Sega Report: Revivals of Old IP, New IP in Development, Making Bigger, More Multi Platform Games

[Blue Blood]

A few years ago, SEGA decided to restructure and reduce its output of games to just focus on its did best-performing series - Sonic, Total War, Alien and Football Manager. This meant the virtual retirement of franchises such Monkey Ball and not investing in new, riskier IPs like Bayonetta, Vanquish and Binary Domain, all of which for undesirable results at market regardless of critical reception. Other ventures were continued by SEGA Japan, but they remained largely separate from SEGA West. Various offices were closed down, moved or restructured. They shifted their focus to digital titles, particularly on PC and movies in Europe. 

It sounds like things have been going moderately well for them. I've not looked at any of the financial reports and what trends they want/expect, but they since acquiring both Relic and Atlus they've been able to support themselves a lot more. SEGA West is still focusing on digital, handing international publishing rights to Deep Silver on a number of titles from born Japan and Atlus. Yakuza us finally making a proper appearance in the West and appears to be doing alright.

I hope they're more able to start rebuilding their brand into something more than "that company that's still making Sonic games". The last ASR game came out in 2013, and think about all the franchises represented. How many of them are even alive? Sonic, and nobody else outside of the Steam exclusive PC representations which are hardly even characters. Monkey Ball and Crazy Taxi eventually got new mobile games, but SEGA had honestly felt like a bit of a husk. They've got a very compelling catalogue that they need to learn how to use effectively. 

[molul]

This might hint at what Sega might do:

http://segabits.com/blog/2016/11/19/sega-survey-results-reveal-what-franchise-fans-want-to-see-return/

Too bad Ristar didn't make it to the top 10

[Omario]

I'm hoping they actually stick to this decision. Even Sonic's been declining in sales recently, and Sega needs to expand quite badly. Bring back Streets of Rage! 

[Kintor]

14 hours ago, Omario11 said:

I'm hoping they actually stick to this decision. Even Sonic's been declining in sales recently, and Sega needs to expand quite badly. Bring back Streets of Rage! 

Sega is doing fine, the success of Sega's many IPs, especially in the PC strategy game market, is what makes it possible to Sega talk about expanding like this. These past few years have seen Sega go from strength to strength. Now it looks like Sega is prepared to make a big push for greater influence in the game's industry, with this new ident and the whole 'Sega Forever' project, whatever that might be.

[Blue Blood]

I'm surprised that this hasn't been posted here yet. SEGA Forever looks like it could be a subscription service for SEGA's library of old games And it's not just Megadrive and Master System games - it could even include Saturn games as well. The downside? Looks like it's specifically for mobiles at this point. Maybe. There's cloud saving as part of the paid service, which might suggest PC and/or console versions as well, which would be pretty awesome. 

SEGA Nerds Article: http://www.seganerds.com/2017/05/23/is-sega-forever-a-subscription-game-service-for-mobile/

The survey: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/3517315/ba351810e453

SEGA Forever Verified Twitter: https://twitter.com/SEGAForever

SEGA Forever Official Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/SEGAForever/

Thoughts? I like the sound of this, especially if it goes beyond mobiles and offers a huge catalogue of SEGA's games from over the decades. It's a hell of a lot more exciting than an staggered string of shoddy ports and emulations every time a new system is out. Though in saying that, there's no word yet on if these versions will be any good or not. The quality of the ports/emulations here could be absolutely make or break.

[molul]

I don't want to sound pretentious, but last year I sent an email to someone at Sega exactly about this: a mobile app with all Sega's catalog in which you could buy all your preferred games, and they told me they'd consider it.

Of course it doesn't mean they did it because of my idea, but I'll act as if they did XDD

[Blue Blood]

Just now, molul said:

I don't want to sound pretentious, but last year I sent an email to someone at Sega exactly about this, and they told me they'd consider it.

It doesn't mean they did it because of my idea, but I'll act as if they did XDD

The SEGA Forever Twitter account has existed since November, which tells you that this project was in the works before then. The email response you got back from them would just have been a generic "thanks for your support" message and probably didn't get any further than the HR person who read it. Not to be a dick, but your email wouldn't have had any bearing.

[molul]

I totally agree  Anyway, I'll take it as a personall success just for the sake of it XD

EDIT: actually, checking my email, I wrote Sega about this on October 2015. I know, doesn't mean anything, but I don't care XD

 

Now ontopic: I really like the idea (obviously). Smart move from Sega once again. Hopefully the emulators are good enough When I suggested this to Sega, I told them it could be a good way of getting money, and also some kind of survey to see what franchises might deserve a sequel or remake. I also like the concept of having a Sega Hub app, in which I select the game I want to launch. Very good, Sega.

