SEGA has released their latest financial report for fiscal year March 2021, which reads as an English language PDF you can view for yourself here. There is a lot to sift through here, and we hope to have another article breaking the report down soon, but of interest to fans of SEGA’s past titles there is an interesting slide.
On slide 52, the utilization of IP assets is discussed. The slide, seen above, gives examples of both active and dormant IPs and suggests the possibility or remastering (converting past titles
to HD), remaking (the addition of new features while maintaining gameplay of the original game) or rebooting (reconstructing to a new game while maintaining look and feel of the world of the IP). Now, this is NOT confirming that any of the listed IPs will see any of these three avenues but it is exciting to see SEGA considering it and putting these franchises at the forefront.
Examples of active IP
- Phantasy Star
- Sonic
- Total War
- Football Manager
- Ryu ga Gotoku (YAKUZA)
- Persona
- Megami Tensei etc.
Examples of past IP groups (Including dormant IPs)
- Crazy Taxi
- Jet Set Radio
- Space Channel 5
- Rez
- Panzer Dragoon
- NiGHTS
- Shinobi
- Virtua Fighter
- Altered Beast
- House of the Dead
- Streets of Rage
- Soul Hackers etc.
It’s worth pointing out that SEGA has already done, or will do, one of the three R’s to the above franchises. There is a remaster of Sonic Colors in the works, Yakuza saw a light reboot by way of Like a Dragon featuring a new protagonist and genre, Space Channel 5 saw a VR sequel, Virtua Fighter will be seeing an esports focused release of the 5th game, Panzer Dragoon and The House of the Dead has and will soon receive remakes, Streets of Rage saw a full-on sequel.
What would you like to see from the list above? A Jet Set Radio Future remaster? A Crazy Taxi 4?
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1. Ryu Ga Gotoku 1&2 for Switch (Yakuza 1&2 remaster from the PS3 and Wii U. If you’re unable to make ports of the existing games, port these over and get Nintendo fans in on the action. They love Bayonetta, why not Yakuza?
2. Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 deserve remakes from the ground up, and SonicTeam needs ALL the time and budget they need or it will be bad.
3. BRING JET SET RADIO FUTURE TO PC AND CONSOLES PLEEEEASE ITS ALMOST 2024 THE YEAR IT TAKES PLACE IN
The Sonic Adventure series was designed exclusively for the Dreamcast, that’s the whole point of why it used the Chao gardens to show off the Dreamcast VMU card which no other hardware had.
Ports are fine but there’s just no sense in making a Sonic Adventure 3 unless it was for the Dreamcast again. Plus, Sonic Unleashed was what was left of the original Sonic Adventure 3, a very early version of it at least which was planed for Dreamcast in the conception stage, that’s why its real name is called Sonic World Adventure outside of America, and it has Chip with Sonic in concept artwork using the Dreamcast.
Jet Set Radio Future uses a lot of licensed third party songs, so it’s never going to happen unless Sega is able to get them back first, which is less likely as it would have been already, it’s the same story with Space Channel 5 Part 2, either that or Sega takes out that content and replaces it with something else, like it did with the original Crazy Taxi ports and that didn’t work out so well for some because it didn’t use the Offspringer tracks from the Dreamcast/Naomi version.
Switch is never going to get a Ryu Ga Gotoku release, totally wrong market and the Switch is made by Nintendo, not Sega, so it’s even less likely, as Nintendo doesn’t want that kind of Sega content on its own platform, and they tried it with the WiFi U once and it didn’t even get 1k units in sales, making it clear Nintendo platforms and Sega products like Yakuza/Ryu Ga Gotaku are a bad mix.
So it’s nothing to do with Sega, it’s the platform holder, and they set the policies.
Even Sony turned Sega down once when they first made Yakuza/Ryu Ga Gotoku until Sega persistently kept at it and demanded it and they eventually gave way and it ended up doing quite well, but Sega no longer considered it an exclusive anymore it has gone beyond that but even Sega clearly know where it is not wanted.
Agree the Sekaikan of Sonic Adventure was just too Dreamcasty to be just translated into a a jon- Dreamcast production, the Dreamcast is fundamentally a part of it and even the ports lost that sekaikan. They’d have to do something like Sonic Unleashed again because it’ll never live up to what it could have been on Dreamcast, at the end of the day what is a Sonic Adventure itself and why is that series of the franchise so revered as it is, it’s nostalgia for the Dreamcast ultimately, it’s a hard sell outside of that paradigm.
