Will Sega become the next 3DO?

[Snapple]

If Sega goes under, you know who I'll blame? EA.

Anyone who looks at any list of the best-selling games annually has probably noticed that Madden sells better than most game titles combined.

The NFL 2K series by Sega Sports was gaining a lot of popularity when EA grabbed the NFL license for themselves. By NFL 2K5, they had a product equal to or better than Madden, at a cheaper price. If Sega had been allowed to continue making NFL 2K games, the monstrous sales from that alone could keep the company afloat, even if they made 30 failed titles per year.

[dgdgagdae]

If Sega goes under, you know who I'll blame? EA.

Anyone who looks at any list of the best-selling games annually has probably noticed that Madden sells better than most game titles combined.

The NFL 2K series by Sega Sports was gaining a lot of popularity when EA grabbed the NFL license for themselves. By NFL 2K5, they had a product equal to or better than Madden, at a cheaper price. If Sega had been allowed to continue making NFL 2K games, the monstrous sales from that alone could keep the company afloat, even if they made 30 failed titles per year.

Then don't blame EA. Blame the NFL. They didn't steal an exclusive license, they purchased it. From a willing seller who helped them shut their competition out of the marketplace.

[JPeeples]

In the end, Sega only has themselves to blame for their falures. EA didn't force the Sega CD onto consumers who didn't want it, nor did they speedily release the Saturn when neither retailers nor consumers were prepared for it.

I don't see Sega becoming "the next 3DO", because 3DO wasn't as big an icon in the industry as Sega, and Sega does have numerous stellar franchises to fall back on like VF, Shenmue, Jet Set/Grind, Super Monkey Ball, and Yakuza. In some cases, like SMB and VF, they sell very well and can keep the company active. Sega's got a nice mix of IPs for hardcore and casual gamers right now, so they can please both markets and keep themselves active.

[j_factor]

EGM recently reviewed Virtua Fighter 5 for the PS3. They gave it a 9.5. 10. And 9.5. Great scores!

Interestingly, Game Pro announced that Sega is working on at least two next gen games based on the Alien film franchises. They don't come out until 2009 though! I wonder were Sega got the money to pony up for such a big license?

Sega has a tendency to make vague announcements like this and then never come out with the games. Am I the only one who remembers that Sega was supposed to be working on an original game with Michael Crichton? Am I alone in my recollection that they were involving John Woo in some sort of new game? Am I the only person left who still wants Carbondale to come out? And let's not forget Phantasy Star Trilogy for PS2, Clockwork Knight 3 for Gamecube, Liliput Kingdom for GBA, and so on.

[diskoboy]

I think Sega could make a turnaround if the American side took the company back over - or at least seperate themselves from the Japanese side of the company. It seems that all the mistakes that have been made, in recent years, were made by Sega of Japan.

And then the American side of Sega sat back, and took it sraight up the ass. Sega of Europe or America had absolutely no control over anything, and they just let Japan run them into the ground.

EDIT - And the only Sega game I see coming down the road, that I'd even be remotely interested in would be the new version of Alien Syndrome coming out for the Wii.

[xfrumx]

I think Wii is gonna help Sega a lot
Sonic and Alien Syndrome look real good.

I even liked Shadow the Hedghog it wasnt supposed to be a Sonic game and it isn't but it is still good.

They did some good DS stuff to like the Feel the Magic game. Sega is far from dead in my opinion

And we get Sword of Vermillion tomorrow on virtual console!!!

SO SWEET!

[cessnaace]

In the end, Sega only has themselves to blame for their falures. EA didn't force the Sega CD onto consumers who didn't want it, nor did they speedily release the Saturn when neither retailers nor consumers were prepared for it.

I don't fault Sega for releasing a CD-ROM drive for the Genesis (Sega CD). NEC did it back in the day, and as I recall, people were taking Nintendo to task for NOT releasing their promised CD-ROM drive for the SNES. Where Sega went wrong was in releasing all the crap FMV titles. Actally, not all of the FMV titles were from Sega. Developers just didn't know what to do with a CD-ROM drive back then.

