What if Sega had quit the hardware business in `95?

[StarMist]

What if Sega had given up on the Saturn during development and become strictly a software company? The changing market, their faltering PR, their diminishing resources, and Sony’s gatecrashing the scene could reasonably have led to such a decision.
We would have seen Sega franchises old and new on the 3DO, Playstation, N64, SNES, and perhaps the Jaguar and other also-rans. Sega’s remaining stock of already manufactured 32Xs, CDs, and Mega Drives would have been liquidated more easily/profitably than they were in reality after the Saturn’s launch, as now they would still receive support in the form of downports and coreleases to Sega games on other machines. A Duo 32X might well have surfaced if another company, such as JVC did with the X Eye, were willing to purchase the manufacturing rights.

How do you feel about and what do you think would have sprung from this? Would Sega have survived longer, put out a larger surge of great games before going under by 2000, merged with another game developer, shifted their focus to sports titles?...It’s your call.

Also, you’re encouraged to imagine what might have become of any given Sega franchise.
The following are a few diversions courtesy of my crooked brain.

Some examples of how Sega franchises might have changed:

Nights into Dreams (N64): our harlequin friend is now a blurred low polygon count model flying about in an oh-so-bright world of low quality music. On the plus side, all Christmas Nights is inherent and incorporated in this version, full use of traversing the ground is made, 2 player co-op exists, and even a 4P competitive race mode is supported. It plays a bit naff with the 64 pad.

Panzer Dragoon (3DO & PS): sadly this does not advance the cause of Panasonic’s machine; we’ll focus on the superior PS version. In compensation for mildly drabber hues and a lower framerate we get levels 1-3 longer by 20%, an extra final level, and overall smoother graphics thanks to the Playstation’s more established codecs (than the Saturn’s were in reality); also, as a sop to Sony’s no-2D policy, every stage features conspicuous elevation changes. Unfortunately Sony retrenches the arcade feel by demanding an FMV interval every lv (it can be skipped) and the ability to save.

Panzer Dragoon Zwei (PS & N64): by now 3DO’s out of the running. The first game’s success spurs Nintendo to finagle a contract for the sequel, and in the end we get two profoundly different versions of the game. The Playstation’s is very much like the real world PD Zwei except lower in framerate, but the N64’s is built from the ground up around co-op using ideas foreshadowed by the then under way PD Saga. Both are commercial successes.

Sonic R (N64): this game is quadrupled in size and cast thanks to its inclusion of Nintendo mascots. Immensely successful. Sequels abound.

Sonic 3D: Flickies’ Island (MD, SCD, & SNES): the MD version is just what we saw. The SCD gets something like our Saturn version except that the emerald chases are replaced by an altogether disturbing sequence in which Tails appears as a giant, picks up Sonic who then transforms into a blue mallet, and proceeds to play a game of whack a mole—the mole being of course Robotnik. However it’s the SNES version that’s most remembered; Nintendo’s emphasis on cuteness guaranteeing ‘Flickies’ Island’ will be how the game’s forever referred to. Just to pour salt in an old Sega wound the SNES version turns out superior in every way. Flickies’ Island comes alongside DKC 2 as the console’s final pack-ins.

Ecco: The Black Abyss (3DO): 3DO is the only company to show interest in this franchise. The entire game is CG modeled with top tier FMVs and ambient sound (cf Heart of Darkness). It’s the 3DO’s last great prestige title. In `98 it’s ported without complete fidelity or any fanfare to the Playstation.

Shining Force III: winds up on the Jaguar of all places. Rather than validating Atari’s woebegone machine it simply spotlights all its failings and is forgotten until the internet and collecting boom when it attains the cachet of such titles as Chiller and Pesterminator.

Phantasy Star V (PS): a traditional JRPG, this debuts as a cash-in on the RPG explosion created by FF7, but its directness, intense story, demanding combat, and whimsical “broken teleporter” system (which can send the party anywhere at random when teleporting between cities) catapult it into Greatest Hits sales whilst paving the way for widespread disappointment at the overwrought and perennially delayed Panzer Dragoon Saga.

