Mike Hayes, head of SEGA West, recently discussed the publisher’s new direction for casual and hardcore games.

In particular, he talked about its revised strategy for core games on the Wii in the aftermath of MadWorld’s lacklustre sales. In regards to whether Sega would reduce its presence in that area, Hayes responded "No, not at all - you’ll see that at E3. One of the things is whether they’re super-mature - that’s a different thing. But the Wii market is huge. Going for the super-hardcore? Probably, the answer is not. But do we think there are edgy games we can bring out on Wii? Yes."

While MadWorld didn’t perform spectacularly at retail, it was quite a critical success. Does SEGA believe it warrants a sequel, maybe even on different platforms? "As Blackadder would say: ’Yes... and no,’ Hayes replied. It’s something we’ve looked at and it’s something we constantly talk about. But there are no firm things to discuss on that at the moment."

Hayes also shared his thoughts on the PlayStation Move and comparisons made to the Wii Remote. "Yes, I think that is unfair. Let’s not forget that Sony has launched hugely successful peripherals before... but also, how bad is a comparison with Wii? It’s one of the most successful consoles of all time. For something like PlayStation 3, that surely allows a motion controller to do some pretty great things.

"We don’t have a crystal ball, but would I bet a lot of my salary on Microsoft and Sony will make a success of these devices? I think the chances are high. Microsoft are clearly taking Natal very seriously and spending a lot of money on it. Sony are doing the same - and they have the track record to go with it."