Sega wants to keep surprising through next gen

The next console cycle is going to be a big transition for gamers and game makers--whether you think it will be the biggest turmoil since the '80s crash or not. With Sega's figures turning green once more at the tail end of this generation, chief creative officer Toshihiro Nagoshi told Famitsu (translated by Polygon) he wants to make sure Sega's future is equally bright.

"I'd like to ensure that console games don't lose their luster," Nagoshi said. "Behind that, I suppose, is the concern that they will, indeed, become a thing of the past if we don't do something. This isn't new, but in a lot of different ways, the 'social' keyword is seeping into all parts of the console business. So part of me sees the console scene as endangered, something we have to act to support. I feel the need to keep that scene active so it doesn't get shunted to the side, and even at this moment, I'm busy thinking of how we'll keep titles like Yakuza going."

Nagoshi, who headed the Yakuza series, said Nintendo has differentiated itself once more on the hardware level with Wii U. PlayStation 4 and the next Xbox will live or die based on how well they bring their respective companies' tremendous assets to bear for gamers and developers.

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Sega, on the other hand, will have to stay agile and risky--as it did by making Phantasy Star Online 2 primarily a free-to-play PC title, and by buying Relic Entertainment from THQ's bankruptcy.

"I want to think about things from ground zero one more time," Nagoshi said. "That's tough for our younger staff, but it's also fun and exciting. That's what you want the Sega logo to represent: things that seem crazy at first, but really surprise you when they take form. Even if people say 'Oh, now they've done it' at us sometimes, I don't want to do away with the expectations that people have had for us since way back. It wouldn't seem right if Sega acted all firm and conservative, would it? I think I'd like to keep that."