Sega Laments Poor Performance Of Its Console Releases In Latest Financial Report

I bought Mario & Sonic for my daughter at Christmas but we've had that much fun playing Luigi's Mansion 3 that I've not even took it out of the protective wrapping yet

Make better games and they'll sell better. Also surely, seeing as the back cat sells so well, revive an IP. An awesome new Shining Force could easily rival Fire Emblem for example!

I know this isn't Sega's call but here's a crazy idea - Persona 5 for Switch? Or do these people just hate money?

Maybe people are sick of Sanic and rehashes ?
Nah can't be that can it Sega ?

It's almost as if trying to sell Persona 5 to people who have already got Persona 5 isn't such a hot idea.

How about... how about you try selling Persona 5 to people who haven't already got it... say... Switch owners and the like?

@gcunit
Can't do
Won't have it
Makes too much sense !

Maybe they should put Persona 5 on the Switch. Just sayin’.

P5 Royal and Sakura Wars haven't been released here in the west yet. I plan on buying both when available. M&S has never managed to draw me in unfortunately. I played the original one (2008 Beijing), but have not been convinced to go back since.

I wish Nintendo would just buy Sega. But then they would probably just not release another Daytona for a solid two decades.

They have to make better games, all their games have the same annoying guitar music and arcade feel into it.

Also stop pushing those sonic games, they are so repetitive and not apealing.
The company lacks creativity.

How about releasing Sakura Wars, Yakuza games and Persona games for the Switch then? While they’re at it, release their other Platinum games, The Conduit, Jet Set, Crazy Taxi and Skies of Arcadia remasters. And give a new Virtua Fighter.
And just make better games in general.

I wish Sega just stuck to what Sega was really good at.... Arcade games. Now I know people don't like buying arcade games at full price but why not just make a line up of games which you sell for $30 a pop. Surely there is some gamers starving for some arcade type racing and sports. Not everyone wants a simulation.

Pick stronger Sega AGES titles. Fans aren't exactly quiet about the games and systems they wish to see.
Better games. Simple. Their recent ActRaiser clone should've been solid. It was not.
Revive classic and dormant IPs, but let someone more talented worry about the game development. The upcoming Streets of Rage 4 looks excellent! But it was farmed out to a company that actually cares about quality.

Sega have so many good ips but they are obsessed with sonic and they also like to release stuff from the 80s and 90s release games from the Saturn and Dreamcast eras and people will buy them only got yourselves to blame Sega

Sega has such a rich history and whilst arcade games may not have the mass market appeal, they have a dedicated following. They just need to be priced accordingly and made available; not just release the same few Mega Drive games over and over again with a few additions here and there. Some upcoming potential with Streets of Rage 4 and the Panzer Dragon remakes.

Of course my biggest concern is whether this will be enough. If Sega is looking for incomes equivalent to major 3rd party publishers, then it’ll have to develop and publish games with mass market appeal and unfortunately, monetisation (until Darwinism wipes out those people who keep that crap profitable).

I would love to see Sega release Daytona on Sega ages for `Switch. Perfect game for the Switch. Still love SEGA and truly miss their console days. I hope Nintendo never fall away from making consoles. Would be a tragedy for the industry.

So, uh... "poor performance" or the revenues not catching up with the production costs? Especially when you release three console titles and one of them is an updated re-release of a recent game on pretty much the same platforms...

@KitsuneNight you expect Sega to consider such a thought in the same universe where annual FIFA releases exist?

I feel like Japanese companies still don't really understand the change in gaming habits - especially in Japan where it's dramatically changed.

More global releases, more for switch (if they want Japanese success) and also more download than traditional.

@Samwise7 do not give a man hope ! Also beware what you wish for. OG Shining Force in a shiny new engine would be awesome,but we could get also get something .... lesser.

Sega don’t know what people like about Sega I was reading an old edge magazine from back when they were going multi platform and they saw EA as the perfect business model so there really is no hope for them. Just give all your racing ips to sumo they know what Sega fans want

@nhSnork

Yes, cause Sega can't coast by the same way EA does.

