Masanao Maeda on the state of Sega

That was a good read, thanks.

I'm glad Sega recognizes that problem.

 

Like you said, can only be a good thing I'd say. Our chances couldn't possibly get worse. Glad to see they're still coming up with good ideas to make back some of that money.

 

Thanks for the info Myke.

I'm glad to know that Sega as a whole is doing somewhat well. It's also nice to know that Maeda really seems to understand the need to not completely remove "core games" from Sega's business model in favor of stupid- I mean "Casual games".

I don't like the fact that the development of "Core games" (He should just say "Quality games") is causing concern within the company. Thankfully for us though, VF5R is already made and we just need a console port. That's not exactly expensive when compared to the creation of a new "Core game".

I believe that everything that he mentioned regarding wanting to produce games that sell well in Japan and overseas can only be a good thing when it comes to VF5R. VF may not be the most popular thing ever overseas, but it's an established franchise with a decent fanbase in North America and Europe. In terms of what he was talking about, I would think that would be very appealing to Sega right now.

What really caught my eye in this interview was this:
"Sega's Japanese studios will need to develop games for core gamers that can sell in the European and North American markets. The company's domestic development staff has been given directives to look overseas."

And what have their fans overseas been asking for since last July?? /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif Virtua Fighter definitely falls into the category of a game that can sell quite well in the Japanese, European and North American markets.

Also, what he said about the middle ground type of game:"games that are meant for the Japanese market but are made to sell moderately overseas.", and the fact that he wants to further grow Sega's overseas operations can only be good signs for VF5R in my view.

Obviously, none of this could apply to VF5R and I'm just being overly optimistic, but reading interviews like this really do make me more hopeful regarding R. And after reading this interview, I really think we should all keep sending in those e-mails to Sega about VF5R. They could really be listening to us!

Thanks again Myke!

 

Currently loading my balls of confetti...

 

If the format seems a little strange for a post, its because i plan to put it on a blog, once i get sufficient material/projects created to make a blog an interesting place to visit.

