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I think you should've done your due diligence and enough research and fixed enough of your lack of Sega knowledge before you began seriously considering writing any Sega-themed gaming timelines, then come back after you'd done that. The Internet abounds in resources, and forum members are happy to give guidance and answer questions, directional or otherwise, in the general gaming and pop culture threads. The way things stand now doesn't really inspire enough confidence that this thread is and will be one worth continuing to follow; I may well drop it.
Having Sega bet half of its success at the Saturn's launch on somewhat-obvious mirrors to/rip-offs of two Nintendo franchises is a lot likelier to fail and blow up in their faces than it is to be a winning strategy unless the company's execution and delivery of these titles is
flawless. Would they really be distinct enough from their distaff counterparts across the market competition aisle? And having all the successful games spawn franchises just seems a bit too contrived and perfect.
It strikes me that, as a partial alternative that I'll put on the table as an option, you could make it so that at least
Tale of Emilia is a second- or third-party Saturn game that either Sega or Sony decides they like enough to sign on as its publisher. Its developer could then be a smaller studio that grows later; maybe this is even its debut title. Games that are knock-offs of other titles, including high-impact ones, can sometimes be at least somewhat more forgivable when they come from smaller teams, particularly when they still have one or more elements that make them unique compared to their inspiration.
I agree; this is a non-trivially large mistake. Keep Sega/s classic series alive and platform highlights (like
Panzer Dragoon, for instance,) intact in this timeline alongside new content original to it. For Sega to satay profitable and/or successful and in the running in the console hardware market, the company needs to retain its unique character and platform personality to a not-insignificant extent alongside any distinct evolutions unique to any take on a Sega/Sony partnership in that timeline's future as history diverges from our timeline's. Unique things can be awesome in gaming AH, too, but throwing too much from our timeline out is too high of a cost for the trade. What needs to be struck and maintained is balance, particularly and especially this early on after the PoD.
Why not have Sega or Sony bring the:
- Ultima series
- Wizardry series and/or one or more of its spin-offs
- Might and Magic series
- Breath of Fire series. from Ⅲ onward
over?