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The Future of SEGA: Grim or glorious?

Discussion in 'General Sonic Discussion' started by Dr. Victor, Nov 9, 2017.

  1. Dr. Victor

    Dr. Victor

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    Several months ago, I asked several questions about the sonic fandom. I am back, and asking more questions. Oh, joy.

    1: What do you think will happen to SEGA in the next ten years? Will it survive as a company?

    2: Assuming SEGA goes bankrupt, what will happen to the Sonic fandom and community at large?

    3: If you have a pessimistic view of SEGA's future, when do you think it will cease existing outright?

    4: If you have an optimistic view of SEGA's future, what do you think will happen to the company? How will it stay relevant in the modern market?

    5: Do you think fanmade content can qualitatively compete with official content? If so, why? If not, is it because of technical or stylistic errors? Or something else entirely?

    6: Do you think the Sonic fandom has superseded SEGA as the primary source of Sonic content?

    7: If you make fan work of any kind, what motivates you to do so, and what kind of work is it?

    8: Assuming you make fan work of any kind, on average, how long does it take to complete a project?

    9: If you could pitch a game idea to SEGA, what would it be, and how would it be different from any previous Sonic game?

    10: Do you think SEGA should get more involved with its fanbase? If so, why? If not, why?

    I eagerly await responses. Thank you for participating.
     
  2. MiSHiKiS

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    I think SEGAs perfectly fine, really. The only major dud they've had was Sonic Forces, but thats a result of Sonic Team and not SEGA. Games like Puyo Puyo Tetris and Yakuza 0 have been great, and im pretty sure most games theyve published have been around 80 or so on Metacritic sans Forces and Valykira Revolution (i think). And they do own companies such as Atlus which have been consistently creating gold imo. Personally I feel they're doing fine, and the only thing I'd want from them is to involve more of their others IPs really. SEGA is not just Sonic. Id like them to take a break from Sonic and try marketing their original IPs more because thats something I feel SEGA is really poor at doing, and why most aren't exactly huge sellers

    The main point I feel should be stressed is while Sonic sells, regardless of quality, and is their mascot, SEGA is not just a Sonic machine
     
  3. Sir_mihael

    Sir_mihael

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    When you say SEGA, do you really mean the entirety of the SEGA company, or just the part of Sega that specialises in the Sonic franchise? Or just Sonic Team?

    SEGA as a company are involved in so many things it's almost too much to list. Even putting Sonic aside for a second, on the games side of things there's Yakuza, Persona / SMT, Guilty Gear, Project Diva, a good chunk of the Arcade scene in Japan, every damn UFO catcher in Japan it seems...

    I'm really generalizing here, as a real list of things SEGA are involved in would go on for several pages, especially if you include their involvement outside of the games industry.

    So to answer a good chunk of your first questions: SEGA aren't going anywhere, at least in Japan. They don't particularly need to put much effort into staying relevant when they already ARE a big part of the market.
    SEGA will die when Japan's entertainment industry dies.

    As for something more relevant to us, a.k.a SEGA's involvement in home gaming - franchises like Shin Megami Tensei, Persona and Yakuza are still money makers. Not sure what else to say. Asking about Sonic Team's future might be a better focus.
     
  4. Felik

    Felik

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    This fucking thread again
     
  5. Plorpus

    Plorpus

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    Sega will be fine as long as they've got Yakuza, PSO2, and Persona.
     
  6. Sean Evans

    Sean Evans

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    Check for yourself
    https://seekingalpha.com/article/4121190-sega-sammy-holdings-inc-adr-2018-q2-results-earnings-call-slides

    They may lag a little in the us, but they certainly won't go bankrupt.
     
  7. I don't have time to do this now but I look forward to answering this.
     
  8. Black Squirrel

    Black Squirrel

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  9. ICEknight

    ICEknight

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    Depends on them taking the Sonic Mania path or the Sonic Forces path.
     
  10. Aesculapius Piranha

    Aesculapius Piranha

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    No idea. If SEGA has shown anything it is that they can survive.

    Not sure why you are making that assumption but it would be a sad day for gaming. Sonic community would continue on as they always have. Don't know if you've noticed but there are people here playing games made 26 years ago.

    A company like SEGA wouldn't die. It would be bought by a bigger game company so it could be gutted and milked for its brand recognition and IP.

    I think as long as SEGA continues on its current path it will continue to survive, but it would take a bit of a miracle for it to become the publishing home console powerhouse it once was.

    The mod/homebrew community has shown over the years it is that fans can be developers too. Sonic Fan Remix was the visual king of Sonic until recently. Sonic MANIA was made by members of this community who grew up and got jobs doing that thing they do. Outside of Sonic, mods have proven to be able to gather their own followings and fans as well. Counter-Strike is a fairly famous example of a mod that went full game that is even more popular than the game it was built on.

    No.

