2014 is The Year Of Sonic "& Sports tape" *see post 1*

[Sami]

SEGA's making an entire western branch for Sonic in the long term - I'm happy about it, myself. Hope it gives every individual team time to work on their games and polish them up, and encourages some friendly competition with each other.

[Chaos Incarnate]

Sorry if this is off topic, but Discoid, were did you found that art for your avatar and signature, their really cute.

That would be aoki6311 of the Deviantart community, she's one of my favorite members there.

 

 

To say her art is beautiful is an understatement, she really draws the Boom redesigns well and makes me like them quite a bit.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

So does this mean that FINALLY Sonic Team won't be dividing their workforces? If so, BOOYAH!

[Soniman]

So does this mean that FINALLY Sonic Team won't be dividing their workforces? If so, BOOYAH!

 

 

If this means going back into one team focusing on games at 2-3 year intervals then I'm fine with this news.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

If this means going back into one team focusing on games at 2-3 year intervals then I'm fine with this news.

Well it sounds like just that. Unless Sonic Team still wants to mass-produce several Sonic games despite the Western branch supplying games too. Which I hope isn't the case.

[Sparky]

Knuckles had always had a buff chest in both Classic and Modern looks. It just got more pronounced in Sonic Boom. That's really it. 

 

I think everyone looks awesome. I want to know what other characters (Shadow, Rouge, Cream, Silver, etc) would look like as well.

[Char]

Even though they said they'll keep the usual franchise, they seem to be going pretty all out on Boom stuff: toy lines, video games, a tv show, branching development, maybe even a movie judging by the Jazwares poster, and all of this at once...

 

Realistically, how much effort do you figure they'll put on Modern Sonic and related things from now on? Do you think this whole deal could perhaps have affected LW's development?

[azoo]

Yeah that'll be my main worry.

 

With the "Boom" side of Sonic getting a tv show, merchandise, and these spinoff brawler-adventure games, it's amount of exposure seems to severely outmatch the traditional Sonic series.

 

I'd probably feel a lot better about this "Boom" series going hand in hand with the SegaSonic series if it didn't seem like we've been overwhelmed with it's amount of focus compared to Sonic Team's efforts, and only two days into knowing it exists. It feels like some instantaneous brand transformation.

 

It's why I'm very ready for the next actual Sonic game. Not just because that's the style I prefer (oh so very much so fdshjf) but because I'd like to see how they handle it this time, and how they balance out this focus and/or even lean it a little more their way, because it's seeming pretty one-sided right now.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

That would be aoki6311 of the Deviantart community, she's one of my favorite members there.

 

 

To say her art is beautiful is an understatement, she really draws the Boom redesigns well and makes me like them quite a bit.

...

Ya know, it's really telling that Buffles in this style is still as buff as the official version and yet it's easier on the eyes. I can actually get behind this Buffles compared to the official work.

 

The more I think about this, the more I feel that it's not exactly the proportions or even the change that I have a problem with. It's the general style which has hit or miss moments on them, and that Knuckles just hit an uncanny valley.

 

EDIT: Or it might actually be the proportions. Just saw another photoshop that toned down Buffles, and while he still looks buff it was a lot more satisfying than the official work. Really, I'm just gonna find a way to make myself roll with it, because I'm just getting all sorts of mixed signals here.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

 

It's why I'm very ready for the next actual Sonic game.

You mean the next Sonic Team Sonic game I take it.Because the next "actual Sonic game" is coming out this year courtesy of Big Red Button Entertainment and Sanzaru.

[Tani Coyote]

Do we have to beat children over the head with design cliches that make an appealing character design less so?

 

Most of the folks with money and power say "yes," sadly.

To be honest I think adults like to assume kids are completely stupid to make themselves feel better about all the stupid things they themselves do on a daily basis. Adults are most likely more intelligent overall simply due to more development, but there's a huge difference between "not quite as intelligent" and "completely and utterly helpless intelectually."

 

Muscles don't "look" fast, though.

 

Indeed. DBZ may be a mess plot-wise but even they had it so being too muscular slowed you down. Sleakness is a key quality of the speedster.

