Aaron Webber is asking us to vote on Sonic Mania manuals potential online sale

[doctorbenMD]

11 hours ago, CleverSonicUsername said:

Aaron stated that CEs went into production prior to them conceptualizing a manual in the first place, so it was already too far along the process to include.

Edit: I would like a manual but also have concerns over the cost. Ideally they'd finally announce a physical edition of the game with this included, and if you sell that at 20 or 30 bucks a pop I might dip again, but otherwise the price on that manual needs to be cheap. I've already sank an insane amount of money into this game, and as much as I want to speak loudly with my cash that this is what I want more of, there hits a point where it becomes unreasonable.

Here's a better idea: Make an actually good artbook and include the manual in the book. And don't hire Cook and Becker to do it. 

[Meta77]

Who the hell would make and waste resources to put a 222mb game on disc. Like why ? I literally laughed at how fast 5he game installed. I hit download and bam there it was. Honestly just sell the booklet for like 6 bucks

[Badnik Mechanic]

47 minutes ago, Meta77 said:

Who the hell would make and waste resources to put a 222mb game on disc. Like why?

Because a lot of people want to buy it.

[Meta77]

Just now, Mayor D said:

Because a lot of people want to buy it.

Than buy it? Makes no sense again to put a game 200mb on a disc production run literally none outside a handful wanting a physical release. It be like putting 4 avatar icons on a disc

[Sonikko]

20 minutes ago, Meta77 said:

Than buy it? Makes no sense again to put a game 200mb on a disc production run literally none outside a handful wanting a physical release. It be like putting 4 avatar icons on a disc

There are various reasons for that actually.

We live in a world where digital distribution is available everyday, we all have access to internet and all that.

But what if you, for some reason (you're on vacation, you move out, internet is down) want to play Mania, don't have it installed on your pc already and don't have internet access?

If a physical version existed, with all the game files on a disk, that wouldn't be an issue.

Or, let's say, Steam goes bankrupt, the servers fail. How are you supposed to keep your access to Mania safe? No physical edition.

EDIT: Oh and collectors exist too. I am one.

[Blue Blood]

1 hour ago, Meta77 said:

Who the hell would make and waste resources to put a 222mb game on disc. Like why ? I literally laughed at how fast 5he game installed. I hit download and bam there it was. Honestly just sell the booklet for like 6 bucks

File size has nothing to with digital distribution in this context. To the publisher, it's all about whether or not the game will sell enough to justify the costs of putting it on disc. These days, consumers have become very used to retro or 2D games being smaller or "lesser" experiences than AAA titles. Many of them won't be willing to pay physical retail prices for a smaller game. Publishers then have the issue of needing to release their 2D games with a lower price tag. Of course, this is can be hard to justify because physical games still cost money to produce, much more than it does for digital releases. Mania hasn't been given a physical release because SEGA don't seem to be confident in it selling enough units to be profitable. The Collector's Edition would at least sell well enough to a group of dedicated fans to be profitable (hopefully), but doing a full physical run would be more risky. I  think it would pay off for SEGA, but their trepidation is understandable.

[Badnik Mechanic]

49 minutes ago, Meta77 said:

Than buy it? Makes no sense again to put a game 200mb on a disc production run literally none outside a handful wanting a physical release. It be like putting 4 avatar icons on a disc

lol whatever you say mate, the demand for a physical one is not a handful of users not at all.

[BlueSky]

22 hours ago, Meta77 said:

Who the hell would make and waste resources to put a 222mb game on disc. Like why ? I literally laughed at how fast 5he game installed. I hit download and bam there it was.

Well, you should know not every person could afford downloading trough internet, or even has a chance to do so... though I suppose many of those people don't really care about gaming, but who knows, some child in some poor family might be pretty down over not getting a game since their parent(s) can't afford to get the gizmos needed for internet connection (or even the internet itself, monthly prices are costy) or something... they could've got the console for a birthday/christmas present from relatives or something.

It took quite long for me to get a chance to use wi-fi for my consoles, and connectors (the other option) cost. At least around here people pay for the speed the data flows, not the amount they transfer so that makes it a tad bit easier...

So please, don't take everything you have for granted to everyone else as well. Otherwise you might end up looking like that one minister who said out loud there aren't many whose salary's under 3000 € per month in here... the thing is, there're quite many in a situation like that. I don't mean to hurt but the fact is not all have it the same as some do. Sorry for being a bit aggressive, I didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings, I just feel like people shouldn't assume things like this...

[LongcrierCat]

Nah, I agree with BlueSky there. Internet costs are stupid expensive and having a physical copy of Sonic Mania for like 20-30 dollars wouldn't be that difficult to make for people who both want the game physically and don't have much going in the ways of digital distribution and internet. And before you tell me that everyone has access to the internet, no. Not everyone has access to the internet freely whenever they want regardless of what statistics say about free Wi-Fi spots. 

People want a physical release. Hell, I want to play this thing on a Sega Saturn. But a more conventional physical release should have been in the cards. Hell, Nintendo Switch has games that "easily could have just been download only" as physical releases too. Binding of Isaac and Super Bomberman R have physical carts.

Sonic Mania should have a cart too, especially on the system that is essentially the Nintendo Nomad. 

