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Sega output strategy | Discussion thread

Reader mode
KR_EP said:
SENIOR NETWORK
PROGRMMER
On Hyenas​

EXPERIENCES MATTER. 53 CURRENT JOB OPENINGS. On a New Project. Feels bad man, hope all those impacted by another Japanese company throwing global staff under the bus. At some point, if they haven't done so already, any prospective hires will have to factor that into whether or not to accept job offers from Japanese publishers. Wasn’t expecting its most expensive game in company history to not have a business model finalised in the very beginning. Instead it was inexplicably flailing about in lieu of one in the late stages of development as it neared completion only to be cancelled by SEGA Sammy. Perfect storm as there are issues across its formerly reliable international studios with one exception. Sport Interactive is signing off its existing work with...
Football Manager 2024: How the franchise made millions
"The way that I see it, I'm actually making the game for me - it just so happens that there are a few million other people like me out there," said studio head Miles Jacobson.

For the first time in the series' history, players can continue their last previously-saved game. This means their progress in Football Manager 2023 carries over directly into Football Manager 2024.

According to Sports Interactive, the feature has been used by 25% of players who have pre-ordered the game so far.

"It's definitely our most requested feature from the community, and it's the most pre-ordered game we've ever had," he said.

"This is going to be the last game in the Football Manager series as you know it... we wanted this to be a celebration of the end of an era.”
Most pre-ordered game in the developer history, quarter of players who pre-ordered (at time of publication) used transfarring to ensure they can avoid getting sacked a few weeks into the season. Also further into the article linked we get some insight as to how long it takes to build a new player database for women. It'll debut in a revamped entry next year. Annual sports games essentially have 3 year development cycles in practise. KONAMI had 3 year cycles for PES before its move to F2P (which still hasn't released all the features announced at launch).

『Two Point Campus』日本語版発売中止のお知らせ

2023年の発売を予定していました『Two Point Campus』（日本語版）ですが、諸般の事情により発売を中止させていただきます。

本作の発売をお待ちいただいていたお客様には深くお詫び申し上げます

『Two Point Campus』日本語版発売中止のお知らせ。

2023年発売とお知らせしておりました『Two Point Campus』（日本語版）ですが、
諸般の事情により発売を中止させていただきます。
本作の発売をお待ちいただいていたお客様には深くお詫び申し上げます。

Office Politics? Brought up a while back on the forum, SEGA Sammy themed DLC (like Tomb Raider & FF7 in PowerWash Simulator), is a real missed opportunity for both Two Point games. Trauma Centre (Hospital) & Persona (Campus) DLC with themed cameos by SEGA & ATLUS characters, either with unique lore related health problems or teaching/adult education at uni.
Like a Dragon Interview Trilogy
Next, I would like to talk about the fan culture that surrounds the series in Japan and overseas. In terms of character popularity, in Japan, Goro Majima would be a classic choice. Was there any character whose overseas popularity you were surprised by?
Masayoshi Yokoyama: During the RGG SUMMIT held this summer (June 16, 2023), the topic of whether Kiryu has ever proposed or been proposed to came up towards the end, and to this, the overseas fans all went “Sayama!” I was shocked that Sayama’s name would come up in that situation.

To me, Sayama was just “a woman from long ago” from a past title, but among overseas fans, there were people asking if she will be making an appearance again, so I was quite surprised. And now, when she appeared among the Poundmates in the trailer, everyone was like “I knew it, there she is!” It’s an odd feeling for me, as I don’t recall having Sayama mentioned to me much at all in Japan.
Indeed, if you minded users’ reactions you wouldn’t have had Haruka Sawamura appear in Like a Dragon 6 the way you did.
Masayoshi Yokoyama: No matter how much it gets criticized, in my mind, it’s a completely normal development for Haruka. To my surprise, overseas fans were a lot more accepting of the fact, while a portion of Japanese users were disappointed.

In response to this, I can’t help but think “So what?” The way I see things, if we start making changes whenever users complain, we might as well retire. It’s hard to explain, but I think that Like a Dragon should be like a “god” that we mustn’t touch. If all of your opinions can be changed by the words of others, you shouldn’t be making a drama-packed game. You get nothing but criticism for it anyways (laugh).

