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End of Year Special Statement: A Lost Year

Tristan Oliver
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Sonic Lost World embodies, in many ways, the year that was for Sonic fans.  It was unsure of itself, far from perfect–even mediocre at times–and while it was there it never performed the way anyone hoped.  2013 showcased more than a lost world; it was a lost direction, a lost opportunity, and truly a lost year.

How can that be?  It’s not like we haven’t seen significant philosophical changes on many fronts; at least attempts at improvement.  Sega and Nintendo, once bitter enemies in the beginning of the console wars, have forged newer, closer ties than ever. Whether that has truly benefited Sega and its bottom line remains to be seen, but given how Wii U systems have only shown signs of life in the wake of XBOX One and Playstation 4 sellouts, it’s going to be an uphill climb assuming it’s the new normal.  As someone who grew up in the console wars era, it’s even a bit disheartening.

Perhaps I’m just stubborn; perhaps I just don’t want to see Sonic succeed under these circumstances because of that war.  But back in the 90s, Sonic was always modeled as the anti-Mario, the blue dude with attitude that would run circles around worlds and ideas a virtual plumber wouldn’t touch. With various highs and lows, the formula basically worked on its own for 20 years–even as Sega exited the console business.  Now, to potentially see the fate of a once powerful flagship mascot rest on the success of a one-time competitor’s flailing console worries me.  It should worry everyone.  Talk of Nintendo expanding its reach beyond their own systems has been around for some time now; what if it happens?  Will Sonic be forced back into a multiplatform marketplace more competitive than ever?  Can he still compete against all the Call of Duties and Battlefields and Maddens and Grand Theft Autos and any number of high budget, high marketed fare?

Even once longtime foe Super Mario is now struggling to make a mark for himself these days, something I never thought would be a problem. If the proud Mario franchise is struggling, how can the Sonic series, in confidence, be considered a success today?  If anything, there’s plenty of skepticism.  Not that many attended the annual Sonic Boom event–having it in a city riddled with crime doesn’t help much–and as for the Sonic Boom TV announcement, too many took a look at what’s believed to be a redesigned Knuckles silhouette and feared the worst.

I suppose one could look at the tens of millions of downloads of Sonic Dash as a start. There are plenty, including myself, who wonder if it’s a curse more than a blessing.  That Sega can capitalize on what is, in effect, ripping off others’ ideas, as simple and marketable as they may be, gives cause to wonder if this is the true direction of Sonic going forward: Making the most off of menial and arguably unimaginative mobile mini-games.  It would be a shot in the gut to both Christian Whitehead and Simon Thomley–both to them and to ourselves–to see their incredible efforts this year remastering classic Sonic titles for mobile take a backseat to apps riddled with ads, bugs, and endless begging to buy more rings.

But in a way, we are fortunate the Taxman/Stealth combo emerged in the first place. With such miscommunication and lack of communication between Sega divisions, it’s a wonder any games are released at all.  We could, easily, have seen a remastered Sonic 1 and 2 on the Nintendo 3DS, and I bet few would have cared whether it had 3D effects or not.  Instead, the mothership does its own thing, and for the moment, limits the reach of a labor of love.  Clearly, Sega of Japan is calling the shots, and though how much Sega West’s hands are tied isn’t exactly known, it’s never a good sign when the continuation of entire franchises outside of Japan can only be seen as bones thrown to the most diehard. Hatsune Miku, admittedly, was a good start.  There’s at least some emerging evidence that Phantasy Star Online 2 is not completely dead in the West. But Yakuza seems out of the question, and many are now worried about the Atlus franchises, and perhaps Atlus’s US division itself, in the wake of Sega Sammy’s acquisition.