Some great arcade games in its catalogue that would go down a storm updated or just released digitally on all platforms. Plus update older IPs. It's not rocket science. People desperate for Alien isolation sequel as well...

I'm stunned... Many of Sega's biggest games are geared towards the Japanese market and yet it avoids Japan's biggest current gaming platform.

Sega is one of my favorite companies of all-time (hell, the Genesis is the reason I fell in love with video games) and I'd hate to see it go but it has to start making better decisions. Yakuza going to Xbox Game Pass is somewhat of a step in the right direction looking at the global market, but Switch is also very successful in the West as well as Japan and it makes absolutely no sense to not put Yakuza there as well. Persona should also go multiplat and it'd be nice to see Sega try and pay more respect to long dormant franchises like Golden Axe and Streets of Rage. SoR 4 looks cool but it's a project Sega itself should've come up with.

It always makes me laugh how companies like sega and... well everyone really have such rich pickings to choose from but never really seem to. Surely their marketing teams must look online at comments and threads to get a general idea what the majority want to see. I dont work for sega but I know that sonic is a stale IP and that remakes from the DC era would go down well. It's the same with Nintendo aswell. How hard would it be to trawl the internet and see the hankering for Metroid trilogy and capitalize on that or remaster windwaker or pikmin. Surely it wouldnt take long to do as those 2 were WiiU titles.

Nintendo should buy Sega

@Gamer83
Sega making stupid boneheaded decisions is sadly staple Sega.

Wanted to buy Mario & Sonic, but read everywhere it's not very fun as a singleplayer/couch co-op game, so why bother?

The last same I bought with a SEGA logo on it was Alien Isolation. I did get Shenmue I & II HD for Christmas in 2018.

I bet a SEGA Arcade Collection handled by the brilliant M2 would sell well...then again, simply having more games people actually want in the AGES Collection would be even better.

VR Racing was a nice step up. Shinobi was an excellent choice. The rest feel like more niche games - minus Sonic.

Sonic 2?
Phantasy Star II?
Golden Axe series?
Altered Beast?
Toejam & Earl?
Shining Force series?

I know those games are available in the Genesis Collection; however, I feel like M2 can do a much better job with these classics than layering an emulator inside of Unity.

Crazy Taxi, Sega Rally 2, Jet Set Radio, Space Channel 5 and Gitaroo Man would be my dream revivals. Oh right, Gitaroo Man was Inis/Koei... but I just really want Gitaroo Man

@GamingFan4Lyf Sega prefer to provide us garbages instead of masterpieces... se the game list of the genesis collection... or the ages lineup as you already explained...

How about they starting making good games?
Sonic is dead as a 3d character unless they revamp his gameplay and style. Collections will sell less and less as time goes on. OK, it's good to keep those old school games close, they are legacy after all, but they are not sellers, sorry. People here in NL would insta-buy some great SEGA collection, but statistically, we are nothing close to what the gaming community actually is, therefore, make new, good, modern games.

I would throw wads of cash at them if they gave us a new Phantasy Star Online on the Switch.

Make better games and they'll sell. Also, not sure why they released an Olympics game in the autumn before the actual Olympics were due to take place, only to have it slaughtered by other companies and their big Christmas releases. Should have released it in late Spring next year when there would have been more interest and less competition. But since when have gaming release schedules made sense.

Normally, I'd just say "do better" to a company like Sega. Nowadays, I'm scared a company looking for more money will just say "drop consoles, all FTP."

Mario & Sonic games are still lack one thing : Character customization.

Btw, i'm surprised nobody has ever knew and played this SEGA Arcade game.

MaiMai

Well, that’s a shame... but a reduction in profit doesn’t mean running at a loss... we shall see how they go this year.