They should have stuck with developing games for the Genesis and Sega CD until they had a console to compete with Sony and Nintendo. Maybe they were afraid of a repeat of the SMS days. They were late releasing it to the U.S. market. By the time they did Nintendo owned the U.S. console market. So, they rushed the Saturn out before it was ready.

They should never have bothered with the 32X.

And they should have continued the Game Gear line. A Backward compatible Game Gear, with improved specs and an advanced built in battery, would have at least given us an alternative to the Game Boy line of handhelds.

Mark

[Iron Draggon]

I've only really been impressed with "Outrun 2" (& Coast 2 Coast) within the past...oh...I dunno 12 years.

Sadly, I admit that I only enjoy for what they *were* not what they currently are.

Even though I'm not impressed with much of Nintendo's output, they still give fans what they want.

AGREED! all the new Sonic games are OK, but OR2C2C is the only one that even comes close to being great... figure it out, Sega... more Ferrari games!

Here is what could save sega for the next few years or so in my opinion:

Eternal Champions - bring back those gorey overkills to a next gen system please.

FOR REALZ! release the final chapter! it was supposed to launch with Saturn!

[Poofta!]

I'm surprised they're still around. I don't know why you're comparing Sega to 3DO. 3DO was never as big as Sega (or uhh, big). Atari might be a more apt comparison, especially given Sega's arcade games.

i agree. oh and i pretty much thought that sega already went the way of 3d0 lol....

i see one of the huge publishing or developing companies buying sega in the next few years.... microsoft, nintendo, sony or EA... ubisoft maybe.

[skaar]

I think Sega died when Segata Sanshiro gave his life so the Dreamcast could live.

[exit]

Ah poor Sega, I've been playing my DC again and I'm still surprised that it died the way it did. Well not really surprised, more like really disappointed. It's a great piece of hardware, with a good selection of games and great amounts of potential that will (sadly) never be used.

They could make a come back in the next few years, or they could just remain in the limbo that they've been in since the DC. It's really just how they play their cards.

[cessnaace]

i agree. oh and i pretty much thought that sega already went the way of 3d0 lol....

3DO ceased making hardware...then ceased. THAT was my question. Now that Sega has stopped making hardware (excepting their line of arcade machines), will they continue on as a software only company? Or, will they cease?

Atari was once HUGE too, AND they made arcade hardware too. Atari is not the Atari of old. It's been broken up into little bitty pieces. Will that happen to Sega, or does their merger with Sammy protect them from this fate?


Mark

P.S. Yes, I know 3DO never actually made any consoles. They licensed everything.

[bangtango]

3DO ceased making hardware...then ceased. THAT was my question. Now that Sega has stopped making hardware (excepting their line of arcade machines), will they continue on as a software only company? Or, will they cease?

Atari was once HUGE too, AND they made arcade hardware too. Atari is not the Atari of old. It's been broken up into little bitty pieces. Will that happen to Sega, or does their merger with Sammy protect them from this fate?


Mark

P.S. Yes, I know 3DO never actually made any consoles. They licensed everything.

Huh? Maybe I misunderstood this post. 3DO hung around for about 6-7 years making software for Sony and Nintendo consoles, such as PS2 and N64, after they discontinued the 3DO hardware. Around 1996 to about 2002-2003. Not a great run, both in sales and the quality of their games, but I know for a fact that most people assumed when the 3DO hardware was shut down that you'd never hear another word from 3DO again. I mean their brand name was total and complete crap after the console flopped like it did, so it had to have been pretty hard to convince gamers and the media to take the company seriously when they transitioned to making software and kept the 3DO name. So the fact they carried on a few years longer, making games without any 3DO hardware to support, was certainly unexpected.