Live-service games and similar need to work on delivering what users want at the moment, but for us, things are different. We have to go beyond that, which is why we choose not to heed user requests. On the other hand, we do look at reviews after the game is out.
「龍が如くスタジオ」代表·横山氏と現役グラドル＆ホステスにミニインタビュー。大繁盛の龍スタ体験会大阪会場にて
Mini interview with Mr. Yokoyama, representative of "Ryu ga Gotoku Studio", a current gravure idol & hostess. At the Osaka venue of the thriving Ryu-studio experience.
via DeepL Translate
​
The hands-on event in Osaka that we visited this time was held at the Namba CITY Galleria Court. This is a spot where many ordinary customers come and go. The event itself was a big success, and by the time I visited in the early afternoon, all the numbered tickets had already been distributed for "Ryu ga Gotoku 7 Gaiden" and "Ryu ga Gotoku 8". A photo session with life-size panels of the characters and the cast members who play the cabaret girls in "Ryu ga Gotoku 7 Gaiden" was also very popular. The digital photo booth, where fans could become part of the "Ryu ga Gotoku 8" logo themselves, was also a big hit, with people enjoying taking pictures almost constantly.

What also caught my eye was the wide range of fans who visited the event. In its early years, "Ryu ga Gotoku" was developed with a clear target of adult males. However, as the series has progressed, the fan base has broadened and diversified, and "Ryu ga Gotoku 7" is a story about joining forces with friends of various genders, nationalities, and ages. As if to reflect this, the players who gathered at the event were so diverse that they were indistinguishable from the general public. The popularity of the game on social networking sites and other social networking sites clearly shows the trend of expanding the fan base and name recognition of "Ryu ga Gotoku. However, the sight of men and women, young and old, gathering together as "Ryu ga Gotoku" fans seemed to symbolize the change and penetration of this title.

At this hands-on event, we interviewed Mr. Masayoshi Yokoyama, representative of Ryu ga Gotoku Studio and executive producer of the game, Ms. Ayu, an active hostess who will make her debut as an entertainer, and Ms. Ai Kaname, a gravure idol who will play a cabaret girl in "Ryu ga Gotoku 7 Gaiden". We asked them about their thoughts on their respective works.

─ ─ Thank you very much. How do you feel about the temperature of the fans in Osaka? Did you feel that it was "Osaka-like"?
Masayoshi Yokoyama: I can't compare the experience with the one in Sapporo since I didn't attend that one, but I have the impression that the Osaka venue was open and many people came to see the game. Actually, we at Ryu-Ga-Gotoku Studio have been holding these events for a long time.

In the past, when we were doing things in places like this, many people would walk by and say, "I wonder what they are doing? I don't know. Nowadays, there are not so many people like that anymore, so I guess we have become better known. I still get a lot of "I wonder who that guy is" (referring to Mr. Yokoyama) (laugh).

─ ─ Are there any favorite spots you like to visit or places you would like to visit when you come to Osaka?
Masayoshi Yokoyama: Well, I would say Dotonbori and Yakiniku in Tsuruhashi. And speaking of Osaka, I had okonomiyaki yesterday. I would also like to go to a deeper Osaka. You know it well, don't you, Ayu?

Ayu-san: Yes, come to think of it, you came to the restaurant where I work. [busted!]

─ I seem to be able to imagine Mr. Yokoyama playing with it.

Masayoshi Yokoyama: But I don't usually go to such restaurants. I can't drink alcohol. I don't go to cabarets or cabarets. I have to pay a lot of money for water. [doubt.gif]

All of them: (laughs)

─ ─ Ayu, you are an actual hostess here in Osaka, did that experience help you in your role as a cabaret girl in the game?
Ayu: It was useful! I was very happy to hear that the requests I received during the shoot, such as "I actually want you to make me a drink," and the way I treated the customers, were the most natural.

─ ─ Kaname, did your experience as a gravure idol come in handy in any way?
Ai Kaname: Yes, I did. When I looked at the lines, I thought I was the best at "saying something a little sexually". [oh my.gif]

All of them: (laughter)

Ai Kaname: I often act like a natural lover in my gravure idol activities. I feel like I can't lose in that area. I'd love for people to agonize while doing this ...... (laughs).

─ ─ Kaname-san, if you could nominate any of the "Ryu ga Gotoku" characters, who would it be?
Ai Kaname: I have a stuffed toy of Ryuji Gouda with me today. It was given to me as a gift, but I happened to be taking good care of it today, so I would like to nominate Ryuji-san.

