Sega Consolidation

[Johnny Nighttrain]

From GameSpot:

Mainichi Interactive has revealed additional details on Sega's development studio reorganization. Under Sega's new studio structure, Sonic Team (Sonic the Hedgehog, Phantasy Star Online) and United Game Artists (Rez, Space Channel 5) will be merged to develop mainstream titles that are aimed at casual gamers. Hitmaker (Virtual On, Crazy Taxi) and Sega Rosso (Sega Rally, NASCAR arcade) will be merged to work on developing on new platforms. Wow Entertainment (House of the Dead, Vampire Night) and Overworks (Shinobi, Sakura Wars) will be merged to develop games on next-generation consoles that are aimed at audiences of all ages. Amusement Vision (F-Zero AX, Super Monkey Ball) and Smilebit (Jet Set Radio) will be merged to develop games that notably utilize movie scenes. Sega-AM2 will remain intact and continue to develop titles for hard-core audiences.
As reported earlier, a new studio dedicated to the development of sport games will also be established, consisting of staff taken from Amusement Vision and Smilebit. In addition, Yu Suzuki will become the president of another newly established studio that will be focused on the development of major titles. Sega also will create a company that will be dedicated to managing all the development studios and their financial resources.

hmmm....well, doesn't seem like we're gonna see what the results of this for quite some time.

anyways, having Sonic Team and UGA making games for the mainstread doesn't sound good to me, and so on and so on. dunno, seems like a couple bad moves now, sorta like they're just wasting their resources. do they really need to get started on next-gen development so soon? it's not like they're 1st party anymore.

anyways, best of luck.

[Tragic]

I can't say I like the sound of this. "Mainstream titles" means what exactly?

[Cheebs]

Amusement Vision (F-Zero AX, Super Monkey Ball) and Smilebit (Jet Set Radio) will be merged to develop games that notably utilize movie scenes.

Soooo..... They're going to go from making Monkey Ball and JSR to making Night Trap and Sewer Shark? Please tell me that source got something horribly wrong.

[red_war_machine]

UGA - casual?

*breaks down and cries*

[Tain]

I don't know what to think. Here's hoping it won't make much of a difference.

[Frogacuda]

This sounds too dumb to be true.

[voltz]

Thats it! Fire sega's board of directors!

[BioMechanic]

The breakup of Smilebit disappoints me the most. Rosso & Hitmaker could have potential, although I'm not sure what to make of the term "new platforms".

Will the new sports division affect Visual Concepts?

This is just weird.

[Johnny Nighttrain]

i just hope UGA finishes their current project before october, that way Sonic Team doesn't fuck around with it.

[sggg]

I think it's all marketing/executive mumbo jumbo. I would not read too much into the words used there or get bent out of shape just yet.

I still think these new combinations are intriguing. We'll see.