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Sega announces extraordinary loss of 7.1 bn yen, layoffs, restructures, cancels games

C

Combichristoffersen

Combovers don't work when there is no hair
unomas said:
Clearly this is all due to the HD consoles, we need to go back to 8 bit gaming!!! Bull freakin crap, how about if Sega had games that sold well recently? How about if they got their management and house in order? Newsflash the global economy is not doing well, yes making games has gotten more expensive, and it will continue to do so, survival of the fittest. I'm a Genesis and Dreamcast owner so I want to see Sega succeed, but how about making some game that sell? That might help, not crying about going in reverse with technology. I can't even remember the last time I purchased a Sega game and I was a Jet Grind/Panzer owner day 1, but give us some games to get interested in Sega, and maybe market them???
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Those Mario & Sonic games sold like eleventy bajillion copies each.
 
T

Teknoman

Member
godelsmetric said:
How is 'well they make niche games' supposed to be an argument? That means that niche games are not financially viable. Why does this make the news any less worrying? Especially as we gear up for another console launch.

And then you have people lamenting the idea that they might make iOS games instead. Deal with it. iOS games are lower budget and thus represent a lower risk, which is exactly what a company needs. And there's a slew of iOS games that prove that they can have just as much heart as any console game, if not moreso.
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After just getting an Ipad, I see what people were saying about iOS games now...but you still cant pull off something like Binary Domain or Yakuza: Dead Souls on the devices...that I know of.

Personally I think alot of these companies are suffering losses because of the lack of marketing. Dead Souls might be pretty niche, but BD is a really good shooting game that anyone can get into, yet i've seen no print ads, online ads, or quick commercials.
 
H

Hcoregamer00

The 'H' stands for hentai.
Release Project Diva in the USA, there are a lot of Vocaloid fans who would want to buy it. Just release it with English subtitles and weebs like me will lap it up.

RurouniZel said:
Fuck. There goes any hope of a new Valkyria Chronicles! :(
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The game has preformed reasonably well in sales in Japan that having it on portable consoles will make it profitable. Doing a cross platform Vita/PS3 release would make sense, instead of releasing it on PS4.

I could imagine that they will want to continue the franchise since it is one that does raise the brand's image, but they will likely not do any projects now and focus on profitability.

With that said, ONCE it gets released in Japan I can't imagine it getting released in the states, unless it was a digital only release that is bare bones (ie: no English VA).
 
J

Junie12

Member
That's too bad, I really enjoyed most of the games I played from them.

Man this generation has been brutal to so many devs and pubs, makes me kind of scared on what's gonna happen in the future.
 
H

Hcoregamer00

The 'H' stands for hentai.
Junie12 said:
That's too bad, I really enjoyed most of the games I played from them.

Man this generation has been brutal to so many devs and pubs, makes me kind of scared on what's gonna happen in the future.
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Agreed, next gen will be even more brutal for developers.

If they can't handle the fire in the kitchen, why can't they move development to 3DS or the PS Vita where development costs are cheaper?

It is better to go portable than to be dead.
 
A

axisofweevils

Holy crap! Today's real megaton is that more than two people can have the same first name.
So does this mean Seaman will be cancelled for the 3DS?
 
B

blind51de

Banned
How did Yakuza 4 sell over here?

I know RgG sells like crazy in Japan, but while I couldn't care less about Sonic games it's Yakuza that I'm most worried about getting cut off for us.

That is, if this huge loss really is the fault of overseas sale dropoffs.
 
AHA-Lambda

AHA-Lambda

Member
Shaheed79 said:
What exactly is a AAA game development wise? The cost of developing average to large size 3D games with HD assets is still too expensive. Average being something like Bulletstorm or Vanquish. Large being something the size of Borderland, GTA and Saints Row.

A good majority of the games that failed to turn profits were not "AAA" nor did they try to be. Suggesting that publishers make more indie like games and save their HD budgets for a few "AAA" games is not a solution that I think you, or any other console gamer, would want.

I don't think you have a good idea about which games from this generation fall into the category of "not worth the budget" under those restrictions.
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So how have games like Catherine and demon's souls/dark souls managed it?
 