─ ─ Ryuji seems to drink a lot.
Ai Kaname: (laughs) I think he seems to drink a lot of expensive alcohol. I would like to admire that. [pro]

─ ─ How about you, Ayu?
Ayu: I think she is the best. I think it's wonderful that she never wavers. [noob]

─ ─ The main setting of "Ryu ga Gotoku 7 Gaiden" is Sotenbori. In "Ryu ga Gotoku 7", the resolution is much higher, and as a local of the model area, I was very impressed. Are there any changes you would like the locals to see in "Ryu ga Gotoku 7 Gaiden" and "Ryu ga Gotoku 8"?
Masayoshi Yokoyama: There are some changes in the location of play spots. But Sotenbori is still Sotenbori, and we haven't done anything strange to it. It's like we're just updating the atmosphere.

There are places like Kabukicho and Dotonbori that are the motifs for the land in the game. In that respect, Sotenbori is probably the closest to the actual model. The atmosphere of Dotonbori is very CG-like, like the signs, etc. The town in the game created by CG is not so different from the atmosphere of the real town. Kabukicho has a slightly different atmosphere. In Sotenbori, when you play the game, you feel like you've been there. It seems to be the town where the game and reality are closest.
​

John Linneman’s half hour assessment of the technical aspects but also is a video review of the game & its place in the franchise. It goes over what makes a Sonic game unique, where this stands up & falls short of the 2D Sonic. He even suggests modded score options to replace several weaker tracks with fan produced alternatives. Simply put, it offers an in-depth, near comprehensive analysis from a long term fan. The key difference being John Linneman sure knows their onions* & clearly explains the reasons why they feel the way they do.

Even finds time to offer a few tips for people struggling with getting on the right wave light to effortlessly flow through the levels of a side scrolling Sonic. Real love letter for an oft-maligned franchise & why people continue to play them despite countless misfires. Enough gushing from me as the range of Sonic videos he’s made over the years speak for themselves.

*Work involved is discussed in response to a Patreon question during DF Direct Weekly #137: GTA6 Announced, Steam Deck OLED Reaction, PS5 'Slim' Teardowns (timestamped) here.
SEGA SATURN
DF Retro: Sonic CD - A Genuine Sega Classic!
Side Scroll
Sonic Mania: Retro vs Modern - The Complete Analysis // Sonic Mania Plus: The Best Sonic Game Ever Made!
Sonic Origins - The Digital Foundry Tech Review - Good... But Should Have Been Great
3D World
Sonic Forces: Xbox One X vs Xbox One/ PS4/ Pro + Switch! Comparisons + Frame-Rate Tests!
DF Retro x Modern - Sonic Colors Ultimate: Every Console Version Tested
Sonic Frontiers - The DF Tech Review - Every Version Tested - PlayStation, Xbox, PC, Switch!
Let’s (not) Play
DF Retro Play: The Sonic 2006 Debacle Revisited - Xbox 360 vs PlayStation 3 (if you think the boss fights in Superstars are bad, oh boy!)
Bootleg Bonus
DF Retro Extra: The Sonic 2 HD Demo Is Amazing... But What About Sonic 2006?
DF Retro Extra: Sonic Chaos 2018, Sonic Z-Treme + 8 More SAGE 2018 Game Demos!
DF Retro: Sonic The Hedgehog Ported To SNES: Tech Demo Analysis!
As to why I used the caveat near comprehensive, its due to Sonic Superstars co-op & online multi-player being dismissed in passing. It might help explained the issues he raises with the Sonic boss fights, perhaps they're designed as obstacle courses for multiple players to navigate & survive before more than one player hit the boss during a limited opening. That would lead to a quick fight that is drawn out for a single player. If that is the case, it would be an explanation but not an excuse for a failure to rebalance for single player leading to lengthy intermissions before player can attack the boss. Hopefully this is something John Linneman will address in future, if he can rope in DF colleagues and/or Try from My Life in Gaming to play it together.
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Sega Europe in the past decade has been Sega glimmer of hope with many PC release success while Japan side is not doing that hot.

Now with total disaster on Sega Europe pipeline. And i still don't believe Sega japan branch outside Atlus is going to be able the lost of Sega Europe incomes. It will be long and rough period of time for Sega upcoming future there.
 
