SEGA's selective approach

[Vladimir Pavlov]

Can any SEGA employee point out a good reason for the gaming community why gamers residing in Russia are banned from buying games from SEGA? Please note that Russian users still have access to local ways to buy games on Steam.

[Alkpaz]

Apparently, Ukraine is the most valuable piece of land in the entire world.

[HyperRadiant TTV]

You can blame your president for it.

[Vladimir Pavlov]

Thank you for leaving comments. I will continue to be pleased if visitors to this topic express their own opinion, even if it is the most common one. The position of the gaming community is now more than ever important to me, regardless of the outcome.

[Vladimir Pavlov]

Originally posted by vanilla:

It's a way for companies to show that they "care" and are aware of current world issues, without actually doing anything worthwhile.
Let's be real, by banning Russians from buying their games, what are they accomplishing?

This is an understandable thing. It seems to me that what is happening here is much more important. The developers, of course, don't owe anything to the players, but it seems strange to me that they are trying to maintain a reputation where no one will buy their games. A lot of companies remain neutral and feel great when others show their recklessness. Some of them will not be able to return to the Russian gaming market as quickly. CD Project Red, and a few others, are already seen as unfriendly to many users and will obviously get negative reviews every time for biased reasons. CDPR have long felt this. As for Sonic... In Russia, his fandom is huge.

[NBOX21]

Originally posted by Vladimir Luchnik:

CD Project Red, and a few others, are already seen as unfriendly to many users and will obviously get negative reviews every time for biased reasons.

You mean reasons like false marketing, failing to deliver on expectations, releasing a very unfinished product that needed at least another year of development, saying "we won't release it until it's ready" only to then release it when it's not ready, among many other things?

Maybe they'd actually get positive reviews if none of those things happened in the first place

[Vladimir Pavlov]

Originally posted by NBOX21:

You mean reasons like false marketing, failing to deliver on expectations, releasing a very unfinished product that needed at least another year of development, saying "we won't release it until it's ready" only to then release it when it's not ready, among many other things?

Maybe they'd actually get positive reviews if none of those things happened in the first place

I am speaking exclusively within the framework of the actions related to the topic and starting from March of this year. First, the "buy" button for Russians was removed, which caused a strong reaction from users not only from Russia, but also from China and some other countries, which significantly spoiled the statistics of their games. Then the pages became completely unavailable for visiting.

[Dark Sun Gwyndolin]

Russia is waging a genocidal war; ergo, many outsiders want to hurt Russia any way they can. The hope is that Russians will get frustrated with their dictator's actions and revolt against him.

[Vladimir Pavlov]

Originally posted by Nyakuza:

Russia is waging a genocidal war; ergo, many outsiders want to hurt Russia any way they can. The hope is that Russians will get frustrated with their dictator's actions and revolt against him.

Of course, the lack of games is the first thing that encourages rebellion. Wherever we are, remaining ordinary citizens, we know nothing about what is happening. We can discuss games - here. Nobody wants war, it is worth understanding.

[Ikagura]

Originally posted by Nyakuza:

Russia is waging a genocidal war; ergo, many outsiders want to hurt Russia any way they can. The hope is that Russians will get frustrated with their dictator's actions and revolt against him.

This^

[Vladimir Pavlov]

Understand, this is not Russia's problem. Russians will play games even if all the shops are closed. The problem concerns only companies that make such decisions. Today, in relation to me, and tomorrow in relation to you, or anyone else, by nationality, or place of residence. This is a completely hypocritical decision. The president doesn't care about their games, the gamers don't, but for some reason the gamers are to blame. Secondly, as a way to harm the country, this decision is stupid, because banning the purchase of foreign games means leaving money in the country, which is not much, but still beneficial for its economy. The third is to turn people against the president. Based on the experience of the current year, I dare to call it nonsense. Gave an example of CDPR above. People go to complain not about the president, but about the one who still put the ban. I'm not saying that SEGA neglected the second and third, but I'm sure of the first. Because right now I'm watching games become a political tool, and it's sad.

