Is there Room Enough for Two?

[Blue Blood]

SEGA's so far gone on record saying that Boom isn't going to replace the Modern Sonic franchise that we all know and love. But, I'm not 100% convinced that that's going to be the case. At least, not for very long. Sonic has always been most popular in the West, and yet Boom is a massive redesign to appeal to the West even more. It's not like we've got just an off-shot game, TV show or toy line, Boom is covering all bases in a massive push the likes of which Sonic hasn't seen since the early 90s. SEGA Sonic on the other hand has been drudging around a lot of negative press for years, even though the majority of the games have been financially successful. And it's merely going to continue what it's been doing for a while - just games, and some merch on the side. Boom is designed for new fans first and foremost, who either aren't interested in the franchise as it is now or have never even heard of it. They're not necessarily going to jump on board with SEGA Sonic. 

 

Do you think that SEGA is going to keep this up? If Boom is a big success, which is very possible considering the huge presence it's going to have, there's always the potential it could cannibalise the existing series. I'm not sure how feasible it's going to be to keep two Sonic's on the market. Of course it's not impossible for two franchises to exist under the same IP; there's a multitude of super hero series that do this, and some games like Mega Man. But, is that going to work this time around? Kinda hard to say.

 

I'll be gutted, if SEGA Sonic dies out. It's been a part of my life for almost as long as I can remember. Boom and SEGA Sonic existing in tandem would be fantastic. Right now, I'm feeling totally optimistic towards Boom. On all fronts it seems like it's going to be high quality and very enjoyable.  SEGA Sonic is still enjoyable and holds a big place in my heart. I'm worried that in the future we really are going to be looking at a scenario wherein Boom overrides the series that came before it and becomes either the main or the only Sonic series. 

 

What do you think? Do you really think that SEGA will be able to keep two franchises running along parallel to each other? And would you mind if either franchise was to die out?

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

Oh I'm very certain both franchises can live alongside one another, just like the Olympic-Class Liner Sisters. Well, while they were being built anyway.

[Harley Quinn]

If the Sonic Boom television show has a good execution, as well as the video game, then honestly...I kinda wouldn't mind if the 'current' modern franchise will die out. But I'm sure both franchises will be able to co-exist, if not peacefully, then decently enough so that we wouldn't get even more rabid and fickle than this fandom is already well-known for...

[SuperLink]

I honestly think that's entirely dependant on how successful Sonic is from here on out. I mean, SEGA are making a new side-brand for Sonic that isn't just games but multimedia. They want it to be huge, they want it to span toys, games and probably multiple cartoons and perhaps even movies.

 

If it's successful as they're planning it to be, Sonic won't just be one franchise anymore, the Sonic-verse will probably continue to expand much like Mario and (more extreme example) Marvel do. If SEGA want to turn Sonic into a big multi-media franchise that doesn't just rely on video games, then he could infact end up big enough to have multiple different facets running at once.

 

And it wouldn't be weird at all, it's just weird to imagine it happening to Sonic of all things!

 

Marvel's multi-layered existence that's been making itself more and more present for the last decade is really impactful, a lot of companies are trying out similar models, and this is SEGA's attempt at turning Sonic into something that isn't limited to Sonic but may actually just keep growing and growing if it works.

[Soniman]

Well. it's not as if Sega is having one Team develop two game franchises at the same time  and therefore are going to be spread to think and just focus on one branch. Despite appealing to wester audiences Sonic is still a japan made franchise and I doubt Sonic Team would relinquish that for a purely western Sonic. And unlike Sega Sonic, Boom Sonic seems to have a very noticeable finite lifespan, in the sense that it's a series based off a TV show, a TV show that already has a set number of episodes. And when the TV Show ends, who's to say the series itself won't as well? 

 

So nah, im not especially worried of Boom taking over the franchise, Sega said its just a branch of the series and I expect them to keep it as such.

[Badnik Mechanic]

The only way I can see this working is if they outsource the development... However as Capcom have found out, and to a point Square Enix, this is amazingly risky and damaging to franchises.

