Takanu Kyriako @Takanu@octodon.social

To make my weird weekend overview of SEGA's console efforts more sad, I looked up more details about their self-referential RPG developed by Hitmaker, where the player is a developer tasked with saving SEGA from an evil company called DOGMA (basically Sony).

It was a small RPG made on a tiny budget that released as they left the console business.

To reference their own demise, at the end of the game the player fails and is fired, and this happens - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNiHxnB9urs

Oh, it turns out the only reason they consolidated was because Sammy bought them out in 2003.

That kind of invalidates half my argument and makes the entire transition feel even more tragic, fuck.

I hesitate to say this, but although Sega had some cool Genesis games that remain iconic, their cult classics were predominantly made between the Saturn and Dreamcast - when they were falling behind in market share.

I wonder if they would have even tried as much if they were doing well.

Additionally, I feel like the last few years has been such a good year for gaming in terms of scope and creativity, and that culturally video games are very quickly shedding the baggage they've carried for the last 30 years.

Given Sega's business history from '95 to '00, I hesitate to believe that the games people remember them for were intentional business moves rather than a series of accidental flukes and a desperate need to develop **anything** to keep the console alive.

I used to feel sad about Sega's demise, but I don't think I can be anymore.

After their exit from the console market they consolidated software development like shuttering their second-party studios, in ways that prevented new IPs while focusing on their weaknesses (like awful Sonic games).

They had an opportunity to just drop the cost burden of a console and just focus on their software and they failed to do even that.

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I love the Dreamcast and Sega's old stuff, but the more I hear about their internal squabbles and hubris-driven bullshit between it and the Saturn, the more I find it hard to care that they died. It was a 5 year long string of hating the American division and inflicting self-harm.

I just repaired something for the first time, it feels good <3

Their approach in achieving this goal is debatable, but I think there's a few important things that make their current plans inevitable.

- Donations can fluctuate wildly, are at the mercy of companies and governments those payment systems run through, and are hard to scale at the size Telegram needs.

- They seem to have no desire at any point to try and make users pay for their service, they seem to want it to be as open as possible.

Based on the perceived philosophy of the owner and some of the people involved (AKA Libertarian as fuck), combined with their experiences in Russia as VK turned into a government surveillance machine and the gradual push in developed countries for mass surveillance, they seem to have a specific desire for complete fiscal and operational independence.

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The worst case scenario is that the currency fails and Telegram raises enough hard cash to fund an expansion while surviving off of investment returns.

I think the leaks also mentioned decentralising a part of their service, which would also be a big plus.

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- If the technological improvements claimed in the leaked white sheet pan out such as near instantaneous transfers and much better efficiency in machines harvesting the blockchain to carry out those requests, supposing that the value is able to remain relatively stable which are all HUGE IFS AND THIS IS REALLY SPECULATIVE, it can actually be used by normal human beings to transfer money internationally rather than just assholes.