An interview published by the German website Sega Portal Sunday with Sega Germany Managing Director Markus Lorenz Wiedemann indicates his proudest publication in the five year re-establishment of the localized division is Shadow the Hedgehog–one in a series of Sonic titles from the last decade to deeply divide Sonic fandom.
But for Wiedemann, who acknowledged the seemingly superficial absurdity in the interview, there’s a good reason for the distinction.
“it was our very first title (published),” Wiedemann said under a translation, adding it was the first game through the division to make it onto the country’s sales charts in first place under his direction. "Then we were very proud.”
Pride, in theory, can only go so far–especially when you consider the Metacritic scores for the Playstation 2, XBOX, and Gamecube editions of Shadow are 49, 45, and 51 (out of 100) respectively. But shortly after the game’s late 2005 release, despite the division and criticism of Shadow’s darker themes, it did become a million seller–and its strength in numbers at the time likely pushed the priority for Shadow up for the newly formed subsidiary.
Wiedemann also noted other achievements under his tenure in the interview, including Sega’s presence at the time of the Playstation 3 launch, and the sales success of the Mario and Sonic franchise. But he’d prefer not to hear Sega referred to as a company for kids.
You can read the full interview at the hyperlink cited above.
But for Wiedemann, who acknowledged the seemingly superficial absurdity in the interview, there’s a good reason for the distinction.
“it was our very first title (published),” Wiedemann said under a translation, adding it was the first game through the division to make it onto the country’s sales charts in first place under his direction. "Then we were very proud.”
Pride, in theory, can only go so far–especially when you consider the Metacritic scores for the Playstation 2, XBOX, and Gamecube editions of Shadow are 49, 45, and 51 (out of 100) respectively. But shortly after the game’s late 2005 release, despite the division and criticism of Shadow’s darker themes, it did become a million seller–and its strength in numbers at the time likely pushed the priority for Shadow up for the newly formed subsidiary.
Wiedemann also noted other achievements under his tenure in the interview, including Sega’s presence at the time of the Playstation 3 launch, and the sales success of the Mario and Sonic franchise. But he’d prefer not to hear Sega referred to as a company for kids.
I realize that many fans accuse us that we would merely like to produce ‘Kids Games,’ I can therefore not be left unchallenged. These games are really suitable for all gamers. In addition, SEGA can afford with the enormous success of Mario & Sonic even more exotic developments.
You can read the full interview at the hyperlink cited above.