 

However there is one thing about Sonic Boom, it's got an obvious shelf-life. The fact its got a cartoon supporting it means it's life is based on how popular the cartoon is and I'd be very surprised if it lasted more than 2 seasons, especially considering the nature of a lot of kids shows these days.

 

 

Though this now has me thinking.

 

Long term... what exactly is the point in Boom? 

 

It's not a Sonic game, the characters have completely different designs, so... what's the point in it? 

 

Pre-existing fans will already be interested, because it's Sonic, so it's most likely been done to appear/get more fans right? Well... if that's the case... what happens when/if Boom busts? The cartoon isn't renewed and SegaSonic becomes the standard again? Are they going to suddenly shift back to SegaSonic? Without his scarf? 

 

Or is Boom going to eventually take over it? After all, pre-existing fans will most likely continue with it since they're fans of Sonic, but the new boom fans? They going to go back to SegaSonic? 

 

So what exactly is the point/eventually goal of Boom? Because theres clearly not room for the two of them, the fact this has been outsourced and Sonic Team are working on Sonic 2015 (shhhh we're not supposed to know about that one), and that Sonic Team is just a factory for Sonic games these days is evidence enough that they can't support both.

 

So unless Sega is going to outsource... which is amazingly risky... one is gonna die.

[FReaK]

well, this worked for at least one franchise....

 

 

 

Megaman and Megaman X.

 

So..why shouldn't it work for Sonic? Maybe this is exactly the best thing that can happen right now. The Fanbase is split now, for years...maybe it is easier for sega now to please all of the fans. BRB creates Adventure-Like Sonic titles while Sonic Team is keeping it classic. we'll have to wait and see I guess.

[TheOcelot]

It's difficult to predict how the Boom franchise will develop. I think it's reasonable to say that the game should help sell the TV series and visa versa. If the TV series is a success, then I see no reason why they couldn't commission more series which would help generate a demand for more merchandise and another Boom game down the line.

 

As for the game, well it's not being developed by Sonic Team, so on that basis both franchises could work if another party is happy to develop the Boom games, because I cannot see SEGA being allocated the financial resources to develop games for both Boom and SEGA Sonic. SEGA would need to expand to be able to develop games for both franchise at the same time, and SEGA have been axing divisions and staff in recent years, so I can't see that happening. 

 

I think Sonic Team could improve the quality of their games by learning a lot from Sonic Boom. I can only see good things happening. I honestly feel that Boom will be a success.

[SuperLink]

@Hoggy

 

dude in pretty much every franchise that has multiple sub-franchises in existence there is outsourcing involved somewhere. Nintendo R&D doesn't make every Mario series, Capcom's same dev team doesn't make every Mega Man series, and Ultimate Marvel is done by a different group of people to traditional Marvel and, while nowhere near as successful as main-Marvel, Ultimate was still pretty successful in the end.

 

It's no more risky for SEGA than other companies who managed to pull it off, infact SEGA are in a position unlike Capcom where they have a good hold on their current dev teams unlike Capcom who were faced with a lot of quittings and layoffs from important members of the DMC team, etc (when Capcom cut Clover they also lost a lot of the devs who had done amazing things for them with it).

 

Plus SEGA now have way more other developers under their name like Atlus and stuff, they'd be ok.

[Crash]

Well, I think one of them will die out at one point and it's most likely to be the show because TV shows don't last forever they do stop in the end whereas game series tend to go on for long periods of time (Mario, Sonic, Zelda). I think SEGASonic is more likely to stay around, mostly because of nostalgic reasons and we know it can be good, we don't know if Boom will be any good yet or not so we can't just assume Boom will take over if we know nothing about it.

[VO.SUPER]

Don't forget Battle Network and Megaman Zero. If all those franchise could coexist then hey, why not Boom and the orginal.

And besides Hogfather, your analysis of Capcom and Square Enix doesn't make mention of Nintendo's stellar relationship with Capcom and Zelda, or their development with Camelot and SEGA. This has both ups and downs.