Then, there’s Archie.  Ken Penders didn’t embarrass Archie in court; they humiliated themselves. That there’s no significant paper trail for the publisher of one of the world’s most circulated adventure series to fall back on if a former writer cries foul should warrant the entire replacement of management up in Mamaroneck. Instead, it appears the managers are fighting with one another, with storytellers on the front lines like Ian Flynn having to pick up the pieces.  I’ve been tough on Ian this year, and in retrospect, maybe I shouldn’t have been.  None of what’s happened is necessarily his fault. But the reality for him and for all is not whatever I publish here; it is the truth, and the truth is that he has now reset canon twice in two years arbitrarily and without the polish many fans and readers expect of him. The deep lore of Sonic comic continuity built over 20 years now appears forever lost, and even with pressure from above, Ian could have handled it better.

Sega is lost.  Archie is lost. With a typically annual SAGE pushed back in February and a community of fan games that has, aside from LakeFeperd’s work, run stagnant, it could be argued the fans are lost.  Now is the time for calmer, clearer heads to prevail, regroup, and change.

I know this year has been a bit of a reserved one for us, and that’s something I would like to change in the new year.  Though I conceded a few years ago that I, too, needed to change, I know I’m not there yet, and I along with the rest of the team hope to continue to earn your trust and understanding.  Though it does get snarky around here a lot of times, we know the good that exists in this community and in each other, and we know that, with the right kind of spotlight, it can harbor plenty of good–even in the face of despair.

In the coming months, in addition to reporting the news and views of all things Sonic and Sega, I hope to share with you a Sonic-themed initiative I plan to spearhead through this site, this community, and my extended offline community that is near and dear to my heart.  If successful, it should be fun–hilarious, really–and maybe make a big difference for a group of people who always  need to know their fight is meaningful.  I know I can do better, and maybe this project can be a start towards that change.

To a better, and hopefully happier news year.

Tags Archie ComicsComicsKen PendersMicrosoftNintendoSEGASEGA JapanSonic Lost WorldSonic The Hedgehog (Series)TSSZ NewsTurning Japanese (We Really Think So)
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  1. Couldn’t have said it any better even if I put my life’s work into it.

    Well said Tristan, and hopefully SEGA has an upcoming Sonic project to announce in 2014. There’s still hope for the SEGA and Nintendo alliance to not have been a total fluke with the third game coming soon.

    Usually SEGA doesn’t release a Sonic game yearly, it’s a two year wait most of the time, but there must be something they have up their sleeves to pick things up and get back to where they were with Generations.

    I’ve gotten over Lost World, and frankly I don’t even want to speak about it again for a while, so for now, I’m going to look towards 2014 for Sonic’s future. I’m excited to see what’s to come, and hopefully it’s something we can all get excited about again.

  2. I read this, and every word is true. I think if Sonic is able to become the original franchise it once was, with a new level experience, he may at least be able to tie with our rival, Mario. I don’t want to read too much into it, but I think everybody has realized that once you’ve played one Mario game, you’ve played them all, and that Sonic [CAN] and [BETTER] provide the variety in both story and gameplay we all crave. If they leave the Mario level-layout and music from SLW in the dust, I think we can expect a new awakening in the Sonic franchise, hopefully reviving characters we haven’t seen in awhile, and perhaps shaking the uncertainty that has been implanted in us from the Sonic Boom silhouettes. We can only hope, and toast Sonic Team to a new year that hopefully brings us surprises… Most of them good.

  3. Nice work, Tristan! While I do not always agree with your posts, I’m always grateful for your comprehensive coverage of Sonic news.

    Your end-of-year statement, as usual, is brilliant. Wish you the best in the New Year!

  4. As much as this year was…well, Lost, for Sonic, I really hope that Sonic comes back to what he’s really about in whatever game they make for him next.
    There’s only one game left in this Nintendo deal, and I really only see a Sonic Rush 3DS as a game that would bring back some interest as well as bringing back a formula that is actually more fit for a Sonic game.
    So here’s to ’14. and just like the Blue Blur himself said in Black Knight, “My stories only end when I stop running”
    I̶ ̶d̶o̶n̶’̶t̶ ̶c̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶s̶a̶y̶s̶,̶ ̶I̶ ̶l̶o̶v̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶g̶a̶m̶e̶

    1. Me, too.

      And actually, I’m not going to lie or apologize… I love almost all the Sonic games from Adventure to Black Knight.

