We have to face facts, myself including being a Sega fan, that Sega as a company is a mere shell of its former self. Despite the many changes that the company has gone thru over the years, it just can’t seem to catch a break with consumers. With so many IP’s abandoned, hopes of a reemerging hardware division (remember the Dreamcast 2 hope from so long ago?) dashed, poor game publishing choices and a general feeling of console abandonment, it’s been tough being a Sega fan. Though some are able to find some glimmers of hope in Sega’s offerings, I myself have found myself becoming more distant when it comes to being a Sega fan. If anything I feel more abandoned as a Sega fan than anything else. Though there are some Sega titles out there that show a glimmer of hope for me, the Sega I had come to associate with specific game titles is becoming fleeting at best. Don’t get me wrong though, I’m excited to see the releases of quirky Japanese titles over here in the US like the Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA series, yet at the same time that is just a taste of what Sega is really up to seeing how well they’re doing in Japan in arcades and console releases.

It would seem that the last gaming generation with the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, DS and PSP could be considered the last in franchise diversification of what Sega had to offer. We may never see the likes of games either made by or published by Sega like Condemned, Valkyria Chronicles,  MadWorld, Phantasy Star Zero and Phantasy Star Portable for quite a while given then new push by Sega for more digital and mobile gaming ventures.  Though I will admit that this might seem like a good idea on paper for the company to remain competitive, I get the feeling that Sega is forgetting the core fundamentals that made Sega such a powerhouse back in the day. Sure we are still getting great games from Sega like Bayonetta and Yakuza 5 but at the same time we are not seeing a return of prior game franchises that many retro gamers find near and dear to their hearts. Be it a good thing or bad things is debatable given some of the lesser quality games offering during the last gaming generation (we don’t need to speak of Sonic 06 here) and I understand that Sega might feel burned after releasing some unique titles that may not have sold well enough. But the fact that Sega is to focus more on digital and mobile gaming may not be the best recourse for them if they still wish to keep what dedicated fans they have left.

So with that said I thought I’d throw out these little suggestions as a Sega fan that could not only win them back some street cred that Sega has lost over the years, but could also prove beneficial for them in the long term. Now I’m not saying these are guaranteed successful ideas but it wouldn’t hurt for Sega to try them out given how these ideas might fight into their new digital/mobile plan. The US needs some love too Sega so show us that you haven’t forgotten us! The recent announcement of a new ToeJam & Earl game is a promising sign. Why not continue that trend with these helpful ideas. It shouldn’t be too hard given that the downsizing should help you focus more on specific ideas:

1)       Make Sonic 5

And when I mean “make Sonic 5” I mean not like how you did with Sonic 4 as either episodic content or borrowing too heavily from prior Sonic titles. Sonic 4 just didn’t work out in a variety of ways. Though the game wasn’t broken in the least like Sonic 06, it just didn’t feel like a new Sonic title. It felt more like a rehash of past Sonic glories with a little slower game engine and a hub level system that only works in 3D Sonic games. Why not try what Capcom did with Mega Man 9 & 10 but with fresher ideas on level design and unique gameplay mechanics that were tried on Sonic CD and Knuckles Chaotix. Fans and new comers alike will dig the retro look slick level design of Sonic 5. And given how simple it could be it to make this game in the retro style it would easy to ported to mobile devices, be it smartphones or handhelds.  It could even see distribution on PC and on gaming consoles respective digital offerings. And speak of which….

2)      Bring Phantasy Star Online to Xbox Live/Playstation Network as F2P

This fan betrayal burns the worst for most of us Sega and PSO fans. After being teased and treated with news of a sequel to the highly respected online console RPG, we in the US don’t get the pleasure of playing Phantasy Star Online 2 and have to resort to making a foreign account and downloading a patch so we can play on ship server 2. It’s too late to release this game to the west right now so why not try to make it up to us by releasing a Free To Play version of the classic original. It shouldn’t be too hard to do given how Phantasy Star Online Parts I & II saw a release on the original Xbox. With some time it could be upgraded to HD visuals, enabled voice chat, keep and revamp the soundtrack, add hotkey functions, perhaps even include downloadable “Guild Missions” like what was offered on the offline mode of the original. You could even include Episode IV for the first time on consoles!  PSO would be easy to adapt to the free to play model given all that you’ve learned in PSO2. You could even throw in Episode III as a mini-game option! Given how addictive the gameplay was in the past, and with four different levels of difficulty to master, it would be a potential cash cow as a digital download offering. You know how to implement an online infrastructure on consoles with your experience with Phantasy Star Universe on PC, PS2 and Xbox 360 so why not try to salvage the broken promise of PSO2 in the west?

