(Disclaimer: a warm, fuzzy feeling of nostalgia might be experienced.)
Recently I have been on a nostalgic trip and managed to complete another run of Panzer Dragoon Saga for the Saturn last weekend. Watching those credits roll, I couldn’t help but wonder: ‘Why isn’t SEGA making use of such great IPs like this?’ Let’s face it, when SEGA try to please longtime fans of their past IPs, it’s usually in the form of HD remakes or ports of original titles. Actual revivals of past franchises are far and few between with only their blue mascot seemingly always taking precedence above the others. Though, a recent conversation with Sega Sammy’s Chief Operating Officer Naoya Tsurumi paints a very bright future for us oldies.
SEGA have stated that they will be granting their newly bought Japanese development studio Atlus the freedom to make use of their dormant IPs. Tsurumi has said regarding Atlus: “While we have no intention of forcing this, we’d definitely love to have them utilize any of Sega’s dormant IPs.” By using SEGA’s vast catalogue of dormant IPs to choose from, Atlus could be able to pioneer these games and deliver a truly fresh and reviving take on them. Seeing as their preferences tend to be with RPGs, they would bring a new personality to these franchises while respecting the original source material.
Can you imagine Atlus reviving our favorite classic franchises? They aren’t exactly in short supply of material to work with, with dormant IPs including: Jet Grind Radio, Burning Rangers, Skies of Arcadia, Panzer Dragoon and Space Channel 5.
So what do you think about SEGA handing over their classic unused franchises to Atlus to use at will? Are you hoping for that dream Skies of Arcadia sequel? Or maybe even a brand new Crazy Taxi game? Or perhaps you really want to see Atlus make history and bring us the third game in the much anticipated Shenmue trilogy? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