Personally hoping for more Streets of Rage stuff and something Shinobi maybe, they’re are so many classic 16 Bit franchises the missed the boat with, Shinobi could have done something like Tecmo did with their Ninja Gaiden franchise but made it more Sega style. I think they can build on these still, the new Streets of Rage 4 is still getting big support and doing well, they built on the original, instead of 80s/90s Street gangs and bikers they made extreme left wing fascist Antifa SJW types as a lot of the enemies and had the son and daughter of Mr X – the Y Twins control things, and now there is new Streets of Rage 4 DLC out soon. Sega will be announcing something Sonic related at some point for the 30th anniversary celebration but yhere’s already a Sonic Colours remaster in the works too.
What does sekaikan mean?
‘Sekaikan’ (which is ‘Romaji’, or ‘世界観’ as it would be in Kanji form). It’s part of a handful of critical words some might find in everyday speech about that doesn’t seem to show up in English. That makes some wonder with no clear answer, whether the concept has any importance among the English-speaking world or if they simply haven’t found the equivalent. Much like the word “tempo” which has a specific Japanese meaning in certain contexts, that you won’t see used in English.
Its hard for some to explain “sekaikan.” It can be easily translated sure. Like ‘World view’, ‘viewpoint’, ‘style’ or even ‘opinion’ could be more than acceptable. And it’s commonly used in those forms and meanings. But as you might know there can be a subtler nuance to a word that just can’t break through the language of translation and a real grasp of the word can express things that a simpler literal meaning doesn’t get across. In this way, ‘sekaikan’ has a way of meaning the view points of things from the position of the absolute thing itself that implies a kind of insight into something.
For instance, one example cited – consider a fist crashing through a weak wall. The person using the fist has a viewpoint, a world view. And the person on the other side of the wall – if there is one – who sees the wall fall apart and the fist crash through, also has a viewpoint and a world view. But instead of considering the viewpoint of one, the other or both through a certain lens of style, a sekaikan is like looking at the action through the action itself, as the fist and the wall crashing, from that point of view and style. The sound of the wall crashing, the veins throbbing in the fist, what the fist looks like, how it feels to strike down the wall, the motion of striking down the wall, all these things are part of the sekaikan of this situation.
So sekaikan is like an intuited (as opposed to rationalised) aspect of a situation (or in this case, game) which are “truest” in comparison to only the aspects of the situation itself, using a fist through a wall situation, it’s the “essence” of not only the action of the fist going through the wall, but also of the fist, the wall, the bricks in the wall, the coiled fingers on the hand, the mortar loosely holding the bricks together, the bones and veins and muscle and skin making up the hand, etc, etc, therefore, not only the action, but all participants of the action, and all sub-strata of the participants of the action, ad infinitum. Obviously it might defy rationalisation – you’d get some fractral that goes on forever, so, it must be intuited, felt instead of thought. Sekaikan is not only the inclusion of all these elements and their elements and their element’s elements, etc, but also of the exclusion of any perceptor–there is no accepted observer. It is only the action, the causes and the effects, and how they relate in pure, unfiltered form. In a matter of alt speaking.
*Yes Tetsuya Mizuguchi (also of Sega Rally fame as a producer) has since moved on from Sega but as it’s officially Sega made IP, Sega should still be able to make it backward compatible, the re-released it in 2011 for various platforms including the 360 and that was years after Tetsuya left by 2004 after he announced he was retiring from Sega in 2003 due to Sega’s changing restructure merger with Sammy as he was unhappy with the change in corporate culture it brought and his in-house Sega studio – United Game Artists being a casualty of that merger with staff being reshuffled into the new Sonic Team studio in Sega, although he has said he would be interested in working on a Rez sequel if Sega is.
Though the original Dreamcast Rez release on XBL is still not delisted and still available to download if you still have the 360.
As well as Rez HD, other Sega titles still not backwards compatible that aren’t delisted are;
* Renegade Ops.
* Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead rabbit.
* Space Channel 5 Part 2.
* Sega Rally Revo (2007).
* Aliens: Colonial Marines.
* Alpha Protocol.
* Sega and Sonic All Stars racing.
* Condemned 2: Bloodshot.
* Virtua Tennis 2009.
* Resonance of Fate.
