Firings and hirings, wheeling and dealing, it's all part of the videogame industry. The latest moves by Sega of America are just the latest on this on going cycle. The decision to cut the staff, and stop Saturn production was made by Sega of Japan at the prior Tokyo Game Show (the show where Burning Rangers was first shown). SoJ had imposed that show as a time limit for SoA to get their sales figures up. Needless to say, after looking at the current figures, the big shots in Japan knew it was time for a different strategy.

The firing of over 30% of the American staff is a drastic but needed move. Development and manufacturing of domestic Saturn products has been halted, so it's natural to slim down the staff. With less bulk and greater direction, SoA can concentrate on the task at hand: porting over Japanese games, and working on the new system (tentatively titled Katana).

With the cutting down of staff, you can now expect new Saturn titles to be released with little to no fanfare. Advertisements will be far less, and games will be distributed to fewer retailers. This greatly reduces the chance for profit loss, but it also creates a risk. While wired gamers who cruise the net will never have trouble acquiring new titles, more casual Saturn supporters will. New Saturn games will probably be limited to videogame only retailers, which leaves the Saturn owner whom doesn't have an EB or Babbages nearby hanging. Hopefully Sega won't scare off too many supporters with this tactic.

Nevertheless, the games Sega will be releasing in 98 are quality titles. Shining Force 3, Burning Rangers, and Panzer Dragoon Saga are all destined to be "A" titles; with the port only strategy SoA has taken, they can't go wrong: just port over all the great titles in Japan. Sure, some titles are destined to be left in the Far East; but that shouldn't be too much of a problem.

The question is, can Sega put out enough product to last until 99? The decision to wait until 99 to release the new system is a very surprising one. Everyone was keying in on a 98 release, the new date is sure to have some pros and some cons.

As mentioned before, Sega will have to make sure to support the Saturn all the way up to, and preferably, past the release of the new system. Not doing this would be absolute murder, because the people who are buying games now are Sega's number one fans; pissing them off won't do any good. For now, the first half of 98 seems covered, but the stretch between Christmas 98 and Fall 99 is a long one; a stretch Sega can't afford to go with out product.

Release date is also crucial. Now that we know the year, what is the time period? Fall 99 seems likely, Sega learned their lesson: launching in the summer is murder, launching in the winter is crazy. So now that Sega is locked into fall of 99, the question of the technology of the new system becoming stale arises. Every minute that Sega holds on to the new system, the system becomes less impressive. Technology changes quick, and what may be the best one-day, is only average the next. In order to hold off until 99, the new system must be producing unheard of quality today, in order for it to be still impressive a year from now. And if it's so impressive today, why not release it today?

Well, Sega knows why, and here's my line of thinking. Releasing in 98 would mean encountering the Sony Playstation at its peak. The Sony momentum is picking up by the day, and Christmas 98 will probably be its banner year; releasing at the peak of an other system's prime is murder, just look at the 3DO and its release during the Genesis and SNES heyday. By fall of 99, the Playstation's will be at the end of its life span, a perfect time to release a new system. By catching the current generation on its way down, Sega could score a powerplay with a brand, spanking new, super system. One thing is for sure about the release date; there won't be any surprise early releases. The strategy spelled disaster for Saturn, and a similar strategy for the new system would be plain stupid. One possibility does exist, launch early, but tell everyone involved about it. Then again, this would be prone to leaks, taking away the effects of an early launch.