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Dreamcast collection confirmed, still mysterious
When we were youngsters, we wanted every news story delivered to us right away, piping hot on a silver platter. But now, as we mature, we're starting to appreciate the drawn out announcement. The ... art of the tease, if you will. A month ago, we learned of a GameStop listing for "Dreamcast Collection," allegedly due on Feb. 15 for $30. It was just the smallest sliver of information, the burlesque equivalent of gloves being slowly peeled off. Then, in the new issue of Game Informer, we have Sega marketing VP Alan Pritchard's official confirmation: "We actually have a Dreamcast collection coming out soon." Of course, to continue our stripping metaphor, this is the equivalent of Sega pointing to the gloves on the floor and coarsely shouting at the audience, "Hey! Hey, remember when I took those off!? I did that! That definitely happened." But hey, we're grown adults. We can wait.
Platinum creating a fifth game for Sega
In two years, Platinum Games has fulfilled its end of the four-game deal it inked with Sega -- with the release of Vanquish this past October, the all-star development studio completed its contractual run. It appears that the publisher still values the relationship, as executive VP of sales and marketing for Sega, Alan Pritchard, told Game Informer in a recent interview that another title is in the works from Platinum Games, with Sega as publisher. "We have a further title to announce from Platinum Games as well," Pritchard teased, speaking to the publisher's upcoming lineup. Assuming that Platinum isn't working on another new IP or one of Sega's existing franchises, it's choices for a sequel may be limited. Given Pritchard's admission that MadWorld was a financial miss for both parties, it's probably unrealistic to expect a follow-up to that one. Bayonetta, however, sold over a million copies and stands out as the only big success to come from Platinum's four-game run. Last we heard, Sega was "reasonably encouraged" by early sales of Vanquish.
Sega 'looking to improve Sonic strategy,' reducing supply of older Sonic games
There are stories emanating from the mysterious coalition known simply as "Europe" that Sega -- responsible for some of your dearest childhood memories and, maybe, your first heartbreak -- is busy "delisting" less-than-stellar Sonic the Hedgehog titles from European retailers. Jurgen Post, Sega SVP of EMEA (that's Europe, the Middle East and Africa), told MCV, "Any Sonic game with an average Metacritic has been de-listed," continuing, "We have to do this and increase the value of the brand. This will be very important when more big Sonic releases arrive in the future." While that certainly sounds ominous, we asked Alan Pritchard – newly instated veep of sales and marketing for Sega US and the man who held Mr. Post's spot until just a couple month's ago – to clarify what it means for Europe, for Sonic and (jingoism be damned!) for North America. "I think perhaps Jurgen's comments have somewhat been taken out of context," Pritchard told Joystiq. "It's not quite as drastic as what Disney do for example. They bring out Lion King and all of a sudden there's a cut-off date, and you can't buy Lion King for another six months. It's not quite as drastic as turning the tap off completely. We want consumers and retailers to defocus from the back catalog, the older titles and focus more on the new-release titles."
