The Future of SEGA (A Nintendo fanboy rants incoherently)

[Mengels7]

Nope. Keep personal attacks on former staff of these forums. Julian, Kellie and the other CMs are friends to the site and I will not sit back and allow people to freely attack them here.

Plus, isn't he supposedly the voice behind the Sonic The Hedgehog social media accounts now?

[Barry the Nomad]

No, that's Aaron Webber.

Julian covered the general SEGA stuff, and Kellie handled Sonic. Both left when SEGA moved away from San Fran. I do not know if they were given the offer to move and keep their jobs, and so I don't think it's my place to make a guess on that. But both their roles were filled when SEGA moved south.

In any case, Julian was a very friendly and helpful guy to fans and fansites. He also handled the SEGA Forums, so he has made enemies with several well known forum crazies who spammed the SEGA forums with their conspiracy theory nonsense. I know that Julian has been harassed in the past by crazed fans to the point where he was being hounded outside of the usual forum/twitter environments, so I'm putting a stop to any form of personal vendetta's or attacks on former staff - especially those who we here at the site deal with.

[Artwark]

What has Sakura Wars got to do with anything? They have loads of great mobile games available.

If you want to discuss SEGA, then at least listen to what others have said... As others have said SEGA are not at risk of going bankrupt, they're profitable, even with the very few games they released in 2015 because most have been pushed back into 2016, and a 90% drop in profits they're STILL profitable. And if they weren't, SEGA Sammy have load of money and a hell of a lot of assets to sell off before they go bankrupt... So you can put that dream to bed.

None of those IP's are abandoned, there was a new Shinobi on the 3DS a couple of years back and Phantasy Star is in active right now... SEGA have revived series after a decade before, I don't think SEGA have ever said a series is abandoned...
Secondly all of SEGA's western developers are incredibly profitable, so why on earth would they sell them off? They wouldn't, all of their series are critically acclaimed, million sellers which sit in the charts for weeks on end.
Just because a series is niche in one region doesn't mean it's niche world wide...
Sonic isn't niche
Phantasy Star Online isn't niche
Yakuza isn't niche
Company of Heroes isn't niche
Total War isn't niche
Football Manager isn't niche
Dawn of War isn't niche
Chain Chronicles isn't niche
Persona isn't niche
etc etc

Also I don't think you know what niche means, it doesn't mean not profitable, it means small audience... Which isn't a problem, plenty of companies survive on only niche titles and are still profitable. SEGA have both niche and popular titles... And they still regularly turn a profit.

SEGA are in no trouble financially... And the REASON they've lowered their profit forecast this year is because they've delayed most of their games into 2016 to promote quality while Nintendo this season have released a looooaaad of trash.

Why are you defending SEGA a lot? Do you realise that they have a LOT of IP's dormant compared to Nintendo? Think about people like me who would die to see a brand new Gunstar Heroes game. Think about that for a sec.


Why are you defending them. They are profitable now but that's only because they didn't release a LOT of games for this year. SEGA can't afford to deliver mediocre games. So the fact that SEGA has Total War and Company of Heroes just means that they don't have to make use of their first party studios? What are you saying here.


Nintendo has often being criticised whether they make quality games or not so you mocking over Nintendo in favour of SEGA isn't surprising. If you talk trash about Nintendo, then do that. Don't defend SEGA over Nintendo because financially, Nintendo is richer than SEGA.

[JRcade19]

Yo have that backwards. Sega normally loses tons of money when they fail to release hit games in any given year, usually around 50-100 million in losses. The fact that they've been able to pull a profit despite the lack of games is good news financially speaking, as it means they are likely to afford their games greater development time, though you can debate as to whether it is good news from a managerial standpoint.

[Tad]

Why are you defending SEGA a lot? Do you realise that they have a LOT of IP's dormant compared to Nintendo? Think about people like me who would die to see a brand new Gunstar Heroes game. Think about that for a sec.


Why are you defending them. They are profitable now but that's only because they didn't release a LOT of games for this year. SEGA can't afford to deliver mediocre games. So the fact that SEGA has Total War and Company of Heroes just means that they don't have to make use of their first party studios? What are you saying here.


Nintendo has often being criticised whether they make quality games or not so you mocking over Nintendo in favour of SEGA isn't surprising. If you talk trash about Nintendo, then do that. Don't defend SEGA over Nintendo because financially, Nintendo is richer than SEGA.

Are you seriously comparing bank balances as a way to determine who's better?
As I said before, Nintendo get an easy ride from the media in this industry as they have
nostalgia on their side.

You mention Gunstar Heroes...SEGA published that, treasure made it. When it comes to games that people want to see a the return of, it's mostly doesn't equal amazing sales like people think. Those who do want said title, are usually just very vocal, which gives the sense of it being in high demand. At least SEGA don't play it safe like Nintendo constantly do with their output.

