HipHopGamer Hears from E3 Reps: Nintendo has Considered Purchasing SEGA

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

The Japanese video game industry in general has been in trouble for the past half a decade, due to changing gamer tastes and rising development costs.

Might want to add stubbornness to adapt as well if Keiji Inafune's comment towards the Japanese VG industry has anything to say. Japanese game designers look at western games and find them inferior to their games. Particularly when one Japanese employee brought Bioshock into their office and had a higher ranking producer call the game "cheap".

Edited December 7, 2012 by ChaosSupremeSonic

[ChikaBoing]

Ironic, because as far as games are going, they're doing far better than Sega at quality and advertising them, aren't they?

Quality? At pure objective ratings value, from the Metacritic ratings, Sega is above Konami. Not Square Enix, but that's mainly because of the Eidos games, which are very much a seperate identity. If you ask general opinions about Square lately, people aren't too kind I think.

Advertising? Hm, I guess so. But do you really hear much of anything else other than Castlevania, Final Fantasy and Metal Gear Solid? In the end, none of the games have done great besides the obvious major sellers.

Edited December 7, 2012 by ChikaBoing

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Quality? At pure objective ratings value, from the Metacritic ratings, Sega is above Konami. Not Square Enix, but that's mainly because of the Eidos games, which are very much a seperate identity. If you ask general opinions about Square lately, people aren't too kind I think.

Okay then...

Advertising? Hm, I guess so. But do you really hear much of anything else other than Castlevania, Final Fantasy and Metal Gear Solid? In the end, none of the games have done great besides the obvious major sellers.

For Konami: Silent Hill, and Dance Dance Revolution.

For Square Enix: Kingdom Hearts, and Deus ex Human Revoution.

Granted, the Square Enix side was rather weak, but do you really hear anything else from Sega other than Sonic the Hedgehog? There's NiGHTS and Virtua Figther, and even those are far more obscure by comparison.

[ChikaBoing]

For Konami: Silent Hill, and Dance Dance Revolution.

For Square Enix: Kingdom Hearts, and Deus ex Human Revoution.

Well I'd like to lump in Kingdom Hearts with Final Fantasy. When I said FF I was thinking of everything with Final Fantasy in it. And for me it's still really hard to put Eidos games under's Square Enix Umbrella, and consider them part of their Identity.

As for DDR, it's like Super Monkey Ball I'd like to think. It's always the same formula, re-released everywhere. Everyone knows they're out there. DDR is more popular tough I guess. And yeah, Silent Hill is a big franchise I forgot.

[*Generic Sonic*]

Oh god. I am wasting my first post on this topic?

what the hell did I just watch? I swear my IQ just dropped to nothing.

anyway, no. Nintendo can't afford SEGA-Sammy. Such a purchase would drop them into bankruptcy.

[Faseeh]

anyway, no. Nintendo can't afford SEGA-Sammy. Such a purchase would drop them into bankruptcy.

I think otherwise really. They can afford it and SEGA are near backruptcy but it's not very good for SEGA and us. We've all explained our side.

Anyways, welcome to SSMB, TK.

[Tornado]

Oh god. I am wasting my first post on this topic?

what the hell did I just watch? I swear my IQ just dropped to nothing.

anyway, no. Nintendo can't afford SEGA-Sammy. Such a purchase would drop them into bankruptcy.

That's another thing which a lot of people haven't realized with this. Sega is nothing more than a division of SEGA-Sammy holdings, which in itself is a fairly large company. I'm doubtful that SEGA-Sammy wants to split back up (companies don't spend nearly a hundred million dollars on restructuring plans just to dump the restructured division immediately afterwards, to say nothing about how valued the Sega name and franchises are to other means of business throughout the company. The amusement division has never been the main moneymaker for the company in terms of what it does in sales, but its franchises and brand awareness helps the other divisions immeasurably), nor do I think Nintendo wants to buyout the whole thing (because the capital involved would be well over a third of Nintendo's total worth itself. It wouldn't actually bankrupt them, but they'd have a hell of a time getting the financing for it).

Sega is hurting (though they've cut a lot of costs for next year, and a lot of the money lost by Sega is one-time costs related to restructuring). Sega-Sammy is not, and if they want to they can easily weather this storm that Sega has been going through and try various things to correct it in the process.

