Generic Sega Console thread... sort of

[MistaBuck]

Honestly, If Sega actually DID make a new console, I think they would easily win over Japan.

Sure Sega has the reputation of a dog turd here, But in Japan they're still kickin' it with their arcade games (aka border break), and many of their franchises(Yakuza, Phantasy Star, etc.), which are much more popular there than anywhere else.

Not to mention the crappy state of the Xbox in that country, which they took off store shelves. With that in mind, unless Microsoft does some serious re-branding, There's probably room for another competitor.

And If I'm not mistaken, Sega also have their parent company, SegaSammy, backing Sega up with funds and support if needed. In my opinion, I think they have enough to support, and manufacture a hypothetical console, at least in Japan.

If Sega ever decides to return to the console hardware business, we'll probably need some major convincing. But besides some brand changes, Japan Shouldn't be a problem to convince.

By the way, Technically speaking, Sega still produces Arcade Hardware, So they never technically completely abandoned Video game Hardware. In theory, they could probably re-engineer their arcade hardware to create this hypothetical "console". TSSZ reported about a potential arcade hardware announcment next year, so who knows!

[MistaBuck]

addendum


Just thought I'd share my opinion with you guys. I understand that The Console "era" of Sega supposedly ended a long time ago, but with each era comes ideas from the past reborn. So I think that, especially in Japan, Sega has the potential of making a Console hardware return.

Some people say that there isn't enough room for more competition, but I disagree. If Nintendo continues going their "own way" with things, I think their could be room for one more "hardcore gamer" console (as in the PS3 and 360 compared to the Wii). Maybe Sega could be the one to complete this "trifecta". On top of that, With the Xbox 360 discontinued of Japan, and Sega still being as popular as it is, I would assume that If Sega Wanted to, they could probably become a great competitor on the Japanese Console Market again.

[MrSega]

I wholeheartedly agree with you MistaBuck. As of 2006, SEGA's brand name remains strong in Japan. The LINDBERGH was a tremendous success in the arcade market despite it being overpriced and budget busting to SEGASammy. The RING series has also been phenominally successful in Japan. SEGASammy ALSO owns TMS Entertainment and has net worth of $20 billion.

If SEGA were to launch FUTURA, not only would it be an instant success like Saturn, but within 20 weeks SEGA would immediately gobble an 80% console market share. People don't seem to realize that for the past half decade, Japan's console market penetration has shrunk down to size. Most manufacturers are lucky to get 50,000 units monthly which is pathetic because 10 years ago, PS2 would sell over 400,000 units monthly and Dreamcast sold 80,000(And thats considered impressive today!) which 10 years ago was considered unimpressive.

Also think about how KIDS PAD will do once its released in Japan. Better than any cynic thinks it will.

Outside of Japan, I suspect SEGA is betting on Sonic Generations' success. They're aware that the only thing thier brand name in America and Europe is known for is Sonic. SG being a blockbuster, getting awards and named the #1 game of 2011 will make them a household name again and would help thier argument of leaving the multiplatform market behind and becoming a hardware maker again.

[stu]

Hypothetically speaking I would agree that if Sega wanted to start marketing their own game console again that launching it in Japan and making it exclusive to that market, to gauge its popularity there, would be the best idea.
My reasons for making it exclusive to Japan is that it would limit Sega's exposure to any losses in case the system failed to garner enough support. While the Xbox's market share is non-existant in Japan and the PlayStation brand has been damaged as of late I still believe that Sony would pose a significant threat to any potential Sega console launch, one of the things that Sega would need to nail perfectly would be the 1st party games from Sega themselves, since they would be the "newcomers" to the market, they would be heavily reliant on their own games to be "system sellers" in order to make the system sell well. Games like Yakuza and Phantasy Star Online would be a great help and of course some exclusive arcade perfect conversions of new arcade games eg a next gen Virtua Fighter would help, then of course I'm sure that Sega's deal with Platinum Games would bring some great games to the hypothetical system too.

