Cognition Dissemination: What Happened to Atlus Using Sega’s IPs?

Sega’s purchase of Atlus was bound to be beneficial for the company from a business perspective, considering their previous owners were likely engaging in illegal activity behind the scenes. But we also received signs suggesting it wouldn’t be bad for fans either after an interview with then-president of the then-existing Sega Dream Corporation, Naoya Tsurumi. In it, Tsurumi explained that not only would Atlus operate as they were, but they were free to use domant Sega franchises as they see fit. He expressed such a high level of optimism for everything the company had achieved, including building an audience for their franchises outside Japan, that it was tough not to believe him.

The name Sega Dream Corporation was fitting, as fans of both companies immediately began concocting ideas for dream collaborations between both companies after the interview. Atlus could easily make a new Skies of Arcadia or Valkyria Chronicles title, or in the case of the latter, have the original team develop it while they published it. They could also have the team who oversaw The 7th Dragon titles assist with making future Etrian Odyssey games. Input from the venerable Rieko Kodama wouldn’t hurt for its future direction, nor would she be a burden if they wanted to make a new RPG franchise.

It’s been nearly two years since that interview, and despite its promise, we’ve seen no results. In fact, I’d almost forgotten about this until Drew brought it up with me on Twitter earlier in the week, when it was announced that Hatsune Miku will be joining Persona 4: Dancing All Night via DLC. That’s fitting and all, but it sure isn’t what fans had in mind.

While Atlus actually has continued as they are, we’ve seen nothing regarding the company taking any Sega franchises under their wing. Sega has the highest number of dormant franchises of any gaming company (with EA coming in a close second), there’s no shortage of them to use. Sadly, Sega has also continued as they are since then, focusing on only four core franchises whose installments are usually destined to sell better than any riskier ventures. Sure, they’ve taken a few small risks since then, but it’s nothing compared to the time before the company went in a new, harrowing direction. Basically, the collaborations are dreams yet to be cast.

(No, I’m not sorry about that one.)

As for what happened: Perhaps it’s a question of resources. Atlus Japan had only 121 employees as of February 2014, and it’s unlikely that number has grown much since. Despite that, they’re still capable of releasing a sizable number of games annually thanks to carefully managing their development resources (i.e. not making AAA games), releasing enhanced ports of popular titles, and by outsourcing portions of their game development to other studios. For instance, even a small game like Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey for DS had assistance from companies like Lancarse (who also helped with Etrian Odyssey I and II) and Media.Vision (of Wild Arms) for additional development resources. It’s also very likely that Persona 5 is the biggest game they’ve done, and that’s draining a sizable amount of resources at the moment.

If that’s not the case, perhaps they asked Sega which franchises they could use, and were greeted with answers like “Sorry, you can use that one,” and “Nope, not that one either,” and “That one’s off limits,” and “Well, actually you c….wait, no,” and…well, I’m sure you get it by now.

It’s possible some hope for Sega is on the horizon, though. The company wants to increase the quality of their games and their overall output, according to an interview (yes, another one) with newly-appointed CEO Haruki Satomi. He was just appointed to the job in April 2015 (Note: April 1 marks the beginning of the fiscal year for the video game industry), but he’s already making big promises. He acknowledged how there’s an opportunity for them to show off their talent on PlayStation 4. Though its performance has been rough to say the least in Japan, it’s doing considerably well in western markets. As for their approach to the west, Satomi claims they’ve learned quite a bit from Atlus. He believes the western market will be receptive towards their quality games if they make them.

Once again, these are all nice ideas, but they’re difficult for anyone who’s watched Sega’s approach to business in the last decade to believe. If they can pull this off, it’s possible they may not need Atlus to make new games in their franchises. I’d emphasize my use of the words “if” and “may,” but this entire post has been full of them. Plenty of possibilities exist here, but there’s no way to be certain about whether they’ll come to pass. Satomi mentioned they might have something to share at Tokyo Game Show in September, so keep an eye out.

Ideally, both Atlus and Sega should be capable of utilizing their own franchises to create good games, but the latter found the mobile market impossible to ignore. I’m skeptical about whether Atlus will take any Sega franchise at this point, and about Satomi’s comments, but I’m open to being surprised.