One thing they could do with Boom is have a new game come out with a new season so that they could keep the ball rolling and keep Boom alive if it proves to be successful.

[Johnny Boy]

They can co exist easily. After all franchises like Batman or Spiderman have multiple iterations that run along with one another with no hassle at all so I don't see why Sonic can't do the same. 

[RK64]

I think this could work quite well....if Sega Japan's Sonic tittles are equal quality to Boom. As others have mentioned, Sega America is heavily pushing Boom with what looks to be a well done cartoon, tons of merchandise with toys, and a very promising game from a studio composed of western tailent filled with expertise with character platformers. With Sonic Japan.....we have Sonic Team and even though the new games like Colors, Generations and Lost World being good, they are still not as good as other platformers on the market.

 

I could very easily see Sonic Teams PS4/X1 game being disappointing to people for either not being an improvement over Lost World, missing oblivious potential ala Generations, or people just find Boom better. If that is the case and if Sega Japan wants to follow Sega Americas idea for the series....then I see the Modern Cannon being replaced by Boom.

 

That doesn't mean it will happen, as Sega America could have done this to give Sega Japan more breathing room to make their games cause lets face it, Sonic Team really rush to get their Sonic tittles compelete leaving obvious flaws or not having enough content in the finished product. Now with BRB and Sanzaru making Sonic now, Sonic Team and Mario & Sonic teams have more time to get their stuff complete and have better overall products. I could very easily see a COD type deal here, with Sonic Boom and Sega All Stars games coming one-two years and the Sonic Team/Sega Sports tittles complete the next year.

 

I think the big thing here is to watch what happens instead of expecting what will happen .

[Chaos Incarnate]

Let's say one series incredibly more popular while the other bombs, then yes, I truly believe one of them could end up dying out.

 

As much as this pains me to say, as I love the traditional Sonic, but if Sonic Team's new game bombed, or at  least compared to Boom ending up an over whelming popular success, I could see Sega flat out ditching the main series and acknowledging Boom as a full reboot from here on out.

 

Sonic isn't exactly all that popular in Japan, and Boom is almost guaranteed to be a success in the West by the looks of it.  I'm sure Boom will be a profitable venture, and if starts branching out to other consoles, it could revitalize the Sonic brand.

 

All I can do is hope for the best that both series can run side by side for the time being, and Sonic Team tries their hardest not to fuck up their next installment.

[SuperLink]

I also think ppl who worry about SEGASonic dying are worrying too much, nostalgia is a serious marketing angle and SEGASonic will always have that angle where Boom doesn't.

 

If any of them dies, it'll be Boom. SEGASonic is nigh untouchable regardless of how successful Boom is because there will always always be people who want "the true Sonic" and more Green Hill Zone throwbacks.

[-Mark-]

I don't think either one will die out, but I can certainly see there becoming a much bigger East/ West divide with the franchise.

 

Hell, by having Boom be an entirely West-only leg of it, it's arguably already even bigger a divide than we had back in the early 90s- whilst America did pretty much what they wanted in terms of the cartoons and comics, the same games still released worldwide. 

 

Not to say I think they'll ever stop releasing the mains series at all or even internationally, mind.

[Amomynous]

One thing I was concerned about is the strong possibility that Sonic Boom is 'testing the waters' for a reboot.

 

There isn't just the question of whether there's room for two. Does Sega even want two?

[JezMM]

How well did Sonic 4, Generations and Lost World do overall sales-wise?  Because SEGA seem very aware that there is a market for classic Sonic, and gamers still want it judging by the fact that they played the nostalgia card for three games like this.  That market is clearly not what Sonic Boom is aimed at.

 

 

Of course the issue among the fanbase is that there is a decent proportion who want Boom's Adventure-esque gameplay/story but normal Sonic aesthetics, or those who want revamped deep aesthetics but normal Sonic gameplay, etc.

[Wraith]

Honestly, this could go a lot of ways. A lot of people don't know what to expect from Sonic Team these days. Especially after LW was so mixed.

