Would you be interested in a Sega Steam Machine?

[sketch]

I'm one of those people who doesn't get the point of a Steam machine. I'd rather get a console or set up a gaming computer. So no for me, regardless of who makes it.

[spiffyone]

Oh, boy. Another topic in which folks start going on about Sega being "dead" when they're sitting prettier than they have been in YEARS, business-wise.

The name of the game right now, as I stated in a previous topic, is surviving in the industry, and Sega isn't simply surviving but THRIVING. They've cornered the very important strategy genre in the PC market with making The Creative Assembly and Relic subsidiaries/first party studios. Hardlight is doing its thing in mobile, which is where Sega needed to throw their weight around more. So too are some of the JP studios. They've finally turned the corner with Sonic, getting back to quality games again. They're signing the right licensing deals once again. They're doing what they have to do, including fleecing Nintendo for cash when the Big N is so desperate nowadays (Bayonetta deal, Lost World deal, etc.).

Where Sega falters is that they haven't leveraged their arcade games further than one-offs in the JP arcade market. They need to port those titles to PC (their arcade boards run on modified PCs) and to the consoles that now are closer than ever to PCs (x86 CPUs and all). Keep the revenue flowing for those games by offering them as downloadable titles.

As for the topic at hand, what's a real shame is that Sega could've had a service like Steam years ago, as, iirc, that was what they were going for in their post-console strategy (offering games for download in a similar service). Shame it never came to pass.

[Knuckle Duster]

What's a real shame is that Sega could've had a service like Steam years ago, as, iirc, that was what they were going for in their post-console strategy (offering games for download in a similar service). Shame it never came to pass.

Sega had Heat.net before Steam existed. PlaySega was their shot at doing a casual gaming service.

They currently let you buy and download their digital PC games from their website. Steam keys, of course. Because why pay money for bandwidth?

[KitsuneNight]

i said sega as we know it is dead

sega migt be financially better off then they have been in years but the sega we got atatched to the sega from the 80's and 90's that sega is long gone

[spiffyone]

i said sega as we know it is dead

sega migt be financially better off then they have been in years but the sega we got atatched to the sega from the 80's and 90's that sega is long gone

But that Sega damn near ran itself into the ground with silly decisions.

I'd rather a smart Sega that, one can hope, would be successful enough to take risks in the future rather than take risks without a future due to lack of success.

[KitsuneNight]

and that sega also gave us the megadrive the saturn and the dreamcast
and that sega also released more then sonic rehases

i'd rather have that sega

a madcap sega that goes all the way and tries its best to create new games
then a shadow of what sega formley was and playing it save with sonic after sonic after sonic rehash
and coasting along on old 16 bit glory of the madcap sega


course a hybrid of the two would be even better but that will never happen

[xelement5x]

Sega had Heat.net before Steam existed. PlaySega was their shot at doing a casual gaming service.

They currently let you buy and download their digital PC games from their website. Steam keys, of course. Because why pay money for bandwidth?

Lol, you just reminded me I have a promo-merch box from E3 with heat.net branding all over it. I should dig through that again sometime for goodies.

[spiffyone]

and that sega also gave us the megadrive the saturn and the dreamcast
and that sega also released more then sonic rehases

i'd rather have that sega

a madcap sega that goes all the way and tries its best to create new games
then a shadow of what sega formley was and playing it save with sonic after sonic after sonic rehash
and coasting along on old 16 bit glory of the madcap sega


course a hybrid of the two would be even better but that will never happen

Because all Sega releases are the Sonic games

Total War, the new Alien survival horror game, Hatsune Miku, Rhythm Thief, etc.

The Sega that "went all the way" damn near killed themselves. Better to take a more conservative tactic, which'll hopefully at least lead to some madcap stuff in the future than go full on madcap and have no future.

[IrishNinja]

Because all Sega releases are the Sonic games

Total War, the new Alien survival horror game, Hatsune Miku, Rhythm Thief, etc.

The Sega that "went all the way" damn near killed themselves. Better to take a more conservative tactic, which'll hopefully at least lead to some madcap stuff in the future than go full on madcap and have no future.

i tend to agree that the last gen or so was the best Sega's done since the DC era, so the smarter sega has indeed put out some quality stuff - but i'd be lying if i said they didn't have a few baffling decisions lately, like...where is PSO 2.0? that thing has cash cow written all over it, but still nothing over here.

[sheath]

For me to be interested in a Sega branded box of any kind it would require this at a minimum:

Full support, as long as it is better than Emulators, for all Sega Hardware and Software.
- This means no cruddy emulation or compilation quality releases, real gameplay tested releases at realistic prices.
Active marketing of "old" talent to create newer more complete versions of old genres or IP.
- No emulated or high level enhanced "HD" dumps on well known franchises.
Compatibility with all known Sega hardware compatible peripherals.
- Fear not the dread dead zone or controller lag.

Also:
Composite, S-Video, RGB and Component output options. No Upscaling unless it is lag free.
Marketing bent against compilations, release new games with similar inspiration fully tested included.
Software platform or API for greater portability and profit? Make the games for the Sega hardware first with proper testing, then port it to whatever.
Re-Manufacture at least the top quality Sega peripherals and controllers required for supported games.

[FuturePrimitive]

I would take any SEGA console as long as they put serious effort and passion into it. I don't know which I would prefer.