Plenty of companies based in Japan are currently releasing their yearly financial results, with SEGA Sammy — the larger organisation that includes the developer / publisher — joining in the fun. The results highlight just how valuable other areas are to the company, such as Pachislot and Pachinko machines, but we're more interested in the games, of course.
The headline figure, in terms of money, is that SEGA Sammy made strong net and operating profits in the last year, with the net figure being 33.46 billion Yen (around $330 million). That's a healthy state of affairs for the house that Sonic built.
In terms of the biggest success story that arrived on Nintendo systems, that's Sonic & All-Stars Transformed, which was also SEGA's biggest-selling title for the year with 1.36 million sales in the US and Europe; worldwide sales of that title on Wii U came to 310,000 copies, while the 3DS title (by our reckoning if we're interpreting the figures correctly) hit a pleasing 190,000 copies. We previously reported — with the last quarter's results — that the Wii U title accounted for over 25% of the game's sales, and with the subsequent 3DS port the total for the systems combined is comfortably over a third of overall sales.
The solid market share of SEGA titles on Wii U and 3DS seems to be set for a reward with software support in the coming year. SEGA says it has seven SKUs — which could be a full seven new games or, alternatively, less games but including additional planned special editions — due for release on Wii U in the coming year, the same number that's planned for PS3; the Xbox 360 is only being supported with four releases. The 3DS is also in line for decent SEGA support with six SKUs planned for the coming year, though no releases are planned for the DS; in the case of both Nintendo systems, the company is estimating results of just under one million software sales on each platform. That's nearly two million planned sales on Nintendo systems, a vote of confidence for the consoles, coming in a little behind Sony (which also has PSP games helping out PS3 and Vita) and SEGA's most valuable platform, PC.
Good news for Nintendo and SEGA fans, then, as we're set to have a generous helping of new titles in this financial year. We've already heard rumours of a new Sonic title coming to Wii U and 3DS, and it'll be interesting to see what else the famous company has in store.
What do you think of these results and, perhaps most importantly, the promised support and confidence in good Wii U sales?
[source segasammy.co.jp, via eurogamer.net]
Comments 91
Castle of illusion? They just gotta!
Man, I hope one of those games is a new Jet Set Radio. Imagine being able to create your own grafiti on the Gamepad.
I miss the old Sega.
Castle of Illusion is pretty much confirmed!
Now excuse me as I nickname them the Lucky Sega Seven
No Sonic please. I'll get Sonic The Hedgehog 3D classics but that's about it.
I keep seeing stories like this and as far as I can see is American game producers are less committed to Nintendo, Japanese Game Producers are less committed to the Xbox, Sony reaps the rewards of being almost neutral on the Japanese/American divide, and producers like Ubisoft and Warner who have development teams all over the world seem to cater to everyone. Is there a difference in priorities of the Japanese and US markets? Or am I reading too much into it?
Please be F-Zero-U!!!!!!!!
@Nintendojoe64 nintendo makes f zero.
@nintendogamerz
Sega collaborated with Nintendo on F-Zero GX.
I would indeed be insanely awesome if they could make the Wii U proper sequel of "F-Zero GX"...
Most of these titles will be eStore downloads, they are currently doing a Vintage Sega line, Which see's Dreamcast games getting The HD makeover. Jetset Radio was released on other platforms a while ago, along with a couple of other games.
Be great to have Shemnue games on WiiU, that could use the gamescreen quite usefully.
mmm Fzero iz shinen's affair but i'd love a dedicated virtua fighter U...
At this stage any third party publisher release a bunch of games for the wii u can help alittle but not a whole lot till that Nintendo title is released to shift some units.
Rhythm Thief sequel on Wii U !! XD
Good, we have Ubisoft and now Sega, but we need much more before the PS4 arrives if we want to have a good third party line-up for years to come on Wii U
Make a F-Zero U and F-zero 3d!
Good, we have Ubisoft and now Sega, but we need much more before the PS4 arrives if we want to have a good third party line-up for years to come on Wii U
Hmmmm hope its not Sonic, Sonic 2, Sonic 3, Sonic and Tales etc for a Megadrive vc realease.
F-Zero UUUUU ..where are UUUUU?!!!
OMG Third parties ditching XBox. Microsoft is DOOMED!!!
I expect more Japanese companies to start putting Nintendo on higher priority then Xbox. Its something I've long argued because Nintendo have more relevance in Japan then Xbox. Provided Nintendo can get the type of fanbase that played GC on board expect companies like Capcom, Sega and Namco to treat Nintendo better again.
Sonic Colours 2 would be awesome,or a new Sonic game where you only play as Classic Sonic.
