Malik  (5/18//04)

Sammy To Buy Sega

According to some business news on MSNBC.com, Sammy is all set to buy out Sega.  Most of the news is on the business side of things...in other words, pretty damned boring.  The only part I found interesting is how Sega stockholders are going to be given the shaft...that must feel painful (0.28 shares of Sega Sammy stock for each share of previously owned Sega stock while Sammy stock holders get a 1:1 turnover...sorry, I will never do that stock/business crap again...I swear).  However, I personally am a little hyped about this deal now that I have given it some thought.

Considering how much Sega has been slipping in recent years, I am hoping for a breath of fresh air to be brought from Sammy into some of my old time favorite Sega franchises.  I have missed Sega standing for something besides really cool sports titles (which I never can get into...just not my thing) and a lame crop of rehashed Sonic titles and a really memory-centered version of classic racing games (F-Zero GX).  I am hoping that Sammy can give some direction to our terminal hedgehog friend.  Not to mention a little more of the same style of innovation that gave us monkeys in balls.  Anyways, only time will tell, but considering the path Sega had been on in the last year or two, only good things can come out of this deal.

E3 Getting Stale

According to another story at MSNBC.com, E3 is doing what I have felt video games have been doing for a few years...getting stale.  It seems that the amount of innovation for new games showcased at E3 is getting pretty limited.  Like usual, there are plenty of zombies, wars, and FPS action, but not much in the way of new concepts.  The only really new idea being seen is from two of the less than likely to be on Malik's TV section; Donkey Kong games featuring bongo drum controls and a new Eye-Toy game that doesn't show the player, but rather uses the camera to capture your movements to be used only as the controls (not the visuals) for a snowboarder.

On the same note, it sounds to me like E3 is moving a bit further from the news/convention attributes which originally defined the Expo in it's original incarnations.  The eye-candy and aesthetics (booth babes and playable games) are now becoming more integral and the actual news worthy information is starting to take the back seat...that's pretty sad since so many of the games showcased at this year's event seemed so cookie-cutter.  I personally would rather hear something from Warren Spector about some innovative new game development mechanisms and use of audio and see them in use than play another beta incarnation of a survival horror or FPS-war game.  But then again, I don't like to throw my money away without researching a game first...did that too many times in the past...I, like many who research their future purchases, get more research from E3 news than anywhere else and when the sights outweigh the information, it is truly a sad days for geeks who like to know what the future holds for them.

Malik