So that bunch of games was the Super Game, right.

Like, these will be connected through a Roblox like hub which will be the Sega metaverse, right.
 
It seems to me that SEGA wants to recover a little from the chaos of the last few years and devote itself to the old days.

I'm curious to see how this will turn out but after the sacked staff (Nagoshi & Co.), the questionable handling of Sonic/Sakura Wars, the withdrawal from arcade machines, the preference for NFTs and the canceled game Hyenas, I'm holding back my positive attitude towards this direction.
 
Aostia82 said:
I would be down with Super Game basically being some sort of SERVICE HUB accessibile from various dedicated hardware, to access many SEGA IP games
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It's a pretty terrible idea on paper as Sega has nowhere near enough manpower to provide enough content to keep a Roblox-like environment going as they would go months and months between content drops and they basically would spend a bunch of money making a Metaverse that would fail instantly.
 
Remolino said:
It seems to me that SEGA wants to recover a little from the chaos of the last few years and devote itself to the old days.

I'm curious to see how this will turn out but after the sacked staff (Nagoshi & Co.), the questionable handling of Sonic/Sakura Wars, the withdrawal from arcade machines, the preference for NFTs and the canceled game Hyenas, I'm holding back my positive attitude towards this direction.
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Outside on Sakura Wars and Hyenas, I'm not sure anything else really warrants concern.
Sonic is being handled better right now than he had been the past 20 years, and probably doing the best financially since the Sonic 1 days.

Nagoshi's took a lot of creative folks out with him (to a company that's probably paying them better), but RGG is still very competent. This whole initiative started after Nagoshi was demoted from COO and replaced with Yukio Sugino, as there were rumors Nagoshi only cared about his own IP and not the overall health of SEGA. Perhaps it was just a bad move from the beginning to promote him to that kind of position when he clearly just wants to make his own video games.

As for NFTs, that whole thing has long since been dead and buried. It was a fad none of these companies were really jumped on quickly enough.

Now as for what they showed, it's definitely a nice way to get people's attention and have them start talking, but I sorta have to question putting everything in a 90 second trailer that only featured 30 seconds of footage. It kind of cheapens the whole deal? Like "it takes 5 of these games to be worth 1 Dragon Ball Sparking Zero trailer", especially since none of them were graphical marvels either. Maybe it's just me, but I feel making it a little longer might have gone a long down the line.

I don't get the impression any of the games are gonna release in 2024 besides Shinobi. JSR and Crazy Taxi look like they need more time in the oven to polish up the environment, but you can kind of tell they want them to be a cut above the rest (I'm guessing they're the only 2 games here developed by SoJ). Golden Axe looks decent as well so that might be a contender for 2024 or early 2025. I get the impression that it might be either outsourced or done by SEGA EU. Streets of Rage didn't look very impressive to me, definitely feels outsourced to a small studio.

Outside of JSR and Shinobi, the 3 other games all showed multiplayer elements, so that could be a hint where this initiative is going. I was skeptical about Crazy Taxi, but I think make what they have going on might catch on for a bit.
 
tobinator said:
Outside on Sakura Wars and Hyenas, I'm not sure anything else really warrants concern.
Sonic is being handled better right now than he had been the past 20 years, and probably doing the best financially since the Sonic 1 days.

Nagoshi's took a lot of creative folks out with him (to a company that's probably paying them better), but RGG is still very competent. This whole initiative started after Nagoshi was demoted from COO and replaced with Yukio Sugino, as there were rumors Nagoshi only cared about his own IP and not the overall health of SEGA. Perhaps it was just a bad move from the beginning to promote him to that kind of position when he clearly just wants to make his own video games.

As for NFTs, that whole thing has long since been dead and buried. It was a fad none of these companies were really jumped on quickly enough.

Now as for what they showed, it's definitely a nice way to get people's attention and have them start talking, but I sorta have to question putting everything in a 90 second trailer that only featured 30 seconds of footage. It kind of cheapens the whole deal? Like "it takes 5 of these games to be worth 1 Dragon Ball Sparking Zero trailer", especially since none of them were graphical marvels either. Maybe it's just me, but I feel making it a little longer might have gone a long down the line.

