[DigitalDuck]

TimmiT, on 30 January 2015 - 12:39 PM, said:

Donate and we'll try to buy the rights to Blinx the Time Sweeper!

I'd buy the rights to Blinx the Time Sweeper.


But basically this is mostly non-news, changes will be pretty much completely unnoticeable from the consumer's point of view. People affected will either get jobs elsewhere, form their own studio, or take the redundancy money and retire.

[Overlord]

My worry is physical games will dry up entirely. This coming generation onwards is going to be a FUCKER to archive for the long term thanks to insistence on using DRM. More need to learn from GoG's example.

[TimmiT]

So going by tweets, basically all of SEGA America's community team has been let go. Kellie Parker, Clumseh and Sam Mullen have all tweeted about it, and Stephen Frost has hinted that he's no longer there as well.

EDIT: Actually, sounds like they aren't fired (yet) after all: https://twitter.com/...8637106176?s=07

This post has been edited by TimmiT: 30 January 2015 - 02:21 PM

[RenyNoise]

TimmiT, on 30 January 2015 - 11:48 AM, said:

RenyNoise, on 30 January 2015 - 11:13 AM, said:

Looks like Sonic Runners is the biggest Sonic game we can look forward to huh? Boom didn't help at all.

Sonic's fine, it's primarily the publishing and arcade divisions that are affected.

Found this on a website.

Local organizations managing packaged game software in Western markets will be streamlined. In the U.S., Sega of America, Inc. based in San Francisco will be relocated to Southern California by this summer and its existing office in San Francisco will be closed thereafter, which results in reducing fixed expenses, mainly in corporate functions. In addition, the Sonic and merchandising businesses will be reinforced to establish a structure which can generate stable profits.



Come on man, I wanted to believe you :,(

[TimmiT]

RenyNoise, on 30 January 2015 - 02:18 PM, said:

TimmiT, on 30 January 2015 - 11:48 AM, said:

RenyNoise, on 30 January 2015 - 11:13 AM, said:

Looks like Sonic Runners is the biggest Sonic game we can look forward to huh? Boom didn't help at all.

Sonic's fine, it's primarily the publishing and arcade divisions that are affected.

Found this on a website.

Local organizations managing packaged game software in Western markets will be streamlined. In the U.S., Sega of America, Inc. based in San Francisco will be relocated to Southern California by this summer and its existing office in San Francisco will be closed thereafter, which results in reducing fixed expenses, mainly in corporate functions. In addition, the Sonic and merchandising businesses will be reinforced to establish a structure which can generate stable profits.



Come on man, I wanted to believe you :,(

Maybe you want to look up what reinforced means. So okay, Sonic will be affected, but in a way that we'll probably see even more of him.

[JaxTH]

Besides Aaron, Clumsy and Kellie were the only ones I ever cared about.

[RenyNoise]

The way reinforced is used here it can be interpreted a number of ways. I take it as them making less Sonic games to save money, it cost money to make games. Why make games if they don't make money.

This post has been edited by RenyNoise: 30 January 2015 - 03:27 PM

[360]

Tragic news. Lifelong Sega fan here from childhood. It feels like every couple of years or so we're hearing that's Sega's dying just a little more. Makes me wonder whether they'll even be around in a few years. All I want to know for definite is what is happening to Sonic. "Reinforced" is the vaguest possible term. NeoGAF are speculating that Sonic Runners is the big Sonic game for this year hence why Sonic Team is behind it. What is the fate of the rumoured Xbox One and PS4 title, presuming of course it's even in development? Just trying to discern hard confirmation on whether Sonic will still be getting console games or is going mobile only in this refocus.

Sonic Runners kind of indicates he's going mobile only for now. At least for this year. It would explain why Sonic Team's behind the game instead of Hardlight.

This post has been edited by 360: 30 January 2015 - 02:39 PM

[TheKazeblade]

Sounds like Aaron got out of there at the right time if the community reps are all getting the boot. Hopefully they won't get nixed.

[Raia]

TimmiT, on 30 January 2015 - 12:35 PM, said:

Yeow, on 30 January 2015 - 12:29 PM, said:

Dark Sonic, on 30 January 2015 - 12:21 PM, said:

JaxTH, on 30 January 2015 - 11:32 AM, said:

I'm really fucking tired of the whole of the internet saying SEGA needs to sell FUCKING EVERYTHING when they lose even a dollar.

Don't care. I don't like Sega as a company. Kinda want them to go away.

Same here. I don't know why anyone would still have faith in this company (let alone have them still exist) if they're still putting out rushed piles of shitfests like Boom: Rise of Lyric and Aliens: Colonial Marines despite being lambasted for releasing Sonic 06 in the state it was in a mere 6/8 years ago.

Recently the bad stuff SEGA has put out has mainly come from SEGA America though. SEGA Europe has been pretty good with the exception of the mobile games that have far too many microtransactions Hardlight puts out, and recently put out Alien Isolation. SEGA Japan has also been putting out good stuff like Phantasy Star Online 2, the Yakuza games and Puyo Puyo Tetris, though the Shining series has become something completely different from what it used to be. The main problem with them is that not enough of their games are localized.