Try porting Dreamcast games to Switch. Also Hang-On. Those will actually sell. I also bought a Genesis Mini and the Genesis Classics for Switch, so I'm doing my part Sega. Played the demo for Mario and Sonic. Not fun for me.

i bought only alien isolation port (it was published from them) but i have not interest in sonics games anymore

Persona 5 Royal is basiclly selling the same game twitch just with a little bit of extra content added in at full price and clearly it hasn't sold as well as the original Persona 5 at launch, Persona 5 Scramble is going to sell more because it is a new game, new story, new characters and it isn't limited to one console

Is the latest Mario and Sonic any good? I picked up Rio 2016 for the Wii U, it was ok but nothing amazing. Wondering if there is enough new good content to pick the latest version up....

release shin megami tensei v and sega game sales will go up about 200% from me buying all the copies

I don't see how an article like this could be written without some commentary on what this means regarding Genesis Mini holiday/launch performance. I mean, I've been waiting with bated breath to hear how it performed in relation to the PlayStation Classic and Nintendo's Classic Edition mini consoles. Surely, I'm not the only one. It never sold out, even after it went on deep discount, which is kind of a bad sign.

I don't even own a Switch but Persona 5R and Sakura Wars seem like no brainers on Switch. Persona has traditionally been a PS series so I don't know if there is some agreement woth Sony holding it up, but given Scramble coming to Switch I would be surprised if 5R doesn't eventually jump over.

As a PS4 owner, I'm not even excited about 5R. I don't want to play a somewhat different version of a 90 hour game I already beat. Sega needs to invest more in Atlus. They are making awesome games, but it just seems like it takes them forever to churn out console games. They haven't released a single original game on current gen: 5 was cross-gen, 5R is a remake, Mirage Sessions is a port and Catherine is a port. They used to buoy this with smaller DS and 3DS releases, but that isn't a market anymore.

Regarding the previous comments on the subject, I've said for years that if Nintendo and Sega ever merged and/or manufactured and supported a console together, it would alter the entire balance of the videogame industry, especially in Japan but likely also the West.

As for "disappointing sales", Sega really has only themselves to blame, sitting on a mountain of IPs fans have been begging to see brought back for years or decades while churning out endless Sonic games (most of them of questionable quality). Sonic may still sell well for them overall, but they've run him into the ground so much by now that many gamers (myself included) have actually grown sick and tired of the character and the franchise.

Here's a Pro Tip for Sega to increase sales: give the customers what they REALLY want, what they've been asking for.

First things first bring Persona 5 to Switch and P5R which will have a far bigger market given the original isn't on there.

Secondly, Sega Ages needs to be bigger titles such as Nights into Dreams, Jet Set Radio, Crazy Taxi, Virtua Fighter, Vitua Cop and House of the Dead, Sega Rally, Panzer Dragoon Saga.

Thirdly licence 3D Sonic out to someone else to have a go, ask Nintendo to get him into a 3D Mario if needs be

@RudeAnimat0r Persona spin off games are free to go to any and all platformers where as the mainline Persona game can not they are exclusive to Sony, P5 Scramble is a spin off game just like Persona Q2 so they are allowed on Nintendo

Literally sitting on so many great IPs...like phantasy star, shenmue, panzer dragoon, jet set, and a whole trove of atlus games.

Anyone who says SEGA milks Sonic too hard is clearly a Nintendo-only gamer. SEGA has been milking Yakuza MUCH harder than Sonic these past 3 years.

@BANJO it's not amazing but I do like it. Everyone claims how many switch games they buy. They brag about big back logs. If you have a big back log on the switch it isn't because you are exclusively buying "amazing" games. Sure fire emblem and Zelda are 100 hour games but the to have a huge back log you must be buying simply good games. I think Mario vs sonic is better than good but perhaps people are tired of it. As a Olympic fan it doesn't make it better that the actual Olympics game has basketball, baseball, tennis and volleyball as mini games which are absent from Mario vs sonic. I was hoping for dlc. Likely not happening though

Maybe bring more of their titles to switch could help

It's called an HD tart up of Skies of Arcadia.

