Sega of America has their...
Brian M. Briones
brianb@hgea.orgTo say that Sega of America has its collective head stuck in the sand or someplace stinkier is an understatement!! The fact of the matter is that they've got their *#$@% heads stuck up their asses so far that they can't possibly pull it out now!! Up until now I've been sitting on the sidelines quietly, not saying anything in the belief that SoA is going to get its act together and start listening to what little Saturn owners there are out there. Not a damn chance. Let's start by listing what they could've done in the first place to be in a better position shall we....
1) Release some of the Japanese games that American consumers have been asking for or pick up 3rd party titles that are planned to come this way such as Policnauts and Sakura Taisen(Wars). I know a lot of gamers out there who would be interested in these kinds of different games. They're original and not just another SF clone or another Mario Bros. clone. These titles have originality and strong stories which a lot of games these days are lacking. The only other few games that actually have stories and plotlines this strong and are executed well that have been or will be released Stateside are Tomb Raider, Resident Evil/RE: DC, and Metal Gear Solid(coming very soon). All of these are great examples of games that have not been released in the US until just now. Before Resident Evil there was no such thing as a 3D exploration/puzzle/action/horror game. Only 7th Guest came closest to that, but it was still more like an interactive movie than a game! It's titles like these that could've made a difference and helped Sega make some money and start new genres full of fresh new ideas. But no, Sega is too wimpy to take such a risk. They'd rather sit on their #$%*&' asses and whine to everyone how it won't sell rather than finding out if it won't. Like anyone will tell you, you'll never know unless you try.
2) Lack of initiative in giving 3rd party developers any assistance in porting Japanese games to the US Saturn. Sega has done such a shitless job here in this department that many companies decided not to release games because of this alone. Even Shiny, one of the most dedicated 3rd party Sega developers refused to make any more games unless SoA got their act together and supported the companies supporting the Saturn. And now Capcom USA is having doubts about releasing Darkstalkers 3, SF III, X-men vs Street Fighter, and Marvel Superheroes vs Street Fighter because Sega isn't doing anything to help them. I mean, by Sega helping the 3rd party developers they together will make more money because there will be more games available and with more games available the system will be worth purchasing because of the diversity of software. Look at the IBM/Microsoft and Apple. IBM/Microsoft is kicking Apple's butt because more companies are developing software for their computers. On the other hand Apple is getting very little software development, mainly because Apple hasn't really given the developers anything really helpful that would help them make software development on the Macintosh easier. On the other hand Microsoft, supplier of the OS for IBM and its clones gives whichever developers want software tools and assistance the help they need to develop software. In this example you can see how important support is, and clearly Sega hasn't been giving much support at all.
3) Sega has openly announced that they plan to kill off the Saturn by mid-1998. Bernie Stolar(one of the stupid morons in charge) even announced it loud and clearly enough for everyone with their ears open that the Saturn wasn't in Sega's immediate future and therefore a waste of their resources. Now granted that no system is ever going to be around forever, this statement is totally idiotic and &#*%$ up! I'm sure enough that most people are smart enough to know that their favorite game system won't be on the market forever. Nobody needs to tell them that the system will die and another will take its place. But the last thing they need to hear is that the company manufacturing the system or OS is dropping all support at a certain specific time frame. Why bother? This is like making yourself a tombstone and saying you're going to die February 13, 1998. Or for those that don't understand what I'm saying, it's like letting everyone know you're going to commit suicide on that day and that's final. With this being the case, I don't know why anyone should ever bother with a company that just kills off a system and expects people to forget what happened and continue to buy future systems from them. This is like telling your parents before they give you your allowance, that you hate them and that you plan on using the money to buy drugs or a gun to shoot yourself. Why should they bother supporting someone who isn't going to appreciate what is being given to them and won't do anything useful with it? And knowing how much that person appreciates it and how they plan to treat you, why would you want to continue helping them or supporting them if they think so little enough of you to abuse you? This is exactly what SoA is doing. They're killing off a system so many people have supported so loyally, and expecting them to buy the next system they make without any doubts. I don't think even SoJ would ever do this any time the company continues to exist. If I could just see the expression on David Rosen's face, and Hayao Nakayama I don't think I'd be surprised if they asked someone for a blindfold and a cigarette. Sega is killing its reputation in America, and it doesn't seem to give a &%#$ ABOUT IT! And it doesn't seem to matter that many consumers here have decided against buying a Dural thanks to their shitless support of Saturn.
Well don't get me wrong, I really do like Sega(of Japan or Enterprises that is, as far as I'm concerned SoA doesn't give a &%#$ about anything but their bottom line.) but they've &%#$ up enough, and I've had enough. I'm sorry anyone had to read all the profanity contained in this rant, but there are no better words to describe my disgust or how terrible Sega has become as a company in the US. And if SoA doesn't learn its lesson from Saturn, I hope they go out of business and that everyone involved its administration get such a bad rep that they can't dare show their face at any other company again. If they don't learn and know what they should do by now, they'll never know and will be doomed to screw ever consumer down the line possible no matter how good a company they are.