Sega look to the past on their road to 2020

Sega plan to revive major IP’s and create global hits on their road to 2020. This is the strategy highlighted in their “Road to 2020″ business report and a statement Sega fans have been waiting to hear for years.

With rumours swirling in regards to a possible HD remake of the first 2 Shenmue games making an appearance at the Sega booth at E3 and two Sonic games being released in 2017 (tentatively), what is next for Sega?

Sega have a tremendous amount of IP that they can utilise to pave the road into the future. Last May they released a survey in Japan asking gamers which of their franchises they would most like to see return. Top ranking results were Panzer Dragoon, Jet Set Radio, NiGHTs into Dreams, Virtua Fighter and Streets of Rage.

Through their history, Sega have had a tendency to make interesting decisions when it comes to their library of franchises. In regards to Virtua Fighter for example, it has to be considered one of the core beat ’em up franchises along with Tekken and Street Fighter et al… yet the last new entry was 9 years ago. The last new Streets of Rage was 23 years ago. Jet Set Radio 14 years ago.  You get my point.

If executed correctly, the future could be very bright for Sega and very exciting for fans. How they will follow through on this strategy, only time will tell.; but I know I will be watching eagerly.

In the meantime, they have also released their new startup logo. Shown at the end of the below video entitled “branding movie” .The video shows SEGA’s Chief Product Officer (and Monkey Ball and Yakuza creator) Toshihiro Nagoshi reflecting on Sega’s games and identity as he drives around Japan looking out the window. A subtitled version should be out soon.

Which Sega franchises would you most like to see come back with new games?