Sega: No plans on getting back into console business
Posted by Chris. Filed under Chris, News. Tagged with Dreamcast.
After today’s news that Sega had filed a trademark for what some thought could be a Dreamcast 2, we were cautiously optimistic that Sega might get back into the hardware business. Well, it doesn’t look like it’s happening according to  Charlie Scibetta, Sega of America’s PR director.
He told GameDaily that Sega “has no plans to get back into the console business.”
I’ve said before that Sega needs to focus on leading the third-party publisher pack before it looks into developing a new console, and thankfully, Scibetta agreed. “We’re very happy being a platform agnostic company and have moved up the ranks the past three years from #11, to #9, and now stand at #6 in terms of our market share by units among third-party publishers,” he said. ”We like our current strategy and have no plans to change in the middle of this outstanding growth.”
While Scibetta couldn’t say why Sega updated the trademark, he did say he’s looking into the matter, so hopefully, we’ll hear something soon.
[Via GameDaily]
Comments on this article
There have been 35 responses to this article.
Anyone that got excited over the previous rumors is delusional.
Nathan
Posted December 7th, 2007 at 1:29 am.
While you all grieve over the false-ness of the last rumour, I’ll just be stroking that puppy. Squee!
Pur
Posted December 7th, 2007 at 1:32 am.
We can only hope that the renewal of this trademark means that Sega is planning to use the Dreamcast brand for SOMETHING. Hopefully, offering Dreamcast titles as Virtual Console, PSN or XBLA downloads.
V1L3
Posted December 7th, 2007 at 1:35 am.
Logically, it’s too risky to enter the Hardware business again, considering the hold that Nintendo and Microsoft have on the market. And Sony to a lesser extent, which isn’t as powerful as it use to be.
udx
Posted December 7th, 2007 at 2:07 am.
*puts cock away* =’(
I’m a sad pander, I new that was going to happen but hearing Sega say words like that still hurt everytime!
9/9/09
BELIEVE
Ryan
Posted December 7th, 2007 at 2:23 am.
Take that “believe” meme crap outta here. Seriously, though.. it looks like Scibetta commented without knowing anything about the trademark update. Maybe they have no plans according to Sega of America’s curent info. Obviously the thing will be by Sega Japan.. they just havent had a meeting with the other regions concerning the trademark update/possible plans of some sort of new hardware?
Visionnerz
Posted December 7th, 2007 at 2:26 am.
Jokes aside there is no new hardware… sorry mate, it’s not going to happen for a long time if ever again.
Sega have lots of games in development for all consoles including PC and they even own PC developers like CA and SI which make HUGH games for the PC market.
Ryan
Posted December 7th, 2007 at 2:55 am.
Hey guys the theory that SEGA might want to revive a console can be messy but it may also be true.. maybe this is all a strategy.. maybe the are going to release all their classic DREAMCAST games onto the virtual consoles/xboxlive/etc and then garner some fans from those DC TITLES.. then when they release A NEW dreamcast, then those who bought the digital copies will be so impressed from prior experiences and game titles thta dreamcast offered that they may want to buy a new console with remakes or sequals to those dc titles they bought on the virtual console.. this is absolutley the best strategy if it remains secret and strategic!
god, im sorry but after dreamcast died, i stopped playing (xept for shenmue 2, i had to buy that ugly box and then enjoyed some great dc sequals jet set radio 2, panzer, etc) still i dont acknowledge any of the systems and my life in gaming has been incomplete since my dreamcast and sega stopped making consoles..
IM TRAUMATIZed!!!!!
JOie
Posted December 7th, 2007 at 9:24 am.
SEGA will get back into the console industry (If it is still around in the future) but not for another 10 - 15 years, need to become the top third party publisher so they can RULE THE WORLD.
And sixth as third party? That ain’t too shabby!
Aki-at
Posted December 7th, 2007 at 9:38 am.
