The "What the HECK Is A 2016 Sonic" Prophecy Thread (two topics from the pre-server wipe in one!)

[Mauro Fonseca]

West-wise at least, was also the best selling franchise. It's refreshing, actually. I'm enjoying the hit Sonic is taking in terms of being a crutch.

EDIT: at least IIRC- cue someone appearing and showing Football Manager sold better

[azoo]

Ya know, I think I've gotten to the point where this is probably the best news I've heard from the series. This series has burned so many bridges with me, I'd rather they just play it safe and run on nostalgia than try(and fail) with yet another style of gameplay.

 

 

So yes, while I would prefer a game with new content and more to offer...I've seriously gotten to the point where I don't think there's anything more this series will offer me. So yea, bring on the nostalgia pandering, I can at least pretend like this series is doing something good.

I'm enjoying the hit Sonic is taking in terms of being a crutch.

 

Why do we want or come to terms with this, though.

 

Why has it come to the point where we would accept this.

 

Why is nostalgia pandering okay? All it is for us is reminding us of better days, and all it is for the kiddos is a regurgitation of things they weren't around for. What is there to gain, other than the same old drag pooped out again, probably worse than before? What's the point of this?

 

If we think it's okay for Sonic to just keep prodding at nostalgia instead of actually doing something with passion then we're pretty much saying we're okay with Sega forcing Sonic Team team members to sit on the grind and make the same old baloney over and over again instead of doing something they want to do.

Granted, we're not a big crowd and we may not change anything, but why does that mean to give up our wants and hopes and just accept our fates that everything we want from this is very likely to be in the shitter?

 

If we keep thinking that games like Generations are the best we're ever gonna get now then we might as well say we have just as much confidence for Sonic to be any better as Sega. I know we won't really change anything, and I know I don't trust Sega worth shit, but I will always hope for better than that and I can't see myself losing it.

Why do we want to settle for better publicity instead of better games, anyways? Tbh, FUCK the critics.

...

I don't know. I'm at a point where I'm tired of hoping for better, and I'm tired of settling for less.

[Celestia]

*reads KKM's post over and over again*...Ummmmm, what does that have to do with what you're saying Azoo? Pretty sure he's talking about Alien. :V

 

As for the rumour: I don't believe it. Like, at all. Not really anything else to say really.

[azoo]

I thought he was saying that he's pretty alright with Sonic's current predicament, since that's been the topic of the past couple of pages. If I took it out of context, gomen KKM.

[Nepenthe]

@ Azoo: Let's also not even downplay the concept that it's difficult to be nostalgic about something that's never left. Sonic Team's not made a truly classic-feeling game arguably since Adventure 1, but that hasn't stopped the actual classic games from being constantly re-released on anything capable of even playing a video game in the first place, the iconography from being plastered on every single bit of merchandise imaginable, Sega from having the gall to try a Sonic 4, nor the fanbase from singing these games praises and doing little in the fan game scene to create something new to the point of having begun or outright cause some burnout in some people, me included. Most of my interest in Generations was merely seeing what levels they would use, and even then instead of using some interesting surprises like a carnival or snow level, they just fucking pulled the most popular levels without any regard for variation, because after all we haven't already played Chemical Plant and Speed Highway 50 million times.

 

This isn't even nostalgia anymore. It's milking in the most egregious sense. Nostalgia has a personal, magical quality to it that recalls better days due in large part to the difficulty or inability of reliving something that once gave you joy, something that has given you a strong positive memory. But Classic Sonic hasn't been absent, he's been dragged across this entire series the whole time. Sonic's bedrock for years has been this kind of shallow "nostalgia," so I'm not even sure how anyone can be happy about this like this is some brand new mode of operation or that it guarantees anything.

[Milo]

*reads KKM's post over and over again*...Ummmmm, what does that have to do with what you're saying Azoo? Pretty sure he's talking about Alien. :V

 

I believe his post was aimed more at Kuzu's post more than KKM's post.

[Graystripe2000]

Both Alien games were considered financial disappointments, so yeah. Pretty sure that's been working out swell as well.