      I love them a LOT more than anything they’ve done since Sonic Colors. (Still can’t believe there is actually a Sonic game with the word “colors” in the title…)

      2013 wasn’t a great year, and Lost World was the biggest reason why. And the biggest reason FOR it being the biggest reason is because it was a direct Mario rip-off. Not because it was new.

      But saying things like Sonic Dash is upsetting just because it has ads in it are a bit of a stretch. And SEGA’s sub-par pandering is what’s got the fans confused.

      I have a feeling good things are ahead, though. They will run out of all these things to keep trying to force into Sonic and have no choice to just go back to making Sonic games that are on the level with everything else.

      Except, they won’t make the same mistakes as they did with their previous aims.

      1. Same here, I miss games like Sonic Rush Adventure, Unleashed, and Black Knight.

        I’m okay with Sonic Dash, it’s just one of those F2P things and it’s heck of a lot better than other iOS games like Angry Birds, that and it’s the one game this year that lets us play as someone else that isn’t Sonic.

        Whatever’s next, I’ll be waiting and hoping for it to be bigger than anything Lost World was, and finally having others playable. (where is my playable Blaze and Burning Blaze, Sonic Team?)

      2. Couldn’t agree with you more dude. Since they’ve made Sonic Colors & games forward thats very similar to Sonic, i’ve tended to love/appreciate SA1-Unleashed a way more than i did before (& I loved them ALOT before Colors came out). The gameplay now has too many gimmicks being (as you said) forced into the series & to be honest when it comes to the story(s), i feel like i’m watching “Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog”, thats how corny Sonic has become.
        Not saying that SA1-Unleashed was perfect but believe me they were hell of alot better than the stuff they’re putting out now.

    2. I loved Sonic and the Black Knight. Only complaint was that it was a bit too short, and some missions are really difficult. XD

      1. Thank goodness, I just seem to find myself in the minority that enjoys that game a lot, especially with how the guys over at Sonic Stadium just wanna bash it to no end. >__>

        Man, I don’t think I’ll find a more difficult challenge in any game than the Lancelot Returns mission. XD

        1. I personally found Don’t Touch the Townsfolk to be even harder. Not as bad as the dreaded No Pearls missions in Secret Rings (which was a great game IMO as well). 😛

  7. Oh no! We didn’t like Sonic Lost World, so this year is automatically a failure!
    Sonic Lost World is a great game. I enjoyed playing it. Just because it’s something new, doesn’t mean it’s bad. Seriously people stop complaining. SEGA tried to appeal to a new crowd.
    Now let the hate comments roll in.

    1. Do you not understand some people have different opinions than you?

      It’s great you love SLW, and it’s great SEGA made another Sonic game a lot of people enjoyed, but not everyone enjoyed it. A lot lf people hated it, not because it was a new idea, but because it was a new idea that didn’t have enough work or thought put into it and failed in points that were otherwise staples from pass games – in our eyes.

      People always hate on the Sonic community and say bad things about it because it’s always divided into two sides: people who liked the newest game and the people who didn’t. What they don’t understand is that people think differently and not everyone will like what SEGA decides to give out. SEGA did decide to appeal to a new crowd, but what you think is an appeal, some of us think is a sellout. This game had more similarities to Mario Galaxy or Super Mario games in general than Colors, a lot more. To us, it seems like SEGA made a Mario game with Sonic’s name on it. He’s not at all fast anymore without the use of the Spindash, speed is not a reward since they’ve now let you choose which speed you want through the use of unescarrey button feature, Wisps were tacked on for literally no particular reason and it was just because Iizuka liked them, levels didn’t even seem like Sonic-styled levels, especially the god awful fruit stages, and if you hadn’t noticed, the final fight against Zavok is an exact copy of the final fight against Bowser in NSMBU. It’s not us complaining, it’s that we simply

      Do
      Not
      Like
      SLW

      1. Actually that was NSMB2.

        Kinda hard to tell the difference between the NSMB games huh?

