Yum
Active Member
Since I was little, I was raised in a SEGA household, with the first 3 classic Sonic games. I caught glimpses of Aosth, and cringed at the sight of Sonic X on 4Kids, even though I liked 'Gotta Go Fast' and the character designs. Maybe it was the one-note characterization of Amy Rose, Chris or the fact that it was a bland looking anime in general...but my interest in Sonic crashed in 2006, once I saw the promotional material for Sonic 06; I LOATHED the realistic and detailed backgrounds and the slimmer, less round and more 'edgy' Sonic.
For awhile, I was on the Nintendo bandwagon with my friends, playing either Pokemon, New Super Mario Bros. DS, or Mario Kart DS. Once I got my own DSi in 2010, and a copy of Sonic Rush and LEGO Indiana Jones, ironically, it was the former I played most of! All the tics of the old Sonic that I knew and loved were still there, just in a new form: loop-de-loops, corkscrews, the robots with cute little animals, even the trippy half pipe special stage, it was all there, just in a new form, and I recognized it! And HAD FUN! Point is, Rush is the game that really got me interested in the Sonic franchise again.
But now, when I started to research the past games, I started to realize just how absolutely damaged and broken the franchise was as a whole. I learned about failed gimmicks like the GUN gameplay, and the swordfighting, and the Wii motion controls, and the hoverboards and werehogs, and such, even the human princess...and the negative reaction it brought on the fanbase.
As I continued to delve in further, I discovered more: nearly all these games have terribly ill-conceived storylines with plot holes so big, you could drive a truck through, elements of beastiality, forced drama and overly serious and overcomplicated tones, the ironically funny lines, coupled with little to NO character development and annoying dialogue.
It makes me wonder: does SEGA of Japan really care about the large fanbase in US/UK? I once read on TSSZ this article from the former QA employee from UK, Ben Andac, who said that Sonic Team is a relic from the past age that needs to dissolve; they're worse than talentless, they're bored, weary, & out of touch with what makes good games anymore. Further 'leaks' from 4chan released on Reddit seem to confirm this statement, that they have a pretty disorganized and slapdash way of developing games: wasting time in these boring meetings, writing down buzzwords and then never talking about them again, badmouthing other lesser employees, little to no communication, never paying any attention to whatever the foreign branches have to say, always disagreeing with them, planning out these cringy and irresponsible and reckless storylines as if they just don't give a hoot about the character they're making these games about, and it's clearly true, as Sonic ironically doesn't do well in Japan.
I'm not saying all of that I just listed is true, but if it is, something has to be done.
Because this theory/rumor can be considered true, considering the reception of the 2 games released last year, Mania and Forces. Iizuka stated that Forces had a lot of focus testing and market research while it was in production, while Mania had none at all, since it wasn't about what people thought about Mania. Mania, with a dedicated team of master fan game developers, outdid Forces in terms of level design, physics, graphics, music and more importantly controls, and from Iizuka's perspective, it was just a way to satisfy the 'core gamers', when in reality, it made fans out of the haters. Now Nakamura and his team are claiming to take what people liked about Mania and put that into their 3D games. Mania ended up being the better game while Forces had to hand out surveys on what people wanted out of SEGA. On SteamSpy, there was clear evidence that Mania had over 100,000+ sales where Forces had 30,000+. Yikes. And then, Takashi Iizuka dares to show his face at SXSW 2018 to discuss Sonic's future? RIGHT after he says that Sonic takes place on 2 DIFFERENT PLANETS???
Mania's design philosphy is to utilize the past and subvert expectations to create a gaming experience like no other, making new memories out of old, and honoring the past. Forces is just boost in a straight line with a build a bear gimmick. Bring the kiddies.
And now the Japan team dares to show their face to an audience they barely understand after scorning them??
From my perspective, it seems that the actual Sonic Team, they don't seem to care as much or put in enough effort into the their games as Nintendo does for Mario. I think that they only see Sonic as their next meal ticket, and us innocent children as walking piggy banks; their only intention is to exploit the long suffering Sonic fans for all the money they're worth, with as minimal effort as possible, and anyone that DOES care about the character is ultimately thrown under the bus. They're OPENLY AWARE of how much we in the US love Sonic, and through a well-known icon, can continue to make bank off of him by creating these ill concieved gimmicks, accompanying them with these cringey storylines which contradict everyone's idea of how Sonic even works, and more often than not, fail. I have a feeling, judging from Nakamura's tone from that interview with Eurogamer last year, that the main Sonic veterans in Japan were jealous that a mere downloadable title outdid their supposedly next-gen triple A release.
From my perspective SEGA seems to be the Flintheart Glomgold of games, always one step behind, trying to maximize profits by being cheaper, always losing to the ever-prepared, ever-calm Nintendo Scrooge McDuck. Always trying one way or another to outdo Nintendo in a furious attempt to outshine him, losing to his own incompetence.
