Lecturer calls me a weirdo for being a Sega fan

[leviathan]

Long time no post.

Yes, that's the actual wording he used. I was in a marketing lecture today, and we were talking about the coursework.

We have to choose one company and write a report on them, and I chose Sega. So I asked him whether he thought a games publisher would be appropriate and if had any advice on how I should begin the coursework.

He asked the entire class what they thought and everyone was giving me suggestions. He continued with his own advice, and then, completely out of left field said the something like:

"Sega? They're very much a 1990s company, and aren't really relevant anymore. They're not the market leader, and that is probably why you chose them. Most people follow Sony with their PlayStation and there isn't really a network for people with Sega anymore. Many would consider you a weirdo. We would need to ask how you and the other weirdos connect with each other on the Internet and on forums, as there a few of you left".

He could have said unusual, or any other word, but no, he said weirdo. He is actually a very intelligent lecturer, and I thought one of the better ones we have here.

I followed up saying that the fanbase for Sega is dwindling since the Dreamcast and then we all basically had a discussion about the state of the games industry. It was mainly me and this one other guy who spent ages talking about Nintendo, and the DS.

The lecturer said something about Sony being the leader, and Nintendo's innovative strategy failing, so I countered by saying the DS defeated the PSP.

But anyway, back on topic. I was completely shocked by his comment. I know there aren't really many hardcore Sega fans left, but I didn't realise the perception of them was anything like that.

It makes me wonder, am I living in the past? I mean, look what happened to Sega. Every game they have coming out has been outsourced and it's as if their development teams aren't there anymore.

I expected them to become the major publisher after the Dreamcast and it hasn't happened. So what do you think, should we all move on?

I don't know if I want to write my report on Microsoft.

[Bartman3010]

Ask if hes a viral marketer for Sony, because thats what it sounds like to me =P

If he gives you an F for Sega not as strong of leader and because you're a 'weirdo', I'd report his ass.

[Jolly Joes]

I'm more surprised that your professor is a fanboy. XD

[ϟ¶∀☡ⓩ]

What type of marketing course is this? Video Game marketing or marketing in general? If the latter, I'm suprised at his knowledge of the subject.

[kyon]

leviathan said:

The lecturer said something about Sony being the leader, and Nintendo's innovative strategy failing...

spazz said:

What type of marketing course is this? Video Game marketing or marketing in general? If the latter, I'm surprised at his knowledge of the subject.

I try not to call misinformation (I love my RPGs and all, and I know very well what system they're mostly on, but the PSP "winning" over the DS? Never happened.) knowledge. ^_^

[diablohead]

SHIT! I knew I should have gone to my history of games lecture instead of boozing out.

[Keith T. Hemari]

I say you report him to the school and claim psychological and emotional suffering from him calling you a weirdo in front of the class..

Then laugh in his face.

Sure SEGA might be falling behind, but that doesn't mean that their fans are somehow strange for still being interested in them.

I mean, even while Star Trek was collapsing in on itself during the Enterprise catastrophe, I was still proud to be a Star Trek fan... although, I suppose a better comparison would be if I claimed to be a Paramount fan... eh, I suppose it still works. It doesn't make me weird to be a fan of something that isn't popular.

I think your teacher needs to be smacked upside the head.

And I want to know what he thinks the internet is like, since, as far as I have experienced, the single most easily archived activity on the 'net is finding people just like you. We make forums and websites and form groups in MMORPGs for people just like us and make ourselves findable on search engines like Yahoo and Google. If he doesn't know how that works, he's more behind than you could possibly be.

[Sofox]

However Sega acts or how you feel about them in the future, just remember that what that company brought to you: how it affected you, what you saw in it, what it meant to you; those things can never be erased. They are part of you because somethings about that company or what it did or gave to you, struck a chord with you. They were things that meant something to you, and even if that company now seems to be doing something different or going its own way, just remember what it was about it that was true to you and make your own decisions.

[dead]

i liek capconm

[Admin]

I've been called a weirdo for being a Sega fan COUNTLESS times.
The sad part is, most of the time this WAS in the 90's.

[Vert]

I've been called a wierdo loads of times by tutors etc, but I think that's just in general as opposed to being just a Sega fan.

