Sega fears Outrun 2 console will be rented

[racketboy]

According to SPOnG, Sega is having second thoughts about releasing Outrun 2 on consoles since it is a pretty short game. Renting is very popular in the States and in Europe, while it is illegal in Japan.

Sega is wondering if it will be worth it's while to port the game to console(s) if it may not be a large seller.

 

[Myname]

As far as I know, Sega has never said that it was going to port Outrun 2 to a home console. They've kept on saying 'It's an arcade game'.

I think the article is just responding to the fact that the ever-reliable Amazon release dates showed Outrun 2 for PS2 and XBox.

 

[mtxblau]

To those who haven't played it, it's a damned fantastic game.

 

[racketboy]

I've HEARD recently that it might be coming to both XBox and PS2, but from the sounds of it, it's just kinda up in the air.

Hey MTXBlau, where'd you play it?

 

[it290]

'It's a very short game'... and Outrun wasn't? Okay, true, times have changed, but that didn't stop Sega from releasing Crazy Taxi on every console out there. Sounds like an excuse to me, especially given the fact that it could be ported to the Xbox with little effort.

Arg, I'm just bitter about it. Maybe I'll see a cabinet some day.

 

[mtxblau]

I played it at an arcade in Disney World (tomorrow land, to be exact :-D). I intend to buy the cabinet when I can afford it, it's that good.

 

[Scared0o0Rabbit]

PSM (I don't pay for the magazine, and it's still too much money) recently reported that it was going to be ps2 exclusive lol.

 

[Alexvrb]

They should at least port it to Xbox, just a straight port.

 

[dragonforce]

they should create consoles again. just that.

 

[Shakey Jake33]

I think Sega has it backwards.

We've waited almost 20 years for a sequal to Outrun - the suggestion that it would sell poorly is a laughable one, even if it is just to us who appriciate the game.

And as mentioned before, games like Crazy Taxi and 18 Wheeler sold excellently (well, maybe not 18 Wheeler...), and have a fraction of the longivity than OutRun 2.

But if Sega really is concerned about the issue of longivity, maybe they should take it upon itself to fix this? Extending the longivity themselves? Maybe throwing the original OutRun in there as an unlockable bonus to give people more incentive to devote more hours into a game?

This isn't just some random no-name title here, this is OutRun 2. If anything, the port should show signs of *more* devotion than the average title.

Or they can be lazy and just not provide the release to rental companies.

 

[racketboy]

there are numerous ways you could add on to the replay value.

But yeah, they have sold lesser arcade ports

 

[Shakey Jake33]

Hmm... Sega are traditionally lazy when it comes to adding stuff to ports... ( with the exception of Manx TT you may argue, but weren't those additions the work of Tantalus?). Very few Sega in-house arcade conversions have much in the way of home-improvements, they just tend to be faithful enough.

Which is uaually enough for us, and certainly enough for me. But if Sega themselves are questioning the longivity of their own titiles, isn't it about time Sega changed their policy?

That said, the people with an interest in OutRun 2 are probably the people who are going to be buying it anyway. I wouldn't say the game has a large mainstream appeal.

 

[VertigoXX]

Or do like what Capcom did for Maximo... Make it rental-exclusive for 30 days, after making arrangements to take a cut of the rental fees.

 

[emazur]

Yes it seems to be illegal to rent games in Japan, but you might be interested to know that it's common to rent audio cd's, which i never saw in the US. They sell packs of blank cdr's, md's, and dvdr's at the counters too.

Another solution- sell it for a budget price of 20 to 30$

 

[Myname]

Of course, the obvious answer would be just to release it in Japan if they're scared of it being rented. I'd be quite happy with an import version. Then again, they'd have to do the extra work to put it on PS2 since a Japan-only XBox release would be pretty pointless with it's lack of penetration there.

 

[Shakey Jake33]

I'd rather it not be import-only on the PS2, as it is very difficult to import-mod a PS2 for someone who is a clutz with a soldering iron like me...

If it was a GameCube game it would be another matter, what with the boot disc.

 

[Dyne]

arent most, if not all SEGA arcade games short? helllloooooo? HotD anyone. yet they still release them.

isnt it running on xbox hardware in the arcades anyway?