Sega Is Cutting 300 jobs And Is Preparing For A Digital, Non-Console Future.

[Aferni 2381]

Sad news today as Sega has announced that it’s cutting 300 jobs and is restructuring its business model. The company says that it’s focussing its efforts on the popular mobile space and online PC games. Sega has also said that it’s cutting down on physical releases and will instead be concentrating on downloadable content. The company will also focus on their Sonic and merchandising businesses. The move comes about due to the inevitable sales failure of Sonic Boom on both the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS.

 

http://mynintendonews.com/2015/01/30/sega-is-cutting-300-jobs-and-is-preparing-for-a-digital-non-console-future/

 

 

 

[tetsu_sama69 1119]

That's what happens when you cut corners and rush on things and RELEASE A BROKEN AND INCOMPLETE GAME. You shit on your fans like that then no one is happy with you. 

[Shmilly 519]

The alternative story:

 

Sega is firing everyone related even by office or email from the team who made Sonic Boom, and because it caused a Sonic Boom in their finances, they are no longer able to afford to make physical packaging for their video games. As a result, Sega will only be distributing games digitally from now on, and they will attempt to claw back some cash from cheap Sonic figurines.

[Zeus 7997]

You want to know what the biggest problem SEGA faces is? They have no weight behind their IP. Really, you're abandoning hardware and cutting down on physical releases to focus on downloadable content in a world where not everybody has super-fast internet? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to tell you that SEGA is determined to become more and more irrelevant as time passes.

What they need to do to get back into the game is to revive some of their older titles for some new games. They have a lot of great IP that they don't use. They could take a good three years starting today and they'd be able to drop a new Jet Set Radio game, a new Shenmue game, and a new Panzer Dragoon game.

No but instead we're going to get another buggy, incomplete Sonic game.

[Slsr 207]

Welp, it is not like sega even developed those sonic boom games as people seem to think, they were done by people outside sega. Frankly this company has been long going bad and sales have seem bad too, not really surprising result...

[Aferni 2381]

To think SEGA would let Big Red Button develop this game after they ruined Jak and Daxter. Even though Jak and Daxter isn't made by SEGA, it seems like they would be aware of what travesties this company creates.

[nekkichi 6042]

What they need to do to get back into the game is to revive some of their older titles for some new games. They have a lot of great IP that they don't use. They could take a good three years starting today and they'd be able to drop a new Jet Set Radio game, a new Shenmue game, and a new Panzer Dragoon game.

there's no market for those games tbh. they are doing everything right in a sense their only viable business model right now is creating cheap mobile/download only content and capitalizing on sonic gamers nostalgia (although they could've probably make a fortune selling sonic fursuits in the north america)

the problem is no one is there to pick up the former smilebit and shenmue developer talent, and the only panzer dragoon title they will probably develop (if any) will be an ios game as well

[Zeus 7997]

there's no market for those games tbh. they are doing everything right in a sense their only viable business model right now is creating cheap mobile/download only content and capitalizing on sonic gamers nostalgia (although they could've probably make a fortune selling sonic fursuits in the north america)

the problem is no one is there to pick up the former smilebit and shenmue developer talent, and the only panzer dragoon title they will probably develop (if any) will be an ios game as well

There's no market for those games because they haven't made new entries in any of those series since 2005. Of course there would be no market! But best believe there are fans waiting for new games in both series and if Sega were to announce tomorrow that there would be sequels to either the hype train would be off the rails. Shenmue's a bit of a stretch right now because they would actually need the talent and the budget to work on it, but JSR isn't out of the realm of possibility.

Sega needs to stop trying to be Nintendo by slutting out Sonic as much as they do. Nintendo can survive for the next fifty years on Pokemon, Mario, and Smash IP alone. If Sega can't rake in the numbers with Sonic, then it's time to change strategy. But instead of increasing the amount of ways they can make money, they're decreasing them. Unless they're going to make mobile games with in-app purchases, I don't see how this is going to net them more money. If anything, they'll earn less.

[Aferni 2381]

There's no market for those games because they haven't made new entries in any of those series since 2005. Of course there would be no market! But best believe there are fans waiting for new games in both series and if Sega were to announce tomorrow that there would be sequels to either the hype train would be off the rails. Shenmue's a bit of a stretch right now because they would actually need the talent and the budget to work on it, but JSR isn't out of the realm of possibility.

Sega needs to stop trying to be Nintendo by slutting out Sonic as much as they do. Nintendo can survive for the next fifty years on Pokemon, Mario, and Smash IP alone. If Sega can't rake in the numbers with Sonic, then it's time to change strategy. But instead of increasing the amount of ways they can make money, they're decreasing them. Unless they're going to make mobile games with in-app purchases, I don't see how this is going to net them more money. If anything, they'll earn less.

 

SEGA's mistake was letting Sonic Boom be created in all honesty. It makes no sense to stop everything that can be because of SEGA's mistake of letting a Shitty up-start company like BigRedButton work on the game anyway.

[Original Saku 1593]

Sega has been irrelevant a while now when it comes to developing games anyways, they're better off just publishing in my opinion....

