Sonic Boom announced (Wii U/3DS)

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

Now if only Activision would outsource a certain Bandicoot to Big Red Button Entertainment. Hell, we could've maybe even had a crossover.

[Tani Coyote]

Now if only Activision would outsource a certain Bandicoot to Big Red Button Entertainment. Hell, we could've maybe even had a crossover.

As it stands it's uncertain whether Activision still even owns the brand, but that's what is for. I can always dream of there one day being a Sonic/Crash crossover...

Overall though I think outsourcing was a good move. This game may not play like prior games but if it puts Sonic on the map regardless, that's my key concern; SEGA's interested in rebuilding Sonic's reputation more than anything else so they probably feel the same way.

While I think this may have originally just been a way to diversify revenue and attract more people with how warmly Sonic was received between 2010 and 2012, after Lost World's failure (critical if not financial) I think they decided they really need to do something different since Iizuka's leadership isn't quite the miracle it was looking up to be.

[BlueSonicBurst]

Hopefully this game will be good. Lost world had some major frame drops. -_______- Short, felt slow (after a week). I had high hopes for Lost world. But it was just let down. Its not that bad. Its kinda fun. Plus playing 2 players.... that felt like 30FPS. Maybe this game might run at 60fps? I don't even know. But if this does..... this game will be amazing. I dont really care for the designs, as long as I can play a sonic game to enjoy, I'm fine with it.

[Tani Coyote]

I'm kind of curious about BRB, myself. They are known as veterans, but have they produced any games as BRB? If so, how did they fare?

I ask for one reason. While they may have worked on Crash, Jak, etc. that doesn't guarantee this game will be as good, even if it lends great hope. For one, there's the question of WHY these folks are no longer working on the actual Sony team. Secondly, how do we know they haven't lost their touch? No one is infallible, and even the greatest artistic teams can go into decline at some point.

I'm optimistic about BRB, though I'd like something to substantiate it.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

You raise a good point. I myself, haven't heard of BRB before the announcement of Sonic Boom, so I have to wonder, what name have they made for themselves at this point, past experiences from before BRB's creation aside.

 

And what about Sanzaru as well?

[Willsy]

I'm really hoping that the Deadly Six don't come back for a while. They were really poorly developed villains and just became annoying once I completed the game. In the words of NickonAquaMagna, they are not characters, rather caricatures based on certain stereotypes. I'd give it a couple of games at least until they come back.

As for this new villain, I hope they are being honest when they say "more dark and foreboding then Eggman". I'm pretty sure they said the same about the Deadly Six, and the only one I could remotely take seriously in the end was Zavok, even then not by that much.

[KrazyBean]

 

NEW INTERVIEW with Bob Rafei. The guy in charge of BRB and this whole project.

[Tani Coyote]

I only know of Sanzaru for Sly Cooper 4. Sly 4, if memory serves, is an alright game overall but is considered to not really bring anything new to the Sly Cooper franchise (never mind there seems to be more criticisms about a certain plot twist in Sly 4 rather than the actual gameplay but I digress).

Since they're going an entirely different direction to begin with Sanzaru won't have to worry about being compared to any prior games, however. So I trust them to build something solid.

[Marcello]

This is BRB's first game, I believe.

 

Sanzaru's latest game is Sly Cooper 4.

[BlueSonicBurst]

You made a good point. We don't know much about BRB.  

Plus, why arent they with sony? You made good points. Just checked their site, I think this is their first game.

[Marcello]

Why would they be with Sony?

[Willsy]

Something I heard in that interview....

"-when you play the game more in a few months-"

Hint at the release date perhaps?

[Tani Coyote]

Why would they be with Sony?

Going indie is a very risky move. It can be rewarding but the risk is fairly big.

Which makes me wonder if there's a REASON why they're indie. I'm hopeful a mixture of ambition and being laid off through no fault of their own during the usual company reorganisation that plagues a lot of industries.

First game though... I'll have to be cautiously optimistic unless I see the specific credentials of each team member.

[SuperLink]

Something I heard in that interview....

"-when you play the game more in a few months-"

Hint at the release date perhaps?

That's indicating some kind of playable version at E3 definitely. E3 is always late May or early June, "a few months" points at that, and it's pretty obvious the game won't be out til late 2014 as is usually the case with big Sonic releases.

[KrazyBean]

John Carmack: "A Sonic game which isn't locked at 60fps is a crime against nature."