[Artwark]

Are you seriously comparing bank balances as a way to determine who's better?
As I said before, Nintendo get an easy ride from the media in this industry as they have
nostalgia on their side.

You mention Gunstar Heroes...SEGA published that, treasure made it. When it comes to games that people want to see a the return of, it's mostly doesn't equal amazing sales like people think. Those who do want said title, are usually just very vocal, which gives the sense of it being in high demand. At least SEGA don't play it safe like Nintendo constantly do with their output.

What do you mean by not playing it safe? Making horrible Sonic games for the rest of their lifespan? Not making more profit as they should? not focusing on their IP which are more valuable than even Nintendo's...admittedly?


Also, I want to argue a bit here and say that you haven't really dug deep into Nintendo games along with those who claim that Nintendo games aren't that great. Have you seen Xenoblade Chronicles, Splatoon and Kid Icarus Uprising?


The only thing that I can somewhat agree that Nintendo plays it safe is when making the New Super Mario series....other than that, nothing is safe. Mario Kart 8 has serious lack of multiplayer content unlike its predecessors.


Do you honestly think that as long as SEGA makes crappy games time and time again, they can still be loved? game companies exist to make games and right now, SEGA doesn't seem to pay any attention towards the western market because they have western studios that they own. So at this point, are you suggesting that SEGA can just forget about being a game developer and instead stick to publishing games forever?


If so, then newsflash, many IP's that SEGA had will be long gone and the new IP's will end up like the old ones. That's like telling Nintendo to do the same thing and they will end up with the same result as SEGA. SEGA is a complete joke right now and defending them for not making games that you or me want them to make is just abysmal. Sure, I defend Nintendo a lot but that's because they make games that I and many want them to make. The ones that they don't make are the ones that are completely forgotten by many.

Those western studios that SEGA has won't last them long. Sure, SEGA may treat them well but western studios most of the time don't deliver expectations. Look at Halo 5 for example. The potential that the player could face Master chief is nothing but a two minute cutscene.

You want SEGA to be completely stuck in the shadow? If so, then there's no point of even being on their side. Heck, there's no point of even mentioning them. The more IP that SEGA has, the more chances of them being dormant are incredibly high.

[Tad]

That's the difference though. SEGA don't make just crappy games. They've made plenty of good ones too. Yes, not everything they do is amazing (and likewise for Nintendo and every other company), what you're talking about here is personal taste.  RoF, Condemned, SEGA All stars racing transformed, Vanquish, JSRHD, Tembo, Alien Isolation, the list goes on of good titles. They've only had and handful of bad games in terms of broken, low quality meh.

[Artwark]

That's the different though. SEGA don't make just crappy games. They've made plenty of good ones too. Yes, not everything they do is amazing (and likewise for Nintendo and every other company), what you're talking about here is personal taste.  RoF, Condemned, SEGA All stars racing transformed, Vanquish, JSRHD, Tembo, Alien Isolation, the list goes on of good titles. They've only had and handful of bad games in terms of broken, low quality meh.

So then where's the sequel of Vanquish if it sold well then? Where's the sequel of RoF then? Not yet happening? Well too bad because that's the sign of SEGA not caring about their IP's anymore.

[Tad]

Rof didn't sell that well due to being overshadowed and a Vanquish sequel would be up to Platinum. Also, not everything needs a sequel (or, be milked) you know. That's Nintendo's tactic

[Barry the Nomad]

So then where's the sequel of Vanquish if it sold well then? Where's the sequel of RoF then? Not yet happening? Well too bad because that's the sign of SEGA not caring about their IP's anymore.

Artwark, I'm not quite clear what your M.O. is here. You entered a SEGA forum, so you should know that kicking up dust is going to get you in arguments despite the fact that you introduced yourself here stating "Hopefully, my perspective and opinions don't unnecessarily alienate anyone around here."

Thus far you've wished bankruptcy on the company, showed little respect for their current output, and turned the discussion into a dick measuring contest with company bank balances.

As much as we here at the forums like a good debate, this sort of stuff is just old hat and not fun. I know I don't gleefully hop on these forums each day to write up yet another defense for a company I love.

---

Regarding your latest post, Tad was listing recent quality titles from SEGA and you flip the conversation to sequels. As though sequels are the only sign a game is good...? In that case, Condemned and All-Stars Racing had sequels. Tembo and Isolation are too recent to even know if sequels are on the way, but an Isolation sequel is likely. Vanquish and Resonance of Fate are IPs SEGA owns but were developed by external developers. So for starters, it is on both SEGA and that developer for a sequel to get made. Even though we did not see sequels to these games yet, which again I will state is not a sign that the original game was bad, both tri-Ace and PG made titles following those releases with SEGA. This alone should tell you SEGA were happy with the respective teams output. tri-Ace developed PS Nova, PG fulfilled their 5 game contract with Anarchy Reigns and have since done work for Konami, Activision and Nintendo and we saw Bayonetta 2 on the Wii U – a SEGA owned IP.

