Is there any information on Sega of Japan's side of the story about what happened in the 90s?
This book makes Kalinske and his team out to be demi-gods, while the Japan team was a bunch of retards. And while going from a <5% market share to a >50% share is very impressive, I can't help but feel that a lot of information was swept under the rug to make him look better, or that his faults and mistakes were twisted to make it seem like SoJ was at fault.
>>2879004
>I can't help but feel that a lot of information was swept under the rug to make him look better, or that his faults and mistakes were twisted to make it seem like SoJ was at fault.
This. The fact that neither side wants to take full responsibility for the 32X is a sign that SoA were responsible for as many fuckups as SoJ were.
shit tier console, made by a shit tier company, fails. shocking
>>2879049
We are all tired of your stupidity on this board kid.
Given that it's a bunch of info from SoA, it's no wonder they would have issue with SoJ. That shit is rife in any multinational corporation. I'm sure someone in SoJ has a story about what the Americans did wrong.
>>2879106
I'd like to hear their side as well.
Same here, I'd like to hear SoJ's side but sadly I don't think there's any actual interview or commentary from SoJ, at least not in english.
Culturally, japanese people don't like to dig too much in past issues and prefer to focus on the present or future plans though. It's also part of their polite culture, probably if any SoJ person was interviewed, they still wouldn't trash the SoA guys. So it's a bit unlikely we're going to hear their side of the story sadly.
>>2879004
The Genesis wasn't a major player in Japan. The SNES sold about 4 times as much. Considering its success in the US, it's not really a stretch to assume that SoA were doing things smarter than SoJ were.
>>2879550
SoA a good boy he dindu nuffin!
>>2879550
You could make the same argument about the Saturn in Japan. I guess you could argue the Virtua Fighter fad at the time helped pushed console numbers over there, but even then it was the PlayStation's real rival over there. The N64 was barely a factor in Japan.
While we're at it, I'd also like to hear from SoE and even TecToy (Sega's official licensee in Brazil and other south american countries).
peopel always argue SoA vs SoJ, but before SoA came into play, Sega was already popular in Europe and Latin America. The Master System was a complete success in Brazil.
>>2879632
Well the Master System's success in Europe can be attributed to Nintendo fucking up their distribution of the NES over there with pointless region locking.
>>2879004
It's doubtful you'll ever hear "SoJ's side of the story" since badmouthing people you work with like Kalinske has done for the past 20 years isn't something that you're going to see happening as much in Japanese business culture. When something goes wrong there, you're more likely to see one person eat the blame for everyone regardless of how many other people were "really" at fault for what happened.
There are some other corroborations out there in the book Ultimate History of Video Games.
"I would absolutely defend the American management on that. Tom knew that the 16-bit business was going to be there [SoJ was cutting support of the Genesis and its add-ons to focus on the Saturn]. Paul Rioux knew it, and so did Shenobu Toyoda; but Japan refused to believe. They were convinced, and they would not listen to Tom [Kalinskel. They would not listen to Paul [Rioux]. They would listen to no one and they absolutely bullied the u.s. into launching the system. It very much compromised their ability to keep the 16-bit business."
Mike Latham, though he worked at SoA
"It wasn't the failure of Saturn that made him lose interest; it was the inability to do something about it. He was not allowed to do anything. The U.S. side was basically no longer in control."
Latham again
"I'm sure that price [Sega had just announced they were releasing the Saturn in the US for $400] came from Japan. Tom was frequently dealt some very difficult cards to have to play, and he did a very good job of melding his deck and doing as much as he could with the cards that he was dealt. My hat is off to the guy."
Steve Race, at Sony at the time, but formerly at Sega and friends with Tom
>>2881283
We know that SoA and SoJ didn't get along, but the point of the thread is that we still haven't heard a single word about it from any japanese person, it's always westerners/americans who bring this up.
This isn't about "good guys" and "bad guys", it's about hearing the different versions from their sources.
Sadly I don't think we'll ever hear any word from the japanese themselves of because what >>2879845 and >>2879356 said.
Whoever is writing the history for Sega seems pretty intent on casting it in contrast to Nintendo and not against the internal conditions that led to how decisions were made. I blame the intense marketing in the U.S. when they were trying to muscle their way past Nintendo's dominance as forever setting the tone for anything else that happened.
Given that it was Kalinske himself who pushed the rivalry, it's really not surprising. It would be nice if someone had the archived financial reports of Sega from before their restructuring so we could nail down just how much revenue came from what sources.
Do we even have an account from Japanese gamers as to what Sega was doing over there? I mean I can tell you exactly where I bought my consoles and why, but I have no idea what was going on in Japan.
Right now all I have in my head is Sega of Japan was more interested in the local Arcade scene than they were in positioning themselves as dominant competitors in the home console market. I mean they managed to hit it pretty big with the Master System and the Genesis, but it feels like that was more a lucky happenstance brought about by enterprising Gaijin that let them port more arcade stuff than their long term vision of the company. That might just be my impression from Konami's recent shakeup to focus on Pachinko machines (and all the messed up shit involved in THAT situation) affecting what I imagine was going on with SoJ.
Rise and Fall of Service Games is much more definitive and impartial. Plus there's the fact Console Wars has the taint of Seth Rogen all over it.
>>2879004
Here's our regular "sega did nothing wrong" thread
>>2879004
>Sega
who fucks a fuck literally.
they're the "that guy" of console makers
>>2881860
>who fucks a fuck literally.
I do. Metaphorical fucking can be extremely hazardous to your penis' health.
>>2879037
SOA isn't perfect, they fucked up too--the 32X in particular--the issue is that no one on the Japanese side will ever speak out about this shit because they just don't do that over there.
And they certainly won't tell fucking dirty gaijin.
>>2879657
>>2879632
TecToy's success in Brasil is attributable to the exact same thing, frankly. They had no real competition until Sony and the Playstation.
>>2881283
>>2881326
Virtually every source available corroborates the story that SOJ eventually put the chains on SOA and this is what caused Kalinske to look for an exit. It was the exact situation he told Toyoda he wouldn't put up with when he first joined, and once it came to pass, Kalinske was out.
I think if we're ever going to get anything out of the Japanese side, it will come from Toyoda.
>>2881490
Service Games is a fucking awful book, it's basically a 600-page forum post written by a fanboy. Tons of factual errors, poor source citations ("my own research" isn't a source, you sperg) and just shit writing.
>>2881421
The MD, MkIII and it's predecessors were non-factors in Japan. Basically irrelevant.
>>2881991
>They had no real competition until Sony and the Playstation.
They had to compete against the chinese Famiclones, which were also hugely successful in the rest of latin america.
PlayStation was very similar to the case of the Famiclones, the PlayStation systems weren't clones, but virtually every PS system sold in south america at the time came already modchipped so it could play copies, which also came from china. Nobody would buy original PS games.
TecToy managed to sell official systems AND games, and be a success.
What happened in Brasil with Sega (and particularly the Master System) is very interesting and not to be minimized.
