Romier S
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Sep 2, 1999
- Messages
- 3,525
yet half the games they've churned out since abandoning the DC have ranked between mediocre and absolute garbage, while they don't make sequels to games like Nights and Streets of Rage.I'm not going to bother debating the strengths of the games that Sega has released. I will say I disagree with that assesment. Sega I think is completely shooken up by the disappointing numbers of thier sports line and thier software sales in general.
Its a question on thier minds of "Why should we?" when they have produced good quality games and take chances no one has bothered to take notice. Jet Set Radio Future? 80,000 copies sold. Rez? A piddly 20,000 in the US alone if I remember correctly. Thier Sega sports line did not sell to thier liking but it has received critical acclaim and in the quality department can go toe to toe with EA's offerings. Believe me James I do agree Sega has churned out some stinkers in the past year or so but part of the problem is also no one is taking chances on the good titles they make.(Admittedly they are on the "niche" side but I digress)
Now thats not to say that the blame lies soley with gamers because that would be totally and completely unfair. Part of it is Sega's fault IMO for not realizing that they need to stop allot of this exclusivity nonsense they have going on. You want to be a third party? Then be one. There is a reason EA is #1 in the world.
Games like Virtua Fighter 4 should be on EVERY console. The PS2 version sold great, I can just imagine how well VF4 would sell on fighter starved systems like the GC and Xbox! Even better imagine a PS2 online and Xbox Live enabled version of VF4?
A game like Crazy Taxi 3 (which was one of those stinkers mentioned) BELONGS on the PS2. The Xbox was purely the wrong system to release that for IMO. Crazy Taxi was a proven seller on the PS2 and if Sega was intelligent they should have released that first and foremost on the PS2 and from there ported to the Xbox. (It still would have been a less than desirable game but hey that never stopped people from buying crap before).
Shinobi is yet another example. I've been playing it for days and its fooking phenominal but its something that I think should be moved at the very least the Xbox as well as the PS2 as that system is also within the intended audience for that kind of game. Even better strike while the iron is hot for Ninja Gaiden and give the Xbox'ers something just as great to hold them over with! I'm sure the Gamecube audience would love in on the NInja action as well!
The smartest thing Sega did from day one was pair Sonic with Nintendo's consoles. Its a union made in heaven and the sales of Sonic Advanced and Sonic Adventure 2 have proven that! I have a feeling Skies of Arcadia will be a big seller for the RPG starved cube crowd. Its these kinds of intelligent decisions that Sega needs to make right now more than ever.
Panzer Dragoon I think is the perfect fit for the Xbox console. Its a game thats very hardcore and very "niche". Its not a game that you can easily choose a platform for because honestly its dificult to make a million seller out of it no matter where you put it. However Smilebit knows the Xbox and with the great buzz the game is getting I am hopeful that Xbox fans will take to the game.
Even more important than choosing the proper platform to release and port games to.... MARKET FOR GODS SAKE! Sega has lost all ability to market. I think thier marketers have fallen completely asleep at the wheel. Its one very big component Sega is missing in every respect IMO. It doesnt have to be a huge ad campaign for every game. It can be as simple as BrianB's previous suggestion of placing ads and music samples in trance publications to promote a game like Rez. Its elementary my dear Sonic!
Of course the next comment will be:
"But Romier MS paid Sega for those exclusives, Sony is probably paying for those exclusives"
Listen, I don't pretend to know whats going on behind the scenes. Lord knows I wish I did at times but frankly at this point I don't care. You know what? Up until *this point* the payoffs are not getting Sega where they need to be so maybe its time Sega rethink its business strategy.
I'll be honest I'm more than happy to hear about those Sega classics being released on the PS2. I think its great that they are doing it and I'll be lining up to get them. BrianB was COMPLETELY on the up and up with his suggestions about Chu Chu rocket et all. Not too mention I think its great Sega is licensing the SNAP middleware to Sony and Nintendo.
Those are the kind of things Sega needs to do to get its butt in gear.
However I'm extremely disappointed to see nonsense like Blue Stinger being rereleased when Sega has DC titles such as the original Shenmue which at this point even has a built in audience on the Xbox! The original Jet Grind (again same situation) and many more marquee titles that they could be releasing on all of these systems and garnering decent sales for little porting efforts (the same porting efforts they are wasting on Illbleed and Blue Stinger).
How about they actually go and port or redo Panzer Saga and release to all of the players that have not had the oppurtunity to experience that wonderous game!?I mean come on.
I mentioned earlier there is a reason EA is #1. They whore the market. They PORT PORT PORT PORT PORT! People bitch and moan that its not taking advantage of the hardware but you know what a majority still buy it right up. EA has made thier money and they continue to secure thier spot as #1. If Sega truly wants to compete they need to follow this kind of effort but one-up it. Do a bit of low cost restructuring to take advantage of some hardware strength (as they did with say NFL2k3). It doesn't have to be huge, but enough to let people know that they care about player concerns. Possibly include extras in the ports to entice the consumer into buying it yet again on another console.
I do agree with you however James that Sega needs to start going DEEP into thier catalogue. How about an online Golden Axe MMORPG on Xbox Live? (Servers are already there for the love of god!). Streets of Rage 4 for all three Next Gen consoles! A true Phantasy Star sequel to rival the likes of Final Fantasy released first and foremost on the PS2 (with its RPG hunry LARGE userbase) and then ported to the other two consoles for extra revenue. Hell go back even further!
There was an article recently dont by a buiness site that featured EA's success and thier similarity to Disney. In it EA speaks of its intellectual properties and how thier use of those properties has propelled them to be what they are today. I can't believe for the life of me that a developer the likes of Sega with the ASTONISHING game catalogue it has and being the very defintion of intellectual property alongside Nintendo can be so flippant with its releases.
I'm starting to agree with Dave F here, it's almost like they WANT to go under.