As for 3rd party games, Sega would probably either have to buy some exclusives (it seems this is the way the market works now with Sony and Microsoft waving their corporate fat wallets in the publisher's face and demanding exclusivity on games) or sell enough systems off the back of their own games to warrant the publishers supporting the system beyond 1 or 2 game ports.

My big concern is that I've read a lot of reports that point to a major shift in how Japanese gamers play games. Gaming on mobile/cell phones has been an accepted way of video gaming in Japan a lot longer than in the Western markets and it is the mobile market that represents the greatest threat to console gaming.. period.
Its because of people playing games on smartphone etc that the Japanese console market has shrunk so small, its also not being helped by the whole Japanese development community being stuck in something of a creative "rut". Being a "newcomer" to the market Sega would face all these potential problems and added to the shrinkage in Sega's traditional domain of the arcades it could bring about a serious threat to Sega's survival as a company, Sammy Corp has struggled to make Sega profitable again and I highly doubt that Sammy's management would support anything that would put that at risk.

"If SEGA were to launch FUTURA, not only would it be an instant success like Saturn, but within 20 weeks SEGA would immediately gobble an 80% console market share."

In five months?? Are you serious? Sorry but I can't see that Sega would magically be able to overtake Sony and Nintendo and carve out a PS2-style domination of the Japanese market in a year or 2, let alone in 5 months, that figure and everything else there sounds like wishful thinking to me.

[MistaBuck]

Hey stu. Long time no type~

I can't believe you actually agree with me. Seriously this is a surprise!
Seems like great minds think alike

[MrSega]

@stu. For nearly 3 years SEGASammy has seen revenues and profits rise. SEGA isn't really risking much except if they were making an investment of over $1 billion in a total budget. But SEGASammy's is staying in a safe margin with thier R&D investing, that is why they are cutting back on multiplatform non digital content publishing. They realize that there's little profit in just publishing run-of-the mill titles that even massive investing in adversting would not even make a dent into the FPS, motion sensor 3rd party market.

And FYI, the arcade amusment market in Japan has rebounded after the steep 2006-2009 decline. The amount of amusment centers closed throughout the country actually fell during the past two years.

The 80% market share figure is pretty simple logic. SEGA's brand name is stronger than any other game company in Japan. Both Sony and Nintendo have not produced or executed any console that can help restore Japan's console market penetration. PS3 and Wii have done nothing to increase at least a 20% growth in Japan's console market pentration. It continues its decline.


I see the KIDS PAD as a strong oppronunity to help SEGA rebuild thier reputation as a 1st party company. Also with a NEW cutting edge board like RINGWAVE, they can give Japanese consumers a reason to be excited because someone is finally bringing some new techology into the gaming field.

[Mephiles550]

...So it would be the reverse dreamcast huh?

(Dreamcast did Poorly in Japan. Well in America +)

I think Sega Is even making more money then Nintendo in Japan (At least they were I think IDK if they still are)

It would be a good strategy if they were to release a console. First release it in japan. Then wait a good amount of time to release in America so if it flops, they still get the profits from the Japanese launch.

[MrSega]

...So it would be the reverse dreamcast huh?

(Dreamcast did Poorly in Japan. Well in America +)

DC was a commerical flop in Japan. It only sold about 3 million units domestically. But believe or not, today in Japan's miniscle console market thats considered a immpressive feat!

[stu]

Hey stu. Long time no type~

I can't believe you actually agree with me. Seriously this is a surprise!
Seems like great minds think alike

Hey MistaBuck ,

Yeah its been a while. It probably is a bit of a surprise that I would agree about Sega releasing a new console, the way I look at it is, like you said, Japan is about the only territory where Sega' name still has a respectable rep, I know there was a report a few months ago that showed that Sega had the largest share of the game sales in Japan and it is with this in mind that I think, hypothetically speaking, that a new Sega console could be successful in Japan.
However I am still feel that it could either be a successful endeavor, like the Saturn and to a certain extent the SG1000 were, or a comparative failure like the MegaDrive, Master System and Dreamcast were in Japan. It would ultimately depend on whether Sega brought their "A" game with them, or if they fumbled the whole thing and screwed it up.