Actually, I read on SEGAbits that they were expecting to sell 2 million copies of Alien: Isolation by the end of the fiscal year (sold 2.1 million) and Colonial Marines sold over 1 million (can't remember the actual numbers). http://segabits.com/blog/2015/05/11/alien-isolation-sells-over-2-million-while-yakuza-zero-and-sonic-boom-display-weak-sales/

[Mauro Fonseca]

Azoo was misinterpreting what I'm saying, but it's easy to say why.
I'm ambivalent. I don't think Sonic right now is doing amazingly, but I also don't think it's at a point deserving this despair- mostly because I rejected Boom as soon as I saw it and I liked Lost World, so as far as I'm concerned, there was Generations, good, then Lost World, a small team experimenting but showcasing interesting visual ideas I enjoyed, at the very least, and now a hypothetical new game by the big team probably improving ideas in Lost World. Sounds good to me.

Now, I also admit Sonic's taking a hit in terms of public image. But frankly, I like that. Over the years, SEGA became addicted to using Sonic only as the money maker. Being forced to do otherwise seems to me will pay off- maybe not in the next couple of years, but eventually. Basically, Sonic's too big to fail as it is, so I'm happy to see him become smaller for a while now, so eventually there'll be some more freedom to experiment there.

So he was right in his exhorting, but he's preaching to a wall- I've no nostalgia over Adventure (edit: correction- I've no nostalgia to the point of despair as most of this forum seems to), I've no thirst for bigger stories, I'm fine with playing only with Sonic. The one time SEGA started risking throwing these things I have a mild at most interest in in, it was at a cost I was unwilling to pay- the aesthetic and gameplay in Boom- so while I can understand the despair, it's also completely aside for me.

Kuzu's accepting this direction because he gave up. I'm accepting this direction because so far I'm legit liking it. Games look nice, play either fun or interesting, and when SEGA tried going otherwise, got their shit kicked. I'm happy :V

[Nepenthe]

Actually, I read on SEGAbits that they were expecting to sell 2 million copies of Alien: Isolation by the end of the fiscal year (sold 2.1 million) and Colonial Marines sold over 1 million (can't remember the actual numbers). http://segabits.com/blog/2015/05/11/alien-isolation-sells-over-2-million-while-yakuza-zero-and-sonic-boom-display-weak-sales/

 

This is from just a few days ago. They're disappointed in Boom and Isolation.

 

Also, let's not forget that game sales don't operate in a vacuum. 2.1 million is a lot. But if it doesn't hit projections, no matter how egregious or idiotic those projections are, it's still a disappointment. The Game Industry, ladies and gentlemen.

[Salamander]

So this rumour is basically about Sonic joining all the other franchises that Sega can't be bothered to prolong any more?  It's not exactly subtle.

[kboyrulez12345]

Stick me in the camp that's also tired of Nostalgia pandering. Why can't we just have a game that's new and fresh? Isn't there SOMEONE at Sega that can come up with new ideas to keep the series fresh? 

[Celestia]

I'm pretty happy with the series lately myself, aside from Boom. I do want bigger stories and more playable characters, but the lack of these things aren't really dealbreakers. Otherwise I probably would've given up on the series at this point, haha.

 

I will be kind of annoyed if we get a Generations 2 this soon, though. I'd rather get a game with environments as interesting and new as Colours again. For a game that was supposedly thrown together to make up for no Wii version of Generations, the level tropes and stuff in that game were amazing.

[Kuzu]

 

Why do we want or come to terms with this, though.

 

Why has it come to the point where we would accept this.

 

Why is nostalgia pandering okay? All it is for us is reminding us of better days, and all it is for the kiddos is a regurgitation of things they weren't around for. What is there to gain, other than the same old drag pooped out again, probably worse than before? What's the point of this?

 

If we think it's okay for Sonic to just keep prodding at nostalgia instead of actually doing something with passion then we're pretty much saying we're okay with Sega forcing Sonic Team team members to sit on the grind and make the same old baloney over and over again instead of doing something they want to do.

Granted, we're not a big crowd and we may not change anything, but why does that mean to give up our wants and hopes and just accept our fates that everything we want from this is very likely to be in the shitter?

