July 23rd 2023.
As a Sega fan, I can't help but feel frustrated with the current state of the publisher. Just recently, I purchased Sonic Origins Plus, which marks the fifth time I've bought the original Sonic The Hedgehog Mega Drive games. Back in the early 90s, the Mega Drive was the coolest thing around and everyone I knew was deep in the console war with Nintendo, even though only a few had a SNES.
Sega was at the top of the gaming world, but within just a few short years, it all came crashing down. Embarrassed by Nintendo and Sony, they switched to a new generation of consoles and suddenly their state-of-the-art arcade machines weren't making them money anymore. The only games they could make money from were PC strategy games and terrible Sonic The Hedgehog games.
Sega has been an industry joke for the past three decades, and I should have moved on long ago. Unfortunately, in my mind, Sega still equals quality. Even though I know it's not true, I still hold out hope that the next Sonic game will be good, or that they'll bring back one of their classic franchises. But, it never happens and Sega continues to be a loser.
The truth is, Sega has an incredibly impressive library of classic franchises: Shinobi, OutRun, Altered Beast, Phantasy Star, Skies Of Arcadia, Space Harrier, After Burner, Shining Force, Thunder Force, Golden Axe, Sega Rally, Daytona USA, Virtua Fighter, Panzer Dragoon, and Jet Set Radio. But what have they made in recent years? Nothing. The only game they've been involved in is Streets Of Rage, and they had nothing to do with it.
What's the solution? Perhaps it's best if no one makes those games, but I don't care who makes them as long as they get made. It's obvious that the only way any of this is going to happen is if someone buys Sega, but because they're owned by Sammy, it's too expensive for anyone to bother with. Plus, Nintendo, who might be the best ones to buy them, doesn't usually do that sort of thing.
It's ironic to want Sega's archrivals to buy them, so they can make their own games better than Sega can. But, that's how low they've sunk and they deserve that final humiliation. No other games company has failed to realise their potential as much as Sega has in the last few decades, and it pains me to admit it.
Will they ever redeem themselves? I'm not sure, but if I keep hoping they will, it's like the definition of insanity: 'doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.' That's Sega with their Sonic games and fans like me hoping that one day they'll get it right.
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