Sega‘s Lost Games: A Video Game Giant Confesses to an Unknown Back Catalog
Video game giant Sega, a name synonymous with iconic franchises and decades of gaming history dating back to the late 1960s, recently admitted to a surprising uncertainty: they don’t know exactly how many games they own. the revelation came during SIGGRAPH 2024, where Yosuke okunari discussed Sega’s ongoing efforts to document and preserve its vast collection of development materials.
This admission highlights the monumental task facing Sega, a company that has aggressively expanded its intellectual property portfolio through acquisitions of companies like Technosoft and Atlus. This growth, while beneficial, has created a complex web of ownership, making a complete inventory a meaningful challenge. While Sega only began prioritizing game preservation efforts in 2023, the company has already produced notable results, including the popular Mega Drive Mini, retro game integrations within the Yakuza series, and the 3D Classics series for the Nintendo 3DS.
Okunari emphasized the scale of the undertaking, stating that Sega is working towards creating a thorough library encompassing all its subsidiaries and affiliates, including atlus, Sammy, and Technosoft.However,a slide presented during a presentation,available here, starkly revealed the current reality: ”We don’t currently know the total number of games we have.”
Adding another layer of intrigue, the same presentation hinted at Sega’s ownership of the game catalog from Warp, the company founded by the late, influential game designer Kenji Eno. this revelation further underscores the complexity and historical meaning of Sega’s game library.
The situation at Sega highlights a broader challenge within the video game industry: the preservation of gaming history. As digital distribution and technological advancements continue, the need for proactive preservation efforts becomes increasingly critical to ensure that future generations can experience and appreciate the rich legacy of video games.
Sega’s Lost Games: An Interview on Gaming History
Senior Editor, World-Today-News.com: Welcome back too our discussion on the preservation of gaming history. Today, we have a special guest, [Guest Name], a renowned expert in video game archiving and preservation. [Guest Name], thank you for joining us.
[Guest Name]: It’s my pleasure to be here. It’s vital to shed light on these crucial issues.
Senior Editor: Recently, Sega made headlines admitting they don’t no the exact number of games in their back catalog. This came as a surprise to manny. What are your thoughts on this development?
[Guest Name]: It’s more common than you might think.
Sega’s [1] situation highlights a broader challenge within the industry. Companies grow through acquisitions, technology changes rapidly, and documentation frequently enough falls behind. It’s a monumental task to track down every single game, especially when considering subsidiaries and older hardware.
Senior Editor: Sega has been making strides in game preservation efforts recently. What do you think of their initiatives, like the Mega Drive Mini and the inclusion of retro games in the Yakuza series?
[Guest Name]: It’s fantastic to see Sega actively engaging in preservation. These efforts [1] not only provide fans with access to classics but also demonstrate the cultural value of older games. It’s encouraging to witness a major company taking this seriously.
Senior Editor: What are some of the biggest challenges facing video game preservation, and how can these be addressed?
[Guest Name]: Maintaining access to fragile data formats, tracking down lost source code, and securing funding for these projects are just a few hurdles. Collaboration between industry players, museums, and archivists is essential. Raising awareness among the public about the importance of preserving gaming history is crucial as well.
Senior Editor: Sega’s [1] transparency about their challenges is commendable. Do you think this openness will encourage other companies to follow suit?
[Guest Name]: I certainly hope so. Openness about the difficulties involved can spur collaboration and innovation. It takes collective effort to preserve our gaming legacy for future generations.
Senior Editor: Thank you, [Guest Name], for sharing your insights.