They didn't mention PS4 or Kinectbox, which could account for some of the Xbox360 missing titles. Microsoft shut down the Xbox after 360 came out, maybe they're preparing to do the same for Xbox360 after the next 1 comes out.
Also, the 7 WiiU and PS3 games also weren't listed as international or Japan only, which would also account for the 3 missing titles if they were Japan only as I doubt a lot of support on the Xbox360 this year in Japan.
They need to get more Saturn and Dreamcast classics up for download. Shenmue, Shenmue 2, Shining Force 3 and Panzer Dragoon Saga are just a few of the games that for most people are near impossible to play due to their rarity.
If anything with all these 7 titles that SEGA has coming down the pipe line. One of them must probably be a new Sonic game we heard about earlier in the year is my guess. But aside from that, to me it would be cool to see SEGA put out a new NiGHTS game for Wii U or 3DS. The reason why I say that is because I always heard before that NiGHTS: Journey Of Dreams for the Wii had mixed reviews. A bit more bad than good I'm guessing. But yeah, in the long run, it would be nice to see our old favorite jester, NiGHTS return for a 3rd outing on either the 3DS or Wii U. Just as long as it has good gameplay, story, music, audio, etc. , then it should be a hit for SEGA. Just so long as they add online to the game, it would make it a bit better I suppose.
I could care less about Rockstar not supporting Wii U, but when I hear Sega has some goodies lined up then I am all ears!
@Peach64
FINALLY someone who agrees with me on the whole SEGA SATURN games that should be made available for the Wii U eShop! To me, I think it's possible for SEGA and Nintendo to make SATURN games available for Wii U VC , but with Dreamcast games, I'm gonna hold my breath with that. To be honest, I don't know if a Dreamcast game alone would be able to make the cut as a digital download for Wii U VC ? I mean after all, wouldn't Dreamcast games be too big in size to release on the Wii U eShop ?
@Pixelroy
YES!!! We better get Castle of Illusion!
@3DSLUIGI It should be possible. I think the Dreamcast discs were closer to CD capacity than DVD. PSN has PSone and PS2 games, and PS3, 360 and Wii U all allow you to buy some full retail games digitally.
@nintendogamerz amusement vision, a part in sega who made super monkey ball, made F-Zero GX which was outsourced by Nintendo
So many Sega games i want released.
@DarkCoolEdge That sure is selfish of you - and a silly thing to even say, at that. Sonic's their biggest mascot; in what dimension would at least one of the games NOT be a Sonic game?
New sonic, jet set radio, shenmue, phantasy star and panzer dragoon please! I loved Sega as a kid. Had a Genesis and Dreamcast and loved them. Also wouldnt mind seeing some classic sega franchises see new games via eshop releases like Ristar and ToeJam & Earl.
@MrGawai
Handhelds definately get more support from japanesse developers than western one, it has to do with them being much more popular in Japan than in the rest of the world....
I would like to see an ecco the dolphin title for the 3ds for some reason the 3d effect works really well with underwater scenery judging from super mario 3d land
I would like to see an ecco the dolphin title for the 3ds for some reason the 3d effect works really well with underwater scenery judging from super mario 3d land
@3DSLUIGI assassins creed 3 is 18gb. Pretty sure Dreamcast games are smaller than that
Another F-Zero from SEGA would be much appreciated.
New IPs please!
@3DSLUIGI I've been advocating Saturn on virtual console since the wii was released. Still can't understand why they haven't yet and I hope they do. I've still got my Saturn and tonnes of games and always will, until eshop release them then I'll sell
@Peach64 You are right in thinking that. I still have a Dreamcast and it uses so called 'GD-ROM' discs, that have a maximum capacity of 1Gigabyte of uncompressed data. Illegal copies can even fit on a single CD by downgrading/compressing audio and cut scenes. The reason I mention this is that for a digital download, instead of downgrading, they could use compression for these files, making digital downloads between 600 - 1000 Megabytes.
As for Saturn games: because of the (for it's time) insanely complicated hardware I think they are WAY harder to emulate or convert while the Dreamcast made use of the Windows CE development platform, making it quite easy to port games to the Wii U.
Knowing Sega it's probably going to be seven different Sonic games. shudders
Nintendo's former rival is now one of their biggest contributes.
The streets of rage update that got cancelled would be good. As would virtual console versions of shenmue, shenmue II, sega rally '95, burning rangers, panzer dragoon and panzer dragoon zwei.
Doubt that will be the 7 though haha.
Saturn virtual console would sell so well. A LOT of retro gamers who don't already own a wii U would instantly buy a wii u for this reason alone. If they went even wider and released mega cd and 32x games aswell? That would be awesome. Knuckles chaotix!!?? And I wouldn't have to pay £150 for a cart? That WOULD rock. Make it happen Sega/Nintendo.