I love Sega but it has to be one of the worst run companies that is still in business. They make the most baffling business decisions and have been doing so for decades. Before it was in their terrible hardware add on decisions but now it’s in its games. Why not port persona 5 to the switch?? Surely that’s a no brainer? Why allow so many of your classic IPs to rot in a vault and continue to make mediocre at best sonic games and then wonder why the sales are poor? Why release the same small batch of old games like space harrier etc when you are sitting on a treasure trove of arcade classics that people have never been able to own and you bite your hand off for? Seriously it’s bizarre.

Well duh, a 3d sonic game would have done better.

I'd be curious to know how many sega genesis classic mini's they've sold

Release Sakura Wars in the US.

In a time where most games sell in the West, SEGA is still doing regional launches.

They only had Mario & Sonic on shelves here at $60. Not sure how they thought they were going to compete.

@sixrings I see what you mean. I have recently cut back on the amount of games I buy in order to try to reduce my backlog. I came to the conclusion it was the only option if I ever wanted to actually get round to playing the games I buy...
I have held off buying the latest Mario and Sonic but might get it when it drops significantly in price...

The Persona Sony exclusive thing just never made sense to me. Not sure what kind of contract Atlus and Sony have or whats going on there. Releasing persona games on the Switch will only increase sales and build a larger fanbase resulting in future titles selling more.

As far as Sega I can only speak for myself, but the Ages line hasn't released anything that I really care about and I've never been that big a fan of Sonic. Like someone said previously make a new Shining Force or revive some other franchises. Port Yakuza to the Switch. They sold well enough on the PS4 and probably would also sell on the Switch. Get Nintendo to let you make a new Fzero game.

Their strength is in their older library. I would kill for some kind of Dreamcast collection etc or Saturn games. House of the Dead collection would be amazing. They focus too much on Sonic and Yakuza honestly. I buy all of the Sega Ages games but I imagine those aren't huge revenue pools.

@KitsuneNight Where can I find Sanic games??

Sega: "Let's release Persona 5 on the Nintendo Switch"
Checks bank account
Sega: WHERE DID ALL THIS MONEY COME FROM?!

A fast way to pump up those numbers.....Persona 5 Royal switch edition

This is what happens if you go third party. If Nintendo ever decided to make games exclusively for xbox and ps we would get this type of trash. Making your own hardware translates to making great games. That's why xbox has great exclusives. They make their own hardware.

Just drop Yakuza 0 on Switch...... Can't be that hard?

Maybe make a Sonic game this year? 🤷🏽‍♂️

I really don't care about Sega anymore. They should have put P5R on the Nintendo switch. They have power over atlus, so I don't blame anyone for this but Sega themselves

I bought Mario & Sonic. Played it.
It is not the best game in the franchise. It may actually be the least fun. So quality may have something to do with lack of quantity.

@mike_intv I enjoyed the option to play with buttons only. Even Rio forced player one to use the gamepad. That said this is only my third Mario vs sonic so I enjoyed it the most out of the three I have played (the other two being the Wii u versions)

@Gbbengals

Wherever they are not wanted.

outside of Atlus stuff, I don't know of any SEGA games I actually buy or play

Sega also seems to have the same problem as Nintendo - the obsession with only their 8 and 16 bit back catalog. Those like me have nostalgia or early-3D and on, and want that generation of games. I will happily buy and play old games if they are the games from my childhood - not the same 'retro' stuff that has been re-released 8 billion times already over the years

SEGA-Sammy is not the same company as the SEGA of old. They play it safe, and rarely do anything unique or revolutionary. People meanwhile, are wanting the SEGA of old that took risks on games like Crazy Taxi, Space Channel 5, Jet Set Radio, and other franchises that just don't get attention.

They love milking their Genesis library, but I am curious to see the Dreamcast stuff re-released.

Maybe it'd help if Sega dug deep and looked back at what made them stand out to begin with. As cool as it would be for them to revivie/port old IPs, I just miss the type of ambition that screamed "SEGA" during the gens before the PS360 era.

I mean, they helped bring Bayonetta to the world, and Yakuza keeps the Shenmu spirit alive (while also being good), but it just feels like they left a part of themselves behind in lieu of looking more serious and/or chasing memes.

