SEGA says high-quality, well-reviewed games don't always sell tons of copies

SEGA executives offer candor in their responses to an investor Q&A, admitting that high praise doesn't always lead to a boost in game sales.

2

If the entertainment industry is fickle, then the interactive portion is like a picky-eating child; oftentimes, there's no real rhyme or reason for the trends that occur, and games can come out of left field and amass millions of sales. This disparity also extends to well-reviewed games--just because a game is highly-lauded and beloved by reviewers or fans doesn't always mean it'll sell millions of copies.

SEGA's latest investors Q&A shows a frank and rather direct acknowledgement of the company's situation, at least when it comes to game sales volume, and how it hopes to spark more purchases through marketing and discounts. Capcom took this approach, and it's worked out quite well for them.

Here's what the executives said when asked about the challenges and improvement measures that SEGA needs to do in order to scale its game unit sales:

"While the development costs per title for our mainstay titles are lower compared to so-called AAA titles in the industry, we recognize that our strength lies in the relatively high acclaim we receive for quality.

"On the other hand, we also recognize that such high evaluations have yet to translate into a further increase in unit sales.

"While continuing to hone our development capabilities-the source of our strength-we believe there is still significant room for improvement and earnings upside in our 'power to sell,' namely our marketing and sales mechanisms. As explained earlier, we are currently undergoing reforms in this area to realize a scale-up in sales."

So what does this mean? SEGA might offer more seasonal discounts and sales on its games in a bid to sell more units, and the company could also make more subscription deals in the hopes of sparking more game sales as a result of the potential splash-over engagement.