Watch XPLAY talk about SEGA

[Happy Cat]

http://g4tv.com/videos/45647/Feedback-D ... rd-Exodus/

they talk about the lay-offs, restructuring, and more

starting around the 14 minute mark

[fluffymoochicken]

Yeah, this is an older video, but the stuff they say is still pretty good.

"It's like the last ten years have been like watching someone stuff my old pet and move it around like a marionette and saying 'Why aren't you laughing? Why don't you think it's funny?' Well, I don't think it's funny because you're ruining everything."

[Aki-at]

Maybe if they stopped focusing on Sonic Team's worst games and focus on the entire company (eg. Yakuza, Total War, Valkyria Chronicles, Phantasy Star etc) they'd have a point.

[max_cady]

Here's the weird part, Sega does roughly the same amount of adverstising in the US as well as Europe, yet European outlets don't spend countless hours ripping on Sega.

They are the ones with the information, but when Sega Sammy turned a profit, it was published all over the UK and european media.

In the US? Just a footnote on Gamespot and barely a mention everywhere else on american outlets.

[Aki-at]

In the US? Just a footnote on Gamespot and barely a mention everywhere else on american outlets.

I still remember the time when some guy came to the SEGAnerds website who wrote one of those articles for IGN, claiming SEGA made less games now than they did during the Dreamcast days, even though I proved they make similar amount of console games.

Good times.

I'd like to point out though, these websites do not usually know a lot about finances, I've seen people mix up operating profit and net profit when reporting for IGN, Gamespot etc, even though the two are vastly different things. Is it really that hard to understand a company's fiscal report?

[Orta]

Yes, when you are a journalist. I'm sorry, "game reviewer". :lol:

[crackdude]

Americans don't understand the difference between Sega and Sonic Team, you expect them to differentiate operating profit from net profit?

[max_cady]

I don't know... The UK media never seems to get this mixed up. That's why I barely visit IGN, Gamespot and such.

Heck, Gamestop did a far more professional presentation of Sega at E3 and Gamespot just pissed

On the other hand, any report of Sega losing money, layoffs and such are plugged to a point that... screw it, I'm already in a bad mood...

It's funny that they cite Capcom as an example? Really? Capcom, to me, has been dissapointment, over dissapointment, over dissapointment... Surely they are not saying that outsourced games like that POS Dark Void are any example of successful IP translations. In that Sega has pretty much written the rule book for this, many of the games they published are actually produced by many western studios, Sega just owns the IP. A Sonic RPG developed by Bioware, an Aliens vs Predator game developed by the original creators, many games developed by Dimps, Sumo Digital and From Software.

And funny how they mention all those amazing Dreamcast games... Really, that's not how I remember it, all those dreamy Dreamcast games failed commercially save for the Sonic games(and Sonic Adventure 2 underperformed, last time I remembered) and Shenmue 1(which also underperformed).

Jet Set Radio, Skies of Arcadia and such, bombed hard and dissapointed.

Funny how they also get starry-eyed about Dreamcast, but never...ever mention that one fact.

[Happy Cat]

Yeah, this is an older video, but the stuff they say is still pretty good.

"It's like the last ten years have been like watching someone stuff my old pet and move it around like a marionette and saying 'Why aren't you laughing? Why don't you think it's funny?' Well, I don't think it's funny because you're ruining everything."

That's a pretty rude thing for them to say =P

[Sieghardt]

I'd like to point out though, these websites do not usually know a lot about finances, I've seen people mix up operating profit and net profit when reporting for IGN, Gamespot etc, even though the two are vastly different things. Is it really that hard to understand a company's fiscal report?

they've never taken a single class in accounting, that's for sure. one thing they NEVER seem to understand is assets. If sega INVEST $200m in a dozen games they'll just mindlessly report that as sega operating profits drop by $200m!

[max_cady]

It's funny how they also praised Capcom. Really? They gave Resident Evil 5, one of the best selling games of this generation, an average score(a 3/5) and called it a dissapointment.

[crackdude]

RE5 actually sucks. That isn't Resident Evil. It's not in the style of RE 1-3 and it's not as good as 4.

[cube_b3]

In the US? Just a footnote on Gamespot and barely a mention everywhere else on american outlets.

I still remember the time when some guy came to the SEGAnerds website who wrote one of those articles for IGN, claiming SEGA made less games now than they did during the Dreamcast days, even though I proved they make similar amount of console games.

Good times.

I'd like to point out though, these websites do not usually know a lot about finances, I've seen people mix up operating profit and net profit when reporting for IGN, Gamespot etc, even though the two are vastly different things. Is it really that hard to understand a company's fiscal report?

I remember your best point being it takes more time to make games today, but my question to you now is that how can Nagoshi release a new Yakuza game every year?

Yet, Makota Uchida, Yu Suzuki, Noriyoshi Oba and I can go on with the name of Sega producers, that aren't producing games.

While Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Atushi Seimiya etc have left Sega, others are confined to horrible jobs at Sammy. Seriously, Hisao Oguchi hasn't made a new game since the merger. I think Sega can go back to being Sega, if Sega just gives these fine people their autonomy back. Scratch a deal like they did with Naka and set them free. They won't be second party studios, but then again they will be able to be innovative and Sega won't have to bare the risks if their games fail.

Keep Nagoshi and Sonic Team in-house, let everyone else fly.
______________________________

I don't agree with X-Play's idea of Sega licencing IP's, Golden Axe, Alien Syndrome, Streets of Rage, and any other IP I can think of being developed without the core team has looked terrible, did anyone even see the horrible Bottle Rocket SOR4 designs!

That said, I wouldn't mind Sumo Digital developing a game based on a Sega IP, becuase they have proved they are willing to work with the orignal creators of the game, rather than act all independent and ruin a classic.

[Sega Uranus]

Not sure about Alien Syndrome, but Makoto Uchida helped the development on Beast Rider.

[cube_b3]

Just because he is in the documentary discussing the early days, doesn't mean he helped.

In that very documentary he said, the only Golden Axe sequel I've ever made is Revenge of Death Adder. Then he went on to praise Secret Level of how super they are (even though they were a terrible studio) and then the lead designer of Golden Axe, says that making the new GA:BR is a collabrative effort.

This is what we call PR talk, the only true involvement Makato Uchida has with Golden Axe was in Superstar Tennis, as SOL revealed the entire model of Gilius came from Makato Uchida's office.

Now that I can believe, he didn't say Uchida helped, he said the model came from him.