Is Sega even cared about anymore?

I have always seen that Sega had a lot of potential, perhaps as much as Nintendo. When placed out of their element though, they tend to suffer. Under this new Sammy deal, or heck, WITHOUT SAMMY, I see them doing very well in Japan. They are returning to their Arcade gaming roots, while keeping a small, yet Atomic Ant (Think small, yet able to lift towers and throw at enemies), home lineup which includes the likes of Sakura Taisen, Sonic, Lets Make a..., and their Shining series.

Yet, in America, the only thing that has generated any kind of attention for them was the massive hype for Virtua Fighter 4 and the Sonic titles. Sega does not have the luxury of having a strong-selling sports franchise. Their brand, ESPN, even prefers Madden over their own namesake titles! Very depressing indeed. Sonic has always sold well, but never record-breaking since the Genesis days. Mario has also fallen off, as has a host of Mascot-driven titles. In these days, I would say that the only two mascots that really matter anymore is Sonic and Mario, and even then they aren't really conveying new fans (Console wise. Mario has quite a gain on Handheld for obvious reasons). Sonic has a chance to, with the newfound multiplatform options, have an increased fanbase.

As for Virtua Fighter, as a landmark and long-running series, I felt that Virtua Fighter 4 has really hit the target, but as Arcade-like fighters begin to falter, I fear similar fate for my beloved VF4.

Seg... ahem, ESPN Sports has been failing, but I attribute that to horrible advertising, planning, and timing on Sega's part.

I'm not sure what to think of Europe. Sega just landed a great deal to publish all further Manager games which have been a proven seller there, but I still do not know enough about Europe to judge.

So is Sega doomed to obscurity in the US? What are your thoughts on the matter?

I feel that if Sega Legacizes their 'Virtua' namesake with a host of titles that they could perform well. While Virtua Fighter could well and away be the biggest name in this franchise, a Virtua-On could sneak up and sell for profit. I would definitely advise them to stay away from the obscure games unless it's a concentrated effort to push that game. JSRF had some potential, but the game itself was way to obscure for American tastes and was not hyped well. General public passed that game because it was under their radar. The origional, not aided by being a launch title or a then-piracy free system, sold over 300 thousand copies though. Definitely a miss by Sega.

So far, ESPN brand has been bombing. If the games had been completed earlier, with more impressive graphics than it's competitors' counterparts and a signifigantly larger advertising budget (The difference in release should give them a small time of Madden-less advertising time) then the series could have really become something. There is also an added obscurity factor with it being on only 2 systems of the 3,, therefore less visibility than Madden. They also are missing out on a treasure chest of cash for not releasing the game on PC. On PC, ia game selling over 100K copies at 40 dollars yields a great profit.

Sonic needs to go back to the roots of being a Graphical and gameplay masterpeice. Simplicity is divine, yes, but what caught mainstream audiences eyes with Sonic, aside from the massive advertising budget, was the eye-popping graphics. Sonic Team has deviated from that, and so has EAD with their Mario product, which is why they begin to fade into obscurity. While Gameplay catches the Hardcore gamers' eyes, mainstream gamers are very prejudice on a title based on it's graphics.

Again, Sega should cut down on the GunValkyries and Rez's unless they hold some kind of Arcade appeal, or develop them for profit and not spend lavishly upon them.

This is all my opinion! Please be sure to add yours!
 
I think it's they don't want to experiment, now that they're trying to make a profit after being in the red for so long. It's very, very conservative.

I suppose it's an EA model plan. They're not going out on a limb producing amazing games, but instead just relying on tried and true franchises.

Ironically, I lost interest in the Sonic series after it went 3D (sonic 3d for the saturn isn't half bad, I know I said it sucked before but I'm enjoying it now).
 
Originally posted by MTXBlau@Dec 16, 2003 @ 01:20 AM

Ironically, I lost interest in the Sonic series after it went 3D (sonic 3d for the saturn isn't half bad, I know I said it sucked before but I'm enjoying it now).

Ya, Sonic 3D on Saturn kicks. Not really much of a platformer though.
 
Ummmm, I dont know about other places but all the stores in here (babbages, game crazy, toys r us, etc.) have sold TONZ more ESPN games then EA sports ones. Specially in the basketball area, I do believe madden is still up over ESPN football but not by much. Either way theur sports games are making a good showing w/ their new name, hopefully it continues.
 
Again, Sega should cut down on the GunValkyries and Rez's unless they hold some kind of Arcade appeal, or develop them for profit and not spend lavishly upon them.


Noooo! Sega should make more Rez and GunValkyrie type games! Especially Rez. I think the reason those games didn't sell that well is lack of advertising, not because they were 'weird'. I know several people who went out and bought Rez after seeing the game in action. The only reason they didn't already own it is because they had never heard of it.
 
True Gunvalkrie, and rez are two amazing games, more so (IMO) gun than rez, but the problem with sega was is and has always been promoting, they pump the system up so much... and then, after that they put very little into the games themselves.... at least over here, I think no I know it was a different story in japan for sega... and don't forget the U.k. to me thats sega's biggest problem, lack of promoting the software on their systems back in the day..... but oh well, hopefully they will "rise from the ashes" one day...lol
 
Originally posted by it290@Dec 16, 2003 @ 12:37 PM



Again, Sega should cut down on the GunValkyries and Rez's unless they hold some kind of Arcade appeal, or develop them for profit and not spend lavishly upon them.


Noooo! Sega should make more Rez and GunValkyrie type games! Especially Rez. I think the reason those games didn't sell that well is lack of advertising, not because they were 'weird'. I know several people who went out and bought Rez after seeing the game in action. The only reason they didn't already own it is because they had never heard of it.

That's immediate sales to other gamers.

Majourity of PS2 owners has pretty much two games: Madden (whatever year, probably newest available) and Grand Theft Auto III and/or Vice City. If you showed Rez to that type, they'd probably play for about ten minutes, yell "THIS IS REALLY GAY" and then play their 600th game in Madden.
 
Originally posted by Tagrineth@Dec 18, 2003 @ 07:49 PM

That's immediate sales to other gamers.

Majourity of PS2 owners has pretty much two games: Madden (whatever year, probably newest available) and Grand Theft Auto III and/or Vice City. If you showed Rez to that type, they'd probably play for about ten minutes, yell "THIS IS REALLY GAY" and then play their 600th game in Madden.

Amerika's magic! ^^!

Long live the elitist market.
 
live sucked this year. i think it was ESPN, then live, then shootout. i could be wrong though. i also have no proof.

i am jack's desire to be a part of this thread.
 
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