Also, I thought Sega "stopped" making hardware, or at least supporting hardware, back in 2001-2002. In this case, I'm not counting what they've done in the arcade business or with the Dreamcast in Japan since 01 & 02. Sega is five or six years into this new stage of their business. They've had ups and downs focusing only on software but I don't see them falling off the map commercially. Artistically, yes. However, if they get in some serious financial trouble, I predict they will probably "rehash" or "revisit" some of those "big" series that they have been ignoring for what feels like ten thousand years and that fans have been clamoring for another installment of for about ten thousand years.

You'd have a hard time convincing me that they haven't at least mulled the idea of doing something with the SOR/Bare Knuckle, Panzer Dragoon (Saga), Shining Force, Golden Axe, etc. brand names. I just think they are sitting on some of this stuff until they are really desperate for cash and good press. The fact they haven't made a return to any of those wells makes me think that they are not ready to fold up their tent yet. You know how it is going to go. "Holy shit, we're in some real trouble. 8 or 9 months from now we may be out of business. Time to remake Panzer Dragoon Saga or do another Streets of Rage........."

It is as simple as that. I mean people can say the new Sonic games are total shit and maybe they are but somebody has to be buying them if they are still getting released. I can think of a couple dozen series, good or bad, that aren't around only because people stopped buying the new installments. So somebody is encouraging Sega to put out "bad" Sonic games and that someone is the average game buyer. The recent Sonic games may be a joke and get horrible reviews but they are apparently selling well enough that Sega is sticking around and releasing more games in the series. Since Sonic is working for them, there isn't much need for them to go back and dig up some of their series which are on an extended hiatus. Maybe diehard fans will start seeing some of the stuff THEY want from Sega once two or three Sonic games in a row totally tank at the register.

[cessnaace]

Huh? Maybe I misunderstood this post.




Well, either that or I haven't done a good enough job getting my question across. I'll try again.

Yes, I know that 3DO survived for quite awhile after their console flopped. They died, in my humble opinion, because they kept releasing one crappy Army Men game after another. In fact it seems that's ALL they were making. In the end tying their fortunes to just one franchise did them in. Sega has Sonic, but at least they make and/or publish more than just Sonic. To their credit.

It's just that I've been reading alot of horror stories on the net about how Sega is doing financially. Tie this in with the article I remember reading in one of the gaming magazines around the time of Sega's announcement that they were discontinuing the Dreamcast, where someone at Electronic Arts was preticting the same fate for Sega as befell 3DO. I seem to remember him comparing Sega's sports titles to Fords, while EA's sports games were BMWs. He was probably just full of hot air. I say this as a Sega fan. My SMS (Model 1) still sits atop my entertaiment center in the master bedroom, and my Dreamcast still sits hooked up in the livingroom along with our GameCube and V.Flash. Our Genesis, 32X, Saturn, and Nomad are boxed away nice and neatly in their original boxes, along with the PlayStation, Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Atari Jaguar, NES(s), SNES(s), 3DO, Commodore 64(s) and my not-boxed Intellivision. I will NEVER sell any of my Sega systems. Well, actually, NONE of my systems. Period.

Has any of this made any sense? I tend to ramble. !


Mark

[bangtango]

Huh? Maybe I misunderstood this post.




Well, either that or I haven't done a good enough job getting my question across. I'll try again.

Yes, I know that 3DO survived for quite awhile after their console flopped. They died, in my humble opinion, because they kept releasing one crappy Army Men game after another. In fact it seems that's ALL they were making. In the end tying their fortunes to just one franchise did them in. Sega has Sonic, but at least they make and/or publish more than just Sonic. To their credit.

It's just that I've been reading alot of horror stories on the net about how Sega is doing financially. Tie this in with the article I remember reading in one of the gaming magazines around the time of Sega's announcement that they were discontinuing the Dreamcast, where someone at Electronic Arts was preticting the same fate for Sega as befell 3DO. I seem to remember him comparing Sega's sports titles to Fords, while EA's sports games were BMWs. He was probably just full of hot air. I say this as a Sega fan. My SMS (Model 1) still sits atop my entertaiment center in the master bedroom, and my Dreamcast still sits hooked up in the livingroom along with our GameCube and V.Flash. Our Genesis, 32X, Saturn, and Nomad are boxed away nice and neatly in their original boxes, along with the PlayStation, Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Atari Jaguar, NES(s), SNES(s), 3DO, Commodore 64(s) and my not-boxed Intellivision. I will NEVER sell any of my Sega systems. Well, actually, NONE of my systems. Period.

