gamespot.com/news/6259992.html
[quote]GS: You mentioned the Genesis and Super Monkey Ball. For all the retro and catalog titles you’ve rereleased, those two things bookend a dead period of the Saturn and Dreamcast where a lot of those games just aren’t being brought back or made available to people. Is that something you’re looking at changing?
MH: It’s certainly something we’re looking at, yes. But at the moment we’ve got no solid plans in terms of release. [/quote]
Great news.
I hope this isn’t just PR talk… You know, they always tell us “it’s something we’re looking at, but we have no plans at the moment,” which usually means “we’ve heard a lot about it, but are not interested.”
Nonetheless, this is great news indeed. I hope for at least remakes/rereleases of PDs 1-4 on XBLA/PSN/WiiWare. But I’d really love to see Panzer Dragoon F?nf aka Saga 2 coming to life. 
No one get excited. It’s Sega.
:sigh:
If only…
Well if rumours are to be believed. Jet Set Radio , Crazy Taxi and Sonic Adv are due to go up on LIVE Arcade .
I have to say too , After Burner Climax is simply awesome and so much fun and so SEGA. Best use of 800 point on LIVE so far . Keep them coming SEGA !
It would be great if Sega released widescreen, high definition ports of Dreamcast games on XLA/PSN. Rez HD and Ikaruga on Xbox Live Arcade are great examples of how to rerelease titles from that era.
I’m not optimistic about Saturn games being ported, but maybe they could emulate them?
If only…[/quote]
Best not to get stuck in the past IMO.
Sounds like good news, if it is indeed true.
It’s entirely wishful thinking but I’d really like to see some saturn games on the PSP (the portable saturn system that turned up in a previous thread looks a little on the colossal side, after all)
If Baku Baku Animal popped up on PSN, I’d be in there like a shot!
He says there’s no plans. I fail to see how this is “great news”.
The fact that it’s something they’re “certainly” looking at was the positive news I was referring to. It’s a matter of perspective, but I’d rather talk about a glass that is half full.
I certainly respect your optimism, but you guys have to learn what “PR talk” is. All too often stuff like this gets brought up on here, everyone gets their hopes up, only to be let down yet again. But as you say, it’s a matter of perspective.
Raizen has a point. What that likely means is that it has been discussed in a meeting somewhere, but they haven’t laid any concrete plans or signed a developer or whatever. It’s not an outright “never,” but it doesn’t necessarily mean it is at the forefront of the Sega Hivemind.
That being said, given Sega’s situation right now, they’re likely looking at quick ways to pad their bottom line…
[quote=“Abadd”]What that likely means is that it has been discussed in a meeting somewhere, but they haven’t laid any concrete plans or signed a developer or whatever. It’s not an outright “never,” but it doesn’t necessarily mean it is at the forefront of the Sega Hivemind.
That being said, given Sega’s situation right now, they’re likely looking at quick ways to pad their bottom line…[/quote]
Good points, Abadd.
Let’s not over-analyse my post too much, I was merely referring to the positive possibilities that can be grasped from the story.
I still don’t think that Sega have even found themselves yet. Even someone as soulless as EA has an identity.
Maybe one day? I don’t even know how they are doing financially these days.
That’s an interesting characterizing of it Geoffrey, it made me think about all of my nostalgia for the 90’s in particular. Nothing and no one is what they once were, but I think a big part of SEGA’s problem is that it’s especially hard for a lot of us to let go of what they once were… Nintendo may be the closest parallel, but in terms of quantity and breadth of product; if N was the consummate master, SEGA was a renaissance unto itself.
One recurring criticism of SEGA, as a major factor in the decline of their console markets, is that they relied on their arcade crossovers too much. Which has some truth, but they could claim to be the reigning champs of both arcades and console at one time… and no one but Atari was ever in that position. In hindsight I think it’s more that their arcade talent pool was usually a step ahead of anyone else, and so routinely churning out hits no matter how avant-garde or unusual they seemed… and that pattern carried over into the console side, which is precisely why some of their best console titles were even possible. But it also created too many (often amazing) first party titles with virtually no mainstream traction.
SEGA was, and I think will forever, be unique. Sony is still carrying the banner for that sort of loss-leader prestige IP model to some degree, more than MS or even Nintendo lately. But no one has ever really had the same dynamic as SEGA… arcades were more honest, they challenge the potential consumer to cut right to what really matters, fun and escapism, and that always informed their console philosophy. But now more than ever, there’s too many assumed barriers between the experience itself, and the requirements for getting the consumer to engage with that experience.
