Ben-DutkaThere was a time when Sega was king of the world…or at least co-king along with Nintendo. One could argue Sega was definitely the king of the arcade but, either way, those days are long gone.
Every now and then, we catch a flash of that former brilliance from the long-time developer and publisher but for the most part, Sega has produced some seriously underwhelming titles this generation. Our ol' blue buddy has suffered more than anyone, but don't think they're not aware of such lagging. Sega made a very bold statement to CVG ; essentially saying they won't allow their classic IPs to be used in below-par games again. They're trying to simply "do better" with the PS3 and Xbox 360, and as Sega West boss Mike Hayes says, 2010 could mark the year of the turnaround. They've started well, what with Bayonetta scoring extremely high and topping sales charts (it was developed by Platinum Games, but at least Sega had their name on it), but most will agree that Aliens vs. Predator fell well short of the intended mark. Not that it didn't sell well (oddly enough), but that's beside the point. When old and respected IPs, like Sonic and Golden Axe suffer, it's just painful. Said Hayes:
"It's important that on our old IP that is respected, we need to deliver a good product. And in some instances we have done that – look back at when we re-did Sega Rally. It scored well and was moderately successful commercially. But then with other great franchises like Golden Axe we didn't produce a great game at all.
Going forward, if we're going to look at any existing IP to bring out the locker, we have to make sure we get the quality to a level we now expect. I'm not saying which IP it would be – a Streets Of Rage, a Crazy Taxi, whatever. What we have to do now is build something that is 85 per cent plus [rated]. We can't just get away with PR."
No, no you can't just get away with PR. Maybe that's why you're finally giving us a true-blue 2D Sonic with Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 . And when you unveil the return of yet another classic IP, we're going to hold you to these statements. No more games that make us look to the past and go, "damn, what happened to you, Sega?"
More games of the quality of Valkyria Chronicles and less of the poor games trading on past glories please. I am encouraged that they get the point. As retro as it is, Sonic is a 2D game, anything else doesn't fit. So let's have new versions of classic games but for goodness sake retain the best of the game – the game play. It was the game play that got everyone hooked in the first place. You can render Sonic in 3D glory, so long as the game play still works. The same is true of every other classic game.
Right.
Super Mario 64 and Donkey Kong 64 was one of the best transition from 2-D to 3-D. Sonic just doesn't seem right for 3-D and I think that's because of the gameplay mechanics of speeding through a level while collecting rings and whatnot. Mario and Donkey Kong worked probably because they're true adventure games.
"It's important that on our old IP that is respected, we need to deliver a good product. And in some instances we have done that – look back at when we re-did Sega Rally. It scored well and was moderately successful commercially. But then with other great franchises like Golden Axe we didn't produce a great game at all."
They knew this! They have testers! I will never understand how they let some of their games out the door in the condition they are in, they knew the PS3 Bayonetta was suffering but SONY had to make the patch, I dont care if they do start making better quality games they should have been doing that to begin with.
These guys seem to be on a better path.
With the absolutely stunning Yakuza 3 out in the west and 4 ready in the east, talks of Shen 3, true Sonic sequel…it all seems well.
talks of Shenmue III you say? first i've heard of that for a long while.
Yup, i was very surprised Ben didn't report it….does he not know of the impact Shen had?? 😉
Basically, Sega are willing to do it but, they want a publisher to make it exclusive i.e. Sony or MS.
If sony landed that……..
If Shenmue came to PS3 I'd be stoked.
Good!
Yakuza 3 is a great start
Love Sega Rally Revolution (pure quality)
This new Sonic game sounds good
And their SEGA All Star Racing game is selling well (at least in the UK). I plan on getting it sometime.
So yes, they're making quality games these days ('bout time)
How 'bout Valkyria Chronicles on ps3 again? Might not have sold incredibly well, but it's a well rated game which with a sequel could really bring them some profits.
—-
Skies of Arcadia….
How long must we wait for a sequel to that grandiose rpg…?
SEGA Don't Do What Nintedoes No More…argh i hate me. that was terrible.
anyways, make a new sword of vermilion!
You get a thumbs up from me because I agree. That was horrible. lol
lol
Last edited by Rings0fUranus on 3/17/2010 12:39:04 PM
I will always give the company the benefit of the doubt but I'll believe it when I see it. Just stop with the nonsensical rapage of "older" titles and combining the characters into these "event" games. Give us a solid experience. That's all we want.
sonic 4 looks promising…
I'm holding my breath on Altered Beast.
Altered Beast, that would be great. Would be nice to see some werewolves as the protagonist.
Last edited by vicious54 on 3/17/2010 2:26:06 PM
Altered Beast was done on the PS2, i doubt we'll get another one of them soon… if ever again.
I'm holding my breath for another Altered Beast to be RELEASED OUTSIDE OF JAPAN.
Sega and Nintendo ruled gaming from the mid 1980s up until the early 1990s then they both sort of went the way of the dinosaur although Nintendo is still in the console business !
There was a time when I looked forward to playing games made by either company but that all ended for me after Goldeneye on the N64 !
Too bad these two companies couldn't keep their foothold in the gaming world ! But they did provide some great times back in the day !
