Posted in: Games, Movies, Video Games | Tagged: entertainment, games, sega, sonic, video games

[Updated] Sega Boss Admits That The Company Has 'Partially Betrayed' Fans

Sega is not in a good way and nor have they been for years. They've consistently fallen back on questionable Sonic sequels and have refused to do a lot of things fans of the brand have asked for. That saw the company move out of its US office space commitments a few months ago too and cut back on development. It isn't pretty.

The company's CEO Hajime Satomi has given a very frank interview with magazine Famitsu (as translated by Siliconera) expressing acknowledgment of these failures. In an earnest statement he said:

I've been talking to employees about how [Sega] should start putting serious consideration into quality from this point on. Particularly in North America and Europe, where it's always been more of a focus on schedules.

I believe that if we can't maintain quality, it would be better to not release anything at all.

He then went very apologetic by saying:

We did our best to build a relationship of mutual trust with older fans of Sega but, looking back, there have been some titles that have partially betrayed that [trust] in the past 10 years.

Sega in the 90s was known for its brand, but after that, we've lost trust, and we're left with nothing but reputation … We'd like to win back the trust and become a brand once again.

This is a bold and endearing move by the company's head. While the cynic in me is going to wait to see if this apology is actually going to be put into action, there is a big symbolic gesture here if nothing else. Sega know they have let down fans. Hopefully these words end up meaning something in reality now. The company needs it.

Updated:

SEGA got in contact with us, and many other in the games industry to clarify this statement. The original interview was with Haruki Satomi, CEO of SEGA Games, and not SEGA-SAMMY Holdings CEO Hajime Satomi. Also, he has given us this quote to share

Seeing our fans across the world respond to our recent interview with Famitsu, lets us know we've made the right first step in acknowledging who we are and where we want to be. SEGA is dedicated to bringing you quality gaming experiences and becoming a brand you love and trust again

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