Sega Plans 2016 Thread "Join us for Dancing with the Sonic" "25th party livestream links in OP"

[Chris Knopps]

3 hours ago, TimmiT said:

Atlus isn't the one here that's so independent, Sega America (since March 31st) publishes their games and they're a part of the company. However, the Atlus label is still used for most of the games the localize (including the games developed by Atlus studios). The only exceptions being games developed by Sega, which Atlus does localize but are published with the Sega branding.

However, with the exception of a single title (Persona 4 Arena Ultimax) Sega Europe hasn't published any of Atlus' games. This is because right now, Sega Europe have the right to decide what games they want to publish. And they don't seem to be keen on publishing the majority of Atlus/Sega America's games. Which is absurd considering that pretty much every other publisher can manage to release games in the US and Europe around the same time.

For Atlus fans in Europe, while this has been an annoyance, we thankfully did still get all of Atlus games released here on way or another. In recent years this was thanks to NIS America, which published the majority of Atlus' games here. This recently changed though, as NISA cut ties with Atlus. The reasoning is this, according to the NISA CEO:

So now, outside of Odin Sphere Leifthrasir which is the last Atlus title NISA will publish, none of Atlus' upcoming games have a publisher in Europe. And with Sega Europe not bothering to publish their games here, the future of Atlus games in Europe looks pretty bad. And it doesn't help that Sega Europe's been hesitant to publish Sega America's games as well.

Mmm...

The only reason I can think of that Atlus and it's various brands wouldn't be a priority for SEGA right now is because of the entire situation revolving their main brand, that is Sonic, at the moment. Probably once they get their mascot back in order and back on the top charts first and foremost, THEN we'll see more focus returning to side things such as everything revolving Atlus, not that I'd say that's a bad thing.

If you want the rest of your franchises to do well, you've gotta make sure the main one that represents you/your quality the most is top notch beforehand.

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, Chris Knopps said:

Mmm...

The only reason I can think of that Atlus and it's various brands wouldn't be a priority for SEGA right now is because of the entire situation revolving their main brand, that is Sonic, at the moment. Probably once they get their mascot back in order and back on the top charts first and foremost, THEN we'll see more focus returning to side things such as everything revolving Atlus, not that I'd say that's a bad thing.

If you want the rest of your franchises to do well, you've gotta make sure the main one that represents you/your quality the most is top notch beforehand.

Sonic's not Sega Europe's biggest franchise, not outside of mobile anyway. Total War, Football Manager, Company of Heroes and Dawn of War are. It's not that Atlus isn't low priority, console and handheld games in general seem to be low priority for them right now. Their focus right now is on PC and mobile, which is where their best selling games are. And instead of having those games compliment their console and handheld line-up, they've almost abandoned it instead.

[Chris Knopps]

3 hours ago, TimmiT said:

Sonic's not Sega Europe's biggest franchise, not outside of mobile anyway. Total War, Football Manager, Company of Heroes and Dawn of War are. It's not that Atlus isn't low priority, console and handheld games in general seem to be low priority for them right now. Their focus right now is on PC and mobile, and instead of having that compliment their console and handheld line-up they've pretty much had it replace it.

Keep in mind Sonic fits perfectly in said plan for mobile AND the whole PC focus as well, we've even had a Nintendo exclusive title pushed onto PC now, so it's still safe to say Sonic would be/is as key to them as the other divisions, and it's likely SEGA of Europe helping with making Sonic sell better on said things most. SoJ and SoE would likely have the key experience in this field, with SoA providing feedback simultaneously, although not being entirely key.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Chris Knopps said:

Keep in mind Sonic fits perfectly in said plan for mobile AND the whole PC focus as well, we've even had a Nintendo exclusive title pushed onto PC now, so it's still safe to say Sonic would be/is as key to them as the other divisions, and it's likely SEGA of Europe helping with making Sonic sell better on said things most. SoJ and SoE would likely have the key experience in this field, with SoA providing feedback simultaneously, although not being entirely key.

I'd say Sega America is very much key to Sonic seeing how Iizuka is there and they're making it the "hub" for Sonic stuff. :V

Anyway, Sonic isn't going to get Sega Europe to localise their other console/handheld games.