Yeah, Yeah… some things never change, huh? ¬¬
SEGA don’t care about their fans… ¬¬
Well, whatever… I hope SEGA will do more PC Games, because i don’t wanna play Sonic in stupid Nintendo Platforms… ¬¬ I really hate it.
PS.: The dog in the picture of this post is sooo cute.. XD
Antonio F.
Posted December 7th, 2007 at 10:02 am.
“SEGA don’t care about their fans… ”
There is one thing about caring about the fans…and then committing themselves to financial suicide.
Aki-at
Posted December 7th, 2007 at 10:09 am.
i say if sega is going to go for it, then they should go for it with balls and give it all they got.. if that means going bankrupt then so be it. i say they should just go for the glory or go broke! AMEN!
JOie
Posted December 7th, 2007 at 11:59 am.
“I say if sega is going to go for it, then they should go for it with balls and give it all they got.. if that means going bankrupt then so be it. i say they should just go for the glory or go broke! AMEN!”
Eh, no thank you, I’d rather not have on my favourite developers/publisher go bankrupt to please a few fans, especially considering it’ll leave a giant big hole in the arcade industry.
Aki-at
Posted December 7th, 2007 at 12:01 pm.
They already did that JOie, it was called a Dreamcast. Its odd saying that Sega doesn’t care about there fans when they are publishing Yakuza 2 in here in the states cause fans wanted it (despite lack of sales) and making a new NiGHTS game.
George
Posted December 7th, 2007 at 12:57 pm.
The problem with fans ( and I am one of them) is that they want always more … nothing will ever be enough. Sega still has to pay taxes and employees and we all know that business decisions are not always compatible with Fan expectations.
A Nights sequel is already a great gesture and there is some more on the way … ( Sega Superstars Tennis, …)
Psycho_Echidna
Posted December 7th, 2007 at 1:52 pm.
I think that puppy might be the cutest thing to ever exist in the universe….ever.
Dr. SEGA Monkey
Posted December 7th, 2007 at 3:27 pm.
I knew that this can’t be right but if something like this ever happens
we can call it the “SHOCK OF THE CENTURY!”
SEGA is original, this industry couldn’t reach to this place without
companies like SEGA,…good old days with SEGA stuff.
SEGA was always a head of their time and they may return with
something like Dreamcast 2 or SEGA REVENGE!
…but not now…
they’ve a lots of game to release on new gen systems…
Here are just a few:
SEGA SUPER STARS TENNIS, NiGHTS:JOD, NiGHTS:ITD PS2(Jap),
Yakuza 2 PS2(Eng), Yakuza:Kenzan! PS3, Valkyrie Of The Battlefield
PS3,Shiren The Wanderer 3 Wii, Imabikisou PS3, Condemned 2
PS3/X360, SAMBA DE AMIGO DC Wii Edition, SEGA BASS FISHING DC
Wii Edition, GOLDEN AXE 360/PS3 and much more to come…
Here you can find why SEGA was years a head of their time…
http://shenmue.planets.gamespy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=33772
^Just a few reasons…
They were too creative and maybe that’s why their marketing wasn’t
good, also they insisted on first-party-titles too much…
At least SEGA’s ideas still to this day in many ways lives on Microsoft’s
console(s)(Xbox’s controller(A, B, X, Y, RT & LT, Analog Stick & …) ,
Xbox softwares dev techs, Xbox’s LIVE VISION(DC’s JAP Dream Eye) &
too many other examples…
Microsoft always loved SEGA…and maybe that’s why Dreamcast had
a Windows CE logo like that!, lol!…Both Bill and Peter liked Dreamcast,…Peter even loves Shenmue…
You may ask why SEGA now has two DC trademarks under their belt?
maybe because of these two guesses!
Dreamcast 2 2015?(NEXT NEXT GEN)—>Far Future
Dreamcast 2 on LIVE??? What!!!!!—>Near Future
SEGA may back someday…
after becoming reach again? 2015 might be a good date…
But I believe more that they’re ready to release Dreamcast titles
on LIVE!