[Sharky]

Why are you defending SEGA a lot? Do you realise that they have a LOT of IP's dormant compared to Nintendo? Think about people like me who would die to see a brand new Gunstar Heroes game. Think about that for a sec.

SEGA have more dormant IP's because they actually make new IP's regularly... There is no way SEGA could bring back all of their dormant IPs at one time... They simply don't have the staff. Nintendo on the other hand stick to their tried and true (and tired and boring) same 10 or so IP's and milk them for everything they're worth. That works for them so great, but I like SEGA working on new IP's. Yes I would be trilled to see new games in a few of their classic IP's and every so often SEGA brings one back. That's just how they work... Like it or not.

Why are you defending them. They are profitable now but that's only because they didn't release a LOT of games for this year. SEGA can't afford to deliver mediocre games. So the fact that SEGA has Total War and Company of Heroes just means that they don't have to make use of their first party studios? What are you saying here.

But they are making use of their first party studios... You think there is a single studio just sitting twiddling their thumbs? You think that's how it works? SEGA just pays employees to do nothing all day? Of course they're all working on something, whether we get those games in the West or not is another story, THAT is SEGA's biggest problem right now.

You think they are only profitable because they didn't release many games this year? That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Developing games costs money, so if they have a load of games in development- which they do- then NOT releasing them this year can't possibly be helping profits... The reason they dropped their profit forecast for the year is BECAUSE they have pushed back the release date of many games that now fall out of this year into next year...

Nintendo has often being criticised whether they make quality games or not so you mocking over Nintendo in favour of SEGA isn't surprising. If you talk trash about Nintendo, then do that. Don't defend SEGA over Nintendo because financially, Nintendo is richer than SEGA.

You're on the forum of a SEGA fansite, bud... You came here to criticise SEGA and talk up Nintendo and you're shocked to find people who disagree with you? Incredible.

Of course I like SEGA more than Nintendo. Why the hell do you think I'm here? =s

[Sharky]

Also, I want to argue a bit here and say that you haven't really dug deep into Nintendo games along with those who claim that Nintendo games aren't that great. Have you seen Xenoblade Chronicles, Splatoon and Kid Icarus Uprising?

Do you honestly think that as long as SEGA makes crappy games time and time again, they can still be loved?

Sorry for the double post, but this is golden. Pot calling the kettle black much?
'How can you say all Nintendo games are bad, btw all SEGA games are crappy.'

I don't think any one is saying all Nintendo games are bad anyway, simply the majority of them are not appealing to us. People are different, they like different things. People here like SEGA's style of games more... Which is why we're SEGA fans... I'd rather play Virtua Fighter than Smash Bros, I'd rather play Total War than Pikmin, Valkyria Chronicles than Xenoblade and so on...


Also all of SEGA's western studios are great, make profitable, popular titles and show no sign of stopping. SEGA have always had western studios, some of the very best Sonic games were made in the USA.

[FlareHabanero]

You know it's funny. People say Nintendo never makes new IPs, yet this year alone the company produced Box Boy, Codename S.T.E.A.M., and Splatoon. "No those don't count because I hate it" doesn't count as an answer, and it's not even the only year where new IPs were created.


Also I would like to point out that SEGA is the company that like to pretend they have only one IP, not Nintendo. Especially blatant in the West where it seems like the only thing they care about is Sonic. Before you mention Shenmue III and Yakuza 5, remember that it's more so because of Sony why they're even relevant.

[Artwark]

Funny how the argument here is that Nintendo milks franchises. What about Sonic then? What about Football Manager. You guys are literally not getting the point here. Sequels means that you want more of the experiences that the IP only can give you and that's the reason that Nintendo's IP work as there is no reason for them to make new IP instead of offering new experiences by making sequels.


Also, you say that bringing new IP's is better than bringing old IP's. Well then tough luck because SEGA will lose more of its audience.


Fans of Phantasy Star should deserve more Phantasy Star games and the fact that SEGA tends to replace Phantasy Star with Valkyria Chronicles is awful.


The way you're saying that Nintendo milks their franchises to death is making me think that you haven't seen a LOT of games that Nintendo has made. If SEGA can't compete quality in the likes of Platinumgames, Treasure and even Capcom(Who is way better than SEGA btw) then don't expect SEGA to be more profitable than it is now. The only way SEGA can compete with them is to deliver quality and the only way to do that is avoiding stupid decisions like poorly marketing Rhythm thief and many other IP's.


A Company like SEGA missing E3 is a horrible thing to happen especially for SEGA.

[Tad]

So basically, you're a Nintendo fan boy coming onto a SEGA site and flip floping on your own argument. Okay.