Mod_Man_Extreme wrote:SEGA of Japan makes me sick.
Interesting take on it. Sega of America aren't innocent when it comes to the death of Sega consoles, particularly with their behaviour in the Saturn days.
On the article itself, it was good reading. My only gripe was the tiny amount of (inaccurate) information about the SC-3000 included. But that's fairly typical by many articles, as there's little information available about it online, and those who were quite into it during it's lifespan don't seem to be putting up much information about it (myself included).
It probably didn't help either that it wasn't available to Europe or the US, which cuts the western ownership of the unit down considerably.
Well what I meant by "Makes me sick" was that every time SEGA of America came up with a good idea or marketing strategy SEGA of Japan shot it down. I mean SEGA of Japan thought that if they dreamt about success enough they'd succeed with all of their ambitions, including refusing help from other companies that had very well thought out and designed ideas. SEGA of America did screw up by underestimating the diversity of their fanbase by disallowing RPG's and most games that weren't 'Western compatible', but that was mostly Bernie Stolar's fault. In the end they both had their faults but I simply believe that SEGA of Japan's mistakes were far more devastating in the long run, due to their constant necessity to abandon every piece of hardware as soon as it began to hit a slump in sales, software, or otherwise.
My Consoles: Genesis - Nomad - SegaCD - GameGear - Sega Saturn - Dreamcast - NES - SNES - N64 - Gamecube - Wii - Playstation - PSone & LCD - PS2 - PS3 - Xbox - 3DS
Niode wrote:Send him a dodgy cheque. Make it out to Scammy McScammerson.
I think the Saturn was really the thing that pushed SEGA into the red Zone.
It's failure in the U.S., and I'm not sure but I recall it not fairing well in Europe, after the not so hot (sales wise) performances of the SEGA CD and the 32X.
But both SEGA of America and SEGA of Japan both had their share of the fault. Japan definitely had a good deal in it's negative feelings towards Sonic XTREME. A TRUE Sonic title on the Saturn is really what the system needed in the U.S. But than, SEGA of America did really screw up by discontinuing the Saturn early, and not converting a lot of "Japanese-only" titles to America. Also, the marketing for the Saturn in America was terrible! I mean I was only 7 when the thing came out in America, but I don't recall ever seeing even ONE commercial for the thing, while I always saw ads for the PS and N64 when they were later released. Hell, I never knew it even existed for years after it's release.
If the Saturn succeeded in America SEGA definitely would've stood a chance...
I'd side with the viewpoint that Sega of Japan's poor decisions eclipse those of Sega of America's, particularly regarding the Saturn. They turned down a system that would've had the graphics and processing power of the Nintendo 64, with the audio and RAM capabilities of CD-ROMS, purely out of pride and jealousy. I'm sorry, I love my Sega Saturn, but I love it for its games (and controllers), not its hardware. Developing genius made the Saturn a system many of us love today, but it was a absolutely ridiculously ill-conceived piece of hardware. I mean honestly... Panzer Dragoon Saga with the Nintendo 64's processor would've been prettier (not that the release we got isn't one of the most beautiful video games ever) and about a trillion times easier to develop. However, while Nakayama's decisions were incredibly stupid at times, you have to admit that Sega of Japan had the superior software developers. Truth is, Sega was never, EVER lacking in terms of software; they were without a doubt in my mind the most creative developer there will ever be.
I honestly have no respect for Nakayama, but the real enemy here is the Sammy Corporation. I can handle poor business decisions, but what the Sammy Corporation did to Sega is pure evil without reason. Sure, we're only talking about video games here, but to neuter the creativity of the very company which worked harder than any other to advance the video game industry into a viable medium in a fashion which doesn't even reap rewards for the stupid bastards involved is pure evil. You could at least cite Ayn Rand's theory of Objectivism to defend the Sammy overlords if they were actually achieving some personal gain for their repulsive business and artistic decisions, but their decisions haven't even been beneficial. Pointless cruelty. Perhaps they're reaping some rewards, but not as many as they would if they had just let the poor company be. They're sullying their own name and that of an innocent party by undergoing this deplorable activity. There's a name for this sort of thing: rape.
The games that're coming out now are largely not Sega games. We had the scraps of some late Dreamcast releases turned into third-party titles in the year after the Dreamcast with brilliant works like Panzer Dragoon Orta, Virtua Fighter 4, Super Monkey Ball, GunValkyrie, and Jet Set Radio Future, but all that's been decent since then are Yakuza, OutRun 2, and Valkyria Chronicles in the subsequent seven years. Going from five classics in one year to three over the course of seven is absolutely shameful. Before anyone cites the recent critical sucesses of House of the Dead: Overkill, MadWorld, and highly-anticipated titles such as Bayonetta, The Conduit, and other big-name titles, those games were developed by independent companies who have merely been recruited by Sega; it's hard to call them Sega titles when they're really only being published by Sega.
It makes me so mad. Any instance of artistic ability and passion being restricted for such frivolous reasons as those employed by the Sammy Corporation is a dispicable act of evil. Makes me sound like a stupid fanboy, but it's true. I just wish that Sega's name and whatever's left from the old company would be dropped so I don't have to feel so guilty when I don't support what little remains of the company I love when they churn out gems like Valkyria Chronicles. Sorry Sega, or whatever you are, I just don't have enough interest in buying an Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, or even Wii for the occasional games that the company I actually love makes every two years or so. Rest in Peace, Sega; I'll miss you like family.
