Sonic Quality Will Be "Fixed Over Time" Says Sega
Weather you loved or hated Sonic Unleashed you have to agree that the game isn’t as good as Mario’s recent outings. Mario Galaxy received almost unanimous praise from the press while Unleashed was met with disappointment and apathy. The game has even managed to split the fan base. Once upon a time Sonic was right up there dueling it out with the plumber but has definitely been on a downward spiral since the dawn of 3D.
Sega have been listening though and while talking to Industry Games, Sega America’s VP of marketing Sean Ratcliffe acknowledged that recent Sonic games haven’t been as good as fans have hoped for.
“The quality is something that will be fixed over time. It’s not something where you wake up one morning and say, ‘You know what, we’re going to improve our quality on this franchise,’ and it magically happens. A lot of hard work goes into striving for quality. Interestingly, I think Sonic Unleashed was very well received by the kids. There was some talk about the werehog aspect, the slower pacing and more combat-oriented gameplay, but when we go out and test this stuff and sit down with the consumers, kids actually like that. I think older, die-hard Sega fans who grew up with the franchise and the first Sonic the Hedgehog associate Sonic more with 2-D side-scrolling super fast, and they liked the daytime gameplay, but when it came to the slower paced gameplay they were fairly critical of that, and that’s fine – they have their opinions,”
Whatever your opinion on Sonic’s recent games the huge gimmicks present in them have been justified by padding out the length of the games. The problem lies in Sonic’s speed. He can run so fast that if it was just classic sonic action the game would be over fairly quickly. However with the PSN and Xbox Live Arcade proving a popular place for companies to re-release relics to a new audience surely a short action orientated new Sonic game could be made?
Sean Ratcliffe says such methods of releasing new Sonic games or any other Sega IP are already being explored.
“…We can look at XBLA and so on, and it means we can give those core fans experiences in different ways now. So that’s a big part of our strategy, in terms of taking classic IP and making it available digitally, rather than spend a huge amount of money trying to re-imagine that IP on 360 and PS3; there’s a lot more financial risk attached to that.”
Would you buy a brand new download only Sonic game lasing only three hours or would you rather gimmicks be added and play a longer lasting game? Let us know in the comments below.
Post originally written by the author for TSSZ News.
It’s “definitely”, not defiantly. xD
I don’t mind the gimmicks. I have a rule for gimmicks: don;t make them suck like the Amy rose hammer stages in Sonic 06. Basically have fun gimmicks, not ones that are hard to play or put you to sleep like Amy’s and Big’s gimmicks in SADX director’s cut.
Personally, I’d like a Sonic game thats as almost enjoyable to play the second time on and so. Take the classic Sonic games, they are fun to replay despite their short length. Gimmics just serve to frustate a player on their first playthrough and on further.
Short downloadable Sonic game, huh?
Naaaaaaaaaaah, I’d still rather have a retail Sonic game that relied on gimmicks. The original Sonic Adventure had the right idea where they had all the playable characters optional.
Those who wanted to just play as Sonic could play as Sonic. Those who wanted more got more.
Everybody wins.
I would like the normal retails with gimmicks and the XBLA PSN titles sliced in between to keep us busy while waiting on a big game. I don’t really care. Something that I would absolutly LOVE would be a remake of Sonic Adventure and SA2 on the PSP. Taking SA on the go and trading chao and items wirelessly is my dream. Hopefully one day it will be true.
A bit off topic, but i just looked at ign.com, under the xbox live tab. It states that Sonic and Knuckles will be available tomorrow in Xbox live arcade.
Sega Sonic: Tomorrow?! Are ya kidding?!
On topic, I am not opposed to having a 2D, downloadable Sonic game that would last for only three hours, but I prefer to play a Sonic game that lasted longer, which includes games that have gimmicks in them.
So, in the long run, I would much prefer playing a game that was longer and had gimmicks.
