Sega Closes Racing Studio, Sega Rally Developer

  We hate seeing good studios getting closed down, but alas, it happens. Unfortunately, in the gaming industry, quality doesn't always equate to sales, which is why we've got a large number of mediocre third party developers sticking around for a long time. Effectively immediately, Sega's Racing Studio, the folks responsible for Sega Rally Revo, will have to start looking for new jobs.

   Sega has announced the termination of the studio citing that it is not a profitable entity, and has been operating at a loss. It seems like sales of Sega Rally Revo didn't stack up, which makes the potential for a follow-up extremely unlikely for a very long time.

   The official statement from Sega reads: “The decision is part of a review of SEGA’s Western Development Studios to ensure that each studio is a profitable entity in its own right, and unfortunately the SEGA Racing Studio’s 5 year plan would not result in a successful return for the SEGA business moving forward. SEGA would like to stress that there will be no changes within their other internal development studios.”

   With this closure, my other concern is if we'll ever see a new Daytona game. Sega has, no doubt, provided gamers some of the best racers to hit the arcades, and it'd be a damn shame if we never get to see any of them reborn again.

4/9/2008 Arnold Katayev