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Sega of America president: Sonic unfit for adults
Sega's Simon Jeffery discussed his company's strategy for increasing sales in a Business Week interview. Basically, it can be summed up in two words: "sell out." They're "aggressively pursuing high-profile movie licenses" including The Golden Compass and upcoming Marvel Comics movies like The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, and Thor (there's a Thor movie?) But that's not the most controversial decision. Jeffery downplayed the importance of Sega's longtime mascot by saying that Sonic the Hedgehog is "an amazing recruitment vehicle" for younger gamers but "loses its cool factor when you get about 12 years old." The antidote to kiddy Sonic is, of course, ultraviolent fare like Condemned.We find that statement unfair and inaccurate. Since we know more about the game business than the president of Sega of America, we can more accurately gauge when Sonic games lose their cool factor. Every time a new character is added to the series, it bleeds a little bit of what remaining cool factor it had. Even adults would play and enjoy Sonic if, you know, Sega made a good one. [Via NeoGAF]
Sega still publishing for PS2
BusinessWeek interviews Simon Jeffery, chief operating officer at Sega of America, about the console transition and gamers' plans to upgrade hardware. Jeffery offers insight into Sega's thought process; he expects the PS2 to continue to sell well for at least another year.Jeffery says that retailers have forced the GameCube and Xbox off shelves to make more room for the new hardware. However, he hasn't seen -- and doesn't anticipate -- the same fate for the PS2; the company will still release occasional PS2 games, although Jeffery says they'll be ports from the newest hardware.Who's buying PS2s? Jeffery thinks they're secondary systems for PS3 and Xbox 360 owners, and the Wii may be competing directly with the PS2. But we wonder how many of those PS2 sales are by gamers who can't afford -- or find -- a PS3.See also: PS2 to outsell newer consoles through next year?