Well if you need to put gimmicks in it to make it longer, than do add them in. But make the gimmicks enjoyable. But If Sonic Team would start working on a 20th Anniversary game now with just the 2.5-D running levels like the day time ones in Sonic Unleashed They could make many acts for each zone and make it longer than about three hours. But I would not mind a download only game either.
Controls that make sense and feel natural, multiple old characters, decent story, no more new characters (seriously they don’t even use the ones we’ve got) and I’ll be fine. Throw in a hand full of Shadow-style levels as well as Unleashed-style ones and I may consider it perfection, or as close as you can get to it.
I want length, I loved the Werehog.
@ Skai Cyan
Do not mention the dark one. He is a curse upon the series.
The only gimmick I like is the Riders series but the storybook series is very close to the main series expect with history figures in the fomr of Sonic`s friends… but I hope for more Sonic games like Sonic Adventure & Sonic Rush in the future
you know what I want? Sonic 3 & Knuckles in a 3D sonic Adventure-esque platforming game
i need quality, like Unleashed, and all will be good
this is all SEGA
I would love a big Sonic game to just be done right. Give us one of those, just one, at least, and then give us some smaller games on the side.
Forgot to add: Glad SEGA is acknowledging this.
I wouldn’t mind the gimmicks, but if I were to make a request, I would want the gimmicks something everyone would enjoy, like for example just find ways to toy with the regular Sonic gameplay like we had in S3&K. But I wouldn’t mind something that doesn’t really resemble Sonic gameplay, just as long as it’s fun to play as well, like Chao Gardens, Shooting or even Werehog (Yes I said Werehog was fun, shove it down a pipe and smoke it).
I’d rather have a CD copy of a longer game.
Oh yeah, and…
“Weather” in the first line should be spelled “Whether”, just saying 😉
If it was gonna be an entire game thing like Sonic and the Black Knight, I’m fine, just as long as it’s a Spin-off. I think people would be cool with that… at least they SHOULD be, instead of “Derr, how cood dey duu dees tu Soneek? Giveeng him a sward in a Spin-off geim… They must not cares aboot heeeeeemmmmm…”
That’s how I hear it.
I don’t want artificial length. I want enjoyment. The original Sonic’s can be completed within a matter of hours. They are also considered the most enjoyable. The problem is that iit’s not how long it takes to complete the game, it’s how many times you want to come back and play it over and over again.
Quality > Quantity
There you go.
like said earlier i definitely think that optional characters is great, but like in Sonic adventure they had different stories, i think something like that, or even multiple paths, letting the player decide if they want to race through the levels as sonic, or say, go exploring as Knuckles or tails.
– as with the gimmiks, im not really bothered because its mostly the characters of the series that I love, and seeing them in different situations amuses me, i really like the racing game so far, though, thats a gimmik i’d happily see sa many characters thrown in. (hopefully knuckles before silver -_-)
Caz: It’s not that simple, I’m afraid. While you may find just a few hours fun, others (i.e. reviewers and the general public) want bang for their buck. Especially in this recession, they want to get as long an experience out of their game first time through, and they want a LOT of that for $50/£30. No matter how fun a game is, you can’t simply turn around and say ‘this game is really, really fun, but it’s only 3 hours long, so pay up!’. You need more than that; gimmicks, decent and different replayability (which even some of the general public wouldn’t be interested in) e.t.c. That’s probably why Sonic Chronicles sold so awfully; the main game, really, was about 5-6 hours long, which is really short for an RPG.
Nowadays, they need to find the right balance.
The Fastest Thing Alive@: I’m with you bro, SEGA/SONIC TEAM should star working on a Sonic Unleashed 2 or something like than for his 19th or 20th birthday (I think I could’t wait that long 😛 ) but if they do that they would have time to make a super bigger a COOLER game. And if they wanted they could make downloadable content like they did on S.Unleashed.
SEGA we want SONIC UNLEASHED 2!!! 😀 LOVE SONIC…
One simple answer from my side:
Better short and awesome than long and not what you want!
