Sony Reacts to Sega Layoffs

On Friday, GameSpot News contacted representatives from Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA) to get its reaction to rival Sega's official press announcement concerning a 30 percent reduction of staff and of its plans to release a new "super" console system in '99.

A Sony spokesperson responded by saying, "It's unfortunate for Sega as a company and the employees, but even more for the consumers that all have been left with a console system that won't be supported".

When asked about Sega's new console system code-named Katana (formally known as Dural) Sony was a little more forthcoming: "Brand loyalty is hard to get. It will be interesting to see how their new system will be perceived after laying low for an entire year".

When asked about how this might effect Sony in the upcoming year having one less competitor in the video game console market, Sony responded "The PlayStation is the leading video game system and had a phenomenal year. A year in which the Saturn played a very small role as a competitor. Sony looks forward to '98 a year we hope will be as good as the last".

Finally, we asked Sony if they'd seek to pick up any former Sega employees (the companies are only about a ten minute drive from each other), another spokesperson we spoke to said, "We're always looking for talented individuals."

Historically, Sega gained fan loyalty with the Genesis but after repeated failures in the industy like the Sega CD, 32X, and now the Saturn, questions about keeping its loyal fan base are in question. As this story develops, GameSpot News will check on the pulse of Sega loyalists, Sega itself, and see how die-hard fans feel about the upcoming console.