Has any of this made any sense? I tend to ramble. !


Mark

Yep, it sounds better than what I originally responded to.

I remember that very same comparison you just mentioned. It was in either EGM, Gamepro or Game Informer.

EA can talk all the trash they want about Sega but they never had to develop games while they were trying to develop, promote and then market a console or, in some cases, two to three consoles at the same time. Sega did well to compete with various EA sports series considering they also had to worry about putting out quality Sonic games, fighting games and arcade-style games to help sell their gaming systems which were usually the underdog to someone else. It has to be damn hard to stay focused and keep good games coming when you're losing money hand over fist on a console, which seemed to be the case for a few of their systems, and have to do something about it to keep the ship afloat.

I mean EA is still capable of producing flawed sports games when, in some cases, they are sitting on an exclusive license and basically have all year to work on it. Give Sega credit for beating them in quality some years when the company was spread a little thin at times. Still they managed to trump a company that basically has a single minded focus on sports games at least a few times.

I don't have plans to sell any of my Sega systems, either. I have them all, well the major ones, except for the Master System.

[77punk]

SEGA is my love.. I want to play House of the Dead 4.... Besides that, they need to stop making games and start making hardware again.. its all about SMS!

[anagrama]

Just move to Brazil - they're still manufacturing SMS hardware over there

[Melf]

You'd have a hard time convincing me that they haven't at least mulled the idea of doing something with the SOR/Bare Knuckle, Panzer Dragoon (Saga), Shining Force, Golden Axe, etc. brand names. I just think they are sitting on some of this stuff until they are really desperate for cash and good press. The fact they haven't made a return to any of those wells makes me think that they are not ready to fold up their tent yet. You know how it is going to go. "Holy shit, we're in some real trouble. 8 or 9 months from now we may be out of business. Time to remake Panzer Dragoon Saga or do another Streets of Rage........."

I think Sega already passed that point back when Isao Okawa gave it $732 million of his own money to bail it out. If that wasn't reason enough to tap the back catalog well, then I don't know what is. The fact that it's sitting on so many great franchises just means that management there is stupid, that's all.

[cessnaace]

Just move to Brazil - they're still manufacturing SMS hardware over there

Goes to show how much I know. The last Brazil title I was able to track down for my SMS came out in 1997. Still, Sega was only two years away from launching Dreamcast in the U.S. (even less time than that in Japan) at that point. And the U.S. SMS will play most of these foreign releases to boot (sorry for the pun). I don't know about the System 3 (as I believe the SMS was known in Japan, at least to start with), but the emulator I have plays System 3 games just fine. System's 1 and 2 as well.

Playing System 3 games is odd, because they are in Japanese. Natch. The same goes for the Famicom. And some of the game concepts defy description (which is why I play them, ha ha). One, on the Famicom, combines pachinco with an RPG. I can handle the pachinco part, but as I don't read Japanese I can't read all that text. Plus, pachinco doesn't translate into a videogame as well as it's American cousin (pinball). Damn I miss my pachinco machine (I had one as a teenager way back in the 70's).

There I go rambling again! !


Mark

[Rob2600]

I have to admit, I feel the same way you do. To me, its like working with a kid that has so much potential and never uses it.

Sega needs to make a real Phantasy Star game, and a real Shining force game. Oh, and another Streets of Rage and Beyond Oasis would be nice. Sega has lost a lot of its spark.

Why does the Streets of Rage series have as big of a following as it does? None of the games were great. They were mediocre Double Dragon and Final Fight clones.

I never understood why the Sonic the Hedgehog series became popular, either. The original Sonic the Hedgehog game was decent, but nowhere near as deep, polished, or innovative as Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, Mega Man II, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, etc.