[Dark Sun Gwyndolin]

Originally posted by Vladimir Luchnik:

Understand, this is not Russia's problem. Russians will play games even if all the shops are closed. The problem concerns only companies that make such decisions. Today, in relation to me, and tomorrow in relation to you, or anyone else, by nationality, or place of residence. This is a completely hypocritical decision. The president doesn't care about their games, the gamers don't, but for some reason the gamers are to blame. Secondly, as a way to harm the country, this decision is stupid, because banning the purchase of foreign games means leaving money in the country, which is not much, but still beneficial for its economy. The third is to turn people against the president. Based on the experience of the current year, I dare to call it nonsense. Gave an example of CDPR above. People go to complain not about the president, but about the one who still put the ban. I'm not saying that SEGA neglected the second and third, but I'm sure of the first. Because right now I'm watching games become a political tool, and it's sad.

Understand that non-Russian developers aren't just concerned about their reputation in Russia. They're concerned about their reputation worldwide. Banning Russian sales gets them acclaim elsewhere. Russia essentially became a third-world country overnight, a pariah state like North Korea. They drastically overestimated how valuable Russian consumers are to the West.

I personally think gaming bans in Russia are stupid. The spread of Western culture through games would be far more devastating to Putin's war machine than just banning the games. And in some cases, the Russian response is just as stupid; the Stalker devs got in hot water in Russia for banning sales in Russia and setting up a fund for the Ukrainian, even though they're Ukrainian themselves and some of their devs are fighting on the front.

https://www.pcgamer.com/a-leaked-stalker-port-is-a-strange-new-front-in-the-war-in-ukraine/

Also, its worth noting that if Western devs had kept selling games in Russia, Putin's regime would have probably banned quite a few games anyway; taking a page out of China's book and banning any media that doesn't glorify their authoritarian culture.

Finally, SEGA is a Japanese company, which has a very personal reason to be wary of Russia. Russia and Japan are still technically at war (they never signed a peace treaty after WWII), and have disputed claims over the Kuril Islands (a chain of tiny islands to the north of Japan and south of Kamchatka). While a Russian invasion of Japan is staggeringly unlikely, they still share an uncomfortably close sea border, and they have a long history of tensions from the Cold War.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuril_Islands_dispute

[Vladimir Pavlov]

Originally posted by Nyakuza:

Understand that non-Russian developers aren't just concerned about their reputation in Russia. They're concerned about their reputation worldwide. Banning Russian sales gets them acclaim elsewhere. Russia essentially became a third-world country overnight, a pariah state like North Korea. They drastically overestimated how valuable Russian consumers are to the West.

I personally think gaming bans in Russia are stupid. The spread of Western culture through games would be far more devastating to Putin's war machine than just banning the games. And in some cases, the Russian response is just as stupid; the Stalker devs got in hot water in Russia for banning sales in Russia and setting up a fund for the Ukrainian, even though they're Ukrainian themselves and some of their devs are fighting on the front.

Also, its worth noting that if Western devs had kept selling games in Russia, Putin's regime would have probably banned quite a few games anyway; taking a page out of China's book and banning any media that doesn't glorify their authoritarian culture.

Finally, SEGA is a Japanese company, which has a very personal reason to be wary of Russia. Russia and Japan are still technically at war (they never signed a peace treaty after WWII), and have disputed claims over the Kuril Islands (a chain of tiny islands to the north of Japan and south of Kamchatka). While a Russian invasion of Japan is staggeringly unlikely, they still share an uncomfortably close sea border, and they have a long history of tensions from the Cold War.

Without a doubt, the reasons you describe can be called exhaustive, with some reservations, but until SEGA themselves voice the reasons for their actions, is there any point in guessing and justifying their motives? The reasons may be valid for them, but until we know what exactly prompted them to such actions, we will never be able to draw a reasonable conclusion. I will be convinced that if SEGA does not answer, then they have nothing to tell us. It also means that their motives are at odds with the gaming community. If they ask for understanding, but do not explain what we need to understand, then there is nothing to understand. This is still the time when understanding can be achieved with a simple verbal statement revealing good reasons. The only page with their game available on Steam for Russians is Sonic Frontiers. Which indirectly may indicate that this action was not connected with Russian-Japanese relations, but only with the world agenda, and SEGA is still conducting an advertising campaign for Russia.