I guess what I’m trying to say, is that at one time SEGA was in a position to tell people what they should like, even if they didn’t yet know it. And now that they’re just another developer at the whim of what other people seem to say they want… can any identity they find ever be enough for those of us who once knew them as gods? 
I really do think so.
For a start, quality NEEDS to be their top priority regardless of whether they have a marketable game or not. Keep trying until they eventually hit that elusive sweet spot.
They really seem to be scrambling and caught in a constant identity crisis, which is a great shame.
Even if they only remained as market leaders in Japan, even that would be enough of a consolation prize from which to take some comfort.
Sega still needs something unique to it other than riding the newest trend. And if Sega does do that, then do it better. Grrrr, it’s frustrating to watch.
Having said all that, and even though I do believe that Sega needs more creative vision, lest the name is forgotten, it’s Sega’s money.
Sega died with the DC IMO. That was Sega’s best attempt at bringing its true (Japanese born) flavor to the world as a brand.
Time is going to force Sega to evolve anyway. By that I mean keep what works and jettison what fails more and more. Poor quality will amount to failure sooner or later.
I’m glad it was you guys that said it and not me haha
But you are completely correct - right now, Sega stands for little other than “Sonic games” to the gaming public. It’s a huge reason why there is a large amount of skepticism whenever Sega tries anything new… which is further hampered by the fact that Sega doesn’t quite know who they are, so their efforts to create a brand fail time and time again.
It’s a bit of a chicken and the egg story, though. Do you set out to create your brand by building specific kinds of games in the hopes that people “buy” the message? Or do you wait until you have a hit and base your identity around that?
I tend to lean toward the first, but many companies have done the second and succeeded as well.
[quote=“Geoffrey Duke”]For a start, quality NEEDS to be their top priority regardless of whether they have a marketable game or not. Keep trying until they eventually hit that elusive sweet spot.
[/quote]
Truer words having never been spoken notwithstanding… it’s clearly easier said than accomplished. Still trying to refine what I was getting at before here: it seems like quality used to be almost too much of a given with SEGA, like for a while they really were shitting gold. So many parameters in place that afforded and encouraged very talented people to be their best. Once that climate is lost, it could be hard to understand and accept that quality is now something they have to strive and strain for?
As impressive as Capcom is lately, it’s interesting to note that they’re a little out of character too. Just remember all the crazy, and often failed, experiments they also used to throw out there. It occurs to me that nearly every developer that reaches that highest echelon of reliability, was more or less forced to it. Because they have had something so hallowed and far reaching in it’s influence and expectations, that they had no choice but to up their game. They know what it’s like when failure is not an option, and they have the experience and confidence of rising to that challenge. Such as Nintendo, Blizzard, perhaps Rockstar and Bungie lately… and Capcom’s main example being the Street Fighter series, though taken as a whole not a very sterling one of course. lol
But no matter what, even the most noble of intentions require reinforcement to stay alive. In this case the one reinforcement that matters is success… chicken and the egg yeah, or perhaps catch-22.
SEGA died with Sammy , I thought SEGA output was brilliant on the Cube and X-Box , and ok with the PS2 .
I remember back inthe X-Box days , and there was interviews and previews in all the Mag’s an amazing amount of Good will towards the likes of Smilebit , and UGA back in those days . SEGA was respected for being able to get the best out of hardware like the Cube and X-Box
All that’s gone now , and SOJ are all but dead to me . The only In-House SEGA game I bought this year was After Burner Climax and VO II X-Box LIVE , that about says its all
The ways its going Yakuza will be the best Sonic . Endless sequels , Teams members having enough , poor tech and so on .
Bah I say. Bah!
Maybe they can restore some semblance of their lost identity beyond following market leaders some day.
I fully accept how supply and demand works, but to see Sega jumping on trends and landing flat on their face instead of setting them by leading the way is out of character.
You make an intriguing point Heretic about how the best was forced out of them by the confines of having no choice. This seems to be a theme in human nature as well which prevails over just deteriorating. I.e. having to be at our best when we are stuck at our worst because anything less isn’t an option.
You’re right that Japanese arcade gaming didn’t translate well into console success as much as what we see today. Too hardcore for its own good, or just too short lived in nature? Not all arcade games were suitable for home entertainment, but a few stood out from the crowd as unlocking that potential like Crazy Taxi.
I guess there’s too much to lose when gambling on going wild and I still believe that vision was born from love more than being pushed.
I still have faith that Sega will make a truly perfect 3D Sonic game some day. The market for it is there and waiting to be tapped. The Sega we want doesn’t exist except in our dreams I suppose.