I don't get the impression any of the games are gonna release in 2024 besides Shinobi. JSR and Crazy Taxi look like they need more time in the oven to polish up the environment, but you can kind of tell they want them to be a cut above the rest (I'm guessing they're the only 2 games here developed by SoJ). Golden Axe looks decent as well so that might be a contender for 2024 or early 2025. I get the impression that it might be either outsourced or done by SEGA EU. Streets of Rage didn't look very impressive to me, definitely feels outsourced to a small studio.

Outside of JSR and Shinobi, the 3 other games all showed multiplayer elements, so that could be a hint where this initiative is going. I was skeptical about Crazy Taxi, but I think make what they have going on might catch on for a bit.
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Internal reorganisations due to bad appointments in higher ranks who later left the company because they did not serve the company's interests, then the withdrawal from a business segment that had been served for half a century and finally the preference for NFTs, i.e. a value that in no way represents an advantage for the end customer.

There seem to be more than enough points that do not exactly speak in favour of customer loyalty. Not to mention neglected IPs that they've shown in trailers, or other IPs (Shining, OutRun, Trauma Center, etc.), as well as brands that have rather flopped (Valkyria Chronicles). There are enough points in various areas where the emerging joy should be taken with a grain of salt....and now excuse me, I'm busy trying to find the reason why a supposedly good game like Sonic Dream Team is hardly recognised, even though there is "apparently" improvement in terms of Sonic brand management.
 
Having all these game in a single hub where all old Sega IP will get revived sounds like a cool idea for sure. I just not sure if Sega has the capabilities to make it work at all....or the monetization system will be good enough.
 
AruanaRiva said:
Having all these game in a single hub where all old Sega IP will get revived sounds like a cool idea for sure. I just not sure if Sega has the capabilities to make it work at all....or the monetization system will be good enough.
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No ambition, no SUPER GAME
A virtually accessible through other hardware houses devices Dreamcast 2 is amazing
 
Crazy Taxi and JSR are the internal supergames (aka: AAA service games) from Division 3 (online games) and Division 4 (mobile games) respectively. Despite Sega's claim that the original devs are on JSR, most of them are still at Division 1 (RGG Studio), it's really more of the sports/sim side of Smilebit (Let's Make a .... Team, Greatest Nine, V-Goal, etc) staff who ended up at Sega mobile afaik, though original JSR director (and Panzer Dragoon planner) Masayoshi Kikuchi is leading Division 4 now.

Shinobi apparently is being done by Lizardcube (The Dragon's Trap remake, SOR4) but Sega seemingly picked it up directly rather than letting Dotemu publish again. Smart move as both Lizardcube's previous games ended up being critically acclaimed fan faves and relatively huge sellers (500k WBTDT and 2.5m SOR4).

Golden Axe and SOR we have no real idea on so far but I'd expect they're farmed out. Probably to western teams again imo. Maybe there's some chance for GE coming from Sega Studios Shanghai given Makoto Uchida still heads it but they haven't done consumer gamedev since the XBLA Dreamcast ports iirc (or original CS dev since Altered Beast PS2). These days they do mainly arcade games (Golden Gun, Daytona 3/remake, Transformers, Mission Impossible, etc) and localization work for the Chinese and HK markets.

Edit: to round up recent (this FY) and future internal Sega Japan PC+console games:

Division 1 (RGG Studio)
  • Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name
  • Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth

Division 2 (Sonic Team)
  • Sonic Origins Plus (with Headcannon)
  • Samba de Amigo: Party Central
  • Sonic Superstars (with Arzest)

Division 3 (Sega Online)
  • Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis Version 2
  • Crazy Taxi supergame

Division 4 (Sega Mobile)
  • Jet Set Radio supergame

Division 5 (Sega Amusement)
  • none
 
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fiendcode said:
Division 4 (Sega Mobile)
  • Jet Set Radio supergame
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Actually it's confirmed that this is now Division 3 with it's 600 employees all working on Super Games. Its clear that PSO2 is a template for all of it now, 2 of the 3 managerial staff of Div. 3 where part of PSO since the 00s. https://www.sega.co.jp/recruit/episode/episode10/

I see there is understandable skepticism around these parts, but Sega can be successful at GaaS, they have demonstrated it not only in some of their mobile games and PSO2 entering its 10th year, but countless modern arcade games since 2003. The Key of Avalon, Sangokushi Taisen, Virtua Fighter 4&5, Quest of D, Initial D, Border Break, Shining Force Cross, Code of Joker, all their music games (Miku, Chuunithm, Maimai), Wonderland Wars, Kancolle Arcade, FGO Arcade....they are better equipped at this than most! E-sports, community, live service...Sega has decades experience in it!
Trouble is translating that to a WW audience. Its easy to focus on that small niche of JP consumers that go to the arcade or play on their phone and operate a few dozen staff and focus on one region/platform. Delivering stuff to multiple regions, consoles, and languages while building their game causes trouble, like having too little content (PSO2 NGS). At least that is my impression.
 