 

Think of it this way, If Big Red Button and  Sanzaru start delivering knock out titles right off the bat while Sonic Team are still fumbling around with how Sonic controls on their fifth go, which one do you think people will start gravitating towards?

 

Sub franchises work with stuff like Mario  because the main series covers it's own ass well enough that it stands out for what it is and doesn't get outshined, but what about Sonic Team? Can they really make sure they're not outpaced by this already promising looking set of developers?

 

Basically, it all boils down to how well Boom turns out and whether or not Sonic Team can keep up.

[Amomynous]

Arn't Mario's sub-franchises in the same continuity though? They wouldn't take over the main series because they're set within it despite not being 'main series' games, it's more akin to  the Sonic Storybook duology.

 

If Sonic team 'can't keep up' then I suppose, personal feelings aside the Sonic Boom! line of games will be objectively better-made games, but I'm wondering if Sega want to 'keep up.'

[Kuzu]

I don't know why people are worrying about Sega!Sonic. The series is long established, even their worst games bring in a decent amount of cash. Whether or not Boom is successful, Sega Sonic is fine.

[SuperLink]

Basically, it all boils down to how well Boom turns out and whether or not Sonic Team can keep up.

I think (for example) stuff like NES Remix would have an audience even if Mario wasn't doing so hot these days as a core franchise. Nostalgia sells, so the mainline Sonic would never disappear completely.

 

I mean sure they might make new games for him in a different vein to what we're getting now if worse comes to worst, but I don't think we need to worry about mainline Sonic ever disappearing. I mean we have merchandise being made for the MegaDrive which has been dead for like 15+ years? There will always at the very least be merchandise, homages and throwback games to Sonic's classic era because it's too iconic and marketable to simply drop.

[Nepenthe]

There isn't just the question of whether there's room for two. Does Sega even want two?

This is my worry.

I have no qualms with Boom existing being a thing, nor do I think it's objectively impossible for the two to co-exist. I'm raising my eyebrow at the fact that this thing is getting a huge multimedia push and meanwhile the original line of games are floating in a cloud of ambiguity right now. Sega mean for this thing to be perfectly on par with the SegaSonic games, and I'm not entirely sure the market's gonna dictate that forever due to the quality of upcoming games, whether or not the SegaSonic franchise will continue in its specific direction (I don't see why it won't to keep from muscling in on Boom's appeal), and whether or not Sega will indeed just say "This whole thing was a test, so we're picking the best one and going from there." People say I'm worrying too much. I believe Sega's such an unpredictable bastard with this franchise that no one can say what the hell's going to happen with any kind of certainty five or ten years from now. I mean, last year you couldn't even say Boom was going to be this big, so what the fuck do any of us know? And that's why I'm on my toes.

[Wraith]

I think (for example) stuff like NES Remix would have an audience even if Mario wasn't doing so hot these days as a core franchise. Nostalgia sells, so the mainline Sonic would never disappear completely.

 

I mean sure they might make new games for him in a different vein to what we're getting now if worse comes to worst, but I don't think we need to worry about mainline Sonic ever disappearing. I mean we have merchandise being made for the MegaDrive which has been dead for like 15+ years? There will always at the very least be merchandise, homages and throwback games to Sonic's classic era because it's too iconic and marketable to simply drop.

 

Well, sure, Classic Sonic will never dissapear, but what about Modern Sonic? If people are given a REALLY good alternative to him, would they be willing to stick with Modern? Would sega want to even stick with Modern?

[SuperLink]

Well, sure, Classic Sonic will never dissapear, but what about Modern Sonic? If people are given a REALLY good alternative to him, would they be willing to stick with Modern? Would sega want to even stick with Modern?

If there's demand for it, sure? For whatever reason, people love the Adventure games, and Generations was only ever a good thing for Sonic's image, a celebrated appreciation of his history. Whenever Sonic's history is being referenced at large, there's no way SEGA would miss the opportunity to name-drop Modern Sonic's most successful moments, of which there have been many despite whatever shortcomings he's had.

 

(Like the whale, which has been referenced sooo many times)