The new hardware-less corporation rolled out its franchise wagon like never before, and while classics like Sonic and Out Run shifted units purely on the strength of their revered names, it was a far cry from the days when Sega was turning out these great titles from new.
Unfortunately, many of those classic games survived in name only, as the new Sega farmed out licenses to all and sundry in an attempt to regain its footing. With Okama no longer watching over the game giant, Sega rapidly began running out of breathing room, and its long reputation slipped, along with any last vestiges of brand loyalty from the gamers. CSK put Sega on the auction block in 2003, where Japanese amusement machine vendor Sammy , a corporation known for buying out struggling firms in an effort to squeeze out what remaining revenue may be left in them, bought controlling interest.
Although Sega has continued to work across the board, and has developed a great deal of consumer interest in the new generation of consoles and computers, a lot of what made Sega, Sega has suffered at the guillotine of corporate rationalization.
When Sega became the plaything of Sega Sammy Holdings in 2003, the second-party development teams were consolidated into just three factions (from the original eight), forcing the teams who'd functioned autonomously under Okawa to merge staff and mindsets. Even industry legend Sonic Team now only exists in name (with Yuji Naka breaking away to form his own development team just last year, which is admittedly close to, and partly funded by, Sega), while arcade pioneers AM2 repeatedly bang the same Virtua drum without any new rhythm. And by messing with the last thing that worked, the eight software development teams, Sega has drastically reduced its chances to succeed on the merits of its original franchises.
This isn't to say Sega can't turn it all around, but if they do, it's going to need to be quick. There's little room for yet another Virtua Fighter or an even faster Sonic, so we could soon see Sega drop yet another business model like a hot brick and charge toward a future without the franchises around which the company was built. If its former creative genius can be harnessed once again, the company's vision of becoming the world's leading developer might be a reality sooner than we could hope. Of course, once the solid foundations of Sega's franchises begin to crumble, it might finally meet a challenge it can't outrun.
Most everything about Sega is still in place: the names, the games, the business philosophy and the mistakes. Sega's promise to focus on games has, to date, yielded little more than a slew of rehashed franchises and repackaged hits from its console and arcade catalogue. The brilliance and innovation have been slow in coming, and missteps like Full Auto and Shadow the Hedgehog have severely eroded the footing of a once-great giant. Where the name, nay the word, "Sega" once represented brilliance, it risks now becoming an empty slug line; reminiscent of something which used to be great, reduced to the role of minor publisher in an industry which has largely moved on.
Spanner has written articles for several publications, including Retro Gamer. He is a self-proclaimed horror junkie, with a deep appreciation for all things Romero.