No wait, scratch that. SEGA is the Sony Pictures Animation of gaming, looking to fleece its audience through pandering and what's trendy, never taking any risks, always desperate to fleece that one sucker in order to make a profit to justify its existence. That's why the Emoji Movie exists, and that's why Sonic Forces came out the way it did. And now, all both companies have to show for their efforts is little profit and an even more ravenous audience.
But then, that's my take on SEGA/Sonic Team. What do you think?
For awhile, I was on the Nintendo bandwagon with my friends, playing either Pokemon, New Super Mario Bros. DS, or Mario Kart DS. Once I got my own DSi in 2010, and a copy of Sonic Rush and LEGO Indiana Jones, ironically, it was the former I played most of! All the tics of the old Sonic that I knew and loved were still there, just in a new form: loop-de-loops, corkscrews, the robots with cute little animals, even the trippy half pipe special stage, it was all there, just in a new form, and I recognized it! And HAD FUN! Point is, Rush is the game that really got me interested in the Sonic franchise again.
But now, when I started to research the past games, I started to realize just how absolutely damaged and broken the franchise was as a whole. I learned about failed gimmicks like the GUN gameplay, and the swordfighting, and the Wii motion controls, and the hoverboards and werehogs, and such, even the human princess...and the negative reaction it brought on the fanbase.
As I continued to delve in further, I discovered more: nearly all these games have terribly ill-conceived storylines with plot holes so big, you could drive a truck through, elements of beastiality, forced drama and overly serious and overcomplicated tones, the ironically funny lines, coupled with little to NO character development and annoying dialogue.
It makes me wonder: does SEGA of Japan really care about the large fanbase in US/UK? I once read on TSSZ this article from the former QA employee from UK, Ben Andac, who said that Sonic Team is a relic from the past age that needs to dissolve; they're worse than talentless, they're bored, weary, & out of touch with what makes good games anymore. Further 'leaks' from 4chan released on Reddit seem to confirm this statement, that they have a pretty disorganized and slapdash way of developing games: wasting time in these boring meetings, writing down buzzwords and then never talking about them again, badmouthing other lesser employees, little to no communication, never paying any attention to whatever the foreign branches have to say, always disagreeing with them, planning out these cringy and irresponsible and reckless storylines as if they just don't give a hoot about the character they're making these games about, and it's clearly true, as Sonic ironically doesn't do well in Japan.
I'm not saying all of that I just listed is true, but if it is, something has to be done.
Because this theory/rumor can be considered true, considering the reception of the 2 games released last year, Mania and Forces. Iizuka stated that Forces had a lot of focus testing and market research while it was in production, while Mania had none at all, since it wasn't about what people thought about Mania. Mania, with a dedicated team of master fan game developers, outdid Forces in terms of level design, physics, graphics, music and more importantly controls, and from Iizuka's perspective, it was just a way to satisfy the 'core gamers', when in reality, it made fans out of the haters. Now Nakamura and his team are claiming to take what people liked about Mania and put that into their 3D games. Mania ended up being the better game while Forces had to hand out surveys on what people wanted out of SEGA. On SteamSpy, there was clear evidence that Mania had over 100,000+ sales where Forces had 30,000+. Yikes. And then, Takashi Iizuka dares to show his face at SXSW 2018 to discuss Sonic's future? RIGHT after he says that Sonic takes place on 2 DIFFERENT PLANETS???
Mania's design philosphy is to utilize the past and subvert expectations to create a gaming experience like no other, making new memories out of old, and honoring the past. Forces is just boost in a straight line with a build a bear gimmick. Bring the kiddies.
And now the Japan team dares to show their face to an audience they barely understand after scorning them??
From my perspective, it seems that the actual Sonic Team, they don't seem to care as much or put in enough effort into the their games as Nintendo does for Mario. I think that they only see Sonic as their next meal ticket, and us innocent children as walking piggy banks; their only intention is to exploit the long suffering Sonic fans for all the money they're worth, with as minimal effort as possible, and anyone that DOES care about the character is ultimately thrown under the bus. They're OPENLY AWARE of how much we in the US love Sonic, and through a well-known icon, can continue to make bank off of him by creating these ill concieved gimmicks, accompanying them with these cringey storylines which contradict everyone's idea of how Sonic even works, and more often than not, fail. I have a feeling, judging from Nakamura's tone from that interview with Eurogamer last year, that the main Sonic veterans in Japan were jealous that a mere downloadable title outdid their supposedly next-gen triple A release.
From my perspective SEGA seems to be the Flintheart Glomgold of games, always one step behind, trying to maximize profits by being cheaper, always losing to the ever-prepared, ever-calm Nintendo Scrooge McDuck. Always trying one way or another to outdo Nintendo in a furious attempt to outshine him, losing to his own incompetence.
No wait, scratch that. SEGA is the Sony Pictures Animation of gaming, looking to fleece its audience through pandering and what's trendy, never taking any risks, always desperate to fleece that one sucker in order to make a profit to justify its existence. That's why the Emoji Movie exists, and that's why Sonic Forces came out the way it did. And now, all both companies have to show for their efforts is little profit and an even more ravenous audience.
But then, that's my take on SEGA/Sonic Team. What do you think?