I just hope SEGA doesn't try to re-enter the console business. To me it already is convoluted enough. Adding another player to the mix would only confuse the average consumer. I have dreams of someday playing great games from all developers on 1 console that combines all of the great stuff from all of the players now. However who knows how that could turn out, since by having multiple consoles now it promotes competition which drives the industry and its innovation forward. If we have one console, it may grow stale and then complacency sets in.
Nah, the player base is one of the main reasons I'm PS3 Exclusive. The other is because as long as i can remember Sony has been there.
@ColTater,
yeah, but I doubt the Sega will ever return back to making consoles again, seeing how they turned their backs on both, the Saturn & the Dreamcast, once other console maker's entered the picture.
I DO think that the Saturn, & especially the Dreamcast could have been so much more had they stuck it out for a few more years(BTW,I still own both systems & 118 games)
@ Biker
You truly are a nostalgia collector then aren't you? I had both those systems as well and countless games for both. When it was my mother buying them and not me growing up, it was a snap to have all the latest and greatest games, now that I have to buy them, I just can't do that anymore. Gamefly is a savior to me know. I think it is worth my $40 a month and me being able to run through and enjoy 8-10 PS3 games a month if I so desire. Although with all my new responsibilities as a 30 yr old new homeowner, my gaming time has significantlly decreased, so I average only 4-6 games a month now.
Besides, I am a one and done kind of gamer. Meaning when I get a new game, I put it on the hardest difficulty setting there is, and then set out to beat it. Once I'm done, I have no interest in investting more hours into the same thing again, unless it is great game to me such as Dead Space and the GOW series. Same reason why I don't watch the same movie more than once, unless I haven't seen it for 5-10 plus years.
@ColTater,
I
yeah, I'm a video games collector, so I've got about 18 systems & hand-helds, w/ over 1400 games(so far).
But being a collector has more downsides than it does upsides, especially when you're not a "rich" collector, LOL
So, in order for me to even make any kind of dent towards my collections, I usually buy my games in batches of 5 to 20 at at time.
And to do so, I have to wait till they're either, used at around a $20 range, or when there's a "buy2-get1 free" sale going on.
The biggest drawback is that I don't get too many games that are current. For example, I just recently picked up COD WAW & COD MW1 & just starting MW1's play-through now.
But since I don't do multi-player modes, I have no problem with waiting it out till the USED price does drop down, even if it's a year or two later.
And for those games that I'll never play(like sports), I just wait them out till they're in the $5 bargain bin, just to add into the collection too(picked up 7 PS3 older sports titles for less than $23 a month ago).
Last edited by BikerSaint on 3/17/2010 7:32:23 PM
So nothing has replay value ever?
I don't know how many times I've played RE4.
Last edited by main_event05 on 3/17/2010 8:40:53 PM
Dear Sega,
It really doesn't matter at all if you "deliver a good product" but NOBODY KNOWS ABOUT IT. Resonance of Fate has not scored lower than an 8 from ANY source that has reviewed it so far, and yet nobody is going to buy it, and nobody in this comments section (or in the article itself!) has mentioned the game once in relation to a high-quality Sega title. AND EVERYONE HERE IS A HUGE RPG NERD!
Market your games. The internet did your job for you with Valkyria Chronicles. But don't expect us to do the work AGAIN.
And for the love of all that is good, DON'T RELEASE YOUR RPGS A WEEK AFTER FINAL FANTASY!
-Arvis
Last edited by Arvis on 3/17/2010 3:52:22 PM
Its Tri-Ace not Sega. Sega are publishing only.
Having said that, Sega will have a hand in marketing so you are quite right.
I haven't looked up enough on RoF yet but, it's a purchase anyway because it's Tri-Ace working as a free agent so to speak.
Last edited by Lotusflow3r on 3/17/2010 4:14:52 PM
Some might be interested to know Nolan North is going to be voicing the main character so we know that will be quality work at the very least.
Arvis
Have yo played resonance of fate? Is it fun, I've been on the fence, waiting for ben and arnolds review. I can't wait to read it, I'm getting more excited about this game more and more.
I know it's a Tri-Ace developed property (it's what initially grabbed my attention) but it is still a "Sega game." And as such, it is their responsibility to let people know it exists. Thus, my point. 🙂
Either way, the game seems really awesome, but not without a few flaws. However, all the reviews I've read make me very confident in my purchase. I can't wait until the game arrives in the mail!
-Arvis
Perfectly stated Arvis.
They just aren't hungry enough anymore after they bowed out of the console business years ago.
To be as good as SEGA takes AGES… we are still waiting, it's been a decade now!
He just mentioned Streets Of Rage. Please SEGA. Bring it back. SOR3 is my all time favourite game.
no thanks sega, you screwed me over with bayonetta than AVP and now yakuza 3.
3 strikes and your out!
shame on you if you fool me once, shame on me if you fool me twice!
It's about time sega woke up and started to have standards. I never understood how they were ok going from one of the best to, "Oh, they still make video games?"
Let's see it sega.
Dear Sega
If you are to bring any classic IP's back.
PLEASE. I Beg Of You!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!
BRING BACK JET SET RADIO