[Aferni 2381]

To SEGA, fans are irrelevant. They don't care about those who still care for it. 

Rest In Peace, SEGA ENTERPRISES. 

[nekkichi 6042]

There's no market for those games because they haven't made new entries in any of those series since 2005.

they most probably haven't bothered with risky high-cost boutique games because no one offered them funds to develop that stuff. JSRF sold 200k copies wordlwide, and ps2/xbox generation was way more accepting of avant-garde videogames, with way smaller development costs when compared to ps3/ps4 gen (and they had microsoft money as a back up - ms in 2001 was a stronger company than ms of 2014).

just putting stuff into perspective - sony can afford console development because over 60 % of their global profits comes from japanese-only insurance sales.

sega flopped and no one most probably bothered investing in them again.

Sega needs to stop trying to be Nintendo by slutting out Sonic as much as they do.

I've seen mentions of studio ghibli only ever being profitable due to totoro merch sales/licensing, but I don't have/too lazy to google for credible sources on this. ghibli had audience and exposure than sega could ever only dream of, even given the high console sales in Japan during sega's peak years.

entertainment is a fragile industry, and right now, the videogame trend outside of nintendo is pretty rigid, it's a mmorpg/mobile/gritty shooter market, sega can only do that much to fit in (vanquish that they published was brill, but how did it sell, again?)

they can technically make more (and faster) money developing a sonic spin-off for facebook (although that would be 3 years too late, but still) rather than invest into anything console-aimed

[Zeus 7997]

I've seen mentions of studio ghibli only ever being profitable due to totoro merch sales/licensing, but I don't have/too lazy to google for credible sources on this. ghibli had audience and exposure than sega could ever only dream of, even given the high console sales in Japan during sega's peak years.

I would believe that actually. Once Miyazaki left whatever spark they had was snuffed out. In both cases I would say the same thing. When your main cash cow dries up, you either find new ventures to invest in or you fizzle out. The only difference is that Studio Ghibli got out while they were still ahead. Sega's still hanging on.

If you're a video game developing company and you can no longer develop video games, you've failed as a company. If they honestly believe they can salvage their bottom line by switching their focus, then they can try. I think they're just prolonging the inevitable. But....

they most probably haven't bothered with risky high-cost boutique games because no one offered them funds to develop that stuff. JSRF sold 200k copies wordlwide, and ps2/xbox generation was way more accepting of avant-garde videogames, with way smaller development costs when compared to ps3/ps4 gen (and they had microsoft money as a back up - ms in 2001 was a stronger company than ms of 2014).

This is exactly why they need to refresh their old IP and get some new games out. Mobile gaming is even more accepting of low-budget, avant-garde video games than the PS2/OGXB1 generations were, and it doesn't take much money at all to make these types of games. Plenty of small companies with less money than Sega manage to make very good games. Panzer Dragoon would scale very well on a phone, and you could do Jet Set right if you have tight controls (controls like Kritika are what I mean). They better not be content with making outsourcing development for Sonic games for the rest of their life when they have so many other wonderful series to reboot.

I honestly think this is their only choice at the moment if the situation is as bad as everyone says.

[Aferni 2381]

I would believe that actually. Once Miyazaki left whatever spark they had was snuffed out. In both cases I would say the same thing. When your main cash cow dries up, you either find new ventures to invest in or you fizzle out. The only difference is that Studio Ghibli got out while they were still ahead. Sega's still hanging on.

If you're a video game developing company and you can no longer develop video games, you've failed as a company. If they honestly believe they can salvage their bottom line by switching their focus, then they can try. I think they're just prolonging the inevitable. But....

This is exactly why they need to refresh their old IP and get some new games out. Mobile gaming is even more accepting of low-budget, avant-garde video games than the PS2/OGXB1 generations were, and it doesn't take much money at all to make these types of games. Plenty of small companies with less money than Sega manage to make very good games. Panzer Dragoon would scale very well on a phone, and you could do Jet Set right if you have tight controls (controls like Kritika are what I mean). They better not be content with making outsourcing development for Sonic games for the rest of their life when they have so many other wonderful series to reboot.

I honestly think this is their only choice at the moment if the situation is as bad as everyone says.

 

Apparently they're patching Sonic Boom: Rise Of Lyric. Which I think makes no sense, whats he point of trying to "Fix" that piece of shit. There's no point, SEGA just needs to die off instead of  "Going digital", it's delaying the inevitable if you ask me. :/

[Furik 832]

I love Sega to death more than any other gaming company. This is heartbreaking but they continue to make stupid decisions and are not listening to fans at all. They are stubborn and its biting them in the ass.

[Furik 832]

Sorry for the second posting but does anyone remember when Sega was recently patenting game controllers (which sparks rumors of a newer console)? Is it.. possible they are faking all these headlines for new console hype?

[Original Saku 1593]

^ that's highly unlikely, It's no secret that they have been in dire straights for the last few years financially. If they did release a console I would be legitimately surprised and also worried as to where they got the money to finance the development of the console to begin with xD