Video Games: Not a Copycat League

As the video game industry continues it’s deliberate and seemingly inevitable decline, one wonders what has happened to the golden years of the video-gaming zenith. I do not think they are per se behind us, but it would appear the rudder has turned, and a new path is being forged. As a gamer, it is hard to accept. It is also easy to criticize. For us, the logistics of the the decline is a jagged pill, and offers little consolation. This article, http://www.andriasang.com/e/blogs/anoop/2009/03/24/masano_maeda_nikkei_interview/, brought to my attention by Myke of VFDC fame, illuminates the issue from the inside out.
The points in this article, and the business models discussed, raise interesting questions in my mind. These are ideas that my brother and I have discussed somewhat at length, being gamers, and with some small measure of understanding, both having degrees in business. Realize, this is a very real problem for all businesses providing non-monopolistic products or services.
Given, it is not an exact science developing a marketing mix and market positioning, the potential for losses on any game can be huge. And consequently, the bigger the expectations, the bigger the budget, the bigger the potential financial risk associated with failure. Therefore, consolidation strategies are not always fan friendly. And the guillotine strikes the chopping block with many a beloved head in the way. But with the niche-heavy nature of gaming today, can we really blame the companies? Yes. We do. I do. Yet...I am primarily a niche gamer. I love my VF5. Street Fighter 4 is neat, and a fast-food version of my 5-Star VF5 (but hey, I’m not always in the mood to go to a sit-down restaurant). And lastly, I dabble in RPG’s with only, maybe, 5% grabbing my interest enough to remain past a few hours. More specifically, I have, in the past year, bought Ninja Gaiden II, Civilizations Revolution, Virtua Fighter 5 (twice, thank you Microsoft for the beast that is the XBOX360), Gears of War 2, Madden 0‘this year, and Street fighter IV. Games not titled Virtua Fighter 5 or Gears of War 2 (SFIV will get a good run though), have logged maybe 50 hours total together... Conclusion? I should not buy video games.
Yet, on the other hand, I stop and think of the video games that have captured my imagination. The games I was glad I had played, and felt the money was well spent. VF5, naturally. SFIV, so far. Mario Galaxy, epic and genuinely fun. Metroid, didn’t quite do it for me, but I got it discounted and it was an “experience” of a game, that had I gotten on top of last-gen I would have been amazed. Final Fantasy XII, didn’t buy it, but unfortunately spent $40+ renting it. Gears of War 2, a brief foray into competitive online shooting derailed by buggy, inconsistent gameplay, and, more importantly, cheating. God of War 1 & 2, rented and enjoyed. International Superstar Soccer: Winning Eleven 8, greatest sports game ever. Madden, with Ray Lewis on the cover. And Zelda: Twilight Princess.
Looking at that list, what you may notice is an armada of flagships. The question I would ask, however, is are the games good because they are flagships of the industry, or vice versa? Both. Many of the 2nd, 3rd, etc generation games get budgets that new IP does not. But when looking for success in any avenue of life, VF5 included, a video game producer’s (or players’) focus should not be on what we can’t control, but rather what we can. That is to say, aside from budgeting and other factors that we cannot recreate, what strengths can we copy of the successful video game? I wonder why so many promising games are produced where the games schtick is broken. Or worse, the schtick is fully functioning and almost game saving, but everything else is broken. What a waste of time and effort when, really, the blue print for success is right there in video games past.
Here is the point, the question that has plagued me for so many years: why aren’t companies doing their own versions of these heavy-hitting best sellers? I have wondered this for years. Or more appropriately, why aren’t they attempting too? I know on some fronts they have, and here there have been successes (primarily in the FPS field, also Okami was a big success). Sega once produced a side-scrolling platformer to rival Mario, and it seemed Sonic did OK for itself--what a novel idea. But where is Sega’s Zelda? Where is Microsoft’s Metroid? Where is the next Mario? If a company makes a high end Final Fantasy Tactics clone, are you not playing this? This is where I would argue the greatest untapped potential is for making new and profitable franchises. Zelda, Mario, Metroid, etc are coming out to the major consoles at a very, very slow rate. In the Marketing Mix and Marketing position equation, very few people would not buy a Final Fantasy Tactics clone, because they just bought Final Fantasy Tactics 12 years ago! There is room for growth for new companies within existing markets, it simply has to be leveraged intelligently. Don’t make a platformer for me...and my 4 year old cousin. Although we sometimes think that is Mario, it is not. Mario is a platformer for me, that also happens to appeal to my 4 year old cousin. VF5 Kids remix, is not where we need to grow the market. Ultimately, existing companies need to mine their target markets more effectively. And for new companies, the big splash is just a tried-and-true formula away.

 

I have to disagree with you there social. The problem is not too little ripping off, it's too much of it. When you think about it, video games are all about novelty. If it's not new and interesting, why are you spending your time on it? Sure there are a a lot of people who just gobble up every sports game or shooter released. In fact, they seem to be becoming a sickening majority in the west. But still, lowering diversity in the game marketplace would only make things worse at this point. Especially from the perspective of a Japanese publisher like Sega.

Now, when I look at my own collection, a lot of the games I bought and enjoyed most in the current generation (with the exception of Rock Band) are not games that got particularly stellar reviews, or games that sold well. But they are all great games in their own right. Virtua Fighter 5, Eternal Sonata, Blue Dragon, Banjo Kazooie Nuts and Bolts, Samba De Amigo, Sonic Un... but hold on, there is something else all of these games had in common. They all have images which are very difficult to market to a "mature" western audience.

Think about it, how many people are there right now who wouldn't be caught dead owning a game like Banjo Kazooie? I'm willing to bet that number of people increases drastically as you move up in the age brackets. This wasn't such a problem back when kids were the primary target demographic for games. But the reason the game industry has been able to grow so much over the post Sega/Nintendo era, is because as people got older, they didn't quit playing games as previous generations had. This means the audience that followed the game franchises from the beginning that made Japan the video game capital of the world, are mostly in their twenties/thirties right now.

This has created an interesting part of the ways in the video game industry. The people who are considered "core" gamers are getting older, and younger games are increasingly becoming "casual" gamers who aren't really interested in the types of immersive games that most of us got hooked on in our childhood. And then you have older gamers playing games for the first time since the golden era of the arcade, who are sticking mainly to casual games. I think this has really got the Japanese game developers confused, because now they are losing their grip on their "core" audience, and no one except Nintendo seems to have a grip on the "casual" audience.

To make matters worse, the Japanese market is changing too, but in a different way. The Japanese "core" audience is still there, in mostly unchanged taste and demographics, but they are not interested in games with a western image. Meanwhile the western "core" audience is increasingly shunning games that appeal most to the Japanese as "childish". In Japan all the expansion is in portable and casual games, but bringing Japanese developed portable and casual games to other areas is a crap-shot. Once again, this is because western taste in games just doesn't mesh with Japanese culture anymore. Bottom line, Japanese game developers can no longer simply translate games which are successful in Japan, and expect them to sell well anymore.

Time and time again this is proven to be the case, while Japanese developers have continued to make the same types of games, and have continued to slide in sales against western developers in every western region. Now for me personally, I consider this a disturbing trend, because even though I am a western "core" gamer, I identify more with the Japanese "core" gamers. In fact, in my game collection, Japanese developed games outnumber western developed games by nearly a 4:1 ratio. So for me, it is very disturbing to think that the kind of game I enjoy the most is becoming the least profitable type of game to develop.

It should disturb Sega too, because this type of game was their bread and butter in their golden years. And frankly, they will never be able to regain their former glory by continuing to develop these games. So in this light, I agree with what Sega is doing from a business standpoint, but I still wish there was a Japanese company who would fight the good fight and figure out a way to keep Japanese style "core" games (like Virtua Fighter) in the mainstream outside of Japan. But if Sega couldn't do it, I don't know who could.

 

2 great posts in a row, and i am going to bring the bar down a notch b/c i'm not going to take the time to write a lengthy post before going to bed.

I think that both of you hit the nail directly on the head, two direct strikes versus the many headed hydra.

While Xzz starts out his post with "social ruin i'll have to disagree" in effect these two seemingly disparate points of view are quite easily reconcilable.

The gaming industry has definitely gone somewhat downhill (i suppose this is arguable depending on what you are looking for in your games, there are millions of new wii fans that probably think it has finally picked up) as game producers flail in vain to find purchase in an evershifting market base. Do I try to produce for the all inclusive casual fan? Can i grab market share that the wii is strangling to death there? Do I try to create a new platformer? On what grounds shall we compete? Can I stick the traditional "core" gamer, and who is that gamer? Of what influence? Japanese? Western? and the questions continue. The cost of creating games remains prohibitive, i am sure, while the discretionary incomes shrink, and the target markets become more fractious, and every day there are newer, cheaper, arguably more exciting options competing for our leisure time which is also porportionately dwindling.

And the truth of the matter is, of course, there probably is no correct answer. Too many platformers and fps are vomited up, trying to compete solely off of graphics rather than gameplay--a 5 sec vid or still shot can show wonderful graphics, hide framerate issues, and does not speak hardly at all of gameplay depth. Every now and then one will take a chance and imbue some character, and those that take risks find niche homes, niche followings, and then forge ahead with a new fear of breaking thier own status quo and endanger to become obsolete. (Fall Out would be a good example. Many didn't like 3 b/c it broke too far from the previous, but at least they are still trying to create unique gaming experiences.)

So u are right Xzz, in that too many games are trying to stay on safe tracks, remaking the same games, refusing to be innovative or daring. Looking back on some of our favorite games of yesteryear you really do wonder, wtf were they thinking when they made that game? But somehow each held a unique and utterly charming appeal, b/c they weren't just games, they were experiences.

But Social Ruin and I have discussed at length, and I find it hard to argue that there are certain games out there that someone SHOULD copy. Instead of giving me the 101st next best FPS, why not someone create a new epic adventure style game where you collect talismens, hearts, explore worlds, etc....Yes a somewhat blatant rip off of Zelda, but you know what? There is not really another servicable zelda style game around! Sonic, Ratchet and Klank, Kazoo-or whatever it was, these are all games of the same ilk, all in a sense games that tried to replicate Mario's success, but all attempting to do so in a unique and novel way. The point was definitely not to try and make another madden, or a suggestion of making another FPS, or another Cookie Cutter game. In a sense it was to yes, copy the correct game, and then create something with a soul.
Zelda, Final Fantasy Tactics, (perhaps metroid), Shining Force (the turnbased strategy game for sega) these are games that should definitely be copied, but then given thier own breath of originality. Games that were unique, and b/c of thier uniqueness people seem afraid to touch their recipe. Vandal Hearts was marginally succesful despite being arguably a lousy game--but it was the closest we got to something along the lines of shining force. (with some tactics mixed in.)

