Sega announces layoff of 300

[Wolfgame]

All of us hoping for a bright year for Sega will find it getting off to a rocky start, particularly as it relates to any potential progress on Shenmue(or any console title). Sega is annoucing a layoff of 300 staff with plans to restructure further into the PC gaming and mobile market. I hate that this is happening. I want Sega to find their footing and deliver incredible console games. I hope they are able to recover and become stronger through these changes.

http://nichegamer.net/2015/01/sega-confirms-300-staff-layoffs-on-the-anniversary-of-sonic-the-hedgehog-2006/

[Henry Spencer]

It is a shame, but it's been going this way for a while now. Capcom and Konami have similarly been winding down too. I personally just hope all of these restructures don't affect the likes of ATLUS, Yakuza Team or Sonic Team...

[Axm]

I have a feeling this is going to effect alot. Thats a TON of employees and the whole HQ shutting down in Northern California to Southern California.
Thats a big difference in distance even though its the same state. Many wont follow them there.

[ys]

Slightly longer article about this : http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015- ... ine-gaming

[Sonikku]

This can only mean that Sega is "cutting the fat" and turning into a lean, mean, Shenmue making machine.

Right?

Right?

[elfshadowreaper]

Did you see the documentary Video Game: The Movie? It talked about how in the late 70s early 80s there was a huge push into getting games onto the Atari and similar systems. But the quality was garbage and people saw how stupid the games were. I guess the ET game was the epitome of this. So there was a big video game industry collapse. Then Nintendo stepped up with Super Mario and brought the industry back from certain death.

All that to say that I think we're going to see that happen again with all these social "free to play, but cost your soul to actually make progress" games. At least I hope this happens. Because I hope that another Nintendo(maybe even Nintendo again, but I wouldn't bet on it) will show us just how awesome video games can be. Not this Candy Crush slop.

My wife likes to play the mobile Sim City game, but she's growing frustrated because the game pretty much forces her to make purchases(which thankfully she doesn't do) to actually make any progress. I abhor games like that. Because the games are built to make you pay and if you don't, then you're just not going to have much fun. At that point you're not innovating to have people enjoy games, want to buy more games and tell their friends about it(and NOT get points for it), you're making an addictive formula that only cash can solve.

And all the kids are on my lawn with their skateboards and boomboxes!

[Sonikku]

You know, according to EA, paying extra is what the people want. They only provide what modern gamers expect as part of the gaming experience. Well, that was their answer at least after an outlash regarding DLC with cut content.

This sums up modern gaming :

@Sonikku : Suuure, no worries ;)

[Riku Rose]

All that to say that I think we're going to see that happen again with all these social "free to play, but cost your soul to actually make progress" games. At least I hope this happens. Because I hope that another Nintendo(maybe even Nintendo again, but I wouldn't bet on it) will show us just how awesome video games can be. Not this Candy Crush slop.

Nah not going to happen. The PS4 and Xbox One are already outselling their predecessors by quite a bit. Then we had GTAV just become the second best selling game ever after Wii Sports (which I don't think should count as it was bundled). Home gaming is fine as it is. Everyone I knew was playing Candy Crush at one point but 95% of them wouldn't play Assassins Creed or any other console game so if they got bored of games altogether then the game companies are hardly loosing out on sales.

The only way we will see a video game crash again like back then is within the space of about 5 years every big company does a THQ by having a few massive failures all at once. That won't happen to someone like Activision though as they showed with Guitar Hero that when they realized there was no more money in it they pulled out of making anymore to avoid financial losses. As much as people hate them and EA they know how to run a business and make profit. Most video game company's loosing money would most likely keep downsizing until they where making a profit again like what SEGA is doing. Heck at Ubisoft only 20% of people employed actually make games. I'm sure Activison could loose jobs in the World of Warcraft call centers before they have to start cutting elsewhere.

Then you also have the fact that a few mates in a bedroom can make a game now and release it on a PC or a device anyone has access to without going bankrupt and destroying a company. The 80's crash was very unique but it would be so unlikely for it to happen again. So many company's would have to fuck up all at once in such as specific way for the whole of home gaming to crash.

[Henry Spencer]

One could argue that the Japanese game industry has crashed, though...

[Riku Rose]

Just guessing here and done no research but Japan must be 1st or 2nd for country with the most game studios. They seem to be going more mobile which is why we now get games like Dragon Quest and Monster Hunter on portables. There are still plenty of games coming out of Japan, I would just call it a decline as a crash seems much more drastic like it's over.

[Sonikku]

You misunderstand, I mean that Japan as a market for selling games (excluding mobile here) is really bad at the moment. Nobody there is buying PS4, Wii U isn't even a blip, Xbox One doesn't even exist over there. Vita sells just okay and 3DS is the only one that seems make any dent over there. PS3 is still their biggest market for home consoles.

There's still a good portion of studios making games there yes, but it's definitely not like it was during the NES/SNES/N64/PSX/PS2/DS/PSP/SAT/etc era. The likes of Capcom, SEGA and Konami who used to be juggernauts in the marketplace are now on the verge of closing down (I've been keeping track of their financials for a while now, it's been a slight decline for a while now; they actually make more money off other markets outside of game production/development such as pachinko, gambling, holiday resorts, mobile games - those sorts of things). You get some that have been lucky and sold well in the West like From Software, Falcom and Square-Enix are all actually doing relatively well, but most of the big boys aren't what they used to be, financially speaking, at the least.

Sorry for sounding all doomy and gloomy but it is what it is. That market has downsized considerably.

[Riku Rose]

This generation will be interesting for Japan. The Wii U isn't really a big seller anywhere and the Xbox One is an Xbox product so that's out by default. As for PS4 I think we'll have a better idea when some of the big games for the Japan audience comes out like FFXV. Off the top of my head there hasn't been a game for the PS4 that really screams out big Japanese seller to me so I can understand it being slow. If sales of the PS4 are still low after FFXV, Kingdom Hearts III, Persona 5 and games like that then yeah I'll agree Japan is slowly giving up on consoles.