Sega Addresses Big Discrepancy Between Its Games' Review Scores and Sales

Sega has acknowledged a growing disconnect between the critical reception and full-price sales of its major game releases. While the Japanese gaming giant is still investigating the issue, shareholder pressure prompted Sega management to already share some of its preliminary findings, identifying several possible factors behind the slower-than-expected starts of its recent titles.

Over the last four reporting periods, Sega Sammy's revenue has been declining, while profitability has gone from stable in FY2025 to clearly under pressure in FY2026, which runs through March 2026. For the six-month period ending September 2025, the company reported ¥201.1 billion (~$1.3 billion) in net sales, down 5% compared to the previous year, as well as a 69.3% annual decline in operating income, which fell to ¥10.1 billion (~$64.6 million). While the gentle revenue decline was largely attributed to a normalization in pachinko business earnings following an unsustainably high performance the previous year, the sharp drop in profitability has placed all aspects of the group under investor scrutiny.

Related

Sega Sales Data Leak Shows Just How Harmful PlayStation Exclusivity Can Be

Sega's recent leak of the company's sales data shows the harmful effects on sales of games releasing exclusively on PlayStation consoles.

Posts

By  Michael Brandon Ingram

Sega Acknowledges Gap Between Its Recent Games' Review Scores and Launch Sales

Sega management fielded several questions about the company's ongoing challenges during a November 2025 Q&A session. Among other points, executives acknowledged that recent full-price launches have missed internal targets despite receiving generally favorable reviews. While no specific titles were named, nearly every major Sega release in recent years has either had modest launch sales relative to critical reception or struggled to sustain momentum. In a recent example of the latter phenomenon, Metaphor: ReFantazio's sales dropped off sharply after the JRPG became Atlus's fastest-selling title to date, clearing one million copies on day one but needing another eight months to double that figure following multiple discounts.

Launch Sales and Review Scores Breakdown of Sega's Recent Major Releases

Sega Sees Definitive Editions Among Potential Reasons for Weaker-Than-Expected Launch Sales

While Sega said it's still investigating the phenomenon, the Q&A session saw it identify several potential reasons why its critically acclaimed titles have underperformed at launch relative to their review scores. One factor the company acknowledged is the consumer expectation of future definitive editions, which it sees as a potential concern, but while admitting it's a problem of its own making. This trend is largely driven by Atlus, known for a longstanding practice of releasing expanded versions of its games—even prior to becoming a Sega subsidiary—with titles such as Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold: The Fafnir Knight, Persona 4 Golden, Persona 5 Royal, Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE Encore, and, more recently, Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance. Persona 3 Reload did not receive a Royal-style re-release, and Atlus has indicated that Metaphor: ReFantazio will not either, suggesting an internal shift away from this strategy.

Sega Suspects Marketing Missteps Affected Recent Game Sales Performance

Sega also cited potential marketing missteps as contributing to weaker-than-expected full-price sales of its major titles. "We believe the problem also lies in our marketing, which wasn’t able to sufficiently convey the appeal of our games to users," a company representative said. In recent times, Sega experimented on the marketing front a lot, but not always successfully. For example, Persona 3 Reload fans have widely mocked the game's live-action trailer featuring The Umbrella Academy star Aidan Gallagher, arguing it misrepresented the game and failed to communicate its appeal to anyone not familiar with the franchise.

Despite Lukewarm Reviews, Football Manager 26 Is Selling Great

The Q&A session also saw company officials mention the latest title from Sports Interactive. Despite an ongoing review bombing campaign targeting Football Manager 2026 over UI issues, bugs, and missing features compared to its predecessor, Sega said the game is selling faster than any previous entry in the franchise, albeit without providing specific figures.

Sources: GameBiz, Automaton West