[Johnny Boy]

Jet Set Radio revival. That's literally all I'm asking from you Sega.

[simtek34]

From Sonic Retro Forums... There is A new Crazy Taxi game coming to iOS and Android, and the Original Crazy Taxi is now free! And the shocker is there is a new SEAMAN game in development... WHY is there a new Seaman Game!!

 

http://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?showtopic=36729

http://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?showtopic=36730

[Omario]

8 hours ago, Kintor said:

Sega is doing fine, the success of Sega's many IPs, especially in the PC strategy game market, is what makes it possible to Sega talk about expanding like this. These past few years have seen Sega go from strength to strength. Now it looks like Sega is prepared to make a big push for greater influence in the game's industry, with this new ident and the whole 'Sega Forever' project, whatever that might be.

 

Many? I know that they've invested into the strategy market, but I don't believe it's anything they've really found that big of success in. I don't know honestly.

[Kintor]

7 hours ago, Omario11 said:

Many? I know that they've invested into the strategy market, but I don't believe it's anything they've really found that big of success in. I don't know honestly.

Actually Sega is a huge deal in the PC strategy game market. Let me give you a quick rundown of Sega's various strategy game development teams:

Creative Assembly - Total War, including Total War: Warhammer (but also the critically acclaimed survival horror game Alien Isolation)

Sports Interactive - Football Manager (interestingly enough Football Manager is actually one of Sega's best-selling franchises worldwide)

Relic Entertainment - Company of Heroes and Dawn of War (with Dawn of War being a Warhammer 40,000 franchise)

Playsport Games - Motorsport Manager (a smaller team compared to the others but growing thanks to Sega's resources)

Amplitude Studios - Endless Space (this developer is Sega's most recent Western acquisition, Endless Space 2 was released only days ago)

[ChikaBoing]

I am not a fan of Sega focusing so much/buying so many PC studios with games you don't really associate with Sega. It's like selling out, not believing in your brand almost. Like Blue Blood correctly said, Sega Japan continues their own venture and it is largely a shame. For me Sega has always been about weird or unexpected things. Every generation Sega re-invented itself with a new IP you never expected. And I think Sega can still deliver that - take a look at Hero Bank - which was Sega's take on the kids genre that got popular after Youkai Watch. It's a Super Sentai Money Simulator for kids, I thought it was really cool.

Check the commerical, it is good old Sega in my book:

Yeah, Sega has aways had Japan only projects since way back when - but it generelly increased since about 2005 or so, which is really backwards.

Atlus USA's Sega projects is the one to look out for imo. I actually really love that they localized an obscure and different game like 7th Dragon

 

[Kintor]

15 minutes ago, ChikaBoing said:

I am not a fan of Sega focusing so much/buying so many PC studios with games you don't really associate with Sega. It's like selling out, not believing in your brand almost. Like Blue Blood correctly said, Sega Japan continues their own venture and it is largely a shame. For me Sega has always been about weird or unexpected things. Every generation Sega re-invented itself with a new IP you never expected. And I think Sega can still deliver that - take a look at Hero Bank - which was Sega's take on the kids genre that got popular after Youkai Watch. It's a Super Sentai Money Simulator for kids, I thought it was really cool.

Honestly, Hero Bank didn't do so well sales, even with the support of a long running anime. It was an interesting idea but Sega of Japan wisely chose to invest their resources elsewhere after that. Which is why further anime funded by Sega was designed to promote already successful IPs, like Phantasy Star Online 2 and Chain Chronicle.

As for your concern about Sega's move in the PC market, I find that a strange position to take. Sega's strength as a company has always been in its ability to adapt and innovate into new markets. To that end, the great success that Sega has seen in the PC market is a perfect match for Sega's style as a company. By doing something new, namely PC strategy games, Sega has redefined itself as a company and is now a powerhouse in the PC market. If anything, these PC strategy games are now a pillar of Sega as a company. At the rate that Sega is going with these acquisitions, it's not hard to imagine a time when all PC strategy games are one day publisher and developed by Sega.

[molul]

Sega has been smart enough to get Creative Assembly and Relic. These companies make great games and so much money. Maybe it's thanks to them that we're finally getting old ips revival.

[ChikaBoing]

2002 was a textbook year for Sega imo. Not only did they have the big western sellers (2K Sports which in a way they replaced with their PC studios) but they also had new IP (GunValkyrie, Monkey Ball), and old IP (Shinobi, Sonic). The only mistake was making games Xbox exclusive. All the games were in good quality to boot, and Sega had very few Japan only projects that were worth mentioning.