Edited December 8, 2012 by Tornado

[Bey-Heart]

I would actually love to see Nintendo purchase Sega. Sega's been hit by a lot of financial problems lately, so it might save our favorite franchises.

As for PC support, we would probably still get it. A good example here is Game Freak. Nintendo said they're keeping their franchises off of the iPhone and Android markets. Well, Game Freak has been working on a Pokedex app for iPhone in Japan, and they're owned by Nintendo. That's the magic of being a second party company. Sure, there wouldn't be any PS3 or 360 ports, but that doesn't really matter. Would you rather have a great game, or a decent game with amazing graphics?

And hi, I'm new.

[Cortez]

All of you saying there'd be less Sonic games are forgetting the big Nintendo franchises like Pokemon and Mario get constant spinoffs and even Zelda sees a steady stream of handheld titles in between the main series games.

I think it'd be a great move to be honest, I can see why a lot of people wouldn't like it but I think Nintendo would actually utilise a lot of SEGA's now dead franchises and nobody can hype something up like Nintendo can so who knows, they might actually sell.

But yeah, this is all just fantasising. It's not gonna happen.

[goku262002]

As for PC support, we would probably still get it. A good example here is Game Freak. Nintendo said they're keeping their franchises off of the iPhone and Android markets. Well, Game Freak has been working on a Pokedex app for iPhone in Japan, and they're owned by Nintendo. That's the magic of being a second party company. Sure, there wouldn't be any PS3 or 360 ports, but that doesn't really matter. Would you rather have a great game, or a decent game with amazing graphics?

Whoa there. the way mobile stuff is done in Japan is greatly different then mobile stuff thats done here.

Nintendo in Japan has allways had interest in the cell phone game for quite a long time. at one point we even got this little add on for the gameboy color:

But over here? not soo much. nintendo is still pretty much closed off and only focuses on itself.

And yes, not having a PS3/360 ports would be bad. it would be the bayonetta 2 debate taken to a whole new level.

[TitanWarlord93]

I think it's best to leave both companies where it is at the moment. If SEGA is really in deep trouble then Nintendo might be their only hope but I don't think that SEGA needs as much help as necessary. They still need more time to think about this and give them a chance to think it through.

It's interesting though how SEGA and Nintendo's relationship has changed drastically over the years from bitter rivals to close friends.

Imagine if Nintendo and SEGA did merge together and make a new console. They would call it the WiiCast or something (I get this idea from combining SEGA's Dreamcast and Nintendo's Wii console together).

This is just a rumor but in case I would really respect it not to happen now or in the future.

[720]

Ok, I have some inside info on not just this topic, but Sega's future as a whole. According to an acquaintance of mine who happens to be a pseudo ethical Black Hat, Sega has specifically set in stone that for at least 6 years will not consider any changes to the company's infrastructure, following the internal changes that have been going on in the past months. That means no discussions with Nintendo about selling out the company, none with Microsoft, Disney, whatever company you can think of which has been cited to be interested. I know this specific rumor has already been confirmed false, but I just wanted to get it out there that Sega is staying put for awhile yet, and we will see how their new strategy for the coming years pans out.

[Frogging101]

Ok, I have some inside info on not just this topic, but Sega's future as a whole. According to an acquaintance of mine who happens to be a pseudo ethical Black Hat, Sega has specifically set in stone that for at least 6 years will not consider any changes to the company's infrastructure, following the internal changes that have been going on in the past months. That means no discussions with Nintendo about selling out the company, none with Microsoft, Disney, whatever company you can think of which has been cited to be interested. I know this specific rumor has already been confirmed false, but I just wanted to get it out there that Sega is staying put for awhile yet, and we will see how their new strategy for the coming years pans out.

While this sounds perfectly plausible to me, I'm hesitant to believe it from a random member who just joined and has one post, who claims that their friend knows something. Not that there's anything wrong with being a new member but credibility stems from trust which has to be built up over time. And personally, I still wouldn't be quick to believe it even from a veteran member. But thanks for sharing it

[Autosaver]

With the SEGA-Sammy comments, I wonder if Nintendo would buy them for exclusivity.

Basically they pay SEGA to make games exclusive for Wii U, or just pick up their game franchises and make them. I could see Nintendo making a Monkey Ball game or something.