 

If we keep thinking that games like Generations are the best we're ever gonna get now then we might as well say we have just as much confidence for Sonic to be any better as Sega. I know we won't really change anything, and I know I don't trust Sega worth shit, but I will always hope for better than that and I can't see myself losing it.

Why do we want to settle for better publicity instead of better games, anyways? Tbh, FUCK the critics.

...

I don't know. I'm at a point where I'm tired of hoping for better, and I'm tired of settling for less.

 

 

Because I'm tired. I'm tired of hoping for a series to shape up when it hasn't for over a decade. I'm tired of awaiting a game I should know is not coming. And I'm tired of telling myself "Well maybe NEXT TIME!!" 

 

Look, I understand the frustration with this series and the passion that we all have for it, but there needs to be a limit dude and I have hit mine. I'm not gonna put my faith in a series that pretty clearly doesn't have faith in itself, its fruitless and I have gotten nothing from it but frustration and disappointment. I'd much rather put my enthusiasm towards franchises that actually do consistently entertain me and aren't completely oblivious to what the audience wants.

 

So if you wanna keep waiting for that magical game Sonic Team is going to make, be my guest, but I have no obligation to be enthusiastic about this series and I see no reason to be. The community is great and we've done some amazing things, but creators and publishers clearly do not feel as much love for the series as we do.

 

I'm fine with this announcement because the fact of the matter is, Generations has been the most well received Sonic game in years because of its nostalgia factor. When you think about it from a business standpoint, Sega going down that route again is probably the smartest decision they've made with this series. Because honestly, the only thing left this series has to offer me to remind me when it didn't suck and the developers actually gave a damn.

 

 

So yes, I'm kinda sick of how this series is being run honestly and would much rather be reminded of the good old days than to continuously be frustrated about it.

[azoo]

So yes, I'm kinda sick of how this series is being run honestly and would much rather be reminded of the good old days than to continuously be frustrated about it.

And considering how I'm frustrated with having to be reminded of the "good old days" instead of them trying to make more good old days for themselves... there's nothing but frustration for me to gain from all of this.

 

Just... uuuuuuugggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

[Kuzu]

And considering how I'm frustrated with having to be reminded of the "good old days" instead of them trying to make more good old days for themselves... there's nothing but frustration for me to gain from all of this.

 

Just... uuuuuuugggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

 

If you can see where I'm coming from, why put yourself through such aggravation? It doesn't seem worth it to me, especially if you're not really getting anything beneficial in return. 

 

Stepping away from this series into other genres just really opened my eyes and helped me understand some things better.  Its like, I'm always going to have a soft spot for Sonic, but I can't waste my time waiting for something that isn't coming.

[Nepenthe]

Again, the good ol' days are only really good if they're not attainable anymore.

I mean, this is like reminiscing about your childhood pet, but without realizing that the pet has been made immortal and is currently scent-marking the place because you're too wrapped up in your memories to notice the stench.

 

Seriously, someone get this fucking dog.

[Radiant Hero Ike]

Eh. It sounds neat. Can't say I care whether it's nostalgia pandering or not.

[azoo]

If you can see where I'm coming from, why put yourself through such aggravation? It doesn't seem worth it to me, especially if you're not really getting anything beneficial in return. 

 

Stepping away from this series into other genres just really opened my eyes and helped me understand some things better.  Its like, I'm always going to have a soft spot for Sonic, but I can't waste my time waiting for something that isn't coming.

I have stepped away to other genres. Other game series, other individual games, all of that.

Sonic has still given me the best games I've ever played, and my near-stupidly relentless optimism for something better always grips me and makes me yearn for them to get their act together. Sure, it leads to frustration, but for some reason I feel like there's always hope for a big payoff, even if it's not gonna happen.

I'm tired of feeling that way but it's not going to go away. Everyone has that one franchise that's tied to their heart. Some have Zelda, some have Mario, some have Halo, Kirby, Final Fantasy, Mega Man, Warcraft, Metroid, Fallout, what have you.

I was the dumb kid to pick Sonic.

Edited November 12, 2015 by Azoo

[Lisbon]

I wouldn't be too upset if we got another game of Gens quality because I flat out loved that game and it was the most fun I had with the series since playing SA2 Battle on my Gamecube as a little kid. 

