Thursday 14 May 2009

More speculation about Sega's 2010 consoles


Throughout the Sega community it is now the general consensus that Sega's 2010 consoles are fake. First posted on an unknown news blog, the stories detailing new Sega consoles based on their new arcade hardware have been almost entirely rubbished.

There are some reasons why the stories are believable - the blog has posted previous news about Sega-Sammy prior to this, many of the hardware facts are true and the idea of producing two consoles based on new arcade hardware is plausible.

But there are other reasons that show the stories are almost certainly fake. The first is the name of the reporter - "Zach Morris". This was a well-known character in the sitcom Saved By The Bell, and was the same name used in various Sega hoaxes in 2004. It is unlikely that the names are just a coincidence.

Another point is the blog itself - it takes the name of a previous blog, FGNOnline, which shut down in the early 2000s. The layout is dated and cheap, and the previous news about Sega-Sammy is probably there to make the "exclusive" news look legitimate.

One other extremely suspect point about the website is the forum. The administrator refers to "Mr. Morris" in the third person, when it is extremely likely that they are same. Some of the members, namely "Digi", "Crackdude", "Omega" and "Realgamer" all seem to be the same person as well, agreeing with each other in quick succession and rubbishing other speculative members' posts (including a member from Sega Nerds). The last name, "Realgamer", is the most suspicious - the previous "Zach Morris" Sega hoax was posted on a website entitled "Real Games Players". It is therefore extremely likely that Zach Morris, the administrator, all the aforementioned posters and "BIGGER" on the SoA Boards are indeed the same person.

One theory as to all of this could be that someone has actually discovered all of this information. The whole thing could be true, designed to look fake by using past hoaxes as inspiration. Then when the real thing was announced, there would an "I told you so" from FGNOnline. I severely doubt this, however.

Aside from this, people have been wondering why Sega would even enter the hardware market at this stage - 2010 is far too early to produce a "next-gen" console, when the "current-gen" hasn't even seen its peak. Going directly against Nintendo seems like a ridiculous idea as well; people would be unlikely to switch brands for a new casual console.

There has been a new post on the website regarding the next part of the story:
"Earlier in the week we provided you part 1 of our world exclusive report where we brought to light top secret details of SEGA SAMMY's plans of introducing a next generation HD capable casual console based around the RINGEDGE arcade hardware.

Next week FGNOnline shall present to you part 2 of our world exclusive where we discuss SEGA SAMMY's plans of yet another consumer hardware product this time based around the RINGWIDE arcade hardware.

Stay tuned.

- Zach Morris"
I would say to ignore whatever is said as the entire thing, with the help of the Sega community, has been almost completely rubbished.

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