SEGA Posts Financial Results, Sales are Down and Profits are up

Doubt it. They've got serious brand power , they just have to start making good games again so that people associate quality with their name.

Right now, it's the opposite. I try to avoid their Sonic games like the plague.

@JaxonH You, took the words right out of my mouth,
with that being said, i'll wait and see. after what happen to Sonic 06 and Sonic Boom, i don't trust SEGA yet.

SEGA are sitting a potential goldmine built on nostalgia - they have a tremendous back catalogue consisting of great IPs that would be at home on both the home console / computer market and on mobile. I'm just praying for a HD re-release of Skies of Arcadia. As for Sonic, they really need to listen to the fans from the Mega Drive / Genesis days and deliver something amazing; Sonic Generations came close, but ultimately squandered its chances.

Go bankrupt already SEGA. Really, there's no way they can come back. I'd rather see them go than trying. What's the point? Just when they can make decent games like Sonic Colors and Generations, they end up with Boom.

I don't know if any of SEGA's other classc IP beyond Sonic really are worth developing games for these days. A percentage of Nintendo's market would take notice, but the FPS/Sandbox generation really don't care about various cartoons having adventures jumping on platforms. Like all IPs, they really only retain their appeal if they're regularly promoted, and a lot of Japanese 80's and 90's video game characters have been gone to long for the mainstay of the gaming public to care unfortunately.

@JaxonH They make one bad Sonic game out of the past 4, and that's it "they don't make good games any more". Why are Sonic fans so whiny? Sonic Colours, Generations, and Lost World were all great, but no it's still not good enough.

I just don't understand Sega, they have so many amazing dormant franchise with so much potential for reboots, why don't they do that instead of sticking with sonic most of the time?

@RainbowGazelle

1 bad game? Lost World was mediocre at best. Colors was clunky and mediocre at best. Generations was the only good game in that list.

I'm sorry, if Colors and Lost World is your idea of a good game, perhaps you need to play more games and on more systems.

I'm not a whiny Sonic fan. In fact I'm not a Sonic fan at all. Not anymore anyways. How could I be with the mediocre 5/10 crap they keep pumping out.

I will be happy when they make a real Sonic 4. One that looks more like a mix between Sonic 3 & Sonic 2 HD... a bit like Freedom Planet, with classic, perhaps even improved physics. That's really all I want. But I'm also hype for new Shenmue, Streets of Rage. Some Jet Set Radio would be nice... HEADHUNTER!

@JaxonH Colors is actually the best 3D Sonic game released. It's better than Generations (a good game), at any rate.

So it's reached this point, has it. Sega has determined that the only way to make a profit is to stop making games.

@Dr_Corndog
I have go disagree. I heard all the "Colors is a good game" stuff Sonic fans kept spreading around. So I bought it. And I was not impressed.

The DS entry, that one I thought was decent enough. But the Wii entry had clunky platforming, just like Lost World.

Bottom line is people definitely don't think "quality" when they hear about a Sonic game. And there's good reason for that.

@Dr_Corndog By the way I think you should go back and actually read the article because Sega said nothing about stopping making games. Not a word.

As far as a new IP, I'd love a new modern age Golden Axe, and this is a really obscure IP, but I want more Bonanza Bros! Google it if you don't know what it is. As for Sonic: a Sonic Colors sequel that you know, is good. Also I really hope they don't pull a Konami on us. Why? Why'd you do it Hideo Kojima?

At this point I'm skipping most Sonic games. Ever since 2002 I've only liked Colors, Generations, and Adventure, and if Sega is too lazy to not finish their games, I see no reason to buy the next Sonic game.

I'm actually quite a fan of most Sonic games, even the ones people hated (I've not bothered with Sonic 06 or Sonic Boom). Generations is my favourite 3D Sonic game and I'd love to see more games like that. Also on a handheld I want more Sonic Rush. The Sonic Advance games were cool too. For me the Sonic games are always unique because of the sense of speed.
If anyone knows of similar games, 2D or 3D (except Freedom Planet) then please let me know as I'd like to try them.