        Anyway, I like SLW, but it’s not perfect. I liked it 80% more than Colors at least.

    2. When people put “Let the hate comments roll in” at the end of their own arbitrary nonsense it just serves as a passive aggressive way to try and keep a stigma about yourself that you’re possibly still more self-aware and smart then what your post is letting on despite the bullcrap its spewing. The article talked about more then Lost World and I’m certain you didn’t even read it.

      Had we gotten a Sonic game the majority of the community enjoyed, you’d have loved it to and there wouldn’t have been an issue.

    3. Holy fucking shit you’re a fuckwit. Did you read anything at all past the Lost World part?

      1. I read the article, it’s just it was mainly whining about ‘oh sonic lost world ruined this year, sonic dash sucks, blahhhh’

        Heck the article title is called ‘a lost year’

        and seriously, fuckwit? That’s a great insult.

        1. Then Learn to read and stop having an attention span of a 4 year old.
          He was basing the year on FACTS(Ex. Lost World flopping, Archie fiasco) and not on his personally opinion on if he enjoyed Lost World or not and insulting fans who have other opnio..Why am I either bothering, A nimrod like you would never understand…

          Jackass

  8. Same here. An icon has been in steady decline in games and only new ideas,cleared minds, new slates can we hope for a resurgence in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Still a fan though.

  9. Not one of SEGA’s best years, that’s for certain, or their fans. No PSO2, Y5 for the West. Sonic exclusive to Nintendo. Rome 2 a disappointment.

    Not without some good however. Castle of Illusion HD, Typing of the Dead: Overkill, Company of Heroes 2 and continued support for All-Stars Racing Transformed are all very welcomed. Or even the localization of Project DIVA F, awesome!

    Let’s hope for 2014 sees more good things, and less of the bad ones.

  10. As for the archie comics I believe Ian did great especially for short notice changes. What people might take for granted is that good writing is not only hard but time consuming and to change everything within a short amount of time and make it great would be hard tenfold. I’m not saying you’re opinion is wrong Tristan, I mean different people different views duh, but In my honest opinion I thought that the past year in archie comics was great even if we could not get the stories promised.

  11. Truly I called it right on my DA account….2013 DEFINITELY WAS THE YEAR THAT MADE NO SENSE…from governments across the planet all the way down to local businesses..it just seemed the theme every where I was looking decisions were being made that made absolutely no sense to me. Even at my one job too. Additionally localized drama(personal level) it just seemed after December 21st of last year it just went from a slow hill climb to an out right volcano SURGE! Every time I hopped on my personal facebook I just wanted to literally puke my guts out. Its gotten to the point I am staying off Facebook and I might even go as far to cancel my account.
    Well here’s hoping for 2014 to be better cause if the current trend of business decisions continue like this…Sonic’s silence will fall and that is one day I don’t ever want to see.

  12. In order not to lose time anymore, SEGA should go back to the way they did before : an original game for a handheld console and an original game for “home” consoles… please, no more adaptation of the same game like for instance SONIC COLOURS on Wii and on DS, the same for GENERATIONS and LOST WORLD!!…
    We had two really different games a year, it was great!!…
    And, if SEGA really wants to make SONIC games on Wii U, they should use it the way they did for the Wii, I mean new experiences (SECRET RINGS, BLACK KNIGHT) and not for “main” games (even if COLOURS was part of the main series)!!…
    And they should write more enjoyable storylines, like before COLOURS (even if the story Ken Pontac wrote for LOST WORLD is not as bad as it used to be)!!…
    And why didn’t we have SONIC 4 EPISODE 3 in 2013 : that is the REAL loss of time!!…

  13. To be fair, Ian only “reset canon” once, after Worlds Collide. Genesis was a temporary thing that was reversed after four issues with virtually no side effects other than letting Sonic pull a Marty McFly and letting Naugus’ inner demons start harassing him.

    I can, however, agree that the post-crossover reboot is lacking the polish I expect from Ian. The new continuity itself is one thing, but the execution of the reboot has been poor. (Heck, using a reboot in the first place seems like a cop-out, though the alternative has enough problems that I can’t really blame Archie.)

