Sega is NOT DEAD- another fine example of video game journalism™

[choco parfait]

On the eve of E3 2012, we are able to learn, according to our sources deemed credible, that Sega Europe should close down in the coming months and all local branches in Europe as Sega France. This is partly a consequence of the ineffectiveness of the strategy for several years that Sega is to develop games by Western developers. In the aftermath, Sega should also announce, according to these sources, not to develop AAA games on consoles, but to focus on games and mobile phones dematerialized particularly tablets. The last headline game from Sega is developed by Creative Assembly will be presented at E3 2012 in a few days. Remember that Sega has announced that it will not be at GamesCom 2012.

Gamekyo?

Add that to:

• The narrowing of Sega's lineup, to focus on franchises that the company expects to sell in the US and Europe, including Sonic, Football Manager, Total War, and Aliens
• The cancelling of all other game releases besides those
• SEGA restructuring to focus on digital content

 :'(  Valkyria is only an A/AA franchise, right? And Shenmue is totally a B franchise, right guys?  :'(  :'(

[Trent Dole]

Damn man. So I'll be playing PSO2 in Japanese only most likely then.

[Takao]

Jeeze, I feel for Hardlight. I have to wonder what will happen to them? They were opened last year in the UK and didn't even get to finish a game...

I feel pretty terrible about the current SEGA situation as a whole. The company's really improved dramatically compared to the beginning of the merger, and to see them struggle to the point of multiple shutdowns is more than just disheartening.

[Huff]

[parallax]

All my sympathy with sega died with the dreamcast.

[Madrun Badrun]

meh, they have been shitty for a long time now.

[Oblivion]

Himu-chan.  :'(

[pilonv1]

FOOTBALL MANAGER

[Himu]

Will I still get JSR HD?

Y/N

If no, I may kill things.

Shenmue 1/2 HD? Still a possibility?

[Himu]

Well, Shenmue 1/2 HD are already DONE so it's still possible. Anything is possible.

I'm sorry, Sega. I really am.

[Trent Dole]

Will I still get JSR HD?

Y/N

If no, I may kill things.

Shenmue 1/2 HD? Still a possibility?

JSR - I'd say 'yey'
Shenmue 1/2 - Pretty sure I saw somewhere that these were a AFD story/joke. 

[Himu]

this is somethiing you don't want to read right before you masturbate

[Himu]

Will I still get JSR HD?

Y/N

If no, I may kill things.

Shenmue 1/2 HD? Still a possibility?

JSR - I'd say 'yey'
Shenmue 1/2 - Pretty sure I saw somewhere that these were a AFD story/joke. 

but they said skies of arcadia hd is done as well and those are a natural progression from JSR: cult classics of the dreamcast era that didn't really sell like hotcakes.

[Trent Dole]

I'd love me some HD SoA and if it actually happens - awesome, but I ain't holding my breath.

[Himu]

Why Sega and not Konami? Konami can suck my left nut. Fuck you.

[Robo]

Dreamcast 2, 2013.  Fingers crossed!

[Trent Dole]

ITT drunk Himu?  Konami's made uh...  Can't think of anything super rad of theirs that's recent. (besides the recycled sprite fest of CV HD) Maybe they just manage their business slightly less terribly than Sega does.

[Great Rumbler]

This is what happens when you try to cater to your fans. Nintendo GETS IT.

[Human Snorenado]

Real Talk time.  Sega's been dead for years, some of y'all have just been fucking the corpse.

[Himu]

ITT drunk Himu?  Konami's made uh...  Can't think of anything super rad of theirs that's recent. (besides the recycled sprite fest of CV HD) Maybe they just manage their business slightly less terribly than Sega does.

konami could not afford to pay back a 14 million loan to a bank

[Trent Dole]

So how are they not dead if the owe 14 mil? Business and government type debts are fuckin' weird.

[Himu]

i expect a japanese dev will snatch up sega. i also expect a japanese dev to snatch up konami.

i expect either capcom or s-e will become the EA of Japan, more likely S-E.

[choco parfait]

Konami is probably in a bad as spot as Sega. But they are still alive because:

1. They are not as foolish as Sega when it comes to tossing their money to make games. (Sega would have gone crazy and made a full-fledged HD Suikoden for millions and then qq'd and wondered why it bombed.)

2. Metal Gear Solid

Real Talk time.  Sega's been dead for years, some of y'all have just been fucking the corpse.

Not our fault every once in a while it suddenly humps up on its own allowing us to believe its still alive. 

