[Above is SEGA Australia’s pre-alpha prototype pitch for Golden Axe remake under their label ‘SEGA Reborn’]
SEGA Australia isn’t known as the type of studio that had too many hits, but it seemed that the team was finally hitting their stride with the Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse remake that is coming out in early September. Sadly that will be the studio’s last game, since it was announced that they will be closing by the end of the year.
Seems that the studio pitched for a series of remakes, most notably ‘Golden Axe’ and all to be in a new label called ‘SEGA Reborn’. That’s not all though, the company thought that all these classics should take place in the same universe. Yes, we are talking about Marvel movie treatment with retro games. That would mean that a game like Out Run takes place hundreds of years after Golden Axe.
Much like its remake of Castle of Illusion, they where open to going in and adding new content and fixing issues the originals had. Some of the other games they talked about remaking included Streets of Rage and Shinobi. Hit the jump to see video of the ‘Golden Axe’ remake that the studio pitched to SEGA.
The above footage is pre-alpha and was intended only to demonstrate what the actual game could look like.
Would you want to see classic SEGA games remade and share the same universe?
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A true faithful remake, unbelieveable and looks way better than the SOR crap other studios have pitched to Sega. As I was discussing with George, Sega got Sonic from with in.
Yuji Naka was effectively born and raised in Sega (Sega was his first job and he didn’t even go to Grad School). Sega keeps buying shitty studios and recruiting established game designers and with the exception of Creative Assembly and Sports Interactive. Things always turn to shit.
PLEASE SEGA BELIEVE IN YOURSELF AND GROOM YOUNG TALENT AND STOP CHASING ESTABLISHED GARBAGE!
Death Adder looks mighty fine sitting on that throne…
This looks pretty cool.
I just noticed the game was supposed to support 4-Players!
This made my day completely. No way in hell they can cancel this brand. This could be the new SEGA AGES 2500 but with improvements! YEAH!
@cube 🙁 Relic is turning out fine, watchu talkin bout?!
Dear boy, I know you are a fan of Relic but I am not. I am a Sega fan from a decade ago. I don’t care about business decisions I just hate it every time Sega invests in an established studio.
It should either be invested on grooming upcoming talent or on former Sega studios to make alliances. Such as they did with Prope. I much rather Sega invest in Q Entertainment, YS.Net, Premium Agency, or Paon.
I am openly biased and I know what I suggest is probably not good business advice, but I am not Sega’s accountant hence I hate most if not all the acquired studios.
For starters, referring to Taro as “dear boy” is condescending. Don’t be an ass to the guy.
Second, you seem to be positive towards CA and Sports Interactive, yet you hate Relic? Why?
So… you are against SEGA West making smart business decisions like acquiring established studios that make quality games, and would rather they restrict themselves to only the people they have on staff from some magical period of time when SEGA staff were injected with “SEGA DNA” making them somehow better than any other game dev because their ass sat in a chair at SEGA during the glory days?
I should note that were talking SEGA West here and yet you’re mentioning all these former SEGA Japan devs. SOrry, but SEGA West isn’t going to invest in Prope or YS.Net given SEGA West is focusing on the US and Europe, not Japan.
I am glad you noted that you are openly biased, and that your suggestions are bad business moves. Because I totally agree with you on that.
Barry, honestly, I’ve somewhat kept up with you from your Junkyard/Memories days, so understand that I’m familiar with articles you’ve written on a variety of Sega-related topics, but I honestly don’t understand why you’re so passionate about defending the current business side of Sega. As much as I’ve seen you type of the nostalgic articles, I’ve seen you make articulate defenses of the more conservatively business-oriented modern model of Sega, even to the point of defending some very mediocre titles and an comparatively mediocre company.
I don’t get it. What is there for you, as a consumer, to gain by deflecting commentary that criticizes a negative trend in the company’s internal creativity? I don’t think that Sega would enjoy a fraction of the continued interest they currently have were it not for the fact that they share the legacy of a company that focused on gaming as a creative endeavor equally as much as (if not occasionally moreso than) a business endeavor.