 

If they did some things to differentiate it from the first Gens, that'd be great too - naturally, use different levels and make some minor tweaks to gameplay elements to make it stand out as more than just a rehash. All in all, though, I think that if it's considered to be "settling" for receiving something that's the quality of that game, then I don't have much to complain about at all.

 

Granted, I would love to see them push forward with the series as opposed to just living in the past and I'd probably be more excited if something new came out. It's just that I wouldn't be upset if I got another game that had the level of quality that Generations had.

[TheOcelot]

Late to the party.

 

SEGA Sonic 25/Digital Sonic 25

 

I think a game based around the history of SEGA's games (not just Sonic) would be a more interesting idea. Being able to control all different SEGA characters moving through each other's worlds. So I guess a bit like SASRT but instead it would be a platform game. 

 

 

Sonic Colors Generations

 

This makes no sense. For a start you can already play Colors on the Wii U with the Wii version. Would seem a strange choice to bring Generations to Wii U as it's been nearly four years since it's release. That and everyone knows whilst Sonic games do sell well on Nintendo consoles in general, they don't sell well on Wii U. Considering how bad the games in the three-game exclusive contract flopped, it should be obvious to SEGA by now to drop the Wii U. The PS4 on the other hand, sure, I'd love a port of Colors - especially as I recently gave away my Wii U to my nephew (please don't hit me SSMB  ) - but lets be honest, it's not going to happen. 

 

I'm actually concerned SEGA won't ever release a new Sonic game for PS4

 

As for Runners. It's a nice little endless runner, but guess what, there are dozens of similar mobile games out there which are just as good or better.

[chirox the fox]

I too am sick of nostalgia pandering, I really wish sega would make another full 3D Sonic game, it seems like they're still not over Sonic 06. 

[Badnik Mechanic]

Plonk me in the camp of 'I don't particularly care if it's nostalgic or not, if it's a good game I'll buy it.'

 

As for the post itself, now I've had time to think about it, here are my thoughts with regards to 'is this legitimate.'

 

Yes.... but... is my reply.

 

Let's take the claim out of order for a moment.

 

 

 

>"Sonic Runners" is a mobile game with a bit of pay2win in there, I haven't worked on it personally, but from what I've heard they're going for addictive fast paced platforming

 

This is the smoking gun, the one thing that makes it all true, so lets look at this.

 

Did we know about Runners before this post? Yes... but... It was a post on 4chan which hadn't been verified, it wasn't until a few weeks after Boom came out that people realised that the Boom leaker was telling the truth. 

 

Here is the thing, with Sonic Boom being as interesting as it was last year, if you were going to post a hoax, why would you do it on Runners? Surely you'd do it on Boom last year? 

 

It doesn't make sense to post fake details on Runners which was an unverified statement from another random guy at the time. Why would you use that in your claim? 

 

Now lets look at the detail in this.

• mobile game
• a bit of pay2win
• addictive fast paced platforming

From the name alone, could you tell this is a mobile game? Possibly.... Could you guess it's a pay2win/f2p game? It's kinda a given, but notice how he says 'a bit of' not a lot, not loads, not some.... just a bit... how much is in Runners? It's small, really small, when we found the domain names for Runners, everybody was joking about stupid DLC prices, heck even yesterdays Boom mobile news, people were joking about loads of DLC prices.

 

Saying there would be a little pay2win seems very contradictory to what the stance usually is whenever someone hears 'free to play mobile.'

 

If you wanted to wind people up, or make this rumour go places, you would say it had loads of pay2win, not 'just a bit'.

 

As for the fast placed addictive platforming, was the game addictive? Oh heaven yes, couldn't put it down when it first came out... but can you get that from the title alone? Yeah quite easy.

 

The thing which makes this more than plausible for me is the detail on the pay2win, because he didn't say there was loads, he was very accurate with how much is there.

 

Now for the next bit....

 

 

 

Digital 25

 

I..... actually think this sounds really cool. The first thing which came to my mind was Sonic running over water as Ecco the dolphin leaps over him. 