[Dark Sun Gwyndolin]

Originally posted by Vladimir Luchnik:

Originally posted by Nyakuza:

Understand that non-Russian developers aren't just concerned about their reputation in Russia. They're concerned about their reputation worldwide. Banning Russian sales gets them acclaim elsewhere. Russia essentially became a third-world country overnight, a pariah state like North Korea. They drastically overestimated how valuable Russian consumers are to the West.

I personally think gaming bans in Russia are stupid. The spread of Western culture through games would be far more devastating to Putin's war machine than just banning the games. And in some cases, the Russian response is just as stupid; the Stalker devs got in hot water in Russia for banning sales in Russia and setting up a fund for the Ukrainian, even though they're Ukrainian themselves and some of their devs are fighting on the front.

Also, its worth noting that if Western devs had kept selling games in Russia, Putin's regime would have probably banned quite a few games anyway; taking a page out of China's book and banning any media that doesn't glorify their authoritarian culture.

Finally, SEGA is a Japanese company, which has a very personal reason to be wary of Russia. Russia and Japan are still technically at war (they never signed a peace treaty after WWII), and have disputed claims over the Kuril Islands (a chain of tiny islands to the north of Japan and south of Kamchatka). While a Russian invasion of Japan is staggeringly unlikely, they still share an uncomfortably close sea border, and they have a long history of tensions from the Cold War.

Without a doubt, the reasons you describe can be called exhaustive, with some reservations, but until SEGA themselves voice the reasons for their actions, is there any point in guessing and justifying their motives? The reasons may be valid for them, but until we know what exactly prompted them to such actions, we will never be able to draw a reasonable conclusion. I will be convinced that if SEGA does not answer, then they have nothing to tell us. It also means that their motives are at odds with the gaming community. If they ask for understanding, but do not explain what we need to understand, then there is nothing to understand. This is still the time when understanding can be achieved with a simple verbal statement revealing good reasons. The only page with their game available on Steam for Russians is Sonic Frontiers. Which indirectly may indicate that this action was not connected with Russian-Japanese relations, but only with the world agenda, and SEGA is still conducting an advertising campaign for Russia.

To put it simply, SEGA does not need to justify why they won't do business with a genocidal dictator. Not selling games there is simply good business.

[Vladimir Pavlov]

Originally posted by Nyakuza:

To put it simply, SEGA does not need to justify why they won't do business with a genocidal dictator. Not selling games there is simply good business.

Then let SEGA say it themselves. It's not possible to be sure by reading the "such" speculations of someone who had nothing to do with one of the parties here. I started this topic not in the context of a war, but in the context of a steam user. I could even carry an indefinite national identity and ask the same question. But you are only promoting a foreign international policy from which business will not benefit in any way. There are strict guidelines in doing business - no politics. If you break them, you risk falling. The developers who remained neutral were not harmed in any way, however, some of those who decided to act defiantly by closing transactions or raising prices sky high for Russians got a good beating from their players. (factorio, choppa, Book of demons, etc.) Some of them returned everything to normal, while others simply closed the pages.

[Dark Sun Gwyndolin]

Originally posted by Vladimir Luchnik:

Originally posted by Nyakuza:

To put it simply, SEGA does not need to justify why they won't do business with a genocidal dictator. Not selling games there is simply good business.

Then let SEGA say it themselves. It's not possible to be sure by reading the "such" speculations of someone who had nothing to do with one of the parties here. I started this topic not in the context of a war, but in the context of a steam user. I could even carry an indefinite national identity and ask the same question. But you are only promoting a foreign international policy from which business will not benefit in any way. There are strict guidelines in doing business - no politics. If you break them, you risk falling. The developers who remained neutral were not harmed in any way, however, some of those who decided to act defiantly by closing transactions or raising prices sky high for Russians got a good beating from their players. (factorio, choppa, Book of demons, etc.) Some of them returned everything to normal, while others simply closed the pages.

Continuing to sell in Russia would be a FAR more controversial political statement than suspending sales.