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My hope is that if these games are part of the supergame they give flexible options: you can play the Supergame with a subscription for X months OR you can pay 40$ for just Jet Set Radio and keep it as a singleplayer title, basically just a Mega Bundle with some extra interactivity.
 
Luke88 said:
My hope is that if these games are part of the supergame they give flexible options: you can play the Supergame with a subscription for X months OR you can pay 40$ for just Jet Set Radio and keep it as a singleplayer title, basically just a Mega Bundle with some extra interactivity.
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there is a vague quote:
"The first is that you can be involved in the development of AAA titles. The other thing is that you can experience game development that incorporates the characteristics of consumer, arcade, and mobile games."

is an offline story mode a characteristic of consumer/console games? who knows. one thing is for sure: that game awards trailer appealed to alooooot of folks who hate online digital only stuff...
 
I'm gonna go on a little tangent, but before that I would like to ask: Do we have concrete evidence that Crazy Taxi is developed in-house? There was no interview for that game, and what I'm about to talk about below has me a little skeptical. Anyways...

Now that we know which job listings were referring to JSR, it appears that both yellow listings; the one that says "SUPER GAME", and the one that says "AAA", are both thumbnails used interchangeably for JSR:
Screenshot_20231215-160725.jpg
Screenshot_20231211-002811.jpg
Here's 2 screenshots I took. It's the same job position (No.425) and despite the job description changing over time, it's clearly the same level designer job with the 2 different thumbnails. This, along with the fact that they have always had the exact same background, leads me to believe all the jobs with the yellow thumbnail were for JSR all along.

Here's the job descriptions, for reference:
Screenshot_20231215-162405.jpg
Screenshot_20231215-162059.jpg

Notice how they completely removed the section about having experience with online games, quite curious. And really, if you've been avidly following the listings (idk why you would be lol), this shouldn't be that of a surprise as they've faded out all references to "Super Game" from these yellow job listings.

Who knows what this actually means, I imagine plans have changed somewhat since 2021/2022, and they probavly have a more concrete plan now rather than a nebulous notion of "Be like Fortnite". I also think JSR in particular will have a sizable focus on singleplayer.

Also in case anyone is curious, they changed the job thumbnail again after TGA, now it just says JSR:
1940245876530077696_full.png

Now there's still the matter of the other Super Game listings, the ones in blue. Those listings are still entirely labeled as "Super Game", with a lot of talk about online and such. Now my question: Is this referring to Crazy Taxi, or some other very big project in the pipeline? I'm very much leaning towards it being the latter because of the sheer amount of listings and ambitious talk thrown around in the descriptions. If that's not Crazy Taxi, then who knows, it might be outsourced.

Off the top of my head, the only real """evidence""" (being generous) I could think of was that SEGA had a job listing open for a dedicated "Car Modeler" a couple years ago. Sadly I can't find any archive of that listing to check the thumbnail and such. Curious if anybody has something I missed.
 
The proof is the Division 3 interview page at sega.co.jp and hiring pages associated with it. Super Game is an online format game.

Bloomberg rumors are one thing, but a big reason why JSR was revived is because the creator of the IP (Kikuchi) is still at Sega with a big role (managing mobile games). Same thing with Crazy Taxi creator Kenji Kanno who produced mobile games with the last one shutting down in 2020. And also, Super Game is about old resurrecting old IP, its one criteria.

Now because reviving these IP is very much a Sega of America thing (remember JSR was always more popular in the West, even with its niche status), and them taking tons of surveys and questionnaires these last few years, I can imagine them taking into account the many folks who are fan of the IP but dislike online games.
 
