Sega has hired former Disney and Scopely executive Justin Scarpone to lead its transmedia strategy.
10.02.2024 - 02:25 / gamerant.com / Sonic Superstars / Trumann Tu
A recent financial report from Sega has indicated that its sales of new games during the Holidays were rather sluggish. Sega had an incredibly active 2023, publishing roughly 15 titles from its catalog of IPs. Some of these were re-releases and smaller-scale titles, like ports of Persona 4 Golden to other consoles, the Etrian Odyssey collection, and Samba de Amigo: Party Central.
2023 also saw the release of brand-new Sega titles in its most prominent AAA franchises, including Sonic Superstars, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, and Persona 5 Tactica. Other releases in the year included games from Sega's European branch, like Creative Assembly's Total War: Pharaoh or Amplitude Studios' Endless Dungeon. Despite 2023 being a good year for Sega releases, it was also reportedly a slow year in terms of new game sales, especially during the 2023 holiday period.
According to Sega's latest financial report, despite having a rise in overall sales and profit, there was a decrease in sales for new titles. As a result of these weaker sales, Sega adjusted its sales and profit forecast for the upcoming financial year. «In the Consumer area, although we released some new titles in Q3, including Sonic Superstars, Endless Dungeon, and Total War: Pharaoh, sales went sluggish during the holiday sales season,» said Sega. «As a result of these factors, etc., both sales and ordinary income are expected to be lower than previous forecast.» These reports do not include the record-breaking sales numbers for Persona 3 Reload and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.
Sega states that sales in Europe and the United States are the main areas that were struggling, citing that the «worsening economic environment» has reached a plateau, among other factors. Inflating game development costs were also cited in this report, stating that there is an «urgent» need to respond to this changing environment. Sega expects the game market to continue growing, along with its platform diversity, allowing for games to be published and maintained in the long term.
In the Consumer area, although we released some new titles in Q3, including Sonic Superstars, Endless Dungeon, and Total War: Pharaoh, sales went sluggish during the holiday sales season. As a result of these factors, etc., both sales and ordinary income are expected to be lower than previous forecast.
While there weren't any specific games pointed out as a reason why sales were slow in Holiday 2023, Sega did mention back in November that Sonic Superstars' sales fell below expectations, likely due to it releasing around the same time as Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Despite its lackluster sales, Sonic Superstars is expected to continue getting DLC content later in 2024, with
Sega has hired former Disney and Scopely executive Justin Scarpone to lead its transmedia strategy.
Sega has appointed former Disney and Scopely executive Justin Scarpone as executive vice president and head of its newly established Global Transmedia Group.
SEGA has announced the appointment of Justin Scarpone, former executive of The Walt Disney Company and Scopely, as executive vice president and head of Global Transmedia Group, effective April 1. The establishment of a Global Transmedia Group will allow SEGA to advance its transmedia strategy across its portfolio of intellectual property, such as Persona, Like a Dragon, Angry Birds, and more in the coming years.
Sega executives have suggested that competition with Super Mario Bros. Wonder hurt the sales of Sonic Superstars when it was first released. The latest 2D iteration of the classic franchise, featuring a speedy hedgehog, was launched last year to average reviews and notably poor sales. Sonic Superstars managed to replicate much of the old-school gameplay of the series but seemingly failed to wow critics or fans, and this translated to a disappointing launch.
Sonic Superstars released in October last year, delivering the first new sidescrolling game in the series since Sonic Mania, though it hasn’t performed the way Sega would have expected it to. Shotly after the game’s release, the company revealed that the game had seen “a slightly weaker start than anticipated”, attributing that partly to the fact that the game had released in a particularly busy period that also saw the release of the likes of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Alan Wake 2, and many others.
Sega executives have implied that Super Mario Bros Wonder was responsible for Sonic Superstars selling fewer copies than expected.
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Sega announced at The Game Awards in December that Crazy Taxi was one of five (and perhaps more) classic properties that was getting a grand revival, and though the publisher has doles out nothing but the briefest of details on the game since then, it’s clear that the game is being treated as a significant, flagship project.
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Jet Set Radio, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, and a lot more classic Sega titles are coming back as part of its master plan to create a "super game" that will incorporate various IP from across its history. Crazy Taxi is also on this long list of titles, arguably one of the more highly-anticipated games included in the big trailer reel Sega released at The GameAwards last year.