Altough I enjoyed the Werehog to some extends, it would´ve been a better game without him in it! Just my 2 cents.
If a game is short, you have to lower the price for it! If they would just take the time and make more Levels, imagine a Sonic game with 23 Running levels, one word, kick ass, plus the added cutscenes etc. Would make a pretty awesome title in my opinion. 23 Levels for lets say 30-39 Bucks, definately a deal.
Now, if I would look back into the golden Sonic days, a game would take only 2 hours at bestn and would still cost 60 or more. But times have changed… still around 23 Levels full of running and Platforming action with cutscenes, 5 hours of awesomnes. That would be it.
And if they do it right the ARCADE factor in a Sonic title will do the rest, replayability till there is no tomorrow so to speak.
Like I said before, better a short awesome game where you feel that it was worth it than an lousy piece of junk that makes you wish you bought something else!
Replayablility could always be added trough little quests like they did in Sonic 06 and Unleashed, OR add a fuckin Chao Garden, that thing is replay MINE!! They just need to modify and reprogram the chao engine and integrate it into the Hedgehog Engine, that would definately add a huge replay factor.
But yeah, all we can do is wait and see!
I actually REALLY liked Sonic Unleashed.
I also REALLY liked Mega Man 9.
So, as long as Sega’s releasing Sonic titles that aren’t absolutely broken, I’ll be buying them. The 2D-style downloadable games would be awesome (a la Mega Man 9) but I’d still be up for new, full, retail games as well.
Fake length is an industry wide problem…everyone wants long games, but nobody has the time to make them. That’s why I appreciate Nintendo…they don’t do that junk.
By the way… I liked Unleashed more than Galaxy.
Longer lasting game, please. If some of you were paying attention, “gimmicks” have been added to nearly every main series game since Sonic 2! New characters, new play styles, etc. I see no reason why Sonic Team should have to ignore trying to mix things up just because certain fans have the wool over their eyes. Really aggitating wool. I don’t get why the critics gave such low scores to Sonic Unleashed; it was a definate improvement over the previous installment…and they all LIKED the daytime stages! If it wasn’t for their insistance of what Sonic SHOULDN’T be doing, the game would be getting 7s, 8s, and 9s all over. I liked the slower, precision based platforming that the Werehog provided, I just didn’t like the combat. >__>;;
And of course the kids like it, they tend to be a bit more open minded about that sort of thing at their age, aren’t they? 😀
Pur: I recognize that, but these days some people act like the length of the game is the SINGLE most important part of a game. Now don’t get me wrong, not everyone thinks that, but it seems to be a top priority nowadays. Of course, I do enjoy length, but just when I also enjoy the content within that time period.
For instance, I know not everyone enjoyed Black Knight, but I did – and I finished the story mode in a day. That said, there are other missions, unlockables, and various other content to keep me busy in the game; and the other characters are entirely optional, another thing I enjoyed. I love SA1 and all, but needing to play as every character in order to finish the game could push some people away. That’s something else I think SEGA should do for the next main game and make it like S3&K whereas it’s not required to finish the game with every character, but playing as them opens up an entirely new experience.
I guess I went off rambling. ^_^;;;
hey guys, just looking at this..
and i readed the thing “Sonic in XBLA” and i remembered something.
microsoft will launch a system where you buy games by the cash of the Xbox, (i mean, FULL games of Xbox 360). and one of the first titles that will be launched, will be sonic 06. so there’s a possibility that the game will be edited, so it will don’t have all the bugs and etc..
anyway, im just telling you this this :), it’s old news anyway..
well, not too old, but they’re like 3 weeks ago.
i don’t know if the bugs will be fixed really, but the game will be “Re-Launched”, thats for sure
Short, good game >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Long, shitty game
What about those poor suckers (i.e me) who can’t download games and have to resort to, you know, BUYING actual disks in covers from a store?
I know what I’d like. A Sonic game that doesn’t suck. Make THAT happen, SEGA.