Hatsune Miku Project DIVA: MEGA 39s/Mega Mix is probably their goldmine right now:

Prominent Japanese icon + successful system + releasing alongside the film adaptation of Sonic = well, you’re probably guessing.

So many great games, if they actually tried I bet one of them would sell well. A lot of us have been saying for years though....

Sega need to stop releasing crap games.
And make new games, from the amazing IP they have.

All those amazing series, they literally do nothing with.

Sega is like your best friend who was amazing, but then got married and became an absolute flake.

@PALversusNTSC Yes. Even when sonic is done right which has been the case lately, it's overdone. Give it a rest and do something else please!

how about releasing ages titles on xbox, ps4 and steam? perhaps on physical media?

would never spend a dollar on a platform where nintendo get a cut... and yes we are tired of old megadrive games, a system16-32-model2-3 etc emulator should exist and great never seen arcade titles should be released!

(and not on or not only on a soon dead platform, like nintendo's... everyone: think before reply: can you play wiiu games on switch? there you go and now you understand how I understood it on pc and xbox your games live long after the console gen dies)

oh, and SoR4 looks like a cheap flashgame. I will only buy it at flash-game price...

@Agramonte

Sakura Wars is getting a release in the US. This year in fact!

Of course this is not console sales related but I keep saying they’ve been dragging ass with the Sega Ages line and I’m clueless as to why this lineup is not made available on PS4 - a huge audience with many ex Sega console fans!! That would help their revenue stream I would think. 🤷‍♂️

@sixrings Sammy already bought Sega, so unless Nintendo also wants a bunch of pachinko machines, Sammy would have to agree to sell Sega.

They should have released Persona 5 Royal and Sakura Wars on Switch. They always be missing critical pieces of the puzzle.

@krvstkvlt It's not that it wasn't very fun, but more like it was extremely lacking in content. Surfing is no fun due to a lack of skill moves. It's just a single button press, same with badminton. The 8-bit events are extremely fun, but there's just not many of them.

I think the only SEGA published game I buy these days is Football Manager.

Thank goodness Nintendo ended this company, what a joke they ha e become.

How about developing your games on all platforms and not just PS4...?

I love Sega - that much is clear by my username - but their approach bugs the hell out of me sometimes. Persona and Yakuza are both fantastic series and they've been knocking it out of the park with those. Sonic Mania? Awesome. Very excited for Panzer Dragoon on Switch and Streets of Rage 4, too.

But the fragmentation and inconsistency is what gets me. Phantasy Star Online 2 is a game I've been dying to play for years, and when they finally announce it for the West, it's North America and only on Xbox. New Virtual On Collection? Japan only. ARGH. Then there's the recent Super Monkey Ball release, which was of the worst game in the entire series. Grr.

And yes, we need more Saturn and Dreamcast era re-releases. The IP they have is ridiculous and they just don't do anything with them. I've re-bought classic titles for PlayStation, Nintendo and Square Enix countless times on multiple platforms and probably will do again. If Sega released the potential of their portfolio, people would buy them and I don't think it would just be oldschool fanboys like me.

@Darknyht Right. As a Sega "fanboy" of old....I am saddend by what has happened to Sega. My favorite systems, NOT just Sega systems, are the Master System, Dreamcast, had fun with the Genesis as well, (DS line, Wii, Switch,)..I remember where I was when I read in a magazine that the Dreamcast was going to be discontinued and how depressed I was. Sega used to be great. Great titles, unique games, best Arcade games hands down, but they must have lost 90% of all the good people and have really become nothing so fast. When Nintendo played dirty and wouldn't let 3rd party companies make games for the competition, Sega had to be creative and rely on all their strengths and arcade titles. Now, we get Sonic....over and over. Who cares anymore. Bring us Arcade titles and the games people want. Not "Sonic goes shopping", or whatever else.....