3)      Bring back Streets of Rage AKA Bare Knuckles series

Seriously! Did this not dawn on you when you saw Double Dragon Neon? An HD remake of Streets of Rage would be killer on the Xbox One and/or PS4. It doesn’t have to be like what was offered on Xbox 360/PS3 with a complication release but a full-fledged reboot of the franchise itself. Just keep it 2D, remix some of the classic techno tunes from the originals and alter the storyline to fit the times better. You know gamers are itching for a game like this. You shut down the fan made Streets of Rage Remake, which included over 100 stages, 19 playable characters, 64 enemies and 76 remixed tunes! You could even follow the advice of my number 1 suggestion and just make Streets of Rage 4 in the same veil of a retro release. Either way side scrolling beat-em-ups can be very profitable if done right. This franchise return could be even ported to mobile either on handheld consoles or smartphone/tablets. It would take some work to do all of this from scratch but seeing what the makers of Streets of Rage Remake were able to do in 8 years with less than 25 people…..

4)      Adapt the new Shining Force Cross arcade game for consoles

You want more online games that don’t follow the traditional Shining Force tragedy formula? Fine I get that so why not double down and actually pursue the online action RPG offerings with a recognizable franchise name to Sega fans? I will admit it would hard to bring back Shining Force in its original format given how long the game matches could be between players and CPU or even peer to peer encounters. With gamers wanting more action and less “chessboard style wait time” gameplay this new Arcady form of Shining Force could be just the ticket to revitalize a languishing series. You know the other Action RPG Shining titles didn’t do you much good on consoles so why not go all in on this hybrid “MPRPG” instead? Both offline and online modes could be adapted easily on consoles with the proper net coding and allow for both localized co-op play and drop in multiplayer. This one may not be able to translate to mobile devices very well but this could be a big way to show that Shining Force can still be relevant in this day and age. Don’t let Total War and those other mobile games be your foundation for RPG offerings. Sure it may seem too much like Phantasy Star Online but I could see this game working very well on the Wii U.

And finally…

5)      ACTUALLY ADVERTISE YOUR GAMES??!

Okay we get it Sega. You felt burned back in 1999 when you advertised the hell out of your games and the games didn’t sell enough to save the Dreamcast. It was a gamble and you lost. It happens in the business but at the same time you can’t let that be the benchmark of how you should spend your advertising. Your lack of advertising didn’t help you any when you tried your last attempt at releasing creative games during the last gaming generation. New IP’s like Valkyria Chronicles may have had a shot if you weren’t too scared in letting people know how awesome it was. Though I know social media is a helpful tool now a days to get the word out, you need to step up you’re A-game more if you want to continue to be competitive. Yes this tactic did help save you a bit from the fallout of publishing bad games like Aliens: Colonial Marines but who’s to say where the Condemned series might be if you did more with it or better yet, not insisting on the sequel having an online component? And don’t just advertise your cash cow titles but diversify it so that all your games get enough of a voice in the marketplace. Just staying you have a new (insert name of once respectable Sega franchise here) isn’t enough these days given the tarnishing your name and reputation has taken over the years. It’s time to build it back up and just only making/releasing great games is half the equation. You’ve gotten better at the moment but twitter links and facebook postings only go so far.

I know those ideas are not as diverse as one could expect. I guess I just want Sega to try to return to the retro roots given that was when they were successful. And yes I know times have changed and what was worked then may not work now but it never hurts to give it one more go.

BaD thought of the day:

Why do we park on a driveway and drive on a parkway?

Ta-ta

“N”