Live and Learn really sums this article up nicely. As long as Sonic continues to keep "hangin' on the edge of tomorrow", and have more games, I'll be happy. I don't think they'll stop making games anytime soon, especially now that they have apologized and said they're going to improve the quality of the games for now on. To me that shows they're dedicated and want to keep making more Sonic games.

I'm really getting hurt by the current state of game development. All of my favorite game series and studios are closing, or choosing to not make games because of expenses and the modern consumer's ridiculous expectations.

@RainbowGazelle Hold on, which Sonic game are you suggesting was bad? If it's Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, to be fair to Sega, they didn't make that game. I don't disagree with you on it being bad, heck no, but it was developed by Big Red Button rather than Sonic Team.

I do disagree on your point about Sonic Colours, Sonic Generations, and Sonic Lost World being great. While Sonic Colours was certainly great, I found Sonic Generations to be appalling, and Sonic Lost World was mediocre despite how creative it was. Of course, opinions differ, I'm certainly in the minority with my views on Sonic Generations after all.

@JaxonH I found Sonic Generations to be the weakest of the three. It encapsulated all the weakest elements of Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Colours gameplay style; overly long levels with far too much focus on boosting constantly, and they were rather boring to go through as well.

Sonic Colours meanwhile perfected that sort of gameplay, with decently paced levels that were enjoyable to trek through. It suffered from a weak story (which Generations also had), lack of different characters to use, and still quite a lot of focus on boosting, but was the best Sonic game of the 7th generation of consoles.

@DarthNocturnal I love Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed; my favourite racing game so far. I do hope to see Sumo Digital making a third game at some point, perhaps bringing back the characters that didn't reappear in the second game (I missed using Opa-Opa).

I also agree with you on the need for a Sonic Adventure 3... with Chao Garden. It's not a true Adventure game without a Chao Garden.

Rant incoming
Sega should stop beating a dead horse and let the other IPs get a turn now and then, Nintendo's Main mascot is Mario and yet they still use their other IPs with Sega it's just Sonic this, Sonic that, Sonic Sonic Sonic, Sega has clearly a good amount of IPs it can use to help generate more profit, one example being Jet Set Radio, the series was good, funky, and really was a success.

If they want to continue to use the Sonic Series then they should focus on other characters, like the Choatix(Vector, Espio and Charmy) crew, they could have stealth based gameplay since they are a detective agency but with a bit of Sonic styled platforming involved.
Yes we have Knuckles Chaotic, but that was merely a semi Sonic 3 Clone but with different character skins slapped on and the abilities edited a bit.

My point is: Sega should produce more variety with their IPs, they can't continue to use Sonic forever, same with Nintendo, Mario will eventually be unusable as well.

End Rant

Aside from the Sonic games, I don't recall SEGA putting out bad games as of late. We got Hatsune Miku games that are doing well. Company of Heroes 2 released to good reception a few years back. They purchased Atlus and haven't seemed to messed them up at all. Alien Isolation was a solid licensed IP. They even helped get Bayonetta 2 out the door with their connections to Nintendo.

Really, aside from the Sonic games, SEGA doesn't seem to have a terrible track record.

What people don't realize is that Sega is secretly extremely wealthy because they own and manufactor most of the arcade cabinets in Japan.
They have also made announcements earlier this pertaining to the branding of their IPs and reinforcing Sonic in particular. An orchestrated concert of Sega's musical scores toured Japan earlier this year. Sonic Boom proved to be a successful cartoon series in the west. A new Sonic title has been in development for Sonic's 30th anniversary next year. Sega is already in possession of NX development kits. Even then, a Sonic the Hedgehog MOVIE is in development by Sony Pictures. I do believe that the future for Sonic - and Sega - is promising.

@the101 You mean Sonic's 25th anniversary?

@DarthNocturnal
Oh Sonic Transformed was AMAZING, bar none.

