Segagaga

n/a

Segagaga

System(s): Sega Dreamcast

Publisher: Sega

Developer: Hitmaker, Thunderstone Japan

Supporting companies: Toei Animation (animation)

Peripherals supported: Dreamcast VGA Box, Jump Pack, Visual Memory Unit

Genre: Simulation RPG^[1]^[2], Simulation^[3]

Number of players: 1

Release	Date	RRP	Code
JP	2001-05-31^[2]	¥5,800 (6,090)5,800e^[2]	HDR-0171
JP (Dorikore)	2003-03-20^[2]	¥2,800 (2,940)2,800e^[2]	HDR-0214
JP (Shokai Genteiban)	2001-03-29^[2]	¥9,800 (10,290)9,800e^[2]	HDR-0083
JP (Tsuujou-ban)	2001-03-29^[2]	¥5,800 (6,090)5,800e^[2]	HDR-0151

Segagaga (セガガガ) (or SGGG) is an RPG developed by Hitmaker and published by Sega for the Sega Dreamcast in 2001 released only in Japan.

Story

The game is set in 2025, with Sega commanding just 3% of the home console market and their last project making little impact. Out of desperation, the "Segagaga project" is initiated, in which two young children are to pull Sega from the brink of destruction and gain complete control of the market, currently owned by the evil DOGMA Corporation. In reality, it was the Dreamcast in 2001 struggling to maintain a sizeable share of the market, as rivals Sony made gains with their PlayStation 2 console.

Many Sonic Team properties show up in cameos within the game. As well making brief appearances in the intro sequence and created software within the game, items such as the "Piko Hammer" are available. Also, characters such as Nei (from Phantasy Star), Ristar, NiGHTS and Sonic the Hedgehog can be recruited as programmers for your team.

History

Development

Segagaga was the brainchild of Tetsu Okano, however when the concept was first brought to the management of Sega, it was misinterpreted as a joke and a potential risk to the company's image. A second attempt at acquiring funding caught the attention of Hisao Oguchi, and a development budget was granted.

Segagaga took over two years to develop, but was kept a secret until near release. By this point, Sega's management were willing to try anything that could save the company from further losses, and so the game was released in March of 2001. Nevertheless, Segagaga's release was kept very low-key, and for the first two months was only available via Sega's Sega Direct service. Strong online sales caused the game to be shipped to stores, before receiving a Dorikore re-release two years later.

The game features a number of Sega franchises and references dating back to the likes of the SG-1000, although several legal challenges occurred during production. It is said that out of the 300-or-so issues that could have caused legal concerns, only a third were actually addressed by the team. Some planned features, like references to Ferrari vehicles (OutRun) and Segata Sanshiro were scrapped entirely through fears of legal challenges, however features many were not. For example, the game has a number of "parody games" hidden inside it, which poke fun at various big intellectual properties from Final Fantasy to Mega Man.

The game reportedly had one-hundredth of the budget backing Shenmue. Toei Animation gave Okano a discount on animated footage for the title. Okano also marketed the game himself with a budget of roughly $200 USD, half of which he spent on a wrestling mask to hide his identity. Okano set up four signing locations in Akihabara and rewarded Sega fans which were to all four. He was assisted by Tadashi Takezaki and Taku Sasahara and led to a full page newspaper spread.

The music for the final boss (a shoot-'em-up level where you defeat Sega consoles gone rogue, in stark contrast to the rest of the game and one of the more famous parts of the game) is "The Justice Ray Part 3," written by Technosoft composer Hyakutarou Tsukumo for the ultimately-cancelled Thunder Force VI (though wound up making it to the pre-emptively released "Broken Thunder" soundtrack album). "The Justice Ray Part 1" had appeared in Blast Wind and Part 2 in Thunder Force V. Tez Okano would later head the development of a brand new Thunder Force VI in the years that followed.

This is not the first RPG to have the player manage a video game company - The Tower of Cabin: Cabin Panic did something similar for Microcabin back in 1992.