Anyway, I’ll buy any SEGA console without doubt…just like you.
Regards-Alimn
alimn
Posted December 7th, 2007 at 4:51 pm.
sega dc died, i died!
former hardcore gamer RIP
i want to be reserected!
here are some ideas for a new cnnsole name (im going mad! insane! but dont let my dream and hope die! )
sega dreamcast 2/ dreamcast X/ Sega Genesis 2 / sega master /sega future/ sega high/ sega wave
OH and
SHENMUE 3! AFTER THAT I CAN DIE HAPPY!
JOie
Posted December 7th, 2007 at 11:22 pm.
After all this it leaves more questions like “what does agnostic mean?”
Otama
Posted December 8th, 2007 at 3:47 am.
I’m not surprised. I mean this is the same people that think Phantasy Star Universe’s story mode is worth a portable release. Ha!
Saphion
Posted December 8th, 2007 at 5:38 am.
“I’m not surprised. I mean this is the same people that think Phantasy Star Universe’s story mode is worth a portable release. Ha!”
NO!…These are the people who think Alien Syndrome deserved more hype then CRUSH (SEGA of America is bad bad baaaaad)
Aki-at
Posted December 8th, 2007 at 6:08 am.
Exactly. I don’t think they have any idea what they’re doing anymore. Sequels to classic games is a step in the right direction, but then they churn out rubbish like Golden Compass and Phantasy Star Pointless which sort of negates the good stuff.
Saphion
Posted December 8th, 2007 at 7:58 am.
PSP (Ha PSP for PSP, I did a funny!) is from SEGA of Japan, not SEGA of America. But I don’t think the amount of bad that comes out from SEGA overall negates all their good stuff, they’ve had something like 3 truly bad games vs 7 really good games plus 3 good games.
I mean, you can’t really say Virtua Fighter 5, Virtua Tennis 3, SEGA Rally Revo, Universe at War, Sonic Rush Adventure, Ghost Squad, CRUSH, Football Manager 2008, Bleach DS and Medieval 2 Kingdoms is negated by Golden Compass, Alien Syndrome and Sonic the Hedgehog, can you?
Aki-at
Posted December 8th, 2007 at 8:54 am.
…. what?! Phantasy Star ‘Portable’ is not SOA. As a matter of fact, NO PHANTASY STAR GAME has been SOA’s thing. Phantasy Star Portable is Japans. You must consider Japan’s gaming audience. For the last time, the game is not single player online only, its 4 player ad hoc. Playing in a room together is more popular then playing online in Japan. Reason why arcades are still around over there.
Sega of America has not announced if they would be publishing the game, I see little reason to, since it doesn’t have a online mode.
George
Posted December 8th, 2007 at 8:54 am.
Ah, right. I’m still angry about PSP though.
Saphion
Posted December 8th, 2007 at 10:44 am.
And EA still won’t support Sega. The giant it is will kill it in an instant.
Otama
Posted December 8th, 2007 at 5:52 pm.
hmm.. sega dreamcast R3LIFE
THE New dreamcast specs to garuantee success:
1 (revisted) sega dc sequals/spinoffs (creativity revisited from the dc era too!) shenmue 3/crazy taxi sequal/a true sonic sequal, preferably 2d-3d sonic.. revolutionary fast game-play/house of the dead4/KNiGHTS/
2 HD DVD (NO BLU-RAY) shove that to damn sony!
3 3rd party exclusives (ie powerstone3, marverl vs capcom3)
4 supperior grafix to wii. Supperior to xbox360 and ps3 or at same specs but just somewhat better.