[Himu]

Konami is probably in a bad as spot as Sega. But they are still alive because:

1. They are not as foolish as Sega when it comes to tossing their money to make games. (Sega would have gone crazy and made a full-fledged HD Suikoden for millions and then qq'd and wondered why it bombed.)

oh my god, don't do this to me you taco

[parallax]

i expect a japanese dev will snatch up sega. i also expect a japanese dev to snatch up konami.

i expect either capcom or s-e will become the EA of Japan, more likely S-E.

Capcom for the double play, easily.

[Sho Nuff]

Oh god if Square ate Sega I would probably throw myself screaming off the local mountain cliff (there's one behind my house)

[Bebpo]

Square is a good company these days though.  Look at how well Eidos has become under them!  I think they're a few years past their problem era.


Sad to see Sega go though.  The biggest loss in terms of their franchises is the death of Virtua Fighter

[Oblivion]

The only loss in terms of their franchises is the death of Virtua Fighter

Fixed.

[maxy]

Square buying Edios was incredibly smart.
I'm more pumped for next Deus Ex than for GTA5,would buy next gen console just for that.

Sega stuff on the other hand...

[MCD]

They have Yakuza. Good buy for the Japanese market.

[Momo]

[Momo]

I refuse to believe they have been Atari'd until I see the next PSO/PSP on IPad

[Momo]

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE buy Sonic rights from SEGA Ninitendo

Look, I enjoyed Sonic Generations and thought Sonic was having an upswing quality wise, but as i'm sure Oscar will jump in on, as Sonic's quality increases it's sales decreases. People wanting shitty Sonics actually did more for SEGA than those of us that wanted quality Sonic titles. We are part of the problem.

I'm not the biggest Sonic fan, but selling Sonic to Nintendo would make it so I never buy Sonic again, ever. Sonic platforming is a whole different thing than what the mustachoi'd people can dream up while eating breakfast in their fairy gardens.

[Owl-faced Wizard]

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE buy Sonic rights from SEGA Ninitendo

i can't tell if you're serious or not

[Owl-faced Wizard]

I'm not the biggest Sonic fan, but selling Sonic to Nintendo would make it so I never buy Sonic again, ever. Sonic platforming is a whole different thing than what the mustachoi'd people can dream up while eating breakfast in their fairy gardens.

the perfect momo post
now you don't ever need to post again

[Momo]

That was a good post Momo but would you rather play Nintendo Sonic or no Sonic at all? I'd take the mustachioed one instead of the not existing one, thanks.

That's the exact same Sonic cycle though. Nintendo makes a Sonic that hardly resembles Sonic --> sells a fat load --> nerds rage. Nintendo promises to go back to making what Sonic originally was --> makes a fair approximation --> sells fuck all in comparison. All that is doing is replacing the dealer.

And I have very serious misgivings what a Nintendo approximation to a good Sonic would be, or if they even would give a fuck what the minority that is classic Sonic fans want. I'd rather have sonic just end himself at this point. Generations was a good swansong, I'll pretend Sonic 4 ep 2 didnt release recently. 

[Owl-faced Wizard]

I don't think the 'good' Sonics sold badly because they changed the formula to something better.  I think they sold badly because they came after the bad Sonics.  If they go back to 2k6 stuff it will do badly too.  It's a franchise in decline and the new ones are paying for the sins of the recent past.

[Owl-faced Wizard]

Anyway, Nintendo wouldn't buy Sonic even if it was up for sale.  They've left a lot of their own franchises wither on the vine, they're not about to attempt to revive someone else's.

[Momo]

If SEGA allowed for a dying wish I'd ask for

-PSO2 to be localized
-Burning Rangers to be redone as a digital download, keep the intro song and anime stylings, nothing bank breaking.
-Phantasy Star V : The END. Again rejig the old tunes, keep anime stills as story sequences, no voice, dd only, nothing bank breaking.

Since wishes come in threes

[Takao]

I refuse to believe they have been Atari'd until I see the next PSO/PSP on IPad

I'm pretty certain SEGA is developing a version of PSO2 for iOS.

[bork]

Debunked.

Miles Jacobson, Studio Director at Sports Interactive:

Interweb rumours of SEGA Europe closing are false. Rumours of Dirk Kuyt signing for Fenerbache? Much more likely.

why would anyone report on a story like that without first asking someone connected to comment? Baffles me.