Release

Initially released exclusively through Sega Direct, Segagaga shipped to retailers on May 17th, 2001. The game's release was only stopped after few days from it because of an organization called Japan Adult children organization , because one of the characters in game had supposedly tried to use the word adult children differently. (The way Sega intended to use the word adult children was straight forward, "a childlike adult but apparently in Japan it means A kid who grew up from an alcoholic parent which is now an adult.) Sega wrote an apology article and the game was taken back in to make alterations

Legacy

Though not quite released at the end of the system's lifespan, Segagaga is often considered to be the swan song of the Dreamcast, being an RPG that satirises Sega's then-current position in the video game marketplace as well as playing homage to the company's achievements over the last twenty years before this game was released.

Production credits

声の出演
- 瀬賀太郎 / お姉さん / 看護婦: 野田順子
- 羽田弥生 / モゲタン: 久川綾
- 秘書アリサ / カオリン / アレックスキッド: 井上喜久子
- クール特務部長 / プログラマー岡 / エビ: 置鮎龍太郎
- A研部長 / B研部長 / アナウンサー: 稲田徹
- 人交社長 / ドグマ社長 / 萌え老: 岸野幸正 (青二プロダクション)
製作: 株式会社ヒットメーカー
エグゼクティブプロデューサー: 小口久雄
原案 / 美術設計 / プロデュース: 岡野哲
開発: 有限会社サンダーストンジャパン
ディレクター: 鈴木裕明
プランナー: 鈴木裕明
プログラム: 新井朋睦, 岡橋秀, 宮脇真吾, 壬生祐樹, 嶋崎堅也, 海老塚靖史, 伊東昌洋
グラフィック: 行川正貴, 平井隆志, 草薙亮, 神林中, 小林攻
サウンド: 金子剛
～挿入歌～
"AKIBA2025"
- 詞: 金子剛
- 曲: 金子剛
- 唄: 金子剛
「二人のドリームキャスト」
- 詞: 金子剛, 鈴木裕明
- 曲: 金子剛
- 唄: 金子剛
「セガガガマーチ」 Segagaga Main Theme
- 詞: 岡野哲
- 曲: 金子剛
- 唄: 金子剛
「いつか会えたら・・・」 Segagaga Ending Theme
- 詞: 金子剛, 松宮豊
- 曲: 金子剛
- 唄: Miyako
- A.GTR: 松宮豊
- E.GTR: 能登聡
ストーリー: うぶかたとう, 岡安淳司, 岡野哲, 鈴木裕明
スペシャルサンクス: 内藤智昭, 米田眞司, 香川岳史
アニメーション製作: 東映アニメーション
プロデューサー: 森下考三, 馬場厚成
キャラクターデザイン
作画監督: 上野ケン
製作担当: 島本武
演出: 伊藤尚佳
演出助手: 所勝美
製作進行: 吉田淑人
原画: 奥野浩行, 大関紀子, 菅井嘉浩, 坂本英明, 久田和也, 島貫正弘, 舎官直樹, 細山正樹, 鎌田均, 宗崎のりよし
色指定: 三室貴子
仕上進行: 浅間陽介
動画: 馬渡久史, 富田美穂子, 山口幸俊, 小林美穂子, 佐藤恭子, 篠原悦子, 兼高里佳, 北原由加里, 古川真奈美, 下平夕子, 秋山あき子
デジタル撮影: 岡崎英央, 谷口直之, 本官美津恵, 岡田由紀, 坂本治
デジタル仕上: 大旗忍, 井浦祥子, 村本織子, 星川麻美, 大谷和也, 内田もも, 藤田潮, 審良幸司, 徳永ゆき子, 及川眞由美, 小久保真希, 鈴木陽子, 大村規子, 露木奈美, 木村紘子, 福田直征, 金森真紀, 松森より子, 坂入希代美, 足立和也, 田中唯己郎
特別協力: 有限会社コミケット, コミケット準備委員会, 株式会社ビック東海, メッセサンオー, 雑音工房ノイズ, 九十九百太郎, 長崎繁, Garow, 悠里, 有限会社アズゲーム, 山西利治, 甲賀流忍者八王子支店, みんだなお, 根本陽平, 岡田斗司夫, 唐沢俊一, 斎藤智晴, 片倉真二, ヤスダスズヒト, 斎藤亜弓, がっぷ獅子丸, クーロン黒沢, セガグループ各社のみなさん, セガを愛するすべてのみなさん, そして・・・あなたへ感謝を込めて
Presented by: Sega