[Chris Knopps]

3 hours ago, TimmiT said:

I'd say Sega America is very much key to Sonic seeing how Iizuka is there and they're making it the "hub" for Sonic stuff. :V

Anyway, Sonic isn't going to get Sega Europe to localise their other console/handheld games.

Mmm... It's going to be very difficult to make the US the hub for Sonic when the content really doesn't cater to US based expectations. BOOM has done well and terribly in various ways, but it's still not a seller by any means as evidence shows. It makes for a descent show, not so much games.

If the franchise is going to have a US hub, hate to say it, but that requires a catering to a more 1991-2000 direction, and last I checked, the company has an "unfavorable view of Adventure fans" and has lost all the more interest to make such content because of said fans behavior.

A fine kettle of fish to be sure... We'll see how things pan out. lol

[Guest]

No more Adventure-like games would be a good thing IMO. :V

Anyway, I wasn't talking about Sonic. I'm sure that Europe is going to get whatever the next Sonic game is. The problem is Sega's other console/handheld games.

[Chris Knopps]

3 hours ago, TimmiT said:

No more Adventure-like games would be a good thing IMO. :V

Anyway, I wasn't talking about Sonic. I'm sure that Europe is going to get whatever the next Sonic game is. The problem is Sega's other console/handheld games.

If anything I'd love to find out for Sonic's 25th anniversary, he's getting a starring appearance in Billy Hatcher 2 and NiGHTS 3...

But that's just me... Since you brought up their other games that is.

[GeneHF]

16 hours ago, Chris Knopps said:

...and last I checked, the company has an "unfavorable view of Adventure fans" and has lost all the more interest to make such content because of said fans behavior.

Not true. The Adventure era fans (or for clarity, those that got into the series from SA1 to about ShadowTH or Sonic Riders--they're all classed as Modern Sonic anyway) aren't viewed unfavorably. At all. If that were the case, there would be a complete mute discussion on that section of the series. The honest problem? Sonic Team got burned really hard by Sonic 06 and Sonic Unleashed, the last two games to really take themes from that era and tried to make them work. I mean, let's look at critical reception:

• The stories were dark to the point it got campy
• Hub worlds were dull and added no real benefit to the gameplay. Why even have them?
• Exploration of levels is boring when there's a greater interest in going really fast
• We're sick of friend characters! We want to play as Sonic!

You'll find those to be VERY common opinions cited by people at large, within and outside the fanbase (though, the friend character complaint is more a complaint about sloppy mechanics than the actual character, usually.) You'll also note that after that, at least until Lost World, the one major positive was the boost gameplay (which is not without its own issues) and Sonic Team worked with it in Colors (Adding additional power ups) and Generations (the payoff.)

Personally, while they've lost their luster for me in recent years, I still like SA1 and SA2 quite enough, though will acknowledge they have a multitude of design problems. Unleashed remains one of my favorite Modern Sonic games unironically since I felt it hit all the right notes in terms of story, theme, and general level atmosphere (I loved the hub worlds there.) Really, its main problems fall into poor design choices with the Werehog and the gated progression with the Sun and Moon tokens.

I'm saying this because I want to dismiss this notion that Adventure Fans feel they're vermin to SEGA at large. It's not true whatsoever. The truth is Sonic Team has little interest to explore that avenue from how badly burned it was. You know why Aaron's been going to "said fans" and telling them to express positivity? Not so much to "brain wash them" and make them accept Sonic as he is but to basically go, "Guys. We see your passion for what you want in the series. We can only do so much on our end. You want Sonic Team to give another go at an Adventure-styled design? Raise interest. Show and tell people who have been just taking negative opinions at whole sale why they should reconsider that stance. What's the magic you guys see that others don't?"

That, honestly, would do SO much more to help the cause that just disliking everything. I won't shy away from my past. I've said that I hate this notion that to be a "True Sonic Fan" you have to love everything the brand does. I believe true fans are supposed to be a little more critical of the brand since you guys have taken the time and dedication to invest in it financially and emotionally. But the crux of it is to be critical in a constructive way.