Sega Rally (3DO, N64, PS): 3DO diehards are glad of the quality racing despite some very questionable polygon counts but on the other systems it’s quickly forgotten.

Streets of Rage: The New Chapter (PS & N64): The franchise’s massively publicised foray into 3D and 4P co-op is a catastrophic bomb. The money lost developing and marketing it derails several current projects, one of which was to be Shenmue.

[sheath]

Yu Suzuki has been pretty clear in recent interviews that Sega was about software all along, they designed hardware to fit the needs of new software ideas. It was inevitable that Sega going third party was going to result in more sequels and little to no innovation, plus a lot of outsourcing for the same. Sega lost most of its talent and all of its company culture when it gave up on hardware.

Some examples of how Sega franchises might have changed:

Nights into Dreams (N64): our harlequin friend is now a blurred low polygon count model flying about in an oh-so-bright world of low quality music. On the plus side, all Christmas Nights is inherent and incorporated in this version, full use of traversing the ground is made, 2 player co-op exists, and even a 4P competitive race mode is supported. It plays a bit naff with the 64 pad.

Panzer Dragoon (3DO & PS): sadly this does not advance the cause of Panasonic’s machine; we’ll focus on the superior PS version. In compensation for mildly drabber hues and a lower framerate we get levels 1-3 longer by 20%, an extra final level, and overall smoother graphics thanks to the Playstation’s more established codecs (than the Saturn’s were in reality); also, as a sop to Sony’s no-2D policy, every stage features conspicuous elevation changes. Unfortunately Sony retrenches the arcade feel by demanding an FMV interval every lv (it can be skipped) and the ability to save.

These sound about right, though I'm not sure why Sega would have focused on making such new games at all without the console they were designed for.

Panzer Dragoon Zwei (PS & N64): by now 3DO’s out of the running. The first game’s success spurs Nintendo to finagle a contract for the sequel, and in the end we get two profoundly different versions of the game. The Playstation’s is very much like the real world PD Zwei except lower in framerate, but the N64’s is built from the ground up around co-op using ideas foreshadowed by the then under way PD Saga. Both are commercial successes.

Sonic R (N64): this game is quadrupled in size and cast thanks to its inclusion of Nintendo mascots. Immensely successful. Sequels abound.

This sounds about right, and the inclusion of Nintendo mascots in Sonic R makes me want to vomit jolly ranchers. Also, I am very confident that neither the N64 or the PS1 could do the high color backgrounds that made Panzer Dragoon famous.

Sonic 3D: Flickies’ Island (MD, SCD, & SNES): the MD version is just what we saw. The SCD gets something like our Saturn version except that the emerald chases are replaced by an altogether disturbing sequence in which Tails appears as a giant, picks up Sonic who then transforms into a blue mallet, and proceeds to play a game of whack a mole—the mole being of course Robotnik. However it’s the SNES version that’s most remembered; Nintendo’s emphasis on cuteness guaranteeing ‘Flickies’ Island’ will be how the game’s forever referred to. Just to pour salt in an old Sega wound the SNES version turns out superior in every way. Flickies’ Island comes alongside DKC 2 as the console’s final pack-ins.

This sounds exactly right, and Sonic 3D Blast should never have been ported to the Saturn in the first place.

Ecco: The Black Abyss (3DO): 3DO is the only company to show interest in this franchise. The entire game is CG modeled with top tier FMVs and ambient sound (cf Heart of Darkness). It’s the 3DO’s last great prestige title. In `98 it’s ported without complete fidelity or any fanfare to the Playstation.

Shining Force III: winds up on the Jaguar of all places. Rather than validating Atari’s woebegone machine it simply spotlights all its failings and is forgotten until the internet and collecting boom when it attains the cachet of such titles as Chiller and Pesterminator.

Hah, yeah, I'd just bet these games would never have been made instead.

Phantasy Star V (PS): a traditional JRPG, this debuts as a cash-in on the RPG explosion created by FF7, but its directness, intense story, demanding combat, and whimsical “broken teleporter” system (which can send the party anywhere at random when teleporting between cities) catapult it into Greatest Hits sales whilst paving the way for widespread disappointment at the overwrought and perennially delayed Panzer Dragoon Saga.

