SEGA Europe

SEGA hints Sonic 25th Anniversary game could be inspired by classic games

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ClassicSonicSEGA really has changed the way they handle PR for their Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, admitting to wrongs and promising a brighter future for the franchise. So far they are keeping that promise and recently went as far as delaying Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice into 2016 (shall see if its a better game for it).

The other day Marketing Week interviewed SEGA Europe’s marketing director Jon Rooke who also admitted to Sonic the Hedgehog‘s recent poor track record of games and suggested that the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog game will be “more inspired by how it played in its heyday.”

“Sega has publicly apologised to the fans as the quality of console games in the Sonic franchise hasn’t been acceptable over recent years. It’s been tough translating that iconic side scrolling 2D experience from the 90s into 3D but Sonic is still huge for us so the new games will be more inspired by how it played in its heyday.” – Jon Rooke, SEGA Europe Marketing Director

Honestly this isn’t the first time I have been hearing call backs to Sonic’s heyday, they do it with marketing trailers all the time. I guess we shall see soon enough if this is all just talk.

[Via: TSSZNews]

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SEGA on PC ports: “So many games, so little time! Stay tuned.”

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A couple of years ago a ton of SEGA fans started up the #SEGAPCPorts hashtag and petition demanding for SEGA to release more of its games on their platform of choice. It seemed to have worked since we got surprises like “new” title The Typing of the Dead: Overkill and last year we got the fantastic port of Valkyria Chronicles.

Since the last PC port happen last year and we got a new restructure in April, a fan decided to ask SEGA if they where still doing PC ports:

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SEGA is not leaving the console market

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I just want to take this time to tell you guys the truth, not the half truths and not some clickbait articles that mainstream media have been passing around. I usually ignore this talk of ‘SEGA is dead’ or ‘SEGA is going out of business’ because this has been talked about in the mainstream media since the late-90’s and I just assumed  we were over these types of things. We are on the internet, I assumed someone would have pointed out fabrications if there where any and it seems not many have.

So is SEGA going to stop supporting consoles with games? The answer is: No. Here is what the statement from SEGA-Sammy said:

Local organizations managing packaged game software in Western markets will be streamlined. In the U.S. Sega of America Inc. based in San Francisco will be relocated to Southern California by this summer and its existing office in San Francisco will be closed, thereafter, which results in reducing fixed expenses, mainly in corporate functions. 

SEGA has stated that they want to focus more on digital games and PC due to the area having a bigger profit margin and considering there are over a 125 million active users on Steam and a billion plus market on phones, do you really blame them? Focusing on digital titles doesn’t mean that they aren’t making console ‘packaged software’. Nowhere in their press release did it say they were going to stop making console titles. If anything, they literally announced that they were bringing Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax to the West two days prior to this restructure announcement and a bit before that they announced Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX for 3DS.

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3D Streets of Rage 2 gets rated in Australia, could come to your 3DS soon

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SEGA’s 3D Classics on the 3DS eShop seem to be a hit, at least enough so for the company to bring more obscure titles to the platform (like 3D Thunder Blade). Recently ‘3D Streets of Rage 2‘ was submitted in Australia for rating, a game that hasn’t been announced yet. As you can see, the developer is being listed as M2, the same developer that has done the past 3D Classics and the game was submitted by SEGA Europe.

Don’t be surprised if SEGA announces the game soon, along with some really nice extra features to add to the overall experience. Online co-op, please!

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SEGA Europe releases the pilot episode of their new video series, SEGA Central

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SEGA Europe’s YouTube series SEGA Central, announced yesterday, has just released the pilot episode of the behind the scenes series. The first episode takes place at March’s EGX Rezzed event, and covers games that were on the show floor there including Alien: Isolation, Total War: Rome II, the Western Front Armies DLC released for Company of Heroes 2, and Football Manager 2014. Overall a decent first episode, though very much a Europe centric show. Here’s hoping future episodes take a look at SEGA games in other parts of the world and that they try and include a few exclusives. 30 seconds of Sonic Boom gameplay, for example, would have been epic.

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SEGA Europe introduces SEGA Central, a web series that takes you behind the scenes at SEGA

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SEGA Europe will be launching a web series titled “SEGA Central” on YouTube to show off news and inside media. Not only news on their upcoming titles but DLC and retrospective of classic SEGA titles as well.

The series will also include exclusive behind the scenes of SEGA events, developer interviews, tours within the company, let play guides, speed run attempts and more!

The date of the pilot episode is unknown at this time, but we will be sure to give more info on the series when it surfaces.

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SEGA says they’re ready for next generation consoles, concern over Wii U sales and more!

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JurgenPost
Recently MCV had an interview with SEGA Europe’s COO Jurgen Post where they talked to him about SEGA’s future and their restructuring. If you guys noticed in their last financial statement, the company is doing well now. According to Jurgen Post, SEGA is very prepared for next generation because they have so much invested on the PC market:

” The next-gen console market is exciting and we are following it closely. We have a lot of PC studios, and in that sense you might say we are very prepared. If, as many say, these next-gen machines really are more like PCs than ever then we have a lot to take advantage of in terms of technology. The PC base certainly makes it feel much easier for us.” – Jurgen Post, COO of SEGA Europe

He even talked about porting some RTS titles in the future, stating that even exclusives like Diablo III are jumping ship. I guess we will see. Even though right now the only ‘next generation’ console they are supporting is the Wii U, which has Post a bit concerned.