Repeating stuff from blogs without any source verification is not journalism. It's gossip.

http://twitter.com/milessi/statuses/209276671600230401

Video Game Journalism™

[Momo]

I refuse to believe they have been Atari'd until I see the next PSO/PSP on IPad

I'm pretty certain SEGA is developing a version of PSO2 for iOS.

Fuck this world

[ferrarimanf355]

All I ask from Sega is an XBLA/PSN port of Daytona USA 2.

[maxy]

world moves fast,Oscar

few days out of the loop = dead

[Momo]

lol i take *one* day away with my family and you guys go full distinguished mentally-challenged fellow

To be fair, I blame this entirely on Stringer Bell

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

I think we're due for another game journalist symposium.

[Positive Touch]

Video Game Journalism™

hey, it aint just the journalists, it's the forum dorks who don't know how to spot a shittily-sourced article

[Joe Molotov]

Gamekyo? More like Superkyro.

[Bebpo]

As much as this is fake, you have to admit that within the next 3 years this news story will be true.  I love Sega, but they are really on their way out :\

[bork]

As much as this is fake, you have to admit that within the next 3 years this news story will be true.  I love Sega, but they are really on their way out :\

MORE DOOMEDEDEDEDED!

Nah.  They're not going anywhere until furries lose interest in Sonic.

[Bebpo]

Sonic can't support the entire company.

I loved Sega as a hardware manufacturer
I love Sega as a software manufacturer
I will pour a 40 on their grave.

[pilonv1]

Debunked.

Miles Jacobson, Studio Director at Sports Interactive:

Interweb rumours of SEGA Europe closing are false. Rumours of Dirk Kuyt signing for Fenerbache? Much more likely.

why would anyone report on a story like that without first asking someone connected to comment? Baffles me.

Repeating stuff from blogs without any source verification is not journalism. It's gossip.

http://twitter.com/milessi/statuses/209276671600230401

Video Game Journalism™

Sports Interactive, fine developers of

FOOTBALL MANAGER

Sega

[bork]

Sonic can't support the entire company.

I loved Sega as a hardware manufacturer
I love Sega as a software manufacturer
I will pour a 40 on their grave.

The Sonic thing was a joke.  It's not happening anytime soon.

[Bebpo]

For now.

Sonic only sells 1-2 million.  It can't support the entire company.  Sega is on its way out.  I love Shenmue, but it's all gone gone gone.  Give a few years and kids growing up won't know the name Sega.  At that point I think a certain amount of Sega fans will simply kill themselves.  But the rest of us will live on, never forgetting the greatness that is Sega.


I'm kind of weird in that I didn't care about Sega in the 16-bit days.  Was entirely SNES.  But was a huge Saturn/Dreamcast fan and it breaks my heart to see them go.  I don't know what Oscar will do when Sega is finally dead.  Stop posting?  That will be a said day that will live in infamy.

[bork]

Try to be positive for once, Bebpo.  Look at your avatar!

[Bebpo]

Awwwww...that's true

To quote shakespeare (or someone similar to him):

Love overcomes all obstacles.

[chronovore]

Real Talk time.  Sega's been dead for years, some of y'all have just been fucking the corpse.

TRUF.

If Sammy hadn't had cash to burn and a thorough misunderstanding of how video games work, AND how the world outside Japan works, Sega would have been dumpster-ditched many years ago.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

Real Talk time.  Sega's been dead for years, some of y'all have just been fucking the corpse.

Agreed.  It was a matter of when, not if, Sega was going to fall apart.

[Momo]

I hate to be a fanboy, but I am. When SEGA ducks out is the day I decide to do nothing but troll until I'm banned everywhere.

[benjipwns]

So...

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-06-28-sega-closing-european-offices

SEGA Europe will close five offices under the control of its European business this year as it focuses on core brands Aliens, Sonic, Total War and Football Manager, alongside its digital business.

"We are aligning business strategy, and we will be closing our offices in France, Germany, Spain, Australia and Benelux," SEGA Europe COO Jurgen Post told GamesIndustry International this morning.

...

"Basically for us it's putting a lot of focus into those studios and into their IPs. So Total War coming out of Creative Assembly, Football Manager coming out of Sports Interactive, so we want to diversify, so we want to have an increased focus on those brands. And we want to become better and more successful with those."

And how does that affect new IP outside of those current brands?

"At the moment for us those are the four IPs we are talking about, they are our AAA IP. At the moment we are looking into options of course, but it's not like we are already developing some other titles in addition to that, no," said Post.

"It's a focus on those four core IP, and in addition to that we'll have digital. And digital still means 50 - 75 releases every year, so that's still a big number."