    Nope. I've never been one of these amazing talented people here who do that.

    Unless you want me to count shitty sketches I make in like 30 minutes or so, not applicable.

    I wouldn't. Sega has great game ideas without me. Every game sequel I'd want to see has been at least attempted except maybe Burning Rangers. SEGA's problem isn't their ideas. They have great ideas.

    I mean, if they want. For better or worse I'd say few companies listen as closely to their fans. That is probably why Adventure-style Sonic has been a neurotic mess of ideas over the years. They listen to us. Why do you think Shadow packing heat was a thing when edgy Sonic message boards were popular? In Sonic's case I wish they would focus a bit more on tight controls. While I expected to have more scathing things to say about Forces, I'd argue that the main appeal of classic Sonic now is in fact just having air tight controls.

    Sure thing, doc.

    Forces actually did a lot of things right. It will be kind of sad if they completely discard it in favor of Mania. I say this as someone who really hasn't liked 3D Sonic much til this point. Mania is still the clear winner, but SEGA needs to take lessons from both.
     
  11. This is actually a really cool resource that I didn't know was on the wiki at all.

    I have a question about Annual Reports in general. Besides providing investors and shareholders information about the financial/structural state of the company, do they openly mention projects and maneuvers that aim to expand their company or keep some details private until a widespread public announcement?

    Like for example, would something like "Amazing SEGA" be mentioned in a previous report not by name but vaguely as some sort of "focus on the restructuring of the SEGA brand"?
     
  12. Laughingcow

    Laughingcow

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    Sega recently acquired Atlus, no? Ergo, their future is unquestionably good.

    The Sonic the Hedgehog franchise and Sonic Team, not so much.

    The questions seem unnecessary especially when they see how the state of the Sonic Franchise as the same thing as Sega Sammy in its entirety.
     
  13. Andrew75

    Andrew75

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    maybe they should completely disband Sonic team and move on to a new IP? Official Sonic games of late have been a huge let downs for me, including yes Generations,
     
  14. JaxTH

    JaxTH

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    Jack shit.
    Yes, I totally forgot that Sonic Team has made nothing but Sonic games in their entire history.
     
  15. Yuzu

    Yuzu

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    Considering that Sonic Team develops Puyo Puyo, this is a terrible idea.
     
  16. Plorpus

    Plorpus

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    I think they should force Sonic Team to make Chu Chu Rocket, Billy Hatcher, and Samba De Amigo games for the rest of eternity
     
  17. Sid Starkiller

    Sid Starkiller

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    We've already seen the results of being forced to work on one IP. Do you want those franchises ruined, too?

    It's probably impractical, but here's what I'd do: Strip Sonic Team of the IP, and the name. Let them do other stuff. Then, talk to Whitehead and co., and have those who are willing become full-time employees, under the moniker Team Mania (I mean officially called that). They'd alternate between Sonic games and non-Sonic games, to help prevent burnout.
     
  18. SEGA has several great franchises and is still innovative. I'm sure it will, given that it has lasted this long.
    The Sonic fandom will long outlast SEGA even if it were to go down. As long as there are games to be made, whether by SEGA or some other group/company, Sonic fans will remain active.

    SEGA needs to revive Sonic because he is an absolute goldmine of potential... but also keep its other successful franchises afloat by guaranteeing high quality and consistency.

    Any content, fanmade or not, can compete given sufficient resources. Most fans do not have this but there is nothing stopping an ambitious group from doing so.

    With the 2D games, yes. With the 3D games, not yet.

    I simply have a concept for a phenomenal 3D Sonic game. I'm motivated because I've desired it for a long time and I believe it would put Sonic back on equal footing with Mario in terms of widely positive reception and eventually sales.

    I'm a concept guy. I could produce a proof of concept relatively quickly with the right dev team.

    I would develop an open world Sonic game. It would take the important fundamental aspects of the classic 2D gameplay and reimagine them as a completely new concept in a 3D world. Sonic would effectively be a greater version of Mario's Odyssey but within his own framework and unique style and vibrant world. Imagine Sonic 3-meets tony hawk-meets mirror's edge. It would kick Mario's ass.

    SEGA is too involved with the Sonic fanbase, which is one of its biggest problems. Sonic game sales have been declining and SEGA and Sonic Team listen to specific, surface-level complaints from among Sonic's divided fanbase rather than understanding the series fundamental issues on their own...they should unite behind ONE focused vision, ONE focused execution for an excellent Sonic concept themselves. SEGA should know its mascot, fully understand what drives his wider appeal and success without anyone having to tell them why, and protect him at all costs. He is the face of the company and still globally recognizable. He must be a guarantee of an excellent product: pure fun and joy!

    I cannot speak on the other fanbases since they are much smaller than Sonic's.
     
  19. Overlord

    Overlord

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    Ugh - I can see why you did it but PLEASE don't use font colours like that in a post again.