26 replies to this topic

[Shadzter]

SEGA Digital Brand Manager Ken Balough has revealed at the SEGA Forums that Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I sold best on the PlayStation 3 platform on consoles. Xbox 360 came second and Wii last. The news is quite a twist when compared to retail Sonic titles, where Nintendo’s consoles usually come out on top. No information was given as to where PC and mobile platforms ranked.

Will the same happen for Episode II? Time will tell. Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II is out now on Steam in the UK, and will be released later today in other territories. The PSN version will also be released later today in the US, then Europe tomorrow. The Xbox Live Arcade version is due out worldwide tomorrow.

Source: SEGA Forums

http://www.sonicstad...s3-on-consoles/

Quite surprised. I thought it would have sold best on Xbox 360, if not Wii. The Xbox 360 version even had a retail pre-paid card way before the PS3 version did.

[Jetronic]

Oh snap! I honestly didn't expect that with the amount of users with a Wii.

[Ming Ming Suzy]

To me, that is good news. :)

(Well in a way anyway. After all, it *is* Episode 1.)

The Wii getting the least sales, I totally understand. It has the *worst* port of the game.

[Discoid]

Not really surprising. Sonic fans with multiple consoles wouldn't really want the worst version, and little kids without credit cards would put a huge dent in sales. I know I wouldn't have been able to convince my parents to put their credit card info on a game system when I was eight years old.

[Sonikku_Kiah]

I'm very surprised actually. I thought Sonic 4 Episode 1 would of sold the best on the Wii considering how well Sonic does usually on Nintendo consoles, not the other way around being dead last.

But now that I'm thinking about it, the results may have something to with the prices. As far as I know, the price for Sonic 4 Episode 1 was never reduced and remained at 1500 points ($15), whereas on the Xbox it went from 1200 Microsoft Points ($15) to 800 Microsoft Points ($10) and the Playstation Network going from $14.99 to $9.99. I wish there was a way to find out how much the sales were for the game on the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3 once the price reductions went into effect. I remember from a lot of comments about the game that to them it wasn't worth $15 and more like $10 like XBLA and PSN adjusted it to be. I think that lowering the prices really helped the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3's cause in regards to the number of games sold, where Nintendo not doing so really hurt them.

[-Knuckles The Echidna-]

....so I guess this means the loss of the Wii platform won't affect Episode II's sales much then?

[XD375]

WiiWare isn't a very well-promoted platform to begin with.

I personally got the PS3 version of the game, due to the controller and I later learned that the Xbox 360 version is displayed too brightly. Combined with high definition graphics and an option for motion controls I'd say it feels like the most "complete" version.

[JezMM]

I got the PS3 version because it was the only one that had both HD graphics, d-pad in the primary placement on the controller, AND motion control capability, but I didn't think that'd affect much. Most people would buy whichever one they fancied (of course the motion control turned out to be pants since tilting the controller was just a virtual gamepad for left and right movements as oppose to 1:1 with the mazes, but I woulda still gone with PS3 for the d-pad placement since 2D Sonic doesn't use analogue control).

[Sega DogTagz]

Not surprising. you need a good D-pad to play Episode 1, and unless you got your hands on one of those fancy new 360 controllers with the adjustable ones, the PS3 was your best bet.

Nice to see Sonic shine on an HD console though. If anything, it will help buffer any lingering sentiment to restrict Sonic to Nintendo platforms (since that's where Sonic games usually sell the best).

[KrazyBean]

Not surprising. you need a good D-pad to play Episode 1, and unless you got your hands on one of those fancy new 360 controllers with the adjustable ones, the PS3 was your best bet.

...I played Episode 1 with the analog stick on my 360, same for Classic Sonic in Sonic Generations

Then again, the D-Pad on the 360 is horrible beyond belief.

[Blue Blood]

Yeah, I really don't think a D=pad is necessary to play E1 at all. It does depend on the game, but the entirety of S4 is fine with the 360 analogue stick. The placement of the PS3 stick would only make it more difficult I can imagine.

Also, this news isn't too surprising considering sales of Generations. The whole Wii part is obvious, but Sonic doesn't seem to do too well on the 360. It's a shame the Steam sales cant be fairly factored in to this, since it arrived on Steam well over a year late and people wont want to get the game on different systems (no Episode Metal).

[Autosaver]

I wonder what the mobile platforms sold?

[Michael Myers]

Soccermoms didn't see Sonic 4 in the Wii-section in Gamestop. That's why.

[Nintendoga]

"Why isn't Sonic 4 Episode 2 on the Wii? Does Sega not want the game to sell!? It sold the best on the Wii!"

[Blue Blood]

NO WII? NO WII!

Is the Wii-Only Audience That Big?

Most gamers and members of the more casual audience alike will have at least one of the platforms E2 is being made available for- XBLA, PSN, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android devices, Windows Phone 7. And although it's only speculation at this point, it would make perfect sense for it to come to Steam too. Generations did, SCD is, S4E1 has appeared on the registry recently so why wouldn't E2? That would open up the game to practically everyone who'd be interested in it. SEGA can't be expecting any significant loss in sales. Is there any official data on how E1 sold on individual platforms? The Wii isn't exactly renowned for its online capabilities after all. Even if Sonic games do usually sell well on Nintendo systems, we’re only basing that knowledge on physical releases. It’s a different story when you’re talking about digital ones. SEGA haven't supported WiiWare much either. They've only released three games for it- Pole's Big Adventure, Let's Catch and S4E1. PBA only got released in Japan, while Let's Catch was only published by SEGA and instead developed by Prope. SEGA don't seem too interested in it.

Going by that topic, this result is something people all kind of expected.

Edited by Blue Blood, 15 May 2012 - 11:34 AM.

[Barry the Nomad]

Makes sense, given that the PS3 is more popular in asian countries. I assume that helped push the numbers up (assuming these are worldwide numbers).

[Michael Myers]

Makes sense, given that the PS3 is more popular in asian countries. I assume that helped push the numbers up (assuming these are worldwide numbers).

Sonic sells like shit over there.

[Barry the Nomad]

Like good shit or bad shit?

But yeah, I know Sonic doesn't sell well over there, but it does sell something. And I'm assuming that extra amount helped push the PS3 numbers up.

[Jango]

Even with that, SEGA still ****ing PSN users. No discounts, no Sonic 3 & Knuckles, no avatars.

Edited by Jango, 15 May 2012 - 02:22 PM.

[PSI Aqua]

To me, that is good news.

(Well in a way anyway. After all, it *is* Episode 1.)

The Wii getting the least sales, I totally understand. It has the *worst* port of the game.

How? It played EXACTLY the same.