Sonic 30th predictions

[Drisaac]

41 minutes ago, UpCDownCLeftCRightC said:

Ugh I hate you guys. You're turning me into one of you, looking for clues and misinterpreting shit Aaron says

In all honesty, you shouldn't be hyping up at, for two main reasons.

The first being that, like @Roger_van_der_weide said, the rumors about the adventure remake are clunky, stretched, and likely fake, and I'm also under the impression that SEGA is accidentally hyping up people for a product that doesn't exist, even if it's done in good faith, they are setting many adventures fans for a HUGE disappointment, even if they are not aware of it yet.

The second reason being that..well...do you really want the same team that brought you Forces to try and remake a milestone game like Adventure in a way that does justice to the original...really ?

 

[UpCDownCLeftCRightC]

 

1 hour ago, Drisaac said:

In all honesty, you shouldn't be hyping up at, for two main reasons.

The first being that, like @Roger_van_der_weide said, the rumors about the adventure remake are clunky, stretched, and likely fake, and I'm also under the impression that SEGA is accidentally hyping up people for a product that doesn't exist, even if it's done in good faith, they are setting many adventures fans for a HUGE disappointment, even if they are not aware of it yet.

The second reason being that..well...do you really want the same team that brought you Forces to try and remake a milestone game like Adventure in a way that does justice to the original...really ?

 

I mean, I'm not. Thus far I don't see any solid evidence we're getting adventure. I've said this multiple times. The only reason I think it's possible, again, because fan noise has grown louder and ST often listens to its fanbase. 

Also, I agree that I wouldn't want to see SA1 with the boost engine. But I somewhat doubt that's what we would get, if only because ST definitely knows what people are asking when they say Sonic Adventure. Iizuka is the main architect of those, he's knows them better than anyone, they're his brainchild. But who knows, in a hypothetical scenario they might also think that something like that could be made with modifications to that engine, sort of like Lost World did which was modified from the boost games. In any case, like I said, I'm not on the hype train. But I do have a lot of nostalgia for SA1 and have to admit I'd be very excited if they did decide to release. But it's not what I'm expecting. I think it's likely we will get an original title, and probably in a different direction than the boost titles. But we'll see soon. 

[Red Hot Jack]

I predict... we aren't gonna get much this April, I know there is a #Sonic2020 campaign by SEGA which is accompained by Sega's 60th anniversary, but didn't they also say 2021 would be the next year for Sonic due to his 30th? In 2020 they could as well focus on their other games.

[The Famous Sonic]

Not to mention the Coronavirus that's been going round, it probably stopped production on the next Sonic game! 

[UpCDownCLeftCRightC]

So.... One rumor we haven't talked about that could very well affect not just the 30th anniversary game but the future of Sonic as well. Microsoft potentially buying SEGA. 

It has been rumored for a few years. I forget where I read it but we do know SEGA has visited with them in recent years for talks of some kind.

If this were to happen, this would certainly change a lot for this franchise. 

One thing that makes me a little sour on the possibility, is that I have never ever been an Xbox guy. I've played Xbox, sure, many times. But I've never owned one and wasn't planning to buy one. After SEGA stopped making consoles (and even while they were still in the game) I always bought Sony's and some Nintendo systems. I've had every PS and I like the switch a lot. I'd hate to be forced to buy the next Xbox just to play sonic, it Wouldn't feel right. 

[Shadowlax]

I have thoughts

1. One thing we need to consider and possibly lower our expectations in relation to is covid-19. Odds are this will put a damper in the development of a lot of things. Things that may have been ready to be announced might not be because the time table for their completion might be off now.
2. I dont think there will be an adventure remake. Yet. Adventure and adventure 2 remakes in this day and age during to expectations would be extremely expensive affairs and they arent even sure they have the gameplay right. Even if an external studio does the legwork it will problably take some practice runs
3. There might be an adventure like game. I think there will be a game with other characters that will be playable and a story that's a smidge less jokey
4. The future of mania as a thing seems uncertain. Theres a pessimistic side of me that thinks sega will try to do mania 2 themselves a fuck up. Again not understanding what makes things tick.
5. I think more animations are in the works

[Kuzu]

Honestly, there are two likely scenarios at this point based on what's happened recently.

1) More Sonic Mania related products; maybe a new short, and a new game to go with it that's probably barely an improvement over the original.

2) They try and fail to once again reinvent 3D Sonic, and we get yet another forgettable and mixed game. 

Neither is particularly ideal but that's the world we live in.In a perfect world, this 3rd scenario would be great.

3) Sega releases both a Mania sequel builds on its predecessor and they finally revisits the good parts of 3D Sonic, and slowly shows what they've learned while adding new elements that actually function properly.

Our, we get this 4th scenario:

4) Mania sequel but it's just rehashed levels again with little improvement over the original, as well as another forgettable 3D game.

[Flame Lance]

I’m sure I shouldn’t be this optimistic, but I truly hope for both a new 3D modern game as well as a Mania successor. The latter of the two could literally just be a sequel with another mix of new and old, or it could be all new stages, if not something entirely different like a Mario Maker inspired game for one example. I do hope the Mania team is largely intact and still working for SEGA, but I am unsure of this. 

As for the modern game, I echo the desires of the many who would like to see a Sonic Adventure remake. I think the boost formula has long overstayed its welcome, and while I do think a brand new style of gameplay is possible, I can’t help but wonder if going back to Adventure and refining it is the safer route. Fans are eager for it, and remaking it would likely be easier than crafting a title from the ground up, even if SA is more ambitious in every way than the budget games of recent years. Part of me wants to see a truly new game since I feel starved of good modern content overall, but I do feel tickled by the idea of successful Adventure series remakes paving the way for the fabled Sonic Adventure 3 to finally see the light of day, but... I’m fantasizing here. 

