What's Sega's second-most-iconic franchise? (poll)

[Phediuk]

We can all agree that Sonic the Hedgehog is Sega's most iconic franchise, by a massive margin, no matter how you feel about his games. But what's the second most? We're not talking about the best franchise here, nor your personal favorite, nor even the one that's currently selling the most, but rather, the most iconic. The franchise that looms the largest in the collective imagination. The Zelda to Sonic's Mario.

I am excluding franchises that they acquired from others, so no Megami Tensei or Puyo Puyo here. Only series that Sega has owned from Day 1 count. I'm also not counting one-off games here (e.g. Skies of Arcadia) because those aren't franchises.

Vote here: https://strawpoll.com/ufq2fjzvw

I put down pretty much everything that was even C-tier in terms of notoriety, though there might still be something missing.

I think Outrun might be a decent choice here. Huge hit at the time, got a bunch of sequels, and is one of the main influences on the "vaporwave" aesthetic, being pretty much the archetypal example of it. So that gets my vote.

thoughts?

 

[Quinton]

Sword of Vermilion, of course. Although it spawned 0 (zero) sequels and was barely a blip on most players' radar, it was the first video game I ever played so WHATEVER, I'm right.

 

[Gay Bowser]

At this point, probably Yakuza.

 

[Remeran]

First! I chose yakuza, I was like what gives when I saw that I was the only one who voted =[

 

[Dark Cloud]

Shouldn't it be Yakuza?

 

[WestEgg]

First that comes to mind is either Yakuza or Phantasy Star.

 

[RockmanBN]

Probably Yakuza, Persona, and then Bayonetta

 

[TripleBee]

Yakuza and then SMT/Persona

 

[apathetic]

As a singular vote, Yakuza. As much as I'd like to shout out other franchises, Yakuza is clearly the most popular and relevant right now.

 

[The Unsent]

Probably Yakuza, Shenmue 2 is one of the best games I've ever played, but I can't say the series is as iconic or as widespread.

 

[MADSUPERVILLAIN]

I think Daytona USA might actually be the most recognizable game among a general (Western) audience.

 

[Labyrinthe]

Is that even a question?

 

[Satonaka]

As much as I would love to say Ecco the dolphin, a game I've never played but about which I feel surprisingly nostalgic nonetheless, I think as of today it is Yakuza.

 

[Deleted member 68874]

NVM didnt read the OP lol.

In that case Yakuza due to its recent popularity.

 

[J75]

In the past I would've said Virtua Fighter.

Today, likely Ryu ga Gotoku/Yakuza.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Yakuza or Football Manager, yeah?

Would be 2k if they still owned Visual concepts.

 

[beelulzebub]

As of right now, Yakuza pretty much IS Sega.

 

[Htown]

hard to say

aside from sonic, they don't really have franchises that were popular all throughout Sega history

most of their franchises seem to do well for a couple generations and then go silent

can I cheat and count all games under the "Virtua" branding as one franchise?

if not, probably Yakuza

 

[GCQ]

I'm still gonna say Virtua Fighter. Yakuza certainly has a fan base, but I feel like VF's one of those franchises that'll instantly rocket back up that list whenever a new one comes out.

 

[Duncan]

 

[Dest]

It's Yakuza for sure.

 

[Labyrinthe]

hard to say

aside from sonic, they don't really have franchises that were popular all throughout Sega history

most of their franchises seem to do well for a couple generations and then go silent

can I cheat and count all games under the "Virtua" branding as one franchise?

if not, probably Yakuza

Click to shrink...

The Sonic franchise has been silent since 2017 thought.

 

[Shadoken]

The Sonic franchise has been silent since 2017 thought.

Click to shrink...

Only for Console games.

 

[Theanine]

Phantasy Star. It influenced so many developers for decades and continues to do so, and PSO2 for a long time was Sega's biggest moneymaker. Not sure if it still is, but now that it's out in the U.S. it's been doing well here too.

 

[Chumunga64]

Yakuza should overtake sonic tbh. Kiryu is way cooler and I say that as a former sonic superfan

 

[GildedMango]

There's a Crazy Taxi arcade like everywhere these days

 

[Mekanos]

It's Yakuza and any other answer is cope by people hoping their favorite dead Sega series becomes relevant again.

Okay, except for Phantasy Star.

 

[Bonfires Down]

Ecco is the second most iconic character imo but yeah, as a whole it's probably something like Yakuza at this point.

 

[StrappingYoungLance]

When we're talking "Iconic" and not just using the word as a diluted Instagram hashtag the most iconic game that leaped out at me there was Daytona. I know we all love Yakuza but most people aren't going to even know Yakuza exists.

 

[CyberWolfBia]

Phantasy Star

(the franchise is emblematic, at least)

 

[ghibli99]

At this point, it's gotta be Yakuza, although my heart says Space Harrier or Out Run, two games which more or less changed my life, and along with The Bard's Tale, made me want to work in the videogame industry.

 

[E.Balboa]

That's a great list of games from my childhood.
I voted for Streets of Rage

 

[Birdie]

In an alternative world Max from Shining Force is the Link of Sega.

 

[Futaleufu]

Yakuza, Total War or Football Manager

 

[AniHawk]

voted phantasy star out of spite

 

[Fukuzatsu]

I suspect this is pretty regional, so in Japan it might be Phantasy Star (or among an older crowd, probably Virtua Fighter), internationally I'd say it has to be Yakuza.

 

[PachaelD]

Phantasy Star (barely) over Yakuza for me but there's a +/- due to PSO2 being free to play with heaps of microtransactions compared to its forefathers as great single player JRPGs.

 

[Spine Crawler]

virtua fighter

 

[kirby_fox]

If it was most well known, it's probably House of the Dead or Virtua Fighter just from arcades. I'm pretty sure they still exist at Dave and Buster's and lots of people who don't play games might recognize the name like Sonic.

Otherwise, it's Yakuza or Bayonetta.

 

[Damn Silly]

Football Manager, probably.

Either that or Yakuza, currently.

 

[Jaded Alyx]

Persona

Click to shrink...

SMT/Persona

Click to shrink...

They don't count.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

In the past I would've said Virtua Fighter.

Today, likely Ryu ga Gotoku/Yakuza.

Click to shrink...

That's my take as well, at least from a worldwide standpoint.

 

[Wood Man]

"Who are you, what's your name. Supa Brathers"

 

[Kapryov]

I feel that you could make a decent case for several of their iconic arcade games that can still be found in arcades today (like Daytona and HOTD), but speaking of a game series that still receives regular releases and has a continually growing audience it has to be Yakuza.

I wish it was Fighting Vipers though, it deserved better.

Whoever voted for Sega Rally.. good on you. Keep up the good fight.

 

[DSN2K]

It should be Virtual Fighter but they have let that slip.

 

[Silvergun-Blue]

Outrun?

 

[Shade Vortex]

In this day and age? It's definitely Yakuza. Way more relevant and popular than anything else they do worldwide. Phantasy Star (Mostly thanks to Online) is probably the third most, but that's more popular in Japan specifically, than anywhere else.

 

[Raigor]

Yakuza? Lol

It's Total War or Football Manager.

 

[Drain You]

I wanted to vote Condemned just because of how much I love it, but I voted Yakuza.

 

[MADSUPERVILLAIN]

Yakuza? Lol

It's Total War or Football Manager.

Click to shrink...

Both of these beat the Yakuza franchise in lifetime sales by a lot, but they're both acquired franchises, not original Sega IP.