Sega's problem is brand identity, which has suffered due to cheap-as-chips and short-termism.st, aside from Sonic, it relies on Total War, Football Manager, andAlien IPs. These are not Sega IPs, no matter how you try to spin it. Sega did not create any of them. EA, Eidos, and Fox created those IPs. Sega may have their logo on Total War, but most PC gamers regard it as a CA game, not a Sega game (and it should be noted that a common comment from PC gamers is "I don't care so long as I get my Total War, Footie Manager". They are not perceived as Sega games; those games could get critical acclaim and sell by the millions, and it would do nothing for the Sega brand. However, in the case of Colonial Marines Sega's brand took damage, because whereas many gamers don't know who Gearbox even are (hence why they have been able to continue largely as before), the brown stuff from Gearbox's mess stuck to Sega.
Sega's only "Sega brand" game is Sonic, and that has been tainted by turds like Sonic '06 and Sonic Boom. So Sega's reputation is not for quality. Why did they outsource to a dev with no prior experience? Because its cheap.You only have to look at the way Sega's internal dev teams were mercilessly dissolved by Sammy, at how their greatest talents, people who effectively built the company's brand (Yu Suzuki and Rieko Kodama) were shoved onto the sidelines, to see the company's shift towards short term, quick fixes. This cynicism can be seen in the fate of Valkyria Chronicles, which could have become a major Sega IP, but instead got cut down into a PSP franchise (thus killing its Western market) to cut costs and try to cash in on the handheld market.
Sega, instead of (re)building its IPs, is acquiring non-Sega IPs, assembling itself into a frankenstein's monster of non-Sega properties. Even in the All Stars Racing games, Sega has a strange, almost self-loathing, obsession with other people's IPs. This effectively makes Sega more like a wholesaler than an actual content creator. Bayonetta 2 and Yakuza 5 being examples of Sega letting other companies do all the work. Sega's whole approach seems to be trying to paper over the cracks of past mistakes; loss of talent? Cover it with acquisitions. Inactive, neglected IPs? Buy up someone eles IPs. Sonic games failing? Move Sonic to other media. Sammy does not care about the Sega brand; Sega is a cow they bought with the intention to milk it. Bad Sonic games damage Sega, not Sammy. Colonial Marines and Sonic Boom are not unhappy accidents; they are the direct result of such a policy.
Sadly, the R&D cuts and the focus on becoming a middle man publisher and acquisitions all point to a company that won't invest in any longterm re-growth, but instead looks for quick fixes at the expense of its brand.