 

But yeah, I think it sounds really really cool, and it would be exactly the kind of thing I would expect Sega to do.

 

There is one problem... that ownership thing, Sega have to get the IP owners to OK every single level in the game otherwise it won't get put in (see ASRT topic).

 

The next thing however is the biggest red flag for me...

 

 

A 4th Wii U exclusive, Generations + Colours in one bottle

 

What...

 

A 4th Wii U exclusive? 

 

Sega... when are you going to realise that every exclusive game on the Wii U that you have released has totally bombed? Yakuza... Sonic.. Sonic... Sonic again. They've all bombed...

 

This seems utterly stupid, even for a port of two old games, why would you make this a Wii U exclusive? Especially when Sony and Xbox owners never got colours? Sonic doesn't sell best on Nintendo, it sells best where the kids are, and the kids are not on the Wii U these days, they're... still on the past gen and moving to the PS4, just look at the update numbers.

 

This for me is the biggest red flag just because of how disastrous the exclusive deal has been and how utterly random it is. 

 

So is this post true? 

 

Personally... I think some of the content is true, the runners stuff is too spot on and considering how accurate the person is with the P2W comment when it would be so easy to exaggerate, they must have had some insider info, but that said, I have a feeling that there are some red herrings in there.

[Mauro Fonseca]

You'd post a hoax on Runners because not everyone, as I don't believe is already being forgotten, was reacting to Boom with a "whoopee yay yay", so a "ok nonsense aside this is going to be the next Sonic Team game!" rumour would presumably gain traction amongst those wanting TRUE HONEST CONTENT

[Xenos]

Maybe I'm looking at this the wrong way, but is this really a bad thing?

 

Sure they're revisiting old ideas and places to make something different out of it, but we don't know what the hell this game looks like, what it sounds like, how it  plays like, and a whole bunch of other stuff that could influence Sonic games in the future. For all we know, we don't have to take the nostalgia at face value just because it's there, there's nothing stopping Sonic Team from using this game as an experiment similar to Lost World, but on a bigger scale and hopefully not bad. I might be going through Green Hill #92783omwtfbbq but what if the only similarity was in how it looked? What if Sonic played in a way that we've never seen before? What if the level design is a pretty big difference to most 3D Sonics we've had in the past years? It might use nostalgia as a crutch but there could be so much more to the game aside from just looking like something we've seen in the past.

 

 

Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but I don't know, I don't think seeing it as nostalgia pandering when there's so many more dimensions to a game is the right way to go about it.

[Sami]

I just want a game that does the same shit SA1 did conceptually. Big, layered 3D levels with enough diversity in design to support multiple playable characters' playstyles. Multiple characters all with important roles in an overall grander plot, all treated like respectable individuals (Amy living on her own, doing her own shit, making her own choices, influencing other characters in meaningful ways thank you thank you thank you). Meaningful additions to the series lore that really expand upon the universe and strengthens the series identity while also setting foundations for future stories. Grounded, detailed art style primarily recognizable by taking real world ideals and giving them a "Sonic" flourish. 

 

Frankly I don't care if they do that in a new original game or a nostalgia-focused one. I don't care. The frame of the photo doesn't really mean anything to me - it's the composition and subject that matter. Of course, different things matter to different people, so I can sympathize with people that want to see all new locales and stuff like that, I get it. But to me, eh. Whatever. If at some point in the story I hop in the Tornado, play a rail shooter minigame, and land in Station Square, fully redesigned now to match modern standards with unique NPCs and shit who tell me they saw a shiny gold egg hidden behind some corner in the newly renovated Casinopolis I'm happy. If there's some little town called "Japanese Neighborhood Zone" that's cool. If there's some little town called "Yokosuka" and it has some Shenmue easter eggs that's cool. I don't really care lol.

 

I know what I want, I don't care how they present it. I don't expect it to happen either. Whatever.

 

The second I see anything even remotely like this shit I'm mentally clocking out:

 

 

it's hard to reasonably describe how much I fucking hate these mario-ass world maps GOD

 

BEEP BOOP I AM A VIDEO GAME WHAT'S IMMERSION WHAT'S WORLD DESIGN LOL WHO CARES FUCK YOU