* Sega Soccer Slam.
* Full Auto.
Ect.
There’s also others which have been delisted for obvious reasons (licence issues) like Outrun Online Arcade. There was also Sega Rally 3 Which was renamed as Sega Rally Online Arcade which has been delisted since, which is strange because Sega Rally Revo (which was a remake of the original that came in 2007) is still available to download on 360 today so that’s probably less to do with a license issue.
They also delisted the original Virtua Fighter 5 release (probably due to Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown) which has a lot of content Final Showdown doesn’t have, like the quest mode.
A Remake of Popful Mail For the Sega CD would be nice give an Taxman and stealth Treatment
A few years ago also I remember one Sega Europe guy said that they had Skies of Arcadia in mind to re-release as a port on the 360, this must have been about 2012 now, but nothing ever came of that, but it was the most Sega ever talked about it since, until the director of the cult Dreamcast game said he wants to see it get a sequel and also gave dome insight into the Skies of Arcadia track for Sega and Sonic all stars racing transformed.
SEGA doesn’t own Popful Mail!!!!
Don’t get why fans go on about Popful Mail so much, seems to be an American thing only, what’s so good about it?
It’s like Masamoto Morita, who was at Sega and worked the arcade divisions and described the rivalry with console divisions, and on Saturn, the Dreamcast, different arcade boards and their uses, was there when Steven Spielberg visited Sega, and also worked on Dororo despite the Manga being censored as Well as working on Die Hard Arcade etc.
“Another thing, Japanese games seem to share more with European games. The American games don’t share anything directly. In Japan we want others to “please understand me”, without talking. We are rather implicit. But maybe with Europeans, to share ideas, we don’t have to talk. We do not explicitly explain what we want. We think we can share the feelings. But with Americans, we have to give them explicit explanations”.
Plus Popful Mail is a good Mega CD game. But it was given certain localisation priorities, at one point in America they tried to make the protagonist of Popful Mail as the sister of Sonic, which would have completely re-written everything.
I’m surprised Sega hasn’t bothered to make Rez HD backwards compatible yet on the Xbox Live platform so that it can be used on the Xbox One and Xbox Series X instead of just the Xbox 360, what’s with that, is it not a Sega IP anymore?
As well as that, there’s also Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit – which they did with Arkedo, this can’t be a license issue because it’s still possible to download on a 360 from the Xbox store, the same with Space Channel 5 Part 2 too.
And Renegade Ops also, while lots of other Sega titles have gotten the treatment, there’s plenty more yet that still haven’t, and they’ve had since 2013 to get them done which is a very easy task to do.
It’s still their IP AFAIK, but the visionary behind it hasn’t been with the company for years. PS: You can get Rez VR for Steam if that interests you.
Yes Tetsuya Mizuguchi (also of Sega Rally fame as a producer) has since moved on from Sega but as it’s officially Sega made IP, Sega should still be able to make it backward compatible, the re-released it in 2011 for various platforms including the 360 and that was years after Tetsuya left, it’s not delisted and still available to download if you still have the 360.
Other Sega titles still not backwards compatible that aren’t delisted are;
* Renegade Ops.
* Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead rabbit.
* Space Channel 5 Part 2.
* Sega Rally Revo (2007).
* Aliens: Colonial Marines.
* Alpha Protocol.
* Sega and Sonic All Stars racing.
* Condemned 2: Bloodshot.
* Virtua Fighter 2009.
* Resonance of Fate.
* Sega Soccer Slam.
* Full Auto.
Ect.
There’s also others which have been delisted for obvious reasons (licence issues) like Outrun Online Arcade. There was also Sega Rally 3 Which was renamed as Sega Rally Online Arcade which has been delisted since, which is strange because Sega Rally Revo (which was a remake of the original that came in 2007) is still available to download on 360 today so that’s probably less to do with a license issue.
*Yes Tetsuya Mizuguchi (also of Sega Rally fame as a producer) has since moved on from Sega but as it’s officially Sega made IP, Sega should still be able to make it backward compatible, the re-released it in 2011 for various platforms including the 360 and that was years after Tetsuya left by 2004 after he announced he was retiring from Sega in 2003 due to Sega’s changing restructure merger with Sammy as he was unhappy with the change in corporate culture it brought and his in-house Sega studio – United Game Artists being a casualty of that merger with staff being reshuffled into the new Sonic Team studio in Sega, although he has said he would be interested in working on a Rez sequel if Sega is.