So nah, Aaron. But if there's not a physical package but a booklet for a "few bucks" then keep it. Comic books cost 3.99 and I have to be careful with my money. I'm not going to waste five dollars on a physical copy of the manual unless it has a physical copy of the game. When fucking Accolade does this better with Bubsy you should know you have a problem, Sega. It's not good business practice. 

Digital distribution did things to games, man. 

(Oh and Meta? I have Shantae: Half Genie Hero on physical copy for the Nintendo Switch. I would have thought you would understand the appeal of a physical copy.)

[Meta77]

22 minutes ago, LongcrierCat said:

Nah, I agree with BlueSky there. Internet costs are stupid expensive and having a physical copy of Sonic Mania for like 20-30 dollars wouldn't be that difficult to make for people who both want the game physically and don't have much going in the ways of digital distribution and internet. And before you tell me that everyone has access to the internet, no. Not everyone has access to the internet freely whenever they want regardless of what statistics say about free Wi-Fi spots. 

People want a physical release. Hell, I want to play this thing on a Sega Saturn. But a more conventional physical release should have been in the cards. Hell, Nintendo Switch has games that "easily could have just been download only" as physical releases too. Binding of Isaac and Super Bomberman R have physical carts.

Sonic Mania should have a cart too, especially on the system that is essentially the Nintendo Nomad. 

So nah, Aaron. But if there's not a physical package but a booklet for a "few bucks" then keep it. Comic books cost 3.99 and I have to be careful with my money. I'm not going to waste five dollars on a physical copy of the manual unless it has a physical copy of the game. When fucking Accolade does this better with Bubsy you should know you have a problem, Sega. It's not good business practice. 

Digital distribution did things to games, man. 

(Oh and Meta? I have Shantae: Half Genie Hero on physical copy for the Nintendo Switch. I would have thought you would understand the appeal of a physical copy.)

? I own shantae on ps4. Steam and switch.  I was a backer on the kickstart way back when lol but shantae a bigger game file than mania. Even so many consoles today require online to update and what not. Granted thwre are some without a means yes but never that large a swath. I used to use McDonald's Wi-Fi when I was still in hs  when the ds first started offering online. Woo the times back then lol whew

[speedfreak]

I honestly couldn't see myself buying a manual for a game that's digital only. It's a neat novelty I suppose but if you didn't get it out with the collectors edition just let it go.

Or do an actual physical release at some point that has a manual.

[LongcrierCat]

Okay and? If the file size is such a problem then pack the Sonic 1, 2, and CD Remasters on the disk with it. Crash Bandicoot: N-Sane Trilogy literally remade the first three Crash games, put it on disk, and charged 40 dollars for it. The work is already done for the remasters. Admittedly, there'd need to be bug testing and porting to be done for consoles but otherwise, the Retro Engine is a very malleable engine. A forty dollar Mania collection is not only feasible, I think it would be in very high demand. 

Also, fun fact. Binding of Isaac Rebirth is 610 MBs. Shovel Knight is near the exact same size as Sonic Mania, yet it has a physical release without any supplemental materials. 

Meta77, I don't know what you're playing at. Why are you against physical releases based on their file size? That's like arguing that since Mario Kart 8 is a few gigs that it should only be a download title since it could fit on your smartphone. And I would very easily tell you that that is a close minded thought. 

[BlueSky]

1 hour ago, LongcrierCat said:

Okay and? If the file size is such a problem then pack the Sonic 1, 2, and CD Remasters on the disk with it. Crash Bandicoot: N-Sane Trilogy literally remade the first three Crash games, put it on disk, and charged 40 dollars for it. The work is already done for the remasters. Admittedly, there'd need to be bug testing and porting to be done for consoles but otherwise, the Retro Engine is a very malleable engine. A forty dollar Mania collection is not only feasible, I think it would be in very high demand. 

Also, fun fact. Binding of Isaac Rebirth is 610 MBs. Shovel Knight is near the exact same size as Sonic Mania, yet it has a physical release without any supplemental materials. 

Meta77, I don't know what you're playing at. Why are you against physical releases based on their file size? That's like arguing that since Mario Kart 8 is a few gigs that it should only be a download title since it could fit on your smartphone. And I would very easily tell you that that is a close minded thought. 

Well yeah, what @LongcrierCat said, and then there's the fact consoles like PS3 and PS4 (PlayStations sell around here better than the others as far as I know actually) aren't too easy to bring to McDonalds for some internet playing or buying as you pretty likely know already.

And I wouldn't buy anything using a wi-fi connection like that, there're just too many risks around.

It's kind of funny fixation actually, is it about the fact you think it would be a waste of space to have small game in a physical form?  And then there's the fact about updates; they aren't necessary for playing with consoles as far as I know. If you don't have the internet connection your console shouldn't be like "nope, no net, no play" or anything. If consoles are going to behave like that they're burying their own graves.

That large of a group? Gee, does that mean they're utterly insignificant because of that? Well, if some big corporation thinks they're not worth enough to give a game then that corporation prolly doesn't need their small savings...  Children suffer again...

... Back to the main topic...

I find this whole manual-sold-separately question a bit funny, what next? Is it going to be like we buy the game but we need to buy playable characters separately to be able to play the game at all? Like if you don't buy the character(s), well you have the game but you aren't able to play it? Though it would be more relevant to this topic's context if it was about background music than something having to do anything with the actual gameplay...