Sega Downsizes Again

[Neon Ignition]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-01-30-sega-to-offer-300-voluntary-retirement-as-part-of-focus-on-smartphone-and-pc-online-gaming

Sega of America is relocating and 300 employees are being offered 'voluntary' redundancy. By the sounds Sega has hardly any capital left and its profits are still in decline.

The company is also going to knuckle down and focus more on Smartphone and Online PC gaming.

I feel like Sega has been undergoing this restructure since the mid-90's. At some point it stops being streamlining and just becomes a gradual closure. Time Sammy incorporated useful assets and flogged off the ip. Sega is dead.

[Dogg Thang]

Knuckle down? Genuis, SF. Genius.

[Wools]

Heart breaking to hear.

Although it was a shame in the early 2000's when they sold off their hardware business, it felt like the Albatros was finally removed from around its neck. Sega were free to make the games they've always produced but without the confines of their 1 system. All their Arcade brilliance, blue skies, fast gameplay, slick moment, would be available to everyone.

Except it felt like their final few years on Dreamcast was their last breath. All available finances were poured into the Dreamcast, their senior designers let off the leash to make passion projects or to continue to make the Arcade games they always have. With the death of their consoles, Sega must have used up the war chest. Bereft of money, they played it safe so the creative old guard left and we're left with the Sega of today. Sitting on past glories but with little talent and no money left.

It really guts me to see them on the verge like this.

[speedlolita]

Shenmue killed SEGA.

[wakka]

Good game tho.

[Wools]

I'll always remember this Edge quote and think it's a nice but subjective view of how Sega were removed from the hardware race.

"The Dreamcast was killed by the imagined power of the PlayStation 2."

[Dogg Thang]

Yep. I agree with that statement. On all fronts except one (the one that counts - sales) the DC should have been a huge hit. An amazing console with fantastic games, crisp visuals and leading in online years before anyone else got going.

[QualityChimp]

Maybe they should try putting out a Sonic game.
They're always popular.

[Nu-Eclipse]

Shenmue killed SEGA.

This.

As much I feel Sega inflicted their own wounds with some of their business decisions, and as much as I've always preferred Nintendo, nobody who cares about videogaming can be happy to hear about this.

[Golgo]

Selfish mode...ENGAGE: I hope they still manage to squeeze the western version of Yakuza 5 out of the door before they re-commit to mobile.

[fishbowlhead]

Microsoft would of been a much better fit for an all out sale, keep the talent happy with wages while they build a great back catalogue (slowly mind you) but by time of xbox one segas in house could of been a power house again.

Some great series like Yakuza have sprung up, but not enough quality games to counteract the many utterly terrible ones and the damage done to series like sonic.

[dataDave]

Microsoft would have been a much better fit for an all out sale, keep the talent happy with wages while they build a great back catalogue (slowly mind you) but by time of xbox one segas in house could of been a power house again.

What, just like Rare?

[yesteryeargames]

Why can't someone just buy them out ! Nintendo has more than enough pocket change.

[speedlolita]

Because SEGA have nothing to offer them.

[yesteryeargames]

All the game franchises ?

Nintendo sega partnership would surely dominate Japan .