    Being a Sonic fan in 2013 is just too depressing. My resolution for 2014 (as far as Sonic is concerned, anyway) is to stop worrying and just enjoy the franchise, or don’t, and get on with my life.

  14. Wow! This whole thing just convinced me the 2013 was a really bad year for Sonic and Sega!
    I didn’t even realize it was that bad until now! I hope this doesn’t effect the franchise that much that the Sonic series would be dead for real this time!
    Truthfully I thought that Sonic really made a strong comeback after Generations but now I realize that Generations was just extremely good luck because he’s still struggling to find a new name for himself but he should just use his old name because that was almost perfect!
    I would have taken the series in a completely different and better direction after Sonic Heroes if I were the head of Sega. Shame on Sega for not realizing that we just don’t want Sonic to be a stupid Mario clone, we want him to be his own truly original game franchise!
    Face it Sonic fans, while not as large and devastating of a train wreck that Sonic 06 was, Sonic Lost World was a huge Mario clone infested disappointment!

  15. Is there a glitch on TSSZ?
    For some reason whenever I try and comment I keep getting redirected to this message

    Comment Error
    Please enter all fields correctly to post a comment.

    1. This actually happens to me a lot, its like a certain keyword in my comment just prevents the entire thing from being posted, even if I break it down…

  16. Despite everything that’s happened, this was still better than Sonic’s 15th Anniversary in my opinion. Having to choose between Sonic Riders or Sonic 06 (And bear in mind Xbox 360 games were a full £50 back then) I think for the bigger majority, that was just the final nail in the coffin.
    And the worst part is it only got worse from there.

  17. I’m personally a strong believer that the Sega of today has little to no idea what it’s doing, and has been living off of the success from the developers that make their fantastic games for over a decade now.
    -They shun down ideas for projects presented to them that the fans would actually like.
    -They don’t make any effort at all to advertise their GOOD games.
    -They don’t seem to learn from any of their past mistakes, especially when it comes to Sonic
    -They don’t localize games that fans in the west actually WOULD want to support.
    -And there seem’s to be almost 0 communication between them, the fans and their own divisions.

  18. (continued from previous comment…)
    With all that said, I’m also a strong believer in the Sonic fan community. You only have to go to places like DeviantArt and admire the fantastic artwork on that site that’s uploaded on a regular basis to know that the whole world could be coming to an end and there are still plenty of dedicated Sonic fans out there who are perfectly content with supporting Sonic in their own way.

    1. Ashton — Some of your stuff is being flagged as a spam comment for some reason (we have a pretty strict spam filter.) I’ll try and tweak it the next couple of days so hopefully you won’t have this issue. -T

      1. Ah I see, sorry for this whole mess.
        I’m worried my comment might of ended up spammed into the system over a hundred times or something as I kept trying to re-post it thinking a certain filtered word was preventing it from displaying.
        – my apologies.

  21. Im a big Sega and Nintendo fan (gasp!) so the partnership is an extremely positive thing in my book. Heck, I even liked SLW quite a bit. Chin up, Tristan! If Sonic can bounce back from Shadow, 06, Secret Rings, Black Knight, and Unleashed, he can certainly bounce back from the lukewarm reception SLW received.

    To that end, the gaming landscape itself is changing dramatically. I’m not even sure there’s a place for big budgeted character based platformers in the current industry. Not even big names like Rayman or Sly sell that many units these days. You’re either GTA or you’re nothing.

    1. The thing you’re forgetting is that Shadow, 06, Secret Rings, and Unleashed were all million sellers, if not multi-million sellers. In fact, Unleashed sold over 4 million copies across 4 consoles. Aside from 06, what was there to bounce back from, exactly? A few critics who never liked the series in the first place?

      Lost World may be the first main Sonic title to not break a million copies, and was a title that alienated a lot of long time fans. This is certainly a worse situation than even 06, all things considered. Fans still stuck around after 06, while this time they have not. However, I agree with you that Sonic can and will bounce back. And even though Lost World ticked off a lot of people, I personally enjoyed it. But there’s no denying its problems.