Sega Rally (3DO, N64, PS): 3DO diehards are glad of the quality racing despite some very questionable polygon counts but on the other systems it’s quickly forgotten.

Streets of Rage: The New Chapter (PS & N64): The franchise’s massively publicised foray into 3D and 4P co-op is a catastrophic bomb. The money lost developing and marketing it derails several current projects, one of which was to be Shenmue.

This is exactly what I would expect from a mid 90s third party Sega.

[EclecticGroove]

An interesting take, but in all honesty, if they were going to quit before they did, they would have done so between the Saturn and the Dreamcast.

The Genesis was a huge hit, and while the Sega CD and 32X were not really successes, they also were not full fledged successors to the Genesis either. The Saturn was the first real successor and as such a lot rode on it, especially in the wake of the Sega CD and especially with the short lived lifespan of the 32x.

Sega was worried with the Saturn (with the competition coming from Nintendo and the newcomer Sony) but they still had every reason to expect the Saturn to do well.

[Masamune]

Hindsight is always 20/20. Looking back in it now, it would have made better business sense to go software only in 1995. They would of saved a lot money that way.

But I feel if they made some different decisions, the Saturn and Dreamcast and any other future systems would have been more profitable. For example, if Sega skipped the Sega CD and 32x and focused more of their resources on the Saturn, we would all be having different conversations about the Saturn.

[Olls]

They certainly should have!

[EclecticGroove]

Hindsight is always 20/20. Looking back in it now, it would have made better business sense to go software only in 1995. They would of saved a lot money that way.

But I feel if they made some different decisions, the Saturn and Dreamcast and any other future systems would have been more profitable. For example, if Sega skipped the Sega CD and 32x and focused more of their resources on the Saturn, we would all be having different conversations about the Saturn.

If talking hindsight, they would have known that Nintendo would not have actually come out with a CD based add on for the SNES and the Sega CD would have either never happened, or it would have been a more mature product. Either way would have left a better consumer image for them.

Likewise having the Saturn be a more mature 3d Product as opposed to a beastly 2D machine with an extra processor thrown in would have also benefited them.

The entire 32x vs Saturn vs Dreamcast debacle that went down might never have happened at any rate.

[Christuserloeser]

if Sega skipped the Sega CD and 32x and focused more of their resources on the Saturn, we would all be having different conversations about the Saturn.

[TheSonicRetard]

If talking hindsight, they would have known that Nintendo would not have actually come out with a CD based add on for the SNES and the Sega CD would have either never happened, or it would have been a more mature product. Either way would have left a better consumer image for them.

Likewise having the Saturn be a more mature 3d Product as opposed to a beastly 2D machine with an extra processor thrown in would have also benefited them.

The entire 32x vs Saturn vs Dreamcast debacle that went down might never have happened at any rate.

The Sega CD was planned and released in response to the PC Engine CD. The rumors of the SNES CD had nothing to do with it.

[A Black Falcon]

An interesting take, but in all honesty, if they were going to quit before they did, they would have done so between the Saturn and the Dreamcast.

The Genesis was a huge hit, and while the Sega CD and 32X were not really successes, they also were not full fledged successors to the Genesis either. The Saturn was the first real successor and as such a lot rode on it, especially in the wake of the Sega CD and especially with the short lived lifespan of the 32x.

Sega was worried with the Saturn (with the competition coming from Nintendo and the newcomer Sony) but they still had every reason to expect the Saturn to do well.

Agreed, there was no way Sega wasn't going to have a 5th gen console. The Genesis was way, way too successful to just ditch the hardware business there.

Shining Force III: winds up on the Jaguar of all places. Rather than validating Atari’s woebegone machine it simply spotlights all its failings and is forgotten until the internet and collecting boom when it attains the cachet of such titles as Chiller and Pesterminator.

Um... Shining Force III was released in 1998. Why, exactly, would it be on Jaguar, a console discontinued back in early '96?

