Microsoft should've bought Sega when they had the chance - back when they had real worth, and when their then-president was practically begging for it (and those stellar Xbox-exclusives from them were part of an "offering" of sorts to try and get the deal sealed).
In a lot of peoples' eyes (that is, people who've been part of gaming since at least the Genesis/SNES era), the general attitude behind the Xbox and its games were a logical evolution of what Sega used to stand for. Though it's certainly still the case that the more "hardcore" audience pretty much defaults to the Xbox nowadays (as does, well, pretty much the casual audience as well, when they're not on their phones), and at least that part still harkens back to the idea people have of Sega back in the day. I'm not entirely convinced they still fit into that part though, despite that I have a lot of respect for the IPs they've established over the years.
Granted, I'd rather see Microsoft get ahold of Sega's IPs than Nintendo, but that's primarily due to the fact that we'd then actually see Sega's IPs all over systems that are actually popular with the people I know. Practically every single one of them grew up loving Nintendo and Sega both, but most of them have lost faith in Nintendo outside of the occasional Zelda game and Smash Bros., which is kind of sad, but then finds that the Xbox 360 suits their modern gaming needs pretty much entirely (that and the PC, for indie games and the flavor-of-the-moment MMO).
Of course, I don't think many people, in a general sense, are very confident in Nintendo when it comes to the Wii U. At least the 3DS proved that a system with a weak launch lineup and slow start can pull through with eventual great games, but winning back the faith of people who were disappointed by the Wii at least, will be problematic.
Connect With Us