        1. Sorry, that was rude. But what makes you think people stuck around after 06? I for one avoided Sonic games to the best of my ability following Shadow the Hedgehog and didn’t dive back into the franchise until Unleashed. I’m pretty sure the fanbase hemorrhaged fans after 06 came out and I’m not sure why you’d think otherwise.

        2. I was not calling Lost World a worse game than 06, that would be insane. I can say that the circumstances surrounding Lost World are worse than those of 06 because:

          -Iizuka has indicated that he and others on his team are having trouble figuring out what Sonic “is about.” Not a good thing for the head of the team to say.
          -Even though I liked the game, Lost World shamelessly ripped off Mario, essentially indicating that Sonic Team feels Mario’s style of gameplay and atmosphere is better than Sonic’s.
          -Sonic 06 was clearly an unfinished product and sold over a million copies, while Lost World was finished (and better) and flopped in sales.

          I said that fans stuck around after 06 due to Unleashed having the highest sales of any Sonic game in years. We’ll have to wait a while to see the true fallout of Lost World. I’m hoping for the best.

      2. If I remember correctly, Sonic Rush Adventure also did not break a million copies sold, which I believe is the reason why Dimps was asked to make handheld versions of the home games instead.

  22. All we want is something new and fresh. No recycled ideas from other franchises. We want Sonic Team to take their time. (No, seriously.. take as long as you possibly need to make the next flagship Sonic.) We want a mix of everything good from the past 20-some years. Sonic and a SMALL amount of friends versus Eggman. (or Robotnik) We want just the daytime stages from Unleashed, platforming from Colors, physics from the Genesis era, with a fresh coat or hand-drawn 2D sprites perhaps? It could be anything. Just take the good things and TAKE YOUR TIME Sonic Team. Hopefully I speak for at least some of us fans. I agree that 2013 was crap for anything NEW from Sonic Team. Still, I bought Lost World mostly in support of Sega. Because I know they can do better, and hopefully do in 2014.

  23. Something I ought to point out: The largest conventions in the United States are held mostly in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, The Texas Triangle, Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston, and New York City. All of these areas have major crime problems.

    Major crime problems come with being large cities, after all. The thing is that it’s worth putting these gatherings there because there are already a lot of people present, and traveling to these places is easy compared to tiny middle-of-nowhere towns not prepared to take a load of tourists. The criminals try not to make themselves obvious (the smart ones know not to do anything regrettable in crowded areas due to there being a ton of witnesses nearby), and gang members will leave you alone if you leave them alone.

  24. Pingback: Sappy New Year everyone! | Conflicting Views

  25. It was a poor year indeed cause to me it was the year Sega drove me to seriously consider resigning Sonic to a mere fond memory of a fun filled childhood. It was the year where I saw past all the smoke and mirrors to see that Ian and Archie truly is just a wizard of Oz with rampant egocentric editors, writers, artists and owners all crapping lose on everything they stand for with broken promises and childish denials when caught red handed.

    SLW is a game I simply won’t look at for the reasons that it incorporate everything I don’t like about the Sonic games. A complete lack of focus on anyone but Sonic, lackluster if not completely dead stories and gameplay ripped off from other games with an unwanted power up gimmick in the form of wisps and loads of new complete flat one note characters that bring absolutely nothing new to the table.

  26. “None of what’s happened is necessarily his fault. But the reality for him and for all is not whatever I publish here; it is the truth, and the truth is that he has now reset canon twice in two years arbitrarily and without the polish many fans and readers expect of him. The deep lore of Sonic comic continuity built over 20 years now appears forever lost, and even with pressure from above, Ian could have handled it better.”

    You maybe right but I will give him props he handled it better then the big two when they did magic reboots. DC’s New 52 and Marvel’s Spider Magic Divorce Reboot One more Day. I looks at the current comics and know it could be worse.

    As for the rest i agree this is probraly one of Sonics worst years and 2014 isn’t looking much better actaully worse.

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