Though the original Dreamcast Rez release on XBL is still not delisted and still available to download if you still have the 360.
As well as Rez HD, other Sega titles still not backwards compatible that aren’t delisted are;
* Renegade Ops.
* Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead rabbit.
* Space Channel 5 Part 2.
* Sega Rally Revo (2007).
* Aliens: Colonial Marines.
* Alpha Protocol.
* Sega and Sonic All Stars racing.
* Condemned 2: Bloodshot.
* Virtua Tennis 2009.
* Resonance of Fate.
* Sega Soccer Slam.
* Full Auto.
Ect.
There’s also others which have been delisted for obvious reasons (licence issues) like Outrun Online Arcade. There was also Sega Rally 3 Which was renamed as Sega Rally Online Arcade which has been delisted since, which is strange because Sega Rally Revo (which was a remake of the original that came in 2007) is still available to download on 360 today so that’s probably less to do with a license issue.
They also delisted the original Virtua Fighter 5 release (probably due to Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown) which has a lot of content Final Showdown doesn’t have, like the quest mode.
Also for whatever reason, Sega Superstars Tennis is also completely delisted as well.
jet set radio isnt happening unless its a remake and even then probably not the fans never showed up when the original got ported
Tbh I’m tired of seeing people moaning about Jet Set Radio Future, when like Outrun (needs the Ferrari licence) it’s not going to be possible unless Sega can re-acquire the licesences for certain songs they included from non-Sega artists, because then if Sega just remaster it they’ll just piss and moan that it’s not been included when they do re-release it without them or new content because then the nostalgic factor for them is gone. Can’t please all all of the time.
They did quite a good job with the first JSR remaster, I think there were only a couple of songs they didn’t get for that one. Most of the soundtracks for those games were created in-house IIRC, there were only a few licensed tracks and IMO some of the licensed ones didn’t really fit well.
it failed the so called fans werent around to buy it when it came out and it wasnt a remaster it was just a port and added widescreen
IIRC?
What does that mean?
IIRC = If I Recall Correctly.
A new single player, mature themed Phantasy Star is in order. I’ve only been waiting 25 years.
AGREED!
Would love to a re-release of the Sega Saturn title – Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner (1995), it’s about time.
I thought that got a 2005 re-release didn’t it?
But not in English, and with worse soundtrack.
I’d like them to port Sega Superstar Tennis to PC (it even got an Apple Mac port but not PC!).
Oh and After Burner Climax on PC (without using a somewhat dodgy arcade loader) would be nice. Though Sega would need to relicense the planes again (the main reason why the game keeps coming and going from online stores).
As well as every other game that hasn’t been posted/could have a sequel 😂
I can haz Shining Force IV?
6 Scenarios across 10 discs maybe? 😀
Sakura Wars and Valkyria Chronicles R.I.P. … AGAIN !!!
Just give us a mind blowing Space Harrier III FFS
Sega make new arcade games all the time but they rarely get covered here or in media in general, it’s always just home console stuff. They did an official Space Harrier sequel in 2001 called Planet Harriers and I few re-made re-releases of it I think, but it barely gets a mention, it’s like arcades are an entirely a different industry all together, which is kind of a loss as Sega prioritises arcades games.
Will the new Sakura Wars ever come to Xbox Live? I’m sure this wou,d be the most sensible thing to do if they want to move away from this restrictive platform centric approach like they’ve been saying and have just done with the Yakuza series which they no longer consider a platform exclusive any more, and they’ve just done it with Judgement as well and the new Judgement sequel.
You know that it would be very nice if Dark Wizard for the Sega CD got a HD remake or a release on one of the current consoles.
SEGA doesn’t own Rez anymore. The dude who made it does who makes Lumines.
They will likely have to pay the guy to revive it otherwise.
Sega does own Rez, it’s their IP, the rereleases are outsourced licenses which Sega has officially granted, and if you look at this recent presentation, Sega officially listed Rez on their dormant list as Sega owned property.
I would sell my mother for OUTRUN 3!
No need for that. Plus Sega has already said it is interested in Outrun 3 already, but like a lot of things in the industry and with a lot of Sega’s dormant IPs like Jet Set Radio, it comes down to corporate politics with the licensing issues, first Sega needs to re-acquire the Ferrari license which takes time.