[Squiggles the Chao]

Well, aside from calling you a weirdo (laughtrack), and predicting that Nintendo's strategy will fail, I have to agree with the professor: For all intents and purposes, SEGA is dead. Their recent offerings have been rather pitiful. (OK, I'll admit, I haven't played PSU, but as innovative as PSO was, it seems really cramped compared to modern MMORPGs. Considering SEGA's poor handling of The Matrix Online, I'm not optimistic that this will draw people away from other MMOs.) The best SEGA games in recent years have been the Sonic Advance games, which weren't even developed by SEGA, and even then haven't been that good since the second (including Sonic Rush). I hold slightly more hope for Sonic and the Secret Rings than Sonic 2k6, but I still don't expect anything good.

Let's face it. SEGA's lost their drive, their focus, they've reorganized poorly, and they've greatly mismanaged their franchises (again, with the possible exception of PS). I'm not sure if their merger with Sammy was the catalyst of these changes, or a byproduct of it.

Still, I don't think your professor understands that even with a lower market share, you're still talking about tens of millions of people here. I don't think the SEGA community has that many fans anymore, but who knows. Even with a lower market share last generation, Nintendo profited more than either Sony or Microsoft. Well, I guess that depends on how you define profit. Sony wants to be able to create a wide market base to that they can foist profitable new technologies like UMD and Blu-Ray on consumers. Microsoft wants the same thing so they can control digital content in the living room. Nintendo just wants to make games which turn a profit for them. I think in some way, each company has achieved that goal.

[GagaMan]

So wait, your only allowed to report about popular businesses? What a jerk.

I'm with Sofox and Squig on this one. Yes, Sega are more or less sitting in the gutter at the moment, and to be honest, it all started to go down hill about a year after they gave up on hardware. At the same time, however, they still mean a lot to me and I would love to see them one day rise back to glory somehow, like how SNK were on their death bed until Playmore came along and helped them get back on their feet. Sega don't deserve to be dying in such a slow and painful way as they are right now.

Yeah, they made quite a few bad decisions in the past, but once upon a time they were always a step ahead, creating games that were truly years before their time and without them, the gaming industry would not be where it is today. For some reason merging with Sammy doesn't seem to have helped much either.. =E

[Jolly Joes]

The best SEGA games in recent years have been the Sonic Advance games

Waitaminute Squiggs, what about Ryuu ga Gotoku(Yakuza) and their arcade offerings? Surely you don't think VF5 will be terrible?

Though, I would be the first to admit that I really wouldn't bat an eye if they suddenly went out of business.

[Koosh Koosh!]

BECAUSE SEGA ARE THE BEST

Or, at least, they were. Which is why we huddle around the nostalgia like moths drawn to the memory flame.

[Jolly Joes]

I heard Capcom is the new Sega.

[Artemus]

gagaman said:

\ At the same time, however, they still mean a lot to me and I would love to see them one day rise back to glory somehow, like how SNK were on their death bed until Playmore came along and helped them get back on their feet.

Except Playmore's resurrected SNK as a zombie - sure, a lot of SNK's new stuff looks and feels the same, it's still moving, but somehow the soul is gone.

At least that's how I feel about it, really. I guarantee you they'd never would have let that 3D KOF catastrophe slide three years ago.

[Sz]

Statistically, Sega fans are weirdos.

[王泥喜]

Sega fans are weirdos, but they aren't weirdos for being Sega fans. Also, for someone who's supposed to know about marketing not knowing how the DS is pouncing the PSP and the Nintendo Wii is the hot Christmas item of the year is very odd.

[Squiggles the Chao]

jollyjoes said:

Waitaminute Squiggs, what about Ryuu ga Gotoku(Yakuza) and their arcade offerings? Surely you don't think VF5 will be terrible?

Arcades are irrelevant in the US. They will obviously sell a lot of arcade machines in Japan, but even there, it's not as profitable as the home industry. Even then, I've never been a fan of the VF series. There are just so many better fighting games out there.

As for Yukaza, it wasn't a bad game, but it wasn't great either. I certainly would put it above any Sonic game after and including Sonic Heroes, but not over Sonic Advance 1 and 2.