Sega returns to form, edgy marketing in full effect
Wednesday, August 20th, 2008 at 2:31pm by Boss Hog
In the early 90s, many Nintendo fans defected to Genesis in search of edgier gameplay because of smart marketing from Sega. Well it seems the company is back to its old tricks, only this time it’s targeting Wii naysayers. Says Headstrong Games, makers of House of the Dead: Overkill:
There’s a lot of Wii fans worried about the decline of decent hardcore games on the system. No, guys — we’re not making a 30 hour-plus RPG here, but we are making something you are going to have a complete blast playing. We are making it with a nod to one of the greatest arcade series of all time and we hope you’ll just purely enjoy teaming up with buddies and posting those high scores on the forums with the rest of us…It’ll beat the sh@t out of grooming a horse.
Clever Sega. I like your style. I’m sure you’ll be rewarded financially for zigging while other remaining publishers are still doubting.
August 20th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
As a “hardcore” gamer who prefers “mature” titles, of course you would Blake.
August 20th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Ooh, I like that box art. I hope America gets the same or at least something as equally bad-ass.
August 20th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Gimme some addictive replay value (like RE4’s replaying for better weapons and unlockables) and we’ve got a deal, SEGA. I’ve always liked house of the dead and the last one I played certainly felt like it belonged on the Wii.
From the screenshots it’s looking mighty fine too. Let’s hope it all works out.
August 20th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
i’m thinking this will be fun at the very least. i miss the good old days when it was just nintendo and sega. it’s still weird when i see sega pushing games for the wii.
August 20th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
“It’ll beat the sh@t out of grooming a horse.”
That actually made me laugh out loud.
Anyway, I’m not sure what to think of House of the Dead. I’m cool with light gun games, so it could be interesting. I’ll wait to see how it reviews and everything before considering it.
August 20th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
I’ll buy!
August 20th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
The trailer was great presentation, but one can only hope the game is as fun. Further evidence of Sega’s new (old) attitude, though, can be found in this kick-ass footage of Mad World:
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/38707.html
August 21st, 2008 at 12:14 am
i dont get the horse comment…?
and the box art does look cool.
August 21st, 2008 at 12:35 am
@deepthought: they’re saying that using the wiimote to shoot zombies is more fun than using it to groom a horse (a la Horsez or some other game). Basically it’s a “let’s finally make an adult game for the kid system” comment.
August 21st, 2008 at 8:32 am
@deepthought: http://tinyurl.com/6zqjb6
That’s the kinda rubbish he would’ve been referring to!
August 21st, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Great marketing from Sega?
Sega’s 90s marketing was terrible in my opinion. The reason Nintendo owned the home console market during the decade was not because they knew how to market, but because Sega’s marketing was particularly bad. They rarely showed gameplay footage and made confusing attempts at trying to understand the “gamer”, still a new marketing term back then.