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Sega Sammy Management Meeting 2023
Several broad strategy discussions including reining in the European studios under Sega Japan. The current forecast is revised down to 36.5 billion yen for ordinary income but projected higher in sales to 327 billion yen. The downward revision is primarily from sluggish sales of new European titles (plus I assume the 12.9 billion extraordinary loss is supposed to be mostly Hyenas).
From this report we also know now that Yakuza: Like a Dragon sold 1.8 million
 
always thought that relic and amplitude studios were bloated acquisitions. two point and sports interactive run a tight ship that should be model to follow. for AAA RTS, Total War is enough...Humankind, Company of Heroes etc. not sure
 
Wonder who buys LizardCube first: Dotemu or SEGA, they are now on their thrid SEGA IP and so small they wouldn't even show up in SEGA's financials, however Dotemu has been gobbling up these French A/AA teams that have proven successful.
 
I find this slide pretty fascinating.

management_meeting2023_e_day1_dragged.png

We learna. fair bit more about the reboots being developed, such as the title of the new Streets of Rage and things about Jet Set Radio.
 
www.gamesindustry.biz

Jurgen Post returns as Sega Europe shakes up leadership

Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox Sega Europe has announced some big changes…
www.gamesindustry.biz www.gamesindustry.biz
First step in reorganizing Sega Europe. They are bringing back Jurgen Post as COO while letting go of the current CEO, Gary Dale, and Chief Studios Officer, Tim Heaton. Post left in 2017 and became the CEO of Miniclip in 2020.
 
Makes sense to bring him back. I feel like Sega Europes problems were quite sudden and obviously a managerial issue,

----------

Astrogamer said:
Sega Sammy Management Meeting 2023
Several broad strategy discussions including reining in the European studios under Sega Japan. The current forecast is revised down to 36.5 billion yen for ordinary income but projected higher in sales to 327 billion yen. The downward revision is primarily from sluggish sales of new European titles (plus I assume the 12.9 billion extraordinary loss is supposed to be mostly Hyenas).
From this report we also know now that Yakuza: Like a Dragon sold 1.8 million
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Had not read this previously but interesting Sega want to focus their European titles for multi platform release. Considering the PC skew there that could be a big change.
 
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ILikeFeet said:
get ready for the next Total War to be the next fandom battleground, then. a lot of "they ruined TW for console players" will be getting thrown around
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If SEGA is smart (...) what they'll do is simply release the console versions a while later - like Civilization VI or Age of Empires IV did - so as to make it clear that the PC versions were not compromised in any way.
 
adriandlte said:
If SEGA is smart (...) what they'll do is simply release the console versions a while later - like Civilization VI or Age of Empires IV did - so as to make it clear that the PC versions were not compromised in any way.
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since the game would still have to be simplified in order to fit on a gamepad, you'd have conspiracy theories be thrown about
 
Just mandate kbm for console Total War, all the consoles support that. Maybe Nintendo gets a touchscreen option undocked.
 
ILikeFeet said:
get ready for the next Total War to be the next fandom battleground, then. a lot of "they ruined TW for console players" will be getting thrown around
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It’s already a fandom battleground. Community’s reaction to Pharaoh has been less than ideal and CA has been doing a lot to try to mend fences.

They credited my Steam account with a partial refund after cutting the price (didn’t ask for one), and I’ve never had that happen with any game I bought at launch.
 
They have been pushing multi platform a while. See every Sega Europe PC game with the exception of Total War

I have had the fantasy of a branded "Total War: Card Battles" as a rebranded Sangokushi Taisen that is in arcades. This idea was in my mind for many years now. Coincidentally, CA was bought by Sega in 2005, the same year they launched Sangokushi Taisen in JP arcades.



Sega probably made over billior dollars on this game in JP arcades easy. And they are gatekeeping it there till the very end I guess. It's actually very acclaimed...in a sense its actually a VF replacement because it was made with the intent of "beating VF" and people like how well balanced it is.

Just as an example that, yes, Sega can thrive on GaaS type games and have more experience in it than say Sony.
 
Despite the New Game + controversy Infinite Wealth seems the highest rated Yakuza ever!