That’s not to say that business wasn’t always a/the primary factor, but it certainly didn’t used to get in the way of creative decisions like it does today. Look, I understand that they and everybody else has to be careful these days, and I understand that no company is going to stay the same forever — however, as the creative identity that they built in their prime continues to rot, it’s not helping fans to wave the “BUSINESS” banner every time the company makes a decision that underwhelms its fan base.
And yes, I recognize that there are the occasional black sheep like Valkyria Chronicles and arcade releases, but these do not constitute an overarching creative identity. Cube makes a good point — why isn’t Sega trying harder to bring something new to the table like they did in the past? Do we really want to support business decisions even when they are (though often quality) underwhelming in comparison to the precedent set by the company in the past? I don’t wanna shout “Sega! Sega! Rah, rah, rah!” as they make decisions which bore and underwhelm me as a fan.
Honestly? I think CA, Relic, and Sports Interactive are great studios. Coming from a SEGA West side of things, I’d much prefer output from these studios than the licensed crap we had with Marvel and Aliens: CM. If SEGA West really wants to release licensed titles, then allow competent studios, preferably in-house devs, to work on the titles. I am really looking forward to CA’s Aliens title, as it is right in line with how I had hoped the company would function.
As for answering for myself as a consumer, you have to understand that I’m coming at this as a fan who has a pretty deep understanding of what the company is going through and where they’ve been. While I’d love a Shenmue 3 or another Jet Set Radio – and I should again note these are SEGA Japan properties and SEGA Japan decisions to develop – I guess I’m just more of a realist when it comes to what I expect from the Western side of SEGA.
I found ’04 to ’08 to be quite abysmal, with bad Western re-imaginings of Japanese IPs, several awful licensed titles, and poorly executed digital titles. ’09 to now has really felt like a step up for the company. Not near the highs of the Dreamcast era, but far from what we saw in ’04 to ’08.
And given the recent financial reports, it appears these recent changes are working. I’d rather support a cautious, but steadily growing SEGA than a throw caution to the wind, doesn’t give a shit about wether a risky venture will sink them SEGA.
I’m an optimist. I simply feel that smart business moves, and more money, could allow for more risks and experimentation in the future.
Please don’t be rude to Barry people!
Barry I Did not mean to be an ass I apologize.
I am not really a fan of Creative Assembly or Sports Interactive, never played any of their games. I know CA helped set up Sega Studios Australia though.
Plenty of Western studios Sega West can invest in almost all the former STI developers made their own studios and many made great games like Luxoflox/Isopod Labs by Peter Moriawec, we got some great talent in Europe as No Cliche Fredrick Raynal got screwed by Sega pretty bad.
It is just my opinion Barry, I want a Sega that nurtures young talent or invests in their alumni’s rather than buying out established successful properties.
Simon Jeffery and Bernie Stolar happen when Sega recruits established names, when they promote from with in we get Mike Hayes and Peter Moore.
But as mentioned these are just opinions, grounded in fandom.
It’s cool that you’re at least open to admitting your thoughts are coming from a fandom side of things. I encounter a lot of people who let their fandom take over rational arguments, which never ends well.
I’m sometimes asked why I don’t hound SEGA for games I really truly want in articles, or why when I visited SEGA of America I didn’t grill them on Shenmue 3. To be honest, it’s just not me. I have to recognize that to be successful in the fansite world, you sometimes have to restrain the crazy fan side of yourself so you can work closely with the company you love. I realize that the people I am in contact with at SEGA are folks just like any of us doing their jobs. I’m not going to “confront” them when I meet them, I’m going to try and be nice and professional. I find one gets farther that way rather than scaring people off acting like a SEGA lunatic.
This attitude of yours is very inspiring. You always handle yourself maturely and I agree that fans can be crazy.
But it is equally important to point out something you feel is wrong. I watch TYT on YouTube it is a left wing news channel and the hosts are pro-democrats and support Obama but they never shy away from denouncing him for his short comings and lies.