Also, gotta throw this in since I actually have the game now, ’06, glitch-wrestling and high-speed stages aside, is pretty awesome.
-watches the fanboys “correct” me by orgasming over Unleashed and shitting on ’06 in a flawed, incoherent tl;dr post-
uh, What exactly was bad about Sonic Unleashed?
Anyway, SEGA needs to think for a moment here, not everyone has access to Wifi and DLC. How are they supposed to get the game? They can’t. Thus, SEGA loses the money from those. There are a lot of these people, heck, I’m one of them.
It’s funny how everyone spazzed out about the werehog’s gameplay, but you barely see anyone complain about God of War or even the Knuckles sections in Sonic Adventure. It was fun and a nice break from the highspeed gameplay. If you don’t like it, too bad, just shut up and enjoy the part of the game you do like. Everyone has a opinion, but they don’t have the right to bash something.
all what i’m asking is that they make sonic adventure 3
the first one was good, the second one was good.
and wtf happened to the chao garden? i loved that place 🙁
Some of you are arguing over “gimmicks.” Well, whether you like them or not, if too many people are against certain things, it could affect sales.
It’s not right to just say “if you don’t like it, shut up and don’t buy it.” Because you should consider the reason behind the amount of sales Sonic has.
well when you get down to it, Sonic=Speed… be that by foot, light speed dash, flight, whatever! Just keep Sonic FAST! Oh, and give him his spin dash back please! If you want a combat system thrown in, use Knuckles! He could be like a faster version of the Werehog… without stretchy arms. One more thing. Multiplayer would also be a nice touch as well as a Chao garden… I miss those :,(. I’d be good with a retail Sonic game like that!
I’d prefer a spin on the download option: you get a disc pre-loaded with as many levels as SEGA could cram on there, and then there’s an option in the game where you can download whatever they decide to come up with next. Of course, this might take up a lot of space on a Wii, and those without internet wouldn’t be too excited.
1.) Sonic 1 through Sonic 3&K, graphics/sprites revamped, audio restored (none of that PC version audio BS), some AMV’s between Zones/Boss fights (Unleashed felt like half a movie, which might be a good idea for Sega to do, *hint-hint * :P)
Basically, connect all the Genesis Sonic games together with remastered visuals, options of original, 16-bit era BGM(unlockable?) or some newer, possibly fan made audio submissions, sick some AMV’s to give it more backstory/movie feel. 😛
2.) As with what Megaman 9 is; new content in what’s familiar to us, so should this ‘new’ Sonic 20th Anniversary game be; give us a chance to revisit the fallen Flying Battery Zone, or let us goof off in the Emerald Chamber or the Death Egg; I’ve always wondered what it’d be like taking control of the thing and firing its lazers at everything… >:}
Hell, I’d like to do a straight run of Angel Island based on the layout of the Island, not randomly tossed out of a flying fortress, or blown up out of some other thing. (Time Attack, lol)
Even things like the non 100% completed story could go on; i.e., Knuckles defeats a Master Emerald powered Metal Sonic, only for it to return from the dead in a side story/mission/even badder boss/story (Hard Mode, FTW) 😀
3.) Chao Garden comeback & revamp/update; Wii owners with GCN and GBA/NDS Chao data can import Chao over once feature is unlocked, either by Chao raising expertise/breeding, or via primary gameplay. (hey, most of us raised our Chao on the go :P)
4.) Proper online capability and matchmaking(with optional skill level filter searching), with a flag system to boot out/ban cheaters(their ilk plagues ALL online games, I swear, I can’t win ONE game of mario kart these days :\)
Wrapping things up, its time for shameless plug type thing time 😛
“Sonic Genesis: 20th Anniversary Edition; Relive 4(+?) old classics with new a new breath of life featuring stunning new visuals, captivating audio scores, animated cut scenes, and unlockable content!”
Yeah, I’d think that’d be close enough to an advert. 😛
Yeah, things left out/mistakes, I’m outta here! 😀