul of life."

 
Management philosophy (note that each item in the list is ranked #1):

 
1. Use intelligent creativity to improve society.
1. Always move one step ahead of the day's technology.
1. Pursue these goals with the employees and the company working together as a single entity.