 

So does this mean that FINALLY Sonic Team won't be dividing their workforces? If so, BOOYAH!

 

Not dividing, so much as expanding. They reasoned they should hire outside help for a change, which as the Sumo games show, can often pay a good deal of dividends. Someone at SEGA recognised, finally, that their own in-house teams are generally subpar, as are most of the Japanese studios they tend to work with. They swallowed their pride and decided to seek help based on quality rather than affiliation or location, and I assume that Red Button's Sony credentials helped a good deal with that.

My only disappointment is they didn't make this choice back when platformers were still dominant in the PS2 era.

 

Realistically, how much effort do you figure they'll put on Modern Sonic and related things from now on? Do you think this whole deal could perhaps have affected LW's development?

They still make tons of Classic Sonic merch, so Modern Sonic is probably going to keep a fair share of merch, even if Boom did eventually replace the main canon.

I get the feeling they're going to let Modern Sonic wither this year to try and keep the focus on Boom, however.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

So I guess this means that the Colors Team and the Unleashed Team can finally merge and be one together again!

[Tani Coyote]

So I guess this means that the Colors Team and the Unleashed Team can finally merge and be one together again!

Not sure if they'd do that but... they actually could if SEGA keeps Boom around as a regular installment side-franchise like All Stars Racing. They'd rotate Sumo, Sonic Team, and Red Button and thus give each dev plenty of breathing room... not to mention at least three years' dev time between games.

[azoo]

You mean the next Sonic Team Sonic game I take it.Because the next "actual Sonic game" is coming out this year courtesy of Big Red Button Entertainment and Sanzaru.

 

You know what I'm talking about, Jova.

 

I get that you're excited for this game. And it looks to be pretty decent! But I'm just letting you know that I've never considered anything outside of the Sega!Sonic series to be part of the "actual" or "main" Sonic. Not Archie / SatAM, not OVA, not X, Underground, StC, nothing. This is just another alternate canon that quite frankly doesn't matter as much, no matter how you get your head around it. Just because you're super excited (and rightfully so as you please) doesn't mean you're gonna convince me to word it otherwise.

 

Telling myself this is the next big, super important Sonic game would be lying to myself. This is a spin-off franchise. A spin-off! Like said, it's very different but seemingly pretty good, but I cannot make myself give a single damn more than that.

 

And if it benefits what I'm saying, I've never even considered things like the Storybook games or the Game Gear titles to be in the "actual games" category either. They may or may not be in the main canon but either way they're over there being non-important. :v

[Kuzu]

Every single continuity is "main", saying that Boom "doesn't matter" is kinda undermining it severely, even if you don't like it.

 

 

If SOJ is your preferred cool, but I don't like the putting down of other continuities because they're not what you prefer.

[Tani Coyote]

I would agree that saying a continuity "doesn't matter" would be a bit far given how well some of the alternate timelines sell, but I'd have to disagree that they're all main. Sonic began as a video game franchise and ultimately will remain a video game franchise since SEGA Sammy is an electronics company and not an animation, film, etc. company. The games are accordingly the main franchise, despite Archie and other timeline's longevity, and within that main franchise there are several side games that don't count as main.

Though if the cartoon does well enough to last several years as is possible with Cartoon Network programs... it could very well make it hard to tell what Sonic is anymore.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

You know what I'm talking about, Jova.

 

Of course I do. I just don't take kindly to elitist talk, claiming that something's not a "REAL" Sonic game and all that "no true Scotsman" bullshit.

[azoo]

So should a new Paper Mario game come out, I shouldn't express my want my preference for a 'main' Mario game because screw me, I'm an elitist asshat? :v

 

The argument against this is kind of lame. Once again, I know you're excited. But this is literally a side-series. A secondary one. President of SoA, Iizuka, and Aaron Webber have all said this. This is not of the main series.. and all this talk of it really makes me wonder if anyone cared about Sega!Sonic all that much after all. :\

[Tani Coyote]

A side series is generally not as successful as the main titles, however, right? Spinoffs and such can certainly sell well, but it'd be a safe assumption the main title is where the meat is supposed to be and where the bulk of profits will be invested. That's the reason to call it "main."