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/john-carmack-a-sonic-game-that-isn-t-locked-at-60-fps-is-a-crime-against-nature/1100-6417606/

 

This guy gets it. You're damn right it is.

[Badnik Mechanic]

Something I heard in that interview....

"-when you play the game more in a few months-"

Hint at the release date perhaps?

 

They've already said in another youtube video that the game will be at E3 and there will be a new character reveal.

[Marcello]

John Carmack: "A Sonic game which isn't locked at 60fps is a crime against nature."

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/john-carmack-a-sonic-game-that-isn-t-locked-at-60-fps-is-a-crime-against-nature/1100-6417606/

 

This guy gets it. You're damn right it is.

 

Gamers and hyperbole..

[BonkersTheAutomaton]

John Carmack: "A Sonic game which isn't locked at 60fps is a crime against nature."

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/john-carmack-a-sonic-game-that-isn-t-locked-at-60-fps-is-a-crime-against-nature/1100-6417606/

 

This guy gets it. You're damn right it is.

 

Fully agree with this.  Anything that is even in the slightest bit fast pace requires 60fps.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

John Carmack: "A Sonic game which isn't locked at 60fps is a crime against nature."

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/john-carmack-a-sonic-game-that-isn-t-locked-at-60-fps-is-a-crime-against-nature/1100-6417606/

 

This guy gets it. You're damn right it is.

I for one, certainly do not disagree with this sentiment!

[RK64]

I'm kind of curious about BRB, myself. They are known as veterans, but have they produced any games as BRB? If so, how did they fare?

I ask for one reason. While they may have worked on Crash, Jak, etc. that doesn't guarantee this game will be as good, even if it lends great hope. For one, there's the question of WHY these folks are no longer working on the actual Sony team. Secondly, how do we know they haven't lost their touch? No one is infallible, and even the greatest artistic teams can go into decline at some point.

I'm optimistic about BRB, though I'd like something to substantiate it.

 

I think the reason they left Naughty Dog (I guess the same thing with the Insomniac guys) was to not be forced into making realistic games, as the development of Uncharted 1 was a bit messy; the Jak/Crash guys wanted to make a platformer similar to that rather than a realistic shooter and seeing that Uncharted was going to be the "new" face of Naughty Dog, they left mid development (it was reported that Naughty Dog was bleeding tallent during UC1's development) or they stuck around until the game was finished before they fully left.

 

They left Naughty Dog because they wanted to make the games THEY wanted to make, and landing this new gig making the next Sonic tittle is a great way to kick that off .

 

 

Going indie is a very risky move. It can be rewarding but the risk is fairly big.

Which makes me wonder if there's a REASON why they're indie. I'm hopeful a mixture of ambition and being laid off through no fault of their own during the usual company reorganisation that plagues a lot of industries.

First game though... I'll have to be cautiously optimistic unless I see the specific credentials of each team member.

 

I guess that is another reason they are working on Sonic rather than a new IP; to make a big splash ala Rocksteady with Batman, Retro with Metriod, ect. Working with a major IP ensures that you will get alot of funding and plenety of time to get your project done well, plus you get help from the big guys themselves (ex: Ninja Theory got combat designers from past DMC games to help out with DmC). I think the game will turn out fine considering the talent on board .

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

Well best of luck to BRB if this game is their debut. What better way to start than helping make Sonic a big name in the industry again!

[RK64]

John Carmack: "A Sonic game which isn't locked at 60fps is a crime against nature."

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/john-carmack-a-sonic-game-that-isn-t-locked-at-60-fps-is-a-crime-against-nature/1100-6417606/

 

This guy gets it. You're damn right it is.

 

Guess he's going to be disapointed when Sonic Teams PS4/X1 game arrives; the only reason Lost World was 60FPS was to ensure the game would control well with the games larger focus on platforming. This next game might just be like Unleashed/Generations where Sonic is using the boost gameplay, and as we all know, those games look amazing and have tons of detail. With that detail, comes performance and as we also saw with PS3 Unleashed and Generations, the frame rate is really hard to nail when you have to much detail (dear god poor Jungle Joyride...that rain at sub 10FPS at times man ....).

 

They are working on stronger machines and it has been proven with games like Tomb Raider DE, Battlefield, and some of the PS4's Indie games, 60 FPS is very possible on the PS4 (don't talk about the X1....the only 60FPS games on that are Killer Instinct and Foza), so maybe the next Sonic will run great .

 

At least we don't have to worry about Sonic Boom, as these guys know frame rate is important and have achieved 60FPS on many PS2 games .