No, it'd be on PS1 I assume.

Yu Suzuki has been pretty clear in recent interviews that Sega was about software all along, they designed hardware to fit the needs of new software ideas. It was inevitable that Sega going third party was going to result in more sequels and little to no innovation, plus a lot of outsourcing for the same. Sega lost most of its talent and all of its company culture when it gave up on hardware.

After dropping out of the hardware market in '00-01, Sega still was a pretty good developer for a couple of years. It was only after the Sammy buyout that they got bad. So no, I disagree.

Hindsight is always 20/20. Looking back in it now, it would have made better business sense to go software only in 1995. They would of saved a lot money that way.

But I feel if they made some different decisions, the Saturn and Dreamcast and any other future systems would have been more profitable. For example, if Sega skipped the Sega CD and 32x and focused more of their resources on the Saturn, we would all be having different conversations about the Saturn.

So you think there was no way Sega could have been successful that gen? I mean, if you think it'd be better business sense to drop out than to release anything, that is sort of what you're saying... and it could be true -- I mean, Sony had a really good system and built up a strong set of developers on their side, and Nintendo was going to have some success for sure -- but as you say, Sega could have done a lot better than they did had they not been so stupid... though I think that only the 32X had to go, and that the Sega CD is a decent system as it is, and could have done better had Sega made more games for it.

[EclecticGroove]

The Sega CD was planned and released in response to the PC Engine CD. The rumors of the SNES CD had nothing to do with it.

Maybe so, but they didn't gain much steam overall, whereas the SNES was already their main competition. Just going on the hindsight bit here in general, as the only company they had to worry about in that generation was Nintendo.

[TheSonicRetard]

Maybe so, but they didn't gain much steam overall, whereas the SNES was already their main competition. Just going on the hindsight bit here in general, as the only company they had to worry about in that generation was Nintendo.

Not when the Sega CD was announced. When the Sega CD was announced, the PC Engine had already over taken the Famicom in sales in japan and was their primary competition.

EDIT: Just so you are aware, the Sega CD and PC Engine CD were planned and announced in the late 80's.

[EclecticGroove]

The famicom or the super famicom? If the SNES I wasn't aware it had ever done well enough to be a real threat in any market. Shows what I know about its history then!

Either way, as far as the Sega CD goes, it needed more Dev time, If they would have been able to increase the color pallette (both total and on screen) they would have resolved a great deal of the systems complaints (as the drive speed problem just wasn't going to get any better at that time).

[A Black Falcon]

The famicom or the super famicom? If the SNES I wasn't aware it had ever done well enough to be a real threat in any market. Shows what I know about its history then!

What.... huh? The SNES won the generation overall, absolutely crushed the competition in Japan, and won a somewhat narrow victory in North America... and yeah, the Sega CD was a response to the Turbo CD, which had been released in '88-'89, not the rumors of the upcoming SNES CD.

Either way, as far as the Sega CD goes, it needed more Dev time, If they would have been able to increase the color pallette (both total and on screen) they would have resolved a great deal of the systems complaints (as the drive speed problem just wasn't going to get any better at that time).

Yeah, that would have been just fantastic. The problem is though, to do that the Sega CD would pretty much need its own video output, or some kind of 32X-like passthrough, given that it's limited by the same limitations the Genesis has. Still, they really should have done that anyway, I think... a Sega CD with more colors would have been so great. I know it was already expensive and that would have made it cost even more, but the color thing was a real problem with the system, and did hold it back. They particularly needed to find out an answer for those FMV modes that limited games to like 10 colors on screen at once or something. I know, hardware limitations... but seriously, it's a big problem!

[EclecticGroove]

I know the SNES did, I was talking about the PC engine. I hadn't realized it ever did well enough to be considered a threat. As far as I knew it came out with a lot of fanfare then pretty much fizzled into nothingness.

[A Black Falcon]

PCE finished WELL ahead of the Genesis in Japan, and might even have been Japan's #1 console in the late '80s, before the SNES, as the NES faded there after the TG16/PCE released in '87. The PCECD was quite successful, too, and was supported for a decade.