Since 2005 or so, that strategy never worked out as well. More things were Japan only, low quality revivals...it didn't sit right with alot of people.

Now, it could change for the better (Sega of America being completly restructured is the main one). Like I said, my fav things Sega has done since are Sonic Mania and 7th Dragon III. I also liked the idea of Valkria Revolution (action oriented Valkyria game), but sadly that did not turn out so well. 

And I get Hero Bank didn't so well, but alot of old Sega games didn't. Oh I would hate if ALL strategy games were one day under Sega. Sega has always been about a variety of genres.

Quote

 

[Kintor]

3 hours ago, molul said:

Sega has been smart enough to get Creative Assembly and Relic. These companies make great games and so much money. Maybe it's thanks to them that we're finally getting old ips revival.

Pretty much, all those experimental games from Sega need to be financed somehow. Mainstays like Total War and Company of Heroes in the PC market help to support some of Sega's crazier and more ambitious projects. With Sega's finances in a healthy position it looks like Sega is gearing up for something big, which is apparently linked to the revival of old IPs.

 

3 hours ago, ChikaBoing said:

And I get Hero Bank didn't so well, but alot of old Sega games didn't. Oh I would hate if ALL strategy games were one day under Sega. Sega has always been about a variety of genres.

I don't think you have to worry. All these strategy games are being handheld by dedicated development teams that Sega has acquired since the end of the Dreamcast era. This allows Sega to expand their operations substantially. For example, the continued production of more Total War games doesn't take any resources away from more Yakuza games, as each is the responsibility of a separate team.

[molul]

21 hours ago, Blue Blood said:

I'm surprised that this hasn't been posted here yet. SEGA Forever looks like it could be a subscription service for SEGA's library of old games And it's not just Megadrive and Master System games - it could even include Saturn games as well. The downside? Looks like it's specifically for mobiles at this point. Maybe. There's cloud saving as part of the paid service, which might suggest PC and/or console versions as well, which would be pretty awesome. 

SEGA Nerds Article: http://www.seganerds.com/2017/05/23/is-sega-forever-a-subscription-game-service-for-mobile/

The survey: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/3517315/ba351810e453

SEGA Forever Verified Twitter: https://twitter.com/SEGAForever

SEGA Forever Official Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/SEGAForever/

Thoughts? I like the sound of this, especially if it goes beyond mobiles and offers a huge catalogue of SEGA's games from over the decades. It's a hell of a lot more exciting than an staggered string of shoddy ports and emulations every time a new system is out. Though in saying that, there's no word yet on if these versions will be any good or not. The quality of the ports/emulations here could be absolutely make or break.

I just heard it's a streaming service. I just tried Crazy Taxi Classic and yes, when I disable the wifi, it won't let me play until I turn on.

Now I don't like this at all.

[Omario]

9 hours ago, Kintor said:

Actually Sega is a huge deal in the PC strategy game market. Let me give you a quick rundown of Sega's various strategy game development teams:

Creative Assembly - Total War, including Total War: Warhammer (but also the critically acclaimed survival horror game Alien Isolation)

Sports Interactive - Football Manager (interestingly enough Football Manager is actually one of Sega's best-selling franchises worldwide)

Relic Entertainment - Company of Heroes and Dawn of War (with Dawn of War being a Warhammer 40,000 franchise)

Playsport Games - Motorsport Manager (a smaller team compared to the others but growing thanks to Sega's resources)

Amplitude Studios - Endless Space (this developer is Sega's most recent Western acquisition, Endless Space 2 was released only days ago)

Wow, interesting. I'm familiar with Total War, Alien Isolation and Football Manager but I didn't know they actually had multiple teams dedicated to strategy game development. Thanks for the info.

[Kintor]

17 hours ago, Omario11 said:

Wow, interesting. I'm familiar with Total War, Alien Isolation and Football Manager but I didn't know they actually had multiple teams dedicated to strategy game development. Thanks for the info.

Yeah, it's pretty amazing when you look at just how much Sega has expanded their western presence since the end of the Dreamcast Era. Some of the remaining Indy strategy game developers are now darkly joking that it's probably only a matter of time before Sega buys them up.

[Your Vest Friend]

Sorry guys I'm losing my shit here. 

That's certainly what people were thinking when they thought of an IP revival!

[Balding Spider]

2 minutes ago, VEDJ-F said:

Sorry guys I'm losing my shit here. 

That's certainly what people were thinking when they thought of an IP revival!

You joke but this was exactly what I was expecting.