I'm in agreement here and sadly it's an issue that takes a lot effort to resolve. The fact that we're (Finally) getting Yakuza 5 and (surprisingly) Dengeki Bunko is great & welcomed news, since the general consensus was that their localization chances were dubious at best given the circumstances and lack of a response from SEGA (both sides having their understandable reasons). I strongly feel like their low risk/digital initiative could handle most of these titles well with the right marketing and social media awareness push, it just needs to happen from both sides of SEGA...it also still baffles me that PSO2 fills all three of SEGA's direction quite well (PC, Digital, Mobile/F2P) and yet we've to see it release here despite the localization announcement years ago.

SEGA still has a great catalogue and continues to put out some great games, that point needs to get across to people, not just the crappy stuff.

[TimmiT]

RenyNoise, on 30 January 2015 - 02:31 PM, said:

The way reinforced st used here it can be interpreted a number of ways. I take it as them making less Sonic games to save money, it cost money to make games. Why make games if they don't make money.

Sonic games make money. Sonic Boom games though...

[JaredAFX]

I think "reinforced" means more Sonic. More better Sonic. Runners sounds like it'll be decent, and hopefully this rumored PS4/XB1 game isn't another freaking gameplay change.

I agree with what a lot of you are saying, though: I think Sega isn't worth having around anymore. Poor Sonic Team hasn't made anything not Sonic or Puyo Puyo since 2009, and they haven't made anything original since 2005. This is the same studio that made Ristar, NiGHTS, Burning Rangers, Samba de Amigo, Billy Hatcher, and we can't forget Phantasy Star Online. Imagine what they could be doing instead of Sonic every. Single. Year. But they can't because Sega depends on Sonic. I just don't see how Sega is supposed to make quality products when even their crutch just tripped a bit with Boom.

[Casshern]

JaredAFX, on 30 January 2015 - 03:43 PM, said:

Poor Sonic Team hasn't made anything not Sonic or Puyo Puyo since 2009, and they haven't made anything original since 2005. This is the same studio that made Ristar, NiGHTS, Burning Rangers, Samba de Amigo, Billy Hatcher, and we can't forget Phantasy Star Online. Imagine what they could be doing instead of Sonic every. Single. Year. But they can't because Sega depends on Sonic. I just don't see how Sega is supposed to make quality products when even their crutch just tripped a bit with Boom.

I know it's not recent and something not original but aren't they the ones who made PSO 2 and in charge of it?

[Raia]

Casshern, on 30 January 2015 - 04:44 PM, said:

JaredAFX, on 30 January 2015 - 03:43 PM, said:

Poor Sonic Team hasn't made anything not Sonic or Puyo Puyo since 2009, and they haven't made anything original since 2005. This is the same studio that made Ristar, NiGHTS, Burning Rangers, Samba de Amigo, Billy Hatcher, and we can't forget Phantasy Star Online. Imagine what they could be doing instead of Sonic every. Single. Year. But they can't because Sega depends on Sonic. I just don't see how Sega is supposed to make quality products when even their crutch just tripped a bit with Boom.

I know it's not recent and something not original but aren't they the ones who made PSO 2 and in charge of it?

That is a separate group from the other two teams if I'm not mistaken, that is unless SEGA decides to do another shuffle.

[360]

JaredAFX, on 30 January 2015 - 03:43 PM, said:

I think "reinforced" means more Sonic. More better Sonic. Runners sounds like it'll be decent, and hopefully this rumored PS4/XB1 game isn't another freaking gameplay change.

I agree with what a lot of you are saying, though: I think Sega isn't worth having around anymore. Poor Sonic Team hasn't made anything not Sonic or Puyo Puyo since 2009, and they haven't made anything original since 2005. This is the same studio that made Ristar, NiGHTS, Burning Rangers, Samba de Amigo, Billy Hatcher, and we can't forget Phantasy Star Online. Imagine what they could be doing instead of Sonic every. Single. Year. But they can't because Sega depends on Sonic. I just don't see how Sega is supposed to make quality products when even their crutch just tripped a bit with Boom.

Yeah thinking about it now I think you're right actually. Sonic is still a lifeline to the company and a guaranteed multi-million seller at retail (when Sega isn't doing stupid exclusivity agreements on bombed consoles and outsourcing Sonic to Z-list developers) so I think the wording here is that Sonic should be secure on consoles for the time being. Every other franchise in terms of Western boxed retail releases is probably dead outside of maybe the Aliens franchise since Alien: Isolation did well and Sega's obvious PC efforts that are doing extremely well for them and they've now announced they're doubling down on.

The thing is the PS4 and Xbox One game isn't just a rumour. Our very own Endri confirmed the existence of working prototypes that he'd even seen. There's a chance the game's been canceled but the franchise being "reinforced" makes that highly, highly doubtful. My guess is that Sonic is still secure at retail though quite heartbreakingly for Sega's other franchises the only series that's secure on consoles now.

Well we're Sonic Retro and it looks like at this stage we're still getting more Sonic so I guess that's the silver lining to this tragic news.

This post has been edited by 360: 30 January 2015 - 05:03 PM