I forgot what Sega did besides Yakuza. God I love Yakuza. I still haven't gotten around to judgement and Y6 has to be coming out soon

@westman98 Well Yakuza at least has some pc ports. It's weird they aren't simultaneous releases though. It makes sense for the 3-6 collection, but judgement and Yakuza 6? Doesn't make any sense. Though, I did play the resonance of fate port and maybe they just don't do it because they suck at it

@yuwarite Maybe a year out after Royale so they can charge full price again. I'm still wondering what the deal with SMT 5 is. I don't care about persona 5 on the switch because of SMT 5. That games is obviously going to crib a lot from P5 and I've already played P5 and probably will play Royale when it's on sale in the summer. Which is good because 4 really didn't and I didn't like it as much as DDS, Nocturne, or the DS games (devil survivor. Didn't feel strange journey either)

@Amin_Parker Nah, I just want SMT 5. I mean, really, the chances that SMT becomes indistinguishable from persona except for the school thing is pretty high. Just a straight dungeon crawler about catching demons, killing them, and making friends with your Bros. And then killing them.

That's what I want. Persona 4 and 5 were a bit too feel good. I want Louis Cypher and killing YHVH back. Or at least tonally where devil survivor was where it was pokemon with mass genocide

I have fears that panzar is going to flop big time and then they will be more hesitant to release games. I owned a Saturn once but I am amazed so many people mention panzar considering it was on a failed console. Perhaps its just a vocal minority. Arcade titles please.

@KitsuneNight You realize their hasn't been a brand new mainline traditional Sonic game since Sonic Forces (2017). SEGA also has other IPs Persona, Yakuza, Sakura Wars, Shining, Total War, Endless, etc. Their problem isn't Sonic its that they only release their games on PS4 and PC, when they should be on other platforms as well. You are seeing them adjusting but only small steps, Catherine Classic on PC, Yakuza on Xbox, P5S on Switch, but that slow adjustment isn't whats hurting them in the long run.

Sometimes it feels like Sega is trying to fail. What a bummer.

@KitsuneNight breath of the mild did well for nintendo. Sega need a new sanic adventure that would do well for them 🤔😏

I still have no idea why Sega is just sitting on tons of AAA arcade games that have never once seen a home release. They could make a fortune off releasing that stuff.

Sega is always in a strange cycle
,
Make only Sonic, Monkey Ball, Yakuza.
Claim “want to do more with dormant IP’s”
....
Lose Money
Make only Sonic, Monkey Ball and Yakuza games.

I'd put money down for a Switch version of Sonic Lost World, SEGA.

@blacksamu They've rereleased those games so many times. Just fully remake them at this point.

Sales up, but costs way up?
Solution: More Sega Ages and less poopy Sonic titles. 😁

@Ooccoo_Jr
These are the idiots are probably still twiddling their thumbs over greenlighting a Mania sequel so now they can write it off as they go all in on ******* themselves to that trash movie. P5 not being on Switch in spite of all logic is the most Sega move possible and to be fair Nintendo enabled this by not forcing them to make concessions behind some spinoff.

@mesome713 actually sony ended sega. nintendo was dead too with their pathetic n64....

(even more actually: sega ended themselves... as they always do. like.... now they are full of idiots. )

@FX102A Wishful thinking, pal.

Sega said a few months ago at one of their previous financial results meetings, that they going to start going to have more of a multi-platform approach, without having as many platform exclusives, as they have been doing recently, as a result of having lower profits and sales.

Here’s the link: https://gonintendo.com/stories/334422-sega-to-focus-more-on-existing-ip-and-take-a-multiplatform-approa

Some are saying Nintendo should buy Sega. Sorry but I disagree as I don’t really know how Nintendo could do a better job. Just look at how they are handling back catalogue/IP with Nintendo Online, pretty pathetic and they have a captive audience with the Switch...

The figures arent terrible btw

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-02-05-sega-lowers-full-year-forecast-on-soft-q3-packaged-sales

We need a Rhythm Thief sequel and/or a Switch port! I'm sure that'd sell better than the 3DS game!