But of course it wasn't a mainline Sonic entry either.

Sonic Transformed is about the only amazing game Sega still makes that has Sonic in it. Even their best regular Sonic games are meh when compared to other, actually great games

@Spin dont forget the Total War series

^spot on. Sonic may suck but Total War is where its at. I do wish for a new Shinobi and Virtua Fighter though. ...I just take VF 6...please SEGA don't make me beg...its not pretty.

I just wanna go fast in 3D with minimal and non boring platforming. How hard is that, Sega?

@KickButt_Gaming The game you just described is basically sonic adventure 1 and 2.

There is only 1 thing I want. Phantasy Star Online 2 in the west.

Maybe if they would just bring PSO2 to the west then maybe they'd make some money. They already have an English version released for the Southeast Asia area, would it really cost them that much to just convert a couple of those servers over to accommodate it?

I'm 38 and have been playing games since 1980 on multiple systems, and yet I really enjoyed both Sonic Colors and Lost World. Didn't find them clunky or mediocre at all. In fact, I'd say Generations has been overrated by some. Either way, none of those games are anywhere near as pitifully bad as Sonic 06 was. Even Sonic Boom was a cut above that.

What I'd like to see Sega do is let Sonic rest for a while. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Even if they don't make new games from the ground up, give us HD ports of Skies Of Arcadia and Panzer Dragoon Saga. Things that people really want and will sell, and maybe just maybe generate new interest in some of their better IPs.

If they're making more money releasing terrible games than when they were actually trying, they'll carry on putting less money into development and hoping it keeps paying off.

I don't really care too much about them reviving old stuff but I'd like to see Saturn and Dreamcast VC. Saturn has a few all time classics and I'd say Dreamcast has more.

@Tubalcain You could also throw in all of the 3D Genesis games coming out as of late.

Fighters Megamix
Sega Rally and friends
Golden Axe
NiGHTS
Shenmue
Chu chu rocket
Panzer Dragoon

I hated Sonic Colors but i actually liked Wii version of Sonic Unleashed. Those daytime stages was pretty fun.

@JaxonH Yeah, one bad game. Lost World is okay, but not bad. Colours is great. They're all more interesting than the uninspired, copy-and-paste Mario crap Nintendo's been putting out for the last 2 console generations.

@Souldin Don't worry, I know Sonic Team didn't make Boom. That's why I don't get all the Sonic hate. As far as I can see, Sonic Team's last 3 Sonic games have all been good, in my opinion. They're already moving in the right direction.

Well good for them. As a non Sonic fan, I do think it'd be neat if they could give him a rest though for a few years, try thinking about what they want to do with the IP and settle for something focused, and reintroduce him into the market years later.

@RainbowGazelle thank you! People need to calm down when it comes to the sonic series. Shattered crystal wasn't even that bad. They have more time to fix all of the issues in fire and ice and I'm sure it will be a decent game

@RainbowGazelle
One bad game in your opinion. Many bad games in the opinion of most.

And even if I were to concede they weren't bad, they certainly weren't great. I own all 3 consoles and both handhelds. I have access to everything the industry offers- I don't waste time with mediocrity. If it's not spectacularly/amazing, Id rather play something else.

Whether or not Mario games have been uninspired lately, they can get by with it because the gameplay is still among the funnest of any game out there today.

I'll take uninspired Mario over those Sonic games any day of the week. I actually still have loads of fun playing Mario. That's what having precision mechanics can do for you. And that's why those Sonic games are gutter trash to me- if the mechanics are clumsy, what's the point. Platformers are built on one thing- the mechanics. Get that wrong and the game is worthless.

@MrGawain I disagree. I think a proper jet set radio reboot or a true next gen afterburner would do quite well. The question is does sega have the talent to make these anymore

Truth be told, I want more games like the Sonic Advance trilogy. I thought those were awesome!