S

SpaceDrake

Member
Like people have commented, this probably cooks any chance of seeing Valkyria 3 from SEGA directly. They likely don't have the resources and may not even have the staff for it anymore (poor SOBs :( ).

I do wonder, though, if this will make SEGA a bit more amenable to licensing the title out to a third party, especially if that third party is willing to take on a fair bit of the risk. Hm.
 
V

vocab

Member
AHA-Lambda said:
So how have games like Catherine and demon's souls/dark souls managed it?
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You can thank Atlus for having an amazing fanbase, great word of mouth, reputation and great marketing. Dark souls sold it self despite Namco's awful reputation.

If Yakuza 5 doesn't come over I will be the really upset.
 
S

SMT

this show is not Breaking Bad why is it not Breaking Bad? it should be Breaking Bad dammit Breaking Bad
SEGA owns Bayonetta? Fuck my life. I thought they were just the publishers.
Bayonetta had some Sonic chimes in it.

GRRR, Platinum Games, HELP!
 
J

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
SMT said:
SEGA owns Bayonetta? Fuck my life. I thought they were just the publishers.
Bayonetta had some Sonic chimes in it.

GRRR, Platinum Games, HELP!
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Publishers generally own the IPs to the games they publish, because they're generally the financiers of their development. But you probably already knew that.
 
J

Jay Sosa

Member
No more Yak localizations either.
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281akc8.gif
 
M

Mistouze

user-friendly man-cashews
People already mourning Bayonetta 2 should remember that Kamiya is not a big sequels guy. I guess after Anarchy Reign is out there not much chance for new PG games funded by SEGA. Revengeance needs to sell a shitton!
 
S

ShadiWulf

Member
According to IGN, SEGA America's entire QA department has been layed off, also other positions are getting layed off

"Additionally, positions in marketing, design, social, and development have also seen layoffs."

Also according to IGN, all games that have been announced, and aren't Sonic, Total war, Aliens, or Football manager will no longer be published by SEGA. I personally think they are only talking about retail releases when they say that, probably had a communication error with their source. So don't freak out just yet until we hear something official from SEGA.

http://games.ign.com/articles/122/1222024p1.html
 
J

Jay Sosa

Member
Also according to IGN, all games that have been announced, and aren't Sonic, Total war, Aliens, or Football manager will no longer be published by SEGA
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Wait a minute? Does this essentially mean that some of their franchises might get outsourced/sold and actually be good?

You can thank Atlus for having an amazing fanbase, great word of mouth, reputation and great marketing
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Cause usually you can blindly buy anything that is published by Atlus. SEGA has published so much crap it's pretty impressive.
 
Z

ZoddGutts

Member
Well at least the PSO2 PC version is safe. The game is close to completion, will be coming out early this summer, just a few months away.
 
D

Dragoon En Regalia

Member
SEGA usually has to deal with some bad financial fallout every year, but this isn't too pretty compared to any of that. I can only hope that the Sega Ages Online ports from M2 can raise the corporation's reputation enough to bring back old-timers and new players to SEGA, because four brands won't be enough to keep them going forever. And I bet some of this loss is SoJ's fault, too—operating mismanagement and frivolity are factors often over-looked in this industry, and especially in the Japanese gaming industry (and it's always really bad at SEGA—look at how they lost all of their old source code files!).

Things were going so well, or there was at least an illusion of improvement. With SoA and SoE leading the charge to provide ports and community feedback, SoJ only had to worry about their big trip-A title from Iizuka and Nagoshi (and the arcade stuff, all in the bag). But there simply have to be more subtle reasons for why this might happen. The biggest reason of all, ultimately, is a lack of marketing, which SEGA has historically been strapped for cash enough to forego and abandon entirely. Considering how risk-averse the lead executives from Sammy and SEGA are, it's no surprise that they're falling back. Japan and the game industry has been badly affected by natural disasters and the natural course of the global industry—this better not be it for them.

I still want my new ports and console-borne ValkChron, anyway.
 
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