5 online (duh!) and wi-fi
6 wi-fi
7 ipod compatible
8 flash memory/built in memory/ removable memory
9 choices in packages (ie, xbox core, premiere, etc)
10
JOie
Posted December 8th, 2007 at 11:11 pm.
no no no…. JOie. let me do it
1. Sega DC Sequals all top notch
2. GD-DVD (High Def version of GD-ROM)
3. 3rd Party exclusives (Powerstone 3, Marvel vs Capcom 3, Street Fighter IV and V, and Resident Evil Series)
4. Triple the power of the 360 and PS3 for a fraction of the price
5. Built in HDD sized at 500gb
6. Better online then Xbox live for free, accessed via wifi or Ethernet cord.
7. Sega VMU replaced with Sega Pod HDD. The 500gb HDD is a ipod like device to play music, you can buy music via SEGA MUSIC via the console.
8. read above ;0
9. choices in packages
10. every console comes with a revised Frets of Fire type game, some free track online are available from the community and you can buy packs of music tracks for a fee.
George
Posted December 9th, 2007 at 1:40 am.
Now that’s losing money.
Otama
Posted December 9th, 2007 at 3:12 am.
could make a break even if they get a huge downloadble community, digital distribution makes more money back for the company then buying retail .
George
Posted December 9th, 2007 at 3:32 am.
George:
hey i love that whole controller idea with a removable hardrive slot in to the controller.. sorta like a removable storage device yet plays music.. the (next) vmu sucessor. vmu w/100gb and is removable to play (like dc vmu) or to view movies/and as a music player! (sorta like ipod) i love that idea, its so awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
gd-dvd (hi-def) sounds way tooo risky.. another hd contender is a REALLY bad idea, people are confused enough as it is with hd dvd vs blu-ray.. i say they should go with hd dvd since microsoft is already supporting it but if sega where to support it too. .. this could actually kill off the damn ps3! (since hd-dvd would be the obvious winner for hi-def war since ppl will buy the next dreamcast mostly for a hd-dvd player!)
the next dreamcast should be priced at or around the xbox360 or ps3 at the time of launch so they should design a device that not only is hi-end but simple enough to mass produce with knowing that their will be a return in profit.
btw.. i think its a bad idea for sega to not decide to name the (hopeful) next console dreamcast.. the reason being that xbox and playstation both stuck with their names because of brand recognition.. imagine is playstation 2 would have been the “sony next” then the “sony triple”.. not good marketing..
stay with the DREAMCAST NAME!
JOie
Posted December 9th, 2007 at 3:12 pm.
holy crap, i just thought of this.. why not have the actual vmu be an apple ipod touch??? so the controller would work as a dock as well.
JOie
Posted December 9th, 2007 at 3:14 pm.
@ JOie: Apple Supports Blu-Ray and Sony and hate Microsoft, so no.
Otama
Posted December 11th, 2007 at 2:27 am.
How much would it cost just to manufacture the original Dreamcast once again? If they packaged it with some gimmick peripheral controller (i.e.; Wiimote) how cheap could they sell these things?
I mean, God, they are still selling PS2, X-Box and LameCube and look at all the mileage the Wii People got out of SNES technology with Game Boy Advance.
Sega could still sell their more graphically advanced titles on 360 and PS3. How much of a risk would this really be?
You know there must be a bunch of Sega fat cats gritting their teeth at the success of the Wii.
Look at all of the toy video game systems that have been on the toy aisles over the past few years. Tiger Net Jet, Mattel Hyperscan, Atari Flashback, as well as all of the other integrated games. Even Coleco did a series of integrated games…with Sega’s support.
Obviously everyone has been too scared to take on the big three console makers, so why not shoot for something between the toy aisle games and the Wii that is aimed at casual and kid gamers?
Sonic Hedge Fund
Posted December 11th, 2007 at 11:44 pm.
@SHF: No one would buy it. Simple as. It failed last time because there weren’t enough games people wanted to buy in it’s range. Why the heck would they buy it a second time round?
Pur
Posted December 27th, 2007 at 1:21 pm.