[720]

While this sounds perfectly plausible to me, I'm hesitant to believe it from a random member who just joined and has one post, who claims that their friend knows something. Not that there's anything wrong with being a new member but credibility stems from trust which has to be built up over time. And personally, I still wouldn't be quick to believe it even from a veteran member. But thanks for sharing it

Not a problem, and I don't expect anyone to believe me since I have no proof I wish to share. That's why when I was oblivious to the fact that this topic existed I wanted to label it as a rumor. My intentions were mainly to cast out any doubt fellow Sega fans have about the company's future. I'm one of the people that has been with Sega since their early days.

[Autosaver]

Not a problem, and I don't expect anyone to believe me since I have no proof I wish to share. That's why when I was oblivious to the fact that this topic existed I wanted to label it as a rumor. My intentions were mainly to cast out any doubt fellow Sega fans have about the company's future. I'm one of the people that has been with Sega since their early days.

So your uncle works at SEGA?

Joking aside...

[Barry the Nomad]

Topic title should be changed to: Nintendo Reps at E3 Gave an Uninformed Man Iffy Answers

[720]

So your uncle works at SEGA?

Joking aside...

No. You don't need to physically be somewhere to access information.

[Autosaver]

Topic title should be changed to: Nintendo Reps at E3 Gave an Uninformed Man Iffy Answers

Done! Well, sort of.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Sega is hurting (though they've cut a lot of costs for next year, and a lot of the money lost by Sega is one-time costs related to restructuring). Sega-Sammy is not, and if they want to they can easily weather this storm that Sega has been going through and try various things to correct it in the process.

So in other words, even given their current state there is even less of a reason to entertain the idea ofNintendo purchasing Sega since Sega-Sammy is still holding strong and by extension Sega itself. Might have cuttled that a bit, but clearly this is a case of people jumping the Nintendo bandwagon in supporting their ownership of Sonic.

Edited December 10, 2012 by ChaosSupremeSonic

[Conando]

It should be noted that the rep also said "considered" which means they entertained the thought at some point or another, and it's obvious they would have due to their relationship with SEGA over the years. I really do think it would make a dream team but, as long as SEGA continues to exist and put out good games, I'm fine whether they're on their own or with another company.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

That was kinda noted in the topic's title, dude. At any rate, I was completely unaware that Sega itself was just a division of a company this whole time. I knew of Sega-Sammy, but I thought Sega and Sega-Sammy were the same thing instead of a faction of one another.

[GMason]

Perhaps a year ago I would have been all for it, but in recent months I've taken a shift away from Nintendo. While it's a great company with fantastic games, I'd really prefer it that Sega - And Sonic as a whole - is kept from them aside from the occasional exclusive and Mario & Sonic title.

The biggest problem is Nintendo isn't very fond of the PC market. While Gamefreak made an online pokemon card game, that's a big step from a legitmate video game release. The likelihood of it is Nintendo would shoot for exclusivity for more sales.

So yeah. I'm against the idea. Love Nintendo, but Sega being sold to them isn't something I'd want to see. If anything I'd rather Sega be kept as they currently are. (Financial crisis aside.)

[Tornado]

That was kinda noted in the topic's title, dude. At any rate, I was completely unaware that Sega itself was just a division of a company this whole time. I knew of Sega-Sammy, but I thought Sega and Sega-Sammy were the same thing instead of a faction of one another.

Sega-Sammy is currently structured more like a multinational conglomerate than it is a videogame company. Think more like Sony than Nintendo (albeit smaller than either of them). Sega-Sammy is the holding company that both companies put in place to run the overall thing and make the big decisions. They've got their Pachinko division (which is the one that always made most of the money), their Amusement Machines division (that's the Sega arcade stuff, like AM2 and AM3), their Amusement Facilities division (those Sega theme park things that they have in Japan) and Consumer division (that's Sega as we all generally know of them). Amusement Facilities has been barely operating in the black for the past couple of years, but the only division that is losing money was the Consumer division.

Edited December 10, 2012 by Tornado

[ChikaBoing]

Isn't it entirely possible to buy just the Consumer division? Despite going 3rd party and what not, and exclusive game deals with Microsoft, other divisions stayed the same.

On the whole subject, I'd personally I woudn't like Nintendo to buy Sega for one reason - they will always be a Generation behind in terms of Graphics. And I would hate that for Sonic games.

Edited December 10, 2012 by ChikaBoing