A full rework of panzer dragoon saga aswell please Sega, if you're not too busy??
that's great news. I think Sega should captialize on the current drought on the eShop. release some of the stuff they already have on PSN and XBL and I'll buy it all.
who wouldn't buy Sonic CD if they released it on the VC? I don't think it would cost much to port them to the Wii U eShop and they've already been esrb and pegi rated.
@Meteora mmm...'cause I obviously don't care muchabout the hedgehog and not even a bit about it being their mascot. Why should I? I just posted my opinion and I believe it wasn't disrespectful at all.
Have a good day...
@Nintenjoe64 doesn't mean crap.
@Fusion14 what doesn't mean crap?
Another F-zero please! Oh, and MOAR SONIC!
VIRTUA FIGHTER 6 AND CONDUIT 3
PLEEEEEAAAAAAAASSSSSSSEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
I would love Castle of Illusion and a 3d classics version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, since that was one of the games I loved to play whilst growing up.
@CyberNature That'd be sweet!
@Dev it is coming to the wiiu eshop according to an IGN listing
@DESS-M-8
See, what the thing with me is that I have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING against seeing Dreamcast games come over to the Wii U eShop if they are to ever be made available. In fact, I welcome them with open arms, that is if Nintendo EVER decides to get off their DAM high seats of stupidity and release them on Wii U VC , then I'm sure a lot of gamers would be happy beyond words can imagine. The only reason why I said earlier is that ppl may have to hold their breaths in waiting to see Dreamcast games appear on Wii U eShop is because when I look at them in size, something about the amount of data OVERALL like say on a game like any of the 2 Sonic Adventure games would maybe seem impossible to me just because of all the content that's on a Dreamcast disc. Take Shenmue for example, that's like what, 2 or 4 discs if I recall right to the whole first game? :/ For a game like that, can BOTH SEGA and Nintendo get away with releasing all that amount of data and content from all those discs onto a Wii U eShop without running into any problems?
i wonder if any of them are some of the sega games that have been released on PSn and XBL but wasn't released on WiiVC like Sonic Adventure, SA2 and Sonic 4 Episode 2?
I wouldn't mind seeing a few new Sonic titles at all, just hope they don't overdo it. I would most like to see a new Jet Set Radio game, but I shouldn't expect it.
I hope we see a new Sonic title, Castle of Illusions, as well as a couple of digital Sonic games that did not come to the Wii (like Adventure, Adventure 2, CD, S4 E2), as well as some virtual console games (Master System, Genesis, Saturn, and Dreamcast).
I'd prefer to have 4 good games rather than just 7 games in general. Hopefully Sega doesn't disappoint!
This kinda news never excites me. Until I hear specifically "what" is coming, I'll hold my applause.
Jet Set Radiooooooooooooooooooo please.
@Majin-Naruto
I'll tell you right now that if Sonic The Hedgehog 4: EP. 2 was one of their 7 games to come out on the Wii U eShop , then I'd be one of the first gamers to download that title within a heartbeat. Just the fact knowing alone that SEGA denied that game to Wii owners by not putting it out on the Wii Shop Channel due to Wii not being HD reason and some other reasons I forgot, really angered the hell out of me to no end.
Cool to see Sega doing better now. I was afraid they'd post losses after the Aliens catastrophe. And frankly, I am hardly surprised that SaSASRT did well on the Wii U at all. As this interesting article explains:
http://gengame.net/2013/03/nintendo-fans-are-too-smart-to-buy-third-party-aaa-games/
The game lined up perfectly with the general tastes of Nintendo fans. I am sure excited for the future! I actually still need to get that game, but finances are a bit tight, plus I got a ton games I still need beat. Anyway, good for you Sega!
I really do hope Sega uses these games for something shocking.
Awesome. It's nice to hear that some Sega games will be released on Wii U. I suppose Sonic is to be expected... I'm probably the minority here, but I'd like them to reboot Super Monkey Ball. I LOVED 1 and 2, and yes, the other ones sucked, but if they could produce an all new Monkey Ball that has the magic of the first two, I'd be incredibly excited... Unless, of course, it sucked, in which case I'd likely cry myself to sleep every night for a week (not really, but I'd be a bit disappointed).
@3DSLUIGI Actually the main reason why SEGA did not release "Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2" on "Wiiware" was that the "Wiiware" had a storage limit of 40MB.
@DarkCoolEdge Sorry, it just sounded a bit silly to say that, as if they'd even consider NOT making a Sonic game.
I think I misinterpreted your opinion as something of an ignorant wish, though, so I apologize.