[Sami]

I was watching the trailer  for the tenth time this week and something that could be a possible level gimmick caught my eye...

 

oh shit

 

I really can't wait to see more of this game.

[RK64]

Got some more news for this game, Neogaf user TimmiT found another interview about the game. His post was:

"

Not sure if this interview has been posted yet: http://www.computerandvideogames.com...venting-sonic/

- Game started development in 2011, when SEGA approached Big Red Button.
- Big Red Button consists of people from Naughty Dog, High Impact Games (former Insomniac people who made the Ratchet games for PSP) and Heavy Iron Studios. (known for the good Spongebob platformers and some mediocre licensed stuff)
- Worked together with Crytek to make Cryengine 3 display the game on the Wii U gamepad while also showing it on the TV in co-op.
- Game is mostly two-player co-op, with sometimes four players.
- If you play in single player you can switch between the characters. (seemingly like in the LEGO games)
- Development was started before the Nintendo exclusivity deal. They say it made sense for it to eventually be on Nintendo platforms anyway. (in other words, it started as a multiplatform game)
- Evan Baily is the showrunner for the TV show.
- They started working on it with a somber attitude, as broader media initiatives have a poor reputation. But as they worked together with Evan they were pleased to see that he's a gamer as well. After they got together they had no more concerns.
- Before really working on the games they established base rules like what the world is, what the characters are going to be like etc.
- Big Red Button, SEGA and OuiDO (the animation studio producing Sonic Boom) shared ideas of what to add to both the game and cartoon.
- Stephen Frost (the producer of Sonic Boom) thinks they're building a bigger Sonic world than they usually do.
- Stephen hopes to make more games set in the Boom world.
- Sonic Boom won't replace the already existent Sonic, they see it as a branch of the franchise.
- They hope to draw in new users while also trying to do something new for the Sonic franchise.
- They went through a lot of potential new designs for Sonic before eventually deciding on Scarf Sonic."

 

Very interesting we know know another former dev is on this; Heavy Iron. They made two really good Spongebob Platformers (Battle for Bikini Bottom and the SB Movie Game), so another tailented bunch is on board with this .

 

Edit: Beaten man . At least we know some more about the game at least .

Edit 2: High Impact Games also made the second PSP Jak game, Jak and Daxter: The Lost Fronter. It wasn't as good as the ND games, but it was a decent game in the series that went back to some of the series old roots (eco powers, more colorful look). It also had the Jak series version of the Werehog; Dark Daxter.....

[JAiRO]

The user TimmiT just posted this on SonicRetro

 

Another interview here, with lots of details: http://www.computera...nventing-sonic/

- Game started development in 2011, when SEGA approached Big Red Button.
- Big Red Button consists of people from Naughty Dog, High Impact Games (former Insomniac people who made the Ratchet games for PSP) and Heavy Iron Studios. (known for the good Spongebob platformers and some mediocre licensed stuff)
- Worked together with Crytek to make Cryengine 3 display the game on the Wii U gamepad while also showing it on the TV in co-op.
- Game is mostly two-player co-op, with sometimes four players.
- If you play in single player you can switch between the characters. (seemingly like in the LEGO games)
- Development was started before the Nintendo exclusivity deal. They say it made sense for it to eventually be on Nintendo platforms anyway. (in other words, it started as a multiplatform game)
- Evan Baily is the showrunner for the TV show.
- They started working on it with a somber attitude, as broader media initiatives have a poor reputation. But as they worked together with Evan they were pleased to see that he's a gamer as well. After they got together they had no more concerns.
- Before really working on the games they established base rules like what the world is, what the characters are going to be like etc.
- Big Red Button, SEGA and OuiDO (the animation studio producing Sonic Boom) shared ideas of what to add to both the game and cartoon.
- Stephen Frost (the producer of Sonic Boom) thinks they're building a bigger Sonic world than they usually do.
- Stephen hopes to make more games set in the Boom world.
- Sonic Boom won't replace the already existent Sonic, they see it more as a branch of the franchise.
- They hope to draw in new users while also trying to do something new for the Sonic franchise.
- They went through a lot of potential new designs for Sonic before eventually deciding on Scarf Sonic.

 

It may be the previous interview's transcript, but the summary provided by TimmiT was really nice, and I thought it deserved a re-posting.

 

It's amazing that this game started in 2011, I need to keep reminding myself that was three years ago.

 

Edit: No I believe this is a separate interview, conducted by CVG.

 

Double Edit: @RK64 Woah, Jinx man.