Working Designs and Sega Saturn
Don Wang
dwang@sprynet.comFirst off, let me state that I'm trying to state a neutral point of view. I don't have anything for or against the Saturn, but only try to evaluate on the basis of its games. I don't even own a Sega Saturn, and I haven't played WD's games except for the Lunar series. I hope my analysis is objective and reasonable.
We're now way pass the era in video gaming where the RPG market in America is non-existent. Just look at the impending launch of Final Fantasy VII for the Playstation. I've seem promotion sales in many places, and it's a sure bet that massive hype will surround this gem for the PSX. We're not in Japan, where FFVII racked up over a million sales in first 3 days, but we aren't exactly in the land where RPG doesn't exist, either.
So in the issue with Working Design, I clearly think Sega did make a mistake. Working Design doesn't make the games, I know, but they translate quite a number of them. Good games are useless without being ported to the US, after all. I really don't understand why Sega would pass up volunteered help to port their games. Often, as I've read magazines such as Gamefan, many gems never seem the light in US because they weren't ported over. Grandia, from everything I've seen on it, is going to be something that rivals FFVII, but I've heard no words on translation of it. On comparison, there is never really any doubt that FFVII will be translated. In fact, the petition about Aeris Gainsbourgh started so long ago because people knew FFVII is going to be ported to the US. As I look under the RPG section of www.sega-saturn.com, I think it's quite obvious that a large number of Sega RPG never saw the light here, simply because they aren't ported.
RPG is not yet the dominant force in video game in US, but it sure is a force to be reckoned with. Considering Sega is lagging behind in the sales and has no obvious advantage over the PSX, it would seem to me that they really can't afford anymore losses, and therefore the leaving of WD is truly a sad mistake on their part.