I think Sega should take over 3d classics completely on 3ds and start opening the 3d Classics flood gate. It couldn't cost much to develop those games. I hope they don't back out of gaming. I'm still hoping for a shining in the darkness 3d classic which will probably never happen. We can hope. It would be an instant 3d classic

Sonic and super monkey ball have decent chances on Wii u. Heck jet set radio could do just fine too! Come on Sega become a second party to Nintendo already!

I seem to like every single Sonic game I play, which includes Sonic and the secret rings, Sonic and the Black Knight, sonic lost world, etc. (I never played Sonic '06). The only one I didn't like was Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric. That game was downright BAD. I guess I'm a die hard Sonic fan?

Also, is Konami becoming a meme? Because I need to get in on that.

I think Nintendo should buy Sega and Capcom and bring their two respective mascots back to their former glory. Oh man, could you imagine that?

@JaxonH The recent not good one is only Sonic Boom, which is not even made in-house. Alien: Isolation sells crazy and is regarded as one of the best horror games made recently, but the game is not on Wii U and thus you do not know.

@GreatPlayer

"Thus I do not know" lol?

I own all 3 consoles and both handhelds. Day one. Believe me I know. Alien Isolation was OK. It wasn't bad, it wasn't great.

I don't care if "Sonic Boom wasn't made in house" or if green space Martians made it. Fact is it's a Sonic game produced by Sega. If BigRedButton is a horrible developer, who's fault is that for entrusting their IP to them?

That's right. Sega. They are responsible for the Sonic games, regardless of whether they developed them or not. Dimps made most the handheld entries anyways, yet people are real quick to give credit if it's even halfway good. But as soon as it's terrible, it's "oh well ya know Sega didn't actually make it so" like that matters.

A bad game is a bad game. I don't care who made it

@RainbowGazelle I play 2D Mario games just to waste time... it is indeed extremely downright uninspiring in its recent entries. The surprising thing to me is that people let it get by and keep buying it. There are so many better platformers such as Gunman Clive, Rayman Origins, Sonic Lost World...

Nintendo should just buy out Sega

@JaxonH I personally thought the mechanics in Colours and Generations (3DS) were fine. Having now played a bit of Generations on the PS3, I can totally see where you're coming from. The controls are a bit crap... and the level design sucks... the framerate ain't that great either... However, I still maintain that Colours (Wii) is great, and Generations on 3DS (although too short) is fun too, because the controls are far better.

@RainbowGazelle
Well I'm glad you at least enjoyed them.

I grew up a Sega kid with the Genesis. Sonic 1-3 and Knuckles and Spinball was all I plate for most of grade 1-6. I drew pictures of all the Sonic characters, had a portfolio of hundreds of Sonic drawings.

I LOVED Sonic.

But those games were hallmarks of excellence. And then you look at these newer entries, and it's such stark contrast. Can they be enjoyed? Sure. Can some of them be considered "good"? Ya I suppose.

But I remember a day when Sonic games actually WERE among the funnest the industry had to offer. And insulting Mario games doesn't make these Sonic games any better.

@GreatPlayer
Mario still stands as one of the best platformers there is. "Inspired, creative, innovative" etc mean nothing. Little Big Planet is all the above, yet one of the dullest games I've ever played.

I mean, it's fine to have your own opinion. If you think Gunman Clive and Lost World are better games than Matio, more power to you. But most gamers are going to disagree with that. 3D World and NSMBU are some of te finest platformers of modern gaming. The level design is 1000x better than the aforementioned games and of course, still has that precision Mario gameplay that has been perfected over the years.

@JaxonH Sonic Spinball = bad taste

@GreatPlayer

???

Dude I was like 11 or 12 years old. And I loved Sonic. So much I enjoyed any game he was in.

Sound familiar???

I wish Sega would release a ported version of pso on the 3ds. Sega is my favorite company, gotta love total war and valkryia chronicles.

@GreninJovan yeah, sorry. I misspoke. :/ To be honest The Legend of Zelda and Metroid have been on my mind lately, and 2016 is their 30th anniversaries. I forgot that Sonic's is 25.