Before I get started on this blog, I want to apologize for two things. One, my schedule this last week has been horrendous (I pulled in over sixty hours this week alone), so, I haven't been able to write at all. The second...the Anime Blues Con blog is called off. As you may recall if you follow my blog, I was requesting picture usage of specific people. Key images that were written around would be unusable, specifically, panty boy Cloud, and because of such, the piece would not be as good as it could be. The next con I attend, I will assuredly get permission to post them when taking images.
That out of the way...let's talk about Sega.
I love Sega...always have, always will. The first console that was mine and mine alone was the Sega Genesis. Two of my top ten games period (which, yes, I will eventually make the list of top ten once I get around to putting them all into the my favorite games section; so far I've got six on the list, not counting the one that was recently replaced by its spiritual successor, or the ever eleventh, so six more to go) are STILL only available on the Dreamcast only. So, when I read that they lost fifty million dollars in THREE months, I want you to understand how devastating that was to me, and just how much this next part really sucks.
Sega...it's time to throw in your lots (and your towel, too) and become a second party distributor. There's never going to be a Dreamcast 2 (even my dreams no longer hold on to that wish). Shenmue's probably never going to be finished. Sonic Games are practically shovelware at this point. I really hate it, but I want you, and your franchises, to survive.
The question is who?
Sega has had partnerships with all three console holders at one point or another. As they fell, they signed off on exclusive console titles, Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, Shenmue 2, Jet Grind Radio Future, Panzer Dragoon Orta, and Virtua Fighter 4, each building up a partnership with Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft each (a partnership with Microsoft had been forged earlier in the Dreamcast's technology)l
After those exclusives though, they rapidly started porting and advancing series over all platforms, notably first with Sonic Heroes. This was the first mistake of many after their dropping out of the console race. I personally really enjoy Heroes, its well put together gameplay wise (story's nutty as hell, and lengthening the title by reusing levels is never cool, but great gameplay), and could have opened a door to what Sonic games post Adventure 2 could be. Instead...we got Shadow the Hedgehog, proving just how much can go wrong when you try to make a game for every system out there rather than focusing on just one.
By that time, Sega had already begun to lose its fan base, and only a few Hail Mary's (Billy Hatcher, MadWorld, Bayonetta, and the Total War Series) and the devotees of Sonic have been all keeping the company's doors open. I believe the Overthinker said it best in one of his pre-ScrewAttack episodes, Sega's house has been destroyed and repurposed into a horrid abomination. There is still hope though, as evidenced by the games mentioned above, the occasional decent Sonic game...but it's minute, and gets smaller with each passing game.
As of now, them becoming a part of something larger may be their only reasonable option, as it would grant them more technology at their disposal, and give them more focus on one console again. Any of the three of them might love using the company for it's bevy of intellectual properties might be best suited to running them, so let's look at each and discuss which might do the best work with the company.
Honestly, I'm going to disregard Sony for a number of reasons. For starters, Sony is a big cause of their downfall, both with the Saturn and the Dreamcast. Also, Sony's the 3rd Place runner at this point, and unless the Wii U is just horrid, that doesn't look to be changing. Also, it tends to fill the niches Sega would in any other company on its own so far.
Nintendo and Sega had a long running rivalry in the nineties, but as Nintendo pulled ahead after the 16 bit war, and Sony's dominion over gaming had begun, both giants began to crumble. Nintendo has definitely been able to turn in around with the Wii and DS, the additions of intellectual properties like Sonic, Nights, Samba de Amigo, Alex Kidd (seriously, you know it would be awesome), Golden Axe, and Space Harrier, Nintendo could do some really good work with. Sonic and Mario's rivalry lived out today in Olympic format could become something much more as they race through the galaxy and team up in a true platforming adventure.
Microsoft, on the other hand, really could use the younger themed IP's to build on to the youth base for their console, something severely lacking for them at this point with the exception of licensed titles and poor Rareware sequels. They could also play host to some of the more mature titles in Sega's catalog, Shenmue, Panzer Dragoon, Bayonetta, After Burner, OutRun...hell, even Eternal Champions (now that would be awesome, Eternal Champions vs. Killer Instinct).
To put these simply, merging with either group comes down to two questions: What's better for Sega and what's better for the combined company? I believe Nintendo would be better for Sega, while Microsoft would be better for the company as a whole.
So, I know I've rambled on long enough...which would you rather see, or do you have another option that I haven't thought of yet? Share it in the comments. Also, Top Ten Comic Book Movies is up next (probably by tomorrow), then Free Gaming, part 2 (still working through a few downloadable titles).
-Sara
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