Let's look at the Classic fans. Much like Adventure era fans now, they were grumbling for a proper 2D Sonic game "like the Genesis titles" for a good number of years, since the last one was in 1994. Eventually, they just made a community of hacking those games and making their own edits to make their own games. Sega responded with Sonic 4 in the late '00s and it was like a nuclear bomb went off in anger for entirely missing the point. But from that rose interest in working with some of the scene's best talent and now there are fans working on 2D Sonic games, albeit remasters, officially (Christian Whitehead and Stealth.)

[Hiki]

On 5/21/2016 at 11:56 AM, GeneHF said:

 

 

 

On 5/21/2016 at 11:56 AM, GeneHF said:

 

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[shdowhunt60]

I do like the positive direction towards the modding community that SEGA has been making. I mean, probably the best thing they did was basically sanctioning romhacks with the SEGA megadrive collection.

[Hiki]

[removed]

[McGroose]

Or that there won't be a next Sonic game this year.

I'm doubting that possibility a little more now then I was before, but I still consider it a possible outcome.

Either way, I don't understand what Sega has to gain by delaying the reveal of this game for so long. Can someone explain a potential reason as to why Sega would choose to keep us in the dark for so long that would be in their benefit?

[Hiki]

On 5/22/2016 at 1:57 PM, McGroose said:

 

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[Jango]

Nah. 25th anniversary without a game? No way. It's happening, my uncle works at SEGA.

[Marcello]

Why would Ian Flynn be writing for the game?

[RobbieTheLebeau]

Weird thought,but what if,what IF...the anniversqry game is just a collection of sonic games up to sonic 4 ep 2? Remember the Super mario 25th anniversary? That ws just a collection/re release.

[Hiki]

On 5/23/2016 at 1:14 PM, Marcello said:

 

[removed]

[Badnik Mechanic]

14 minutes ago, SonicEkkusu said:

There's people that think he should, so I decided to ask him myself.

Because writing a comic book is exactly like writing a game script which originated in another country of which all the action is pre-decided.

[McGroose]

59 minutes ago, RobbieTheLebeau said:

Weird thought,but what if,what IF...the anniversqry game is just a collection of sonic games up to sonic 4 ep 2? Remember the Super mario 25th anniversary? That ws just a collection/re release.

Mario Galaxy 2 came out only a few months prior to that anniversary collection. I think it's fair to say that Mario had a damn good 25th anniversary game considering that Galaxy 2 is one of the highest rated video games ever created (and for a good reason... IT'S A MASTERPIECE)

[RobbieTheLebeau]

Just now, McGroose said:

Mario Galaxy 2 came out only a few months prior to that anniversary collection. All things considered, I think it's fair to say that Mario had a damn good 25th anniversary game considering that Galaxy 2 is one of the highest rated video games ever created (and for a good reason... IT'S A MASTERPIECE)

Except that mario galaxy 2 WASN'T the anniversary game,so you technically can't say that.

[McGroose]

1 minute ago, RobbieTheLebeau said:

Except that mario galaxy 2 WASN'T the anniversary game,so you technically can't say that.

But unlike the Sonic fanbase, the Mario fanbase didn't have to wait years for their next major game to be released. We've been in the dark for so long wheras the Mario fanbase was always being updated with quality titles and news around the 25th anniversary. Their date was irrelevant. Hell, the whole anniversary concept was irrelevant. What mattered was that they got good games at a decent pace.

[shdowhunt60]

1 hour ago, Detective Hogfather said:

Because writing a comic book is exactly like writing a game script which originated in another country of which all the action is pre-decided.

A lot of the action in prior Sonic games were pre-decided in previous Sonic games for the sake of the narrative before in previous Sonic games. So I fail to see how this is a problem.

[Badnik Mechanic]

3 hours ago, shdowhunt60 said:

So I fail to see how this is a problem.

Because it's the exact opposite to how a comic book is written. 

[GeneHF]

Not to say it can't work. Consider Paul Dini with Batman, though while that was Batman TAS he worked on, he transitioned over nicely for the Arkham games.

Though, that was a wholly western effort.

[Indigo Rush]

3 minutes ago, Detective Paradox said:

OOOOOOOOOOOOOH BOY

 

Whatever it is, it exists.