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SEGA says Sonic the Hedgehog can be ‘the next Hello Kitty’

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Now that SEGA has decided to focus on fewer titles, some of their bigger IPs like Sonic the Hedgehog will be getting more attention. What is in store for Sonic? It means signing up more third parties to make Sonic toys, clothing and other gear you might not need but will want to buy anyway.

“Sonic is a well-known character, but we’ve got a lot of room to grow in merchandising . We dream of Hello Kitty. We’re still far off from that but we can see that our profits are growing year on year in the US and Europe [on merchandising]. We’ve got a licensing team on the ground in the UK who are focusing on that and that team will expand. We’ve got a team in the US and which will also expand. We used to run it all out of Sega of Japan, but having people on the ground is making a big difference. We will always do the computer game but the merchandising is a very important aspect to Sonic.” – Jurgen Post, COO of SEGA Europe

In a way I’m glad that SEGA is putting their name out there more. I used to love going to stores and seeing Sonic the Hedgehog stuff everywhere. But then again, who wants to see everyone’s favorite blue blur get whored out? Who wants to see useless collector items like a ‘Sonic the Hedgehog chainsaw’? Funny that they also announced a Hello Kitty Sonic the Hedgehog themed doll a few nights ago.

 

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SEGA closes European and Australian offices

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Another sad day in SEGA land folks, SEGA has announced today that they will be closing their European and Australian offices. Koch Media will be the distribution partner for the European territories, except for Benelux, which will be handled by Level03 Distribution. Australia territory will be handled by 5 Star. SEGA UK will remain open as the European HQ. So it isn’t all that bad.

“SEGA is entering a new and exciting phase that will position the company as a content led organisation maximising sales with strong and balanced IP such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Total War, Football Manager and the Aliens franchise. The company will benefit from a clear focus and realigned strategy for our digital business and packaged goods and we are confident that this will lead to a successful future.” – COO of Sega Europe Jurgen Post

This goes with the rumor they sort of predicted during E3, only that the rumor wasn’t 100% right. Actually still think the guy just guessed and happen to hit some of the mark. What do you guys think? Is this ‘new and exciting phase’ for SEGA or is this bad?

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*UPDATE* Rumor: SEGA shutting down SEGA Europe, last console game to be shown at E3

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UPDATE: Community Manager at Sega of America Clumsyorchild and Studio director at Sports Interactive Miles Jacobson are tweeting that these rumors are false.

Wow. It’s that time of year; E3 is around the corner, and that means it’s time to see some  rumors. This one doesn’t sound too outrageous due to all the lay offs that happened a few months back. Not only that, SEGA Europe doesn’t have community managers. Does this mean SEGA Europe will be shutting down and that SEGA will stop making retail games? The rumor states that SEGA will focus on mobile and tablet games. It also says their last big AAA title will be announced at E3, and will be the Creative Assembly’s unannounced Alien game.

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SEGA Europe opens a Sonic Merchandise online store

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SEGA Europe have opened up an online shop so you can get your Sonic merchandise directly from SEGA themselves. The store has posters, collectibles and much more. If you aren’t from Europe, you can always go on the site and window shop. Check out the store here.

[Thanks: ミクのディルド]

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SEGA Europe gearing up for Sonic’s 20th with back-to-school merchandise

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2011’s the year that Sonic turns 20, and SEGA Europe’s making sure that everyone knows it. Heading to retailers in the UK and Ireland this summer are Sonic backpacks and other back-to-school stationery items. Several shops have already placed orders for the Blueprint-designed stationery, including WH Smith, Tesco, Debenhams, Morrisons, and Next.

“I believe there is still a vast untapped potential for licensing based on games, and we will see an increase in overall sales as more retailers start listing the stock and see the results in their sell-through numbers.”

-Sissel Henno, head of brand licensing for SEGA Europe

I imagine this is only the tip of the iceberg. Expect to hear much more about Sonic merchandise in the coming months, especially as his big 20th Anniversary game gets closer to release in the back quarter of this year.

[Source: MCV]

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SEGA Europe going on licensing blitz for Sonic’s 20th birthday

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Sonic is turning 20, that is a big number for any franchise, since Sonic is SEGA’s biggest franchise ever… you know they are going to do it big. SEGA Europe just expanded their license teams to get products out to you by Sonic’s 20th anniversary come June 23rd.

“We have some surprises lined up for Sonic’s anniversary. We’re working on a number of retail initiatives across different sectors. Ideally, we would like to tie in different merchandise to create a strong branded presence in stores. We want to team up with multi-territory partners in publishing, apparel and collectibles such as trading card games and stickers,” said Henno. “We also have interest in categories such as wheeled items, outdoor sporting goods and bedding in the UK and internationally.” – Sega Europe’s head of licensing Sissel Henno

SEGA’s licensing teams will be hitting trade shows to meet new potential partners. These trade shows include Brand Licensing Show in Budapest, Bologna Book Fair and Kazachok Licensing Show in Paris. We shall see what surprises SEGA has in store for Sonic’s birthday.

[Source: MCV]

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Yakuza 4 gets hostess trailer & demo date

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Those people that missed chatting up the hostess girls in Yakuza 3 will be glad to know that they are back for the fourth installment. Don’t believe us? Check out the trailer!

As for the demo, it will hit PSN on February 15th… if you are a Playstation Plus subscriber. For some reason, they thought it was a good thing to make this demo timed exclusive. Rest of us have to wait till February 22nd, a week later.

[Source: SEGA]

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