I feel me being vocal about Sega nurturing talent and investing in alumni is important, perhaps it would be better if I did it on the right platform. But I don’t really have access to a platform. Over the last 2 years since my departure I have largely kept my views to myself, but since I am briefly back on Bits I have resumed sharing my views.
certainly, yes, I do not mind being Sega’s accountant one day?
videogames wize, I don’t mind castle of illusion on the sonic to do some programmings.
I really hope this dream wil come true.. All my favorite games, Streets of rage, Shinobi, Out Run, Super Hang-on, Space Harrier, Golden Axe… this would blow Sega right to the top where it belongs !
Always felt SEGA should have kept SEGA Studios Australia open for one more game and make them do a digital title after seeing how Castle of Illusion is coming along.
Alas, c’est la vie.
Looks as good as the OutRun and After Burner revivals from AM2 really.
Awesome stuff
Whe should make a petition that sega has to keep sega australia. This game is awesome.
I guess this is why they got to do the Castle of Illusion remake.
Look man this looks great, honestly if they can make this and slap some depth on it ( random loot drops, plenty of levels and character growth) this game could be the true rebirth of a series….but I want PSO 2 wtf is it?!?!?!?!?
Depth does not have to equal to rpg stats and loot :/ Depth is such a lazy term, what is depth? My take woul rather be a geuine good fighting system, score system anything except soemthing that would artificially stretch the game length like grinding for lvl’s. Don’t get me wrong Dragon’s Crown turned out as a great game, but it would’ve been better following a more strict arcade template imo.
I liked this pitched video, seems a great deal better then the Bare Knuckle/Streets of Rage remake pitch video. But imo it seems to much catered to the first part of Golden Axe. Where’s The Revenge of Death Adder influence? Which is the greatest Golden Axe game at the moment.
I have to say that I genuinly enjoyed the Shinobi 3DS entry, great title focused on fast paced action, no enemy sponges, no superfluous juggles to make it another kid trying to be DMC cool. Jut great directed action, with stuff great action set pieces throughout well designed stages with competent enemy placement. I miss that stuff, people resort to much on the metroidvania trope these days with stages designed for bactracking.
I always wanted a Sword of Vermillion remake. How about na E-SWAT reboot that plays just like “Metroidvania”? That would be great, it takes place in a prison in space, at each and every sector of the game you discover new armors and powers, including the ability to fly just like E-SWAT on MD. I hope to see more!
It is really upsetting that it had to end this way, but I have heard much of the staff is being moved back into The Creative Assembly and HardLight, so the mentality put into these SEGA Reborn efforts can still live on.
The biggest shame with this being scrapped is that SEGA is losing their identity and higher-ups have very little interest in supporting their legacy. I feel that after this, things can only get worse.
This is bullshit, but I never expected another Illusion game to ever happen in my life, so I guess I am satisfied enough to a degree. Hopefully it sells wonderfully and has SEGA reconsider their outlook. I have been saying for years that something like the Revenge of Death=Adder would sell incredibly, and I think a solid re-imagining of Golden Axe has even more potential.
You think Australians can just move to Engalnd?
What about their families and friends?
I have not read of any employee transfer and I do not find it practical.
A large portion of them are ex-Creative Assembly UK people. So I’d imagine it’s not a big issue.
Besides, people moving for work is the norm in this industry.
lol stumbled upon your site trying to reference this leaked vid for my LinkedIn! I actually wrote the reborn universe and pitches, along with the concept for GAX and directing the above demo!
Not sure how all this leaked but I do know all that worked on it are sad at the lost opportunity… but seeing the reaction from fans like yourself puts a massive smile on my face and I’m sure all my ex-colleagues at sega oz, hope you folks enjoy COI!
Please adopt this whole project’s idea and let it happen. It’ d be fantastic if Golden Axe, Shinobi, Altered Beast took a new revamp. Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
another remake? seriously, pls just make a direct sequel or prequel to the other original story. No, not a reboot. I know the other reboot was terrible
YES! Bring on the Sega Reborn,I for one would be putting money down on them games as soon as they hit the shelves!