By this metric, however, if Sonic Boom radically outdoes prior titles (which it likely won't due to Wii U) in sales it would be a case of a spinoff being more popular than the actual series. Which could very well lead to re-evaluation of what is the main series and what is the spinoff.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

So should a new Paper Mario game come out, I shouldn't express my want my preference for a 'main' Mario game because screw me, I'm an elitist asshat? :v

 

The argument against this is kind of lame. Once again, I know you're excited. But this is literally a side-series. A secondary one. President of SoA, Iizuka, and Aaron Webber have all said this. This is not of the main series.. and all this talk of it really makes me wonder if anyone cared about Sega!Sonic all that much after all. :\

I see no reason to defensively belittle Sonic Boom as "not the real Sonic games" as you are doing so.

 

How would you like it, if vice versa occurred and people called the Sonic Boom games "the REAL Sonic games"?

[TrueBlue]

This debate is pointless. 

[Kuzu]

So should a new Paper Mario game come out, I shouldn't express my want my preference for a 'main' Mario game because screw me, I'm an elitist asshat? :v

 

The argument against this is kind of lame. Once again, I know you're excited. But this is literally a side-series. A secondary one. President of SoA, Iizuka, and Aaron Webber have all said this. This is not of the main series.. and all this talk of it really makes me wonder if anyone cared about Sega!Sonic all that much after all. :\

 

Dude, I'm pretty sure almost everyone knows this is a side series, are we not allowed to be excited about it regardless? 

 

 

People are getting upset because it seems like you're trying to undermine our excitement with the "Its not a REAL Sonic game guize" card.

 

So yea, you are coming off as a bit of an elitist.

[azoo]

I see no reason to defensively belittle Sonic Boom as "not the real Sonic games" as you are doing so.

 

How would you like it, if vice versa occurred and people called the Sonic Boom games "the REAL Sonic games"?

 

I wouldn't like it. Because one has a legacy of 20+ years with a definitive art style and feel that's practically iconic at this point, and the other is a s p i n - o f f that was just created, and seems to borrow it's success from Naughty Dog and Insomniac platformers.

 

Dude, I'm pretty sure almost everyone knows this is a side series, are we not allowed to be excited about it regardless?

 

Going by what I just responded to, it doesn't seem like people see the difference really.

 

People are getting upset because it seems like you're trying to undermine our excitement with the "Its not a REAL Sonic game guize" card.

 

So yea, you are coming off as a bit of an elitist.

 

I said specifically in my post that you can enjoy it and it looks pretty good. The fact that I can't show dismay in wanting the next main-series Sonic game without being told "HAHA WELL GUESS WHAT THIS IS THE NEXT MAIN SONIC GAME YOU ELITIST" is what's bugging me.

This debate is pointless.

 

Absolutely. :v

[SuperLink]

Guys this is a debate of semantics, I'm not sure why ya'll are so adamant on not letting Azoo have his own view on things? So what if he in particular doesn't care much for Sonic Boom? It's not like he's forcing any of you not to care, he's not telling you yourselves to drop any importance you're giving it, he's just expressing his personal favour to the same Sonic he's always rooted for.

 

In the end, if Sonic Boom turns out great, will he put you guys down for enjoying it? No! So I don't know why this debate fires on when Azoo's own personal distaste isn't exactly something he's shoving down everyone's throats, he just doesn't want people to forget that this particular slice of Sonic isn't everyone's cup of tea and it's completely reasonable to not want everyone to collectively jump ship when we don't actually know if it's even going to be good or not yet?

 

Like I'm (extremely) cautiously optimistic but what Azoo's saying is nowhere near to rustling my jimmies. I've been on the internet many years, believe me, I know when someone is attempting to rustle my jimmies, Azoo is not being anything of a jimmy rustler. Stop getting your jimmies rustled.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

Dude, I'm pretty sure almost everyone knows this is a side series, are we not allowed to be excited about it regardless? 

 

 

People are getting upset because it seems like you're trying to undermine our excitement with the "Its not a REAL Sonic game guize" card.

 

So yea, you are coming off as a bit of an elitist.

Pretty much sums it up and tells it like it is. Quit with the elitism Azoo.