The weak arm becomes the weak finger: 300 Jobs cut at Sega America

[George]

Personally I think its part of a contract with that asian company that SOJ put out. Though why even bother announcing it at PAX? What happen? Why did they not bring it?

Personally think its because MMO and online games like that are on the way out. More people are playing MOBA games now and don't really want to play MMOs as they used to, even if free. Tho I think PSO 2 would have cornered a niche anime/Japanese market.

[Trippled]

Well Sega got a MOBA too...in Arcades.

And isn't Total War turning into a MOBA?

And Chaos Heroes Online got a JP localization from Sega.

Yeah, Sega got them MOBA's...they could turn PSO into a MOBA (I bet they would do that)


Tough I MMO's aren't waining in popularity, generic Korean MMO's still make good money...

[George]

I was talking mostly about the American market, MMOs have been on a decline for awhile. EA invested a shit ton of money into Bioware's Knight of the old Republic MMO and it was a total flop: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-05-08-ea-blames-star-wars-the-old-republic-subscribers-fall-on-casuals-leaving-game

Recently Bethesta's Elders Scrolls Online went free-to-play, doubt it will last online more than a year from this point forward.

These are two really large IPs in America and both have trouble finding success. I can see why people higher up in SEGA America might be a little scared to release it.

Yeah they have a MOBA in arcades, don't know if its good. The issue is everyone is doing mobas and its already crowded. SEGA waited too long, Blizzard might even have trouble getting their game to get as big of an audience as DOTA and LOL. Not to mention games like Smite, Heroes of Newerth, Infinite Crisis and more are announced all the time.

Another issue is SEGA is really bad at updating online games and doubt they can take updating/balancing the way Valve and Riot have with their games.

[Trippled]

Last time I heard that spefically Korean MMO's still do decently enough in the American/European market.

About that Arcade MOBA (which will never get ported anyway), we don't really know if any of the games Sega makes in Arcades are good...until they make lots of money, which means it's addicting, and in some ways good I guess.

Anywho, yeah the Online market for these games is tough and crowded. Tough I think Sega's got unique enough content to stand out...

And of course, Sega in the West has never really been proven to handle an Online games in a comptent way. In Japan tough I think, they are pretty good at it.

Square Enix announced Gunslinger Stratos (Team-based shooter) and Lords of Vermillion (MOBA) for PC...and Namco Bandai has Rise of Incarnicates going currently, and some F2P (probably Action-RPG) coming out for Wii U.

It just got me thinking how the Japanese market is changing on PC, and what Sega could/will do in the future. It's interresting.

[Happy Cat]

FFXIV is apparently doing really well in the west, and its a monthly pay to play. PSO2 would of been free to play. I think it would of done well. If they ever do still decide to bring it west I'll definitely play it. In the mean time, I might check out the FFXIV free Trial and see what all the hype is about.

[crackdude]

Hell sometimes I still shoot up Blue Burst so hell yea I would play PSO2

[JRcade19]

Total war is getting a MOBA game but isn't going the route in a committed manner. It'll get made and supported, but Total war games will still come as they go.

[pirovash88]

I'm not a huge mmo fan in any way, but would definitely play pso2.

[Sharky]

I'm not a huge mmo fan in any way, but would definitely play pso2.

I share these sentiments.

Also wtf is a MOBA anyway? I watched a few videos of them and they look like RTS games for simpletons... You control just one guy? What is the rest of the army doing? Why is there a base but not base building? What is even the objective...

[George]

Basically its like a mix of a RTS fighting game...

Its really hard to explain without just playing it. I have over 500 games in League of Legends and was really addicted to the game for awhile. Trust me, Ryan, don't. You been addicted to RTS, this shit will ruin you.

Maybe someone that speaks your language can explain:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_78J6FEouM
(start at 3:20ish)

[pirovash88]

Basically its like a mix of a RTS fighting game...

Its really hard to explain without just playing it. I have over 500 games in League of Legends and was really addicted to the game for awhile. Trust me, Ryan, don't. You been addicted to RTS, this shit will ruin you.

Maybe someone that speaks your language can explain:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_78J6FEouM
(start at 3:20ish)

So it is pretty much Warcraft 3?

[George]

DOTA, the first MOBA was a mod for Warcraft 3.

[Trippled]

I should not care, but the GAF discussion on Sega makes me kinda annoyed.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=984500

Yeah cuz Nintendo and Sega are such a great fit huh....

[MadeManG74]

I share these sentiments.

Also wtf is a MOBA anyway? I watched a few videos of them and they look like RTS games for simpletons... You control just one guy? What is the rest of the army doing? Why is there a base but not base building? What is even the objective...

RTS fans call MOBAs 'One unit RTS games' as an insult. My understanding is you basically control one 'Hero' unit that has abilities. It's like a blend between RTS and MMO or something? I don't know, but I have no interest in playing them, or MMO games.

I think they are popular because they have  a lower learning curve than RTS, but still have a high enough ceiling to keep playing.

[Aki-at]

I should not care, but the GAF discussion on Sega makes me kinda annoyed.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=984500

Yeah cuz Nintendo and Sega are such a great fit huh....

Nintendo leaves plenty of classic franchises on the table. Been over a decade since the last F-Zero game, the Metroid series won't have seen a new entry since 2010 and even further back for a good one (2007) what I expect people who want Nintendo to buy SEGA to do is just remake all these classic games or new entries, which just won't happen.

That and SEGA Sammy is what, worth $4 billion? Their physical assets alone are worth more than a billion dollars, does Nintendo have the cash to avoid them?