So i believe we need a combination of both inputs above, as well as others that have yet to be voiced. I honestly believe that next gen systems are one of the main causes of the decline in video game quality (main internal--not external). Graphic whores is a term now rendered obsolete, as every game aspires to appease the graphic whores. In the 8-bit world you had to be original, entertaining, and unique to differentiate yourself from the clutter. There is less thought and more "tech" involved in todays games. Even a really shitty game today looks better then the best game could have dreamed of when most of us 20-30 gamers were kids. But at what expense? And you combine this with the attention deficit disorder culture we have cultivated, and now we are struggling in quick sand.

Hopefully this casual gaming fad will help to bring us out of this era, as game designers see that "novelty" still carries alot of clout. And hopefully they will try and bring novelty back to the core gaming industry, and create serious in depth games for serious in depth gamers, but built around originality, novelty, game designs rather than graphic designs. A great example of this success would be braid. haven't played it myself, but i think it still works.

Sadly i don't see this happening. Games will continue to try and gain an overall appeal, afraid of segmentation that will allow them to be great at what they are doing, instead attaining an amazing mediocrity across the board. Penetration being sacrificed for reach--and this is probably the best business model to take, look how well other fighting games do compared to VF5, simply b/c they aren't as deep, aren't as technical, aren't as time consuming. Is tekken a better fighting game? Is SF a better fighting game? Was Mortal Kombat a deeper and more rewarding experience? no. but were they more succesful?

 

It's been done. See my sig. If you weren't one of the measly 70,000 people in the US who bought it, you're part of the problem.

I hate to think what valkyria would have been like if they had set out to "create a game for the world market", fuck that noise.

 

Is valkria chronicles ps3 only, thats what the wiki made it sound as if. Am i still part of the problem if i don't own a PS3 /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif

 

Yes. To both questions.

 

the casual and frat boy demographics are pretty much the big moneymaker markets these days, so anyone can see why Sega would be talking along these lines

it's really a shame because i don't want to see Japanese style games to fall by the wayside in favor of what Sega thinks will appeal to the West (probably some kind of hackneyed FPS...heh) Sega had its own voices for the longest time and did some amazing work, even if it only had niche appeal.

I'm trying my hardest not to troll here but I gotta say JRPGs can die for all I care -- totally stagnant genre full of anime pandering and creepiness. that's about the only net plus I can see from a greater focus on western style games.

 

I am a fan of JRPGs, and even I think the JRPG genre is full of stale crap. What the makers of JRPGs seem to have lost touch with is that what makes JRPGs great isn't the stale repetitive combat, it's being able to play through the immersive scripted stories with quality art and music. But lately, the makers of JRPGs have turned the genre into shovelware. The last JRPG I played that really felt innovative and immersive was Disgaea, and look at how they ran that into the ground. I swear to god Sega, just give me a sequal to Skies of Arcadia that lives up to the original, and my faith in you will be completely restored.

 

jrpg's are an ambiguous genre. on one hand, you have skies of arcadia and persona 3. on the other hand, you have every derivative piece of shit square's ever made and pedo shit like disgaea from nippon ichi.

and really, this is just a phase the entire industry is going to go through and then get out of. ebb and flow bros.

edit: and the other thing i should add is that nobody can seem to agree on what makes a jrpg good. look at the discrepancy of opinion between me and the poster above regarding disgaea for instance, yet we both like skies of arcadia.

 

I got a bad feeling on what they mean is theres gonna be more crappy Sonic games for simultaneous world wide release.Since they still make enough profit for them not to do it -_-

 

This is actually what we want...

The more money they make off those games the more VF and Valkyria Chronicle type games that Sega can churn out without having to worry about those games turning massive profits.

 

No, what we want is to return to the days where every game Sega released was a Virtua Fighter, or a Phantasy Star, or a (good) Sonic game, or a Jet Set Radio, or a Shenmue, or a Samba De Amigo, or... well, you get the point. And the only way that's going to happen is if Sega can figure out a way to make money off of those kinds of games. Not by Sega producing mass appealing shovelware to make up for the fact nothing else is making them money.