Yay for more Sega action
@Rawk_Hawk It's, "I couldn't care less." You're welcome.
another house of the dead would be nice.
I agree that a new NiGHTS and Jet Set Radio should be made.
Nights! Nights! Nights! Nights!
MAKE A 3D ADVENTURE STARRING METAL SONIC!!!!!!!!
A lot of people will disagree with me on this, but I personally want a port of the PC/console Sonic Generations.
As long as they're not all sports or party games i'm okay with this.
Sega has a boxed Sonic game coming this year. I'm certain that's one of them.
And guys, Sega has no racing team anymore. They aren't doing F-Zero.
As long as four of the seven are these, I don't really care for anything else:
SEGA killed Sonic after the Dreamcast, but Sonic Shuffle didn't do the franchise any favours. Can't see Shenmue 3 being in there, but most other SEGA franchises just don't do it for me. SEGA Rally and Daytona USA are dead franchises. Seems that most of SEGA's franchises are either dead or just overrated. I wouldn't say no to Shenmue 3, but realistically, Outrun 3 could be in there. Maybe even Nintendo's F-Zero which SEGA now develop. I always thought SEGA would breath some life into ESWAT. On another note, I know the dogs are barking at the likes of Virtua Fighter, Tekken, Soul Calibur and Dead or Alive, but Virtua Fighter 6 is a must have. As for Saturn games on the Virtual Console, PSN and Xbox Live, 32 bit consoles just didn't do it graphically, even on the PlayStation. As a matter of fact, 32 bit consoles are probably the worst out there for retro gaming. 3D graphics got what they deserved with the Dreamcast, Xbox, GameCube and PlayStation 2. There's a tiny amount of games worth playing when it comes to 32 bit games. And you can't beat playing old games on a console. It's madness paying to download old games.
sega all stars racing 2
probably not since mk is coming soon. 7 games is a lot of support, i bet it they sell like hotcakes.
Great to hear that SEGA feels confident with Nintendo platforms once again. Things seem to have been pretty quiet since CRUSH3D, Shinobi and Sonic Generations failed to set the 3DS charts alight way back when.
Now, could we also see some more Virtual Console Game Gear games, SEGA?
No doubt we'll see a Sonic game on Wii U. If it plays like Sonic Colors, then I'll definitely look forward to it.
We'd better see Sonic Adventure 3.
surprised they are even still making games with there finances well they did have 1 good game i liked sonic generations a great return to form i say well if you only game on a nintendo platform you cant be picky u guys need all the games they can get at this point
Phantasy Star Zero 3ds
Phantasy Star Online Wii-u and 3ds
Shenmue 3ds
Outrun 3ds
Sonic Dreamcast versions Wii-u 3ds
Lists could go on forever and sega would make a ton of money
I could see Dreamcast games coming to Wii U eShop in the future. It could happen. If Sony can make PS2 games available for download, I'm sure Nintendo could do the same with GameCube and even Dreamcast titles--and I'd welcome them completely! I had a Dreamcast for the longest time but I never got around to being able to find decent games for it, which is really a shame.
But anyways, I think this is a good sign of the Wii U's sales potential. I have a feeling that just like how Sonic the Hedgehog helped Sega move more Genesis consoles, Sega can use our blue hedgehog to move more Wii U consoles. I'll take whatever games I can get for the Wii U from Sega... unless it's anything like Aliens Colonial Marines. haha.
I bet they'll make Sonic 06 "Enhanced" Edition
But seriously it's nice to get some support from somewhere, funny how the company that once destroyed Nintendo's monopoly on the market is now helping them succeed.
Well to honor sega im selling my dreamcast http://www.ebay.com/itm/SEGA-DREAMCAST-CUSTOM-SHENMUE-paint-with-17-games-Etc-DREAMCAST-WATCH-RARE-/111072608105
@Ryo_Hazuki-san omg that was funny
Shenmue 1&2 HD Collection coming to Wii U based on what someone said from Sega Europe because Nintendo is helping them with it. Also they didn't say Shenmue 3 but they followed up by saying a very anticipated continuation of a series right after mentioning the first 2 games.
Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, some new Sonic & Mario IP, New Phantasy Star Online, and a FPS game but it can't be Aliens Colonial Marines, so I don't know what it is.
you should put new character's like chaos the fox or siber the cat I love thinking of new character's and seeing new ones on tV
@retro_player_22 If we were going to have Shenmue 3 they would need to release Shenmue 1&2 on the Wii U first, Because you would need to transfer your Shenmue 2 data to Shenmue 3, that's the reason why the Xbox version of Shenmue 2 sucked because Shenmue 1 was only on Dreamcast.
Im glad were getting Sega as a second party developer for Nintendo, they're no Rare though
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