I think this game will make a much bigger splash compared to the previous ones!

opencritic.com

Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth Reviews

Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth is rated 'Mighty' after being reviewed by 63 critics, with an overall average score of 90. It's ranked in the top 1% of games and recommended by 100% of critics.
opencritic.com opencritic.com
 
if an ichiban entry comes out every 3-4 years for development time, they can keep managing up these 90+ entries up, I feel.

in other news; fate/grand order arcade to end its service:


launching in 2018 it made all the sense in the world for the no.1 mobile gacha game to be adapted into an arcade by Sega...surely someone will see the money potential by a port by now??? Even if someone just licenses it from Sega and just rakes in the cash from a port that is operated by someone else.
 
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The first 90MC game could elevate the series profile, but I wonder how much of a barrier is the number of games released that are all connected.
 
Joseki said:
The first 90MC game could elevate the series profile, but I wonder how much of a barrier is the number of games released that are all connected.
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Not completely sure, since I was thinking of playing them all at some point anyway. But would Like a Dragon (having a completely new protagonist and battle system) not be "separated" enough from the previous games to be the newest starting point for a brand new fan?
 
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Sega of America, Inc. at 140 Progress, Suite 100, Irvine CA 92618 and 6430 Oak Canyon Road, Suite 100, Irvine CA 92618 will layoff 61 employees on March 8, 2024 as indicated in a California WARN notice.
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Wonder if this is in response to the unionization attempts. Also didn't know they had an office an Irvine, seems cursed given that's where Blizzard's office is (was?).
 
www.eurogamer.net

Sega's new Crazy Taxi game "AAA" in scope

The upcoming return of Crazy Taxi will be a "AAA" game, Sega has said. Sega first announced it was making a long-awaite…
www.eurogamer.net www.eurogamer.net

I have to wonder when Sega will actually announce Super Game because I'm still pretty confident Super Game is a Roblox like thing that will include Crazy Taxi.
 
ItWasMeantToBe19 said:
www.eurogamer.net

Sega's new Crazy Taxi game "AAA" in scope

The upcoming return of Crazy Taxi will be a "AAA" game, Sega has said. Sega first announced it was making a long-awaite…
www.eurogamer.net www.eurogamer.net

I have to wonder when Sega will actually announce Super Game because I'm still pretty confident Super Game is a Roblox like thing that will include Crazy Taxi.
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been thinking how they could use the Club SEGA branding for a game of some kind. Or Sega World.
 
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Congrats to Sega on how much money they're about to lose.

Suicide Squad and Skull and Bones about to get a friend in the abyss.
 
So, uh...

...what's the sales potential of a Sonic Heroes remake?

Because Midori's saying that they're considering one as part of the move to UE5.


Sega wants to experiment with Sonic games in UE5 and one of the titles considered is Sonic Heroes.
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Unless it's a full blown remake with substantial new content, it'll be within the line of everything else like Colors Ultimate, SxS Generations. Maybe will do slightly better than them in the Japanese charts since og Heroes had decent numbers there.

If it a full blown remake, it may be close to Frontiers. I don't think it's breaking any sales records unless the series gains explosive growth by then.
 
Oh wow, I guess CS2 might be finally dumping Hedgehog Engine if this pans out? Then again I thought CS1 would do the same for the much more restrictive Dragon Engine after doing Ishin on Unreal but they inexplicably went right back to Dragon for LAD8 and Gaiden.
 
I can see the logic behind a Heroes remake. Most would probably have been expecting a remake of the Adventure games but the cult of personality and general fanbase surrounding those are still very huge, and for the time they were made they were also far more ambitious games. Sega might not want to yet risk a remake effort on a game which would be pretty challenging to remake right and which they'd get crucified for messing up. Heroes meanwhile was nowhere near as acclaimed but it was still generally liked and sold well enough to justify a redo, it has a distinct visual aesthetic which more or less laid the groundwork for modern 3D Sonic's presentation and which they likely have a lot of HD assets of from spinoffs/modern game they can still utilize, and it's a linear game with a simple story which pads the time out by reusing the same levels across all four playable teams. It ought to be a mostly straightforward endeavor. Its most major flaws were related to overall polish and the aforementioned design padding; the former of which they could address in a remake, and the later of which would also hopefully be addressed but expectations would likely be set if they don't. The next Sonic game is probably ways away, and the hubbub that Sega seems to be going all-in on Switch 2 makes it a reasonable project to bring out early into the Switch 2's lifetime. Switch 1 had two Sonic games in its first year, and I'm guessing they'd want at least one here as well.
 
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