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[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

So what exactly "killed" Sega? The troubling thing about this question is it really cannot be answered in a single video. What can be said is they lost quite a bit of money throughout the 90's. Thanks to the recent leak of the Sega FY1997 Brand Review, and translations of recent statements from former Sega of Japan execs, we now have a much more clear view of Sega's slow bleedout. This video seeks to summarize the important details of the document, how they link to the recent revelations from the SOJ execs, and tie them to the numerous other sources picked up over the years. This shows what went on behind Sega's doors throughout the 5th gen.

SegaFY1997: https://segaretro.org/images/8/8c/SegaFY1997BrandReview_US.pdf
Shoichiro Irimajiri and other translations: https://mdshock.com/2023/07/10/irim...e-saturn-the-32x-and-soas-financial-troubles/

 

[Robb]

Interesting stuff. Really hurts seeing all those 'warehouse stock vs. ordered by retailers' numbers, what a disaster.

 

[Horseganador]

It is incredible the talent that was within Sega making games and the monkeys that were directing it from the offices.

 

[64gigabyteram]

some companies just aren't meant for gaming consoles... actually, most companies. I don't think anybody besides Sony and Nintendo can properly make them without floundering. Maybe Valve

 

[dave_d]

I was a massive Sega fan back in the day and even I didn't buy a 32X. For the average gamer it didn't make an financial sense. You could either buy a 32x at $170 and a game at $70.(For $240 total) Or you could sell your Genesis which you were probably already tired of playing anyway. If you had a Genesis and 10 games and you got $100 for it that means you could buy a PSX ($300) and a game ($50) by putting in $250. Which would you rather have, a Genesis and 32X and a bunch of games plus 1 32X game or a PSX with 1 game and the ability to play better versions of future games?

 

[SkylineRKR]

The whole warehouse stock thing puts Sega into a different perspective, even during their succesful period. It seems they were punching above their weight all the time.

This also sort of answers why their software always seemed to sell relatively shitty. They didn't fit with their Genesis hardware numbers. Sonic 1 was at 15 million but heavily bundled during its run, for the rest it only had a dozen or so million sellers. Compare it to SNES which was supposed to be outsold at the peak of this generation.

 

[ReBurn]

Sega's self immolation really sucked. I was a huge fan. Sega did the Genesis right and I was really rooting for Dreamcast and its wonderful arcade ports to bring them success. But they screwed up third party and ran out of money.

 

[ShirAhava]

Sega was at war with Sega and then Sega was defeated by Sega but Sega didn't win because it turns out Sega's secret identity was.........SEGA

 

[Honey Bunny]

Can someone give me a tldr of this video

 

[Kyo]

Has anyone managed to point out even one good thing that Sega of America contributed to the Saturn's portfolio or its market position? Or Sega Europe, for that matter?

 

[SkylineRKR]

What I constantly see is that Sega always focused on the wrong software to promote their console with. They made the same fatal error with the DC. They would publish large ads for stuff like Seaman.

 

[SkylineRKR]

Can someone give me a tldr of this video

Sports games, succesful on Genesis, a liability for Saturn.
Issues: Graphics inferior to PSX versions
Tons of unsold stock in warehouses
Duke Newcomb
80 cancelled games, some were meant to be Saturn exclusive. Heart of Darkness for example.

 

[dave_d]

What I constantly see is that Sega always focused on the wrong software to promote their console with. They made the same fatal error with the DC. They would publish large ads for stuff like Seaman.

You mean like how they dumped an absolutely classic like Gunstar Heroes on the market with no advertising and as far as I know it bombed. (It's basically one of the best games on the Genesis, especially if you liked Contra.)

 

[LakeOf9]

As a Sega fan this video is just depressing

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

The whole warehouse stock thing puts Sega into a different perspective, even during their succesful period. It seems they were punching above their weight all the time.

This also sort of answers why their software always seemed to sell relatively shitty. They didn't fit with their Genesis hardware numbers. Sonic 1 was at 15 million but heavily bundled during its run, for the rest it only had a dozen or so million sellers. Compare it to SNES which was supposed to be outsold at the peak of this generation.

Yeah; big box retailers really helped give the impression Genesis was a massive player at the time in NA. Not to say it wasn't; it definitely still was. And with plenty of high-quality games in its own right.

But the software numbers generally always favored SNES, and the hardware numbers, for a couple of years, only favored Genesis because Sega were willing to engage with an open buyback policy with big box retailers that I'm assuming Nintendo wasn't, and companies like NEC weren't able to (more specifically, whoever handled American distribution of the Turbographx). Meanwhile in Japan, that type of practice simply didn't exist (and AFAIK, still doesn't).

It's like a gambler guaranteed a big pot at the end of every week, then given three days to try gaining that equivalent amount (time 100% interest) through actual winnings. But they can't, so they pay back everything they couldn't win, and then some.

That an unconsolidated accounting was a real 1-2 mega punch on Sega during the mid-nineties, turns out.

 

[SegaManAU]

Started watching it last night, and will finish it tonight. Great viewing!

 

[Dacvak]

I've been having a love affair with Sega this entire year. Started with the Genesis classics (can you believe I never played Contra Hard Corps??), then moved onto some more obscure titles. I'm really excited to get into Saturn, though I may save that for next year.

Edit: Oops this is the wrong sega thread. Meant to post in the community thread. Oh well, still kind of relevant.

 

[RetroGamingUK]

Sorry for the bump, but felt compelled to offer some perspective from the UK.

1996 and 1997 in the UK felt like completely different years for the Saturn when you look at Sega's first party lineup.

PlayStation had a decent enough launch in 1995 (Tekken and WipEout being the standouts) but that was followed by a drought of decent exclusives which lasted most of the year. Meanwhile in 1996 Saturn owners got (in order of release)…

Sega Rally
Virtua Fighter 2
Panzer Dragoon Zwei
Guardian Heroes
Athlete Kings
Nights- into Dreams
Sega Worldwide Soccer 97
Fighting Vipers
Virtua Cop 2
Virtual On

…which resulted in me choosing the Saturn. PlayStation didn't get any good games until very late in the year (Resident Evil, WipEout 2097, Tekken 2, F1) so I was very very happy with my choice.

Come 1997 things just went horribly wrong for Sega, their first party output just didn't really appeal to me and as the arcade divisions moved to Model 3 the arcade ports slowly started to dry up. Die Hard Arcade was OK, but Last Bronx and Sega Touring Car (the latter being hyped to death and turning out to be a disastrous port) came nowhere near Virtua Fighter 2 or Sega Rally. Sonic R was their big Christmas title which, in my opinion, was a bag of shite.

Meanwhile PlayStation was getting banger after banger…

Soul Blade
Rage Racer
Symphony of the Night
ISS Pro
Final Fantasy VII
Tomb Raider II
Ace Combat 2
Time Crisis
F1 97

By the end of the year it became too much and the Saturn I'd excitedly bought about 18 months prior was traded in for a PlayStation without a second thought.