Thats the way I look at it anyway.

The 80% market share figure is pretty simple logic. SEGA's brand name is stronger than any other game company in Japan. Both Sony and Nintendo have not produced or executed any console that can help restore Japan's console market penetration. PS3 and Wii have done nothing to increase at least a 20% growth in Japan's console market pentration. It continues its decline.

Hmm "pretty simple logic" huh?
It still sounds to me like a case of wild exaggeration based purely off wishful thinking, but each to their own I guess. Back in the real world Sega would be reentering a highly competitive and cutthroat market against established and well financed competitors, all this against a backdrop of a crappy economic climate, a country that has just gone through a terrible natural disaster and a traditional console market that is shrinking year on year as more and more people switch to smartphones for their gaming needs.
I for one would love to see what magical weapon Sega would employ that would allow them simultaneously capture 80% of the market and also grow that market by 20%, in 5 months.

Personally speaking I could see Sega start off by taking Microsoft's small market share and then building that up to around 30% of the market, over a period of probably a year or 2, by taking marketshare away from both Nintendo and Sony. Sega could then continue to build this up over the course of that generation.
By saying that I'm not implying that I believe Sega would dominate the market, rather that they could compete very effectively with the other 2 companies.

[MistaBuck]

@stu I agree with you 100% Over here in the US at least, Sega literally has no reputation amongst even the core gamer, let alone everyone else. It's sad because Some of their more recently announced games (Binary Domain, Sonic Generations) look great.

In Japan at least, they could at first, Probably port, and maybe even connect (as in online play), their Arcade games to this hypothetical console. What made the Saturn popular there was the ports of their arcade games, correct? I think that would be a good start, at least there anyway.

They could probably also start out by Developing new games for their popular franchises they established as a 3rd party. Yakuza, Phantasy Star, Valkyria Chronicles, and Super Monkey Ball come to mind. and like you said, Platinum games would probably make something stellar for the system. The rumored Bayonetta Follow-up comes to mind.

As for hypothetical 3rd party support... I wouldn't doubt that fellow arcade hardware companies would probably support their endeavors (Capcom, Namco, etc). Since It's (hypothetically) not going to be available in America, I don't think many western 3rd party developers would support it (at least not then anyway).

Maybe, if they (hypothetically) gain support and popularity in Japan, maybe they should consider bringing the (hypothetical) console to the west. To do this they would probably have to make some changes...

First off, I think that Sega should develop "something" that separates it from the other console offerings from the "Big Three". Whether it be a type of online service, or some kind of "amazing" feature, the only way I see it succeeding in the west (besides having great games of course) is being different, but at the same time similar.

They should also (and I can't stress this enough) bring every game that was released in Japan, westward when It launches. Sega doesn't want to repeat exactly what Nintendo did with Xenoblade, The Last Story, and Pandora's Tower. It's that kind of thinking that threw off even the most obsessed Nintendork (myself included).

Sega should also have a stellar Advertising campaign. They should market this hypothetical console to all fields; nostalgic fans, Hardcore gamers, non gamers, and Kids that don't even know what Sega is (outside of Sonic, of course). They should make a dynamic marketing campaign, that's somehow reminiscent of their older ads, but more similar to newer video game ads at the same time, that way it appeals to all parties.

The only way Sega would Make a new console is that SegaSammy would somehow agree to letting them. Someone on the Sega forums told me yesterday that they wouldn't back Sega because they deemed it as "not profitable". But that was probably a few years ago when they initially said that. Sega has had staggering growth in the past few years, so I think that its possible they COULD have reconsidered. Who knows... Maybe they're developing a console now!

I have so many other ideas and concepts, but I'm far to lazy to type them all! haha~

Maybe I'll PM you about it

@MrSega Unless the Console had some kind of mind control device, it won't take control of the market that fast, if they even have a chance to do so. Considering that They potentially have 3 competitors, Having even a third of the market share is an achievement.