Sega’s convenient eternal money makers, retro re-releases, are here to say.
Speaking to Gamesindustry.biz, Sega executive vice president of publishing John Clark notes, in regards to the approach of retro content: “When do you ever stop reaching the audience? There’s always an audience there on one format or another. We’ve got great content and we’re never going to saturate the audience for all of that retro content, so I think we’re going to continue to bring it out as broad and wide as possible.”
“Never going to saturate” is key, as Sega’s top minds currently believe that there is no such thing as too much retro content, a concept that informs their strategy now and going forward. So yes, you can probably expect Sonic re-releases on the PS5 and the Xbox Scarlett.
There’s a few more bits on recent Sega news embedded in the interview, including the fact that Phantasy Star Online 2 is still MIA for European regions, though Sega encourages fans to “stay tuned.” Another big focus is streaming, and Sega is dipping its toe ever so slightly into the water with Football Manager on Stadia. It’s still very much the wild west, and only some publishers are going in on it.
The thing about the Stadia is that several other organizations are likely working on their own tech, so going too hard with Google will likely bite them down the line. I don’t think it matters for Sega though, as they’ll put their stuff on anything, including smartphones and Amazon Fire TV devices: an all-encompassing strategy that a lot of other firms refrain from. The point is, Sega is in a unique position as a former major platform player and has a library that will last them through the end of time, regardless of where the industry is in 10 years.
Sega sees streaming’s potential to reach new audiences [Gamesindustry.biz]
Source: Destructoid Sega says that retro re-releases will never go out of style