Aside from games of course, I’m expecting a movie sequel to be confirmed, and either a new Sonic tv series or perhaps just more YouTube shorts. Maybe some special IDW comics too, and hopefully some exciting merchandise of course. 

[Red Hot Jack]

Shit no. No more "Mania reused zones" please. If there is a new one, which seems uncertain atm, have it be with brand new zones. Just... please. Otherwise there is little point to remilk it. Even gameplay could use new tricks and mechanics, like new power-ups. A new useful move for Sonic.

I can definitely see more classic themed products, to cash in on Mania even more.

3D game will be Adventure-like, I agree, if it's a remake, it will likely be a de-make, they will have to cut things, stories and characters, even stages sadly, the game had a whopping 11 zones + hubworlds + minigame areas. It's a LOT.

There is also a rumored new cartoon which could be either classic or modern at this point... I would say classic, because there is no new Classic game right now, but then that would not help promote any games... so what's the point? A Modern cartoon would tie into the new game, and would have a richer lore, world and cast. As cute as a Classic cartoon would be...

[Iko]

Sonic Mania is called that way because "Mania" is a very iconic word of the 90s.

If they would make a game like that based on 2000s, what word would they use? Maybe "Sonic Experience"?

2010s would be "Sonic Smart" lol

[User18091994]

I don't agree that Sega has no resources. Last year, Sega was considered the fourth richest video game company of the word, according to The Daily Records. They are bigger than: Bandai Namco, Ubisoft, Konami, Eletronic Arts and Square Enix, for example. Also, Sega put a lot of money and effort in the New Sakura Wars that is going to be released this month in the US, they are even making a new anime series to promote the game. Yakuza franchise has always had high production value, too.

Sega is one of the biggest japanese developers and publishers. Here in the West, we don't see how big Sega is, but in Japan they have a lot of successful IPs: Yakuza, Phantasy Star, Puyo Puyo, Hatsune Miku, Valkyria Chronicles, Sakura Wars, only to give a few examples. They own 10 video game studios, 2 animation studios, 2 toy companies. They aren't small and they have money. In my opinion, probably the last mainline Sonic games had lower budget than usual because Sega wasn't confident enough with Sonic Team. The studio is failing to delivery a great title for quite a while, so the Sega's CEO could be afraid that Sonic Forces would fail too and the company would lose money, then they decided to put less money and effort (only my hypothesis).

But, right after Sonic Forces, Sega restructured Sonic Team again in 2018. So, it's possible that the team has grown, and they have hired new talents (also my hypothesis).

My predictions:

1 - Sonic Adventure remake

I think it will happen soon. If the next Sonic game weren't a SA remake, probably the next will be. Because there's a huge demand and remakes of early 3D games are a trend now. Also, it could be a possibility to Sega improve and modernize the Adventures and bring back the Adventure formula in the future 3D games.

2 - New Sonic 2D

I think it will be a new 2D game, too, because Sega have being releasing 2D and 3D titles since Colors and Sonic 4 Ep 1

3 - New 3D Sonic

I don't think it would be an Adventure remake and a new game. Sega probably would release one main 3D game per year. I have no idea what the next Sonic game will be if it weren't the Adventure remake, but some pieces of information gives me a little hope. First, Ken Pontac and Warren Graft aren't working for Sega anymore. It's possible that Sega is changing the direction of the stories in this new decade. Also, they are really involved in the IDW comics series, so there's a possibility that they want the games and comics to be set in the same universe. Second, when Forces was being developed, Sega spend 3 years developing the Hedgehog Engine 2 and only 1 year in the game itself. Now, they already have the engine ready, and have used it in many other games besides Sonic (Hatsune Miku, Sakura Wars, for example), so it gives Sonic Team more time to develop the new game because they don't need to worry about the engines.

4 - New Sonic cartoon

Sega probably is going to announce a new cartoon to surf in the Sonic movie success. It would be a dream if the cartoon were inspired by the Youtube videos or were an adaptation of the IDW comics.

[Red Hot Jack]

Okay, you are right. I don't want to underestimate SEGA and its resources. They are big... in Japan with its japanese franchises. However, we know Sonic is NOT popular in Japan. and Sonic has NOT sold well recently (talking about games, IDW and the movie are doing great). So at this point I'm not sure how much money SEGA is gonna spend on Sonic, but based on Forces, TSR, mostly their budget, I'm gonna say they don't want to spend much money because, there is no budget for Sonic anymore due to Sonic games not selling well in past years (Lost World, Boom, Forces, Mario & Sonic Tokyo, lots of flops), that's why budget for Sonic games will likely decrease. They will spend it on more successful franchises, in Japan. So I would personally expect smaller games at the moment.

See? Now I am the one being a pessimist, while in reality we are all just being realists.

It's just common logic, math.

IDW great sales = more comics and spin-offs

Movie great sales = sequels and higher budget

Games flops = smaller games with less resources

Which honestly fits, as Sonic has been a lot better in other media, the games have been mediocre, besides lack of sales.

[Kuzu]

It sucks if you're a fan of the video games, but it wouldn't shock me if Sega tries to put more focus on Sonic as a multimedia franchise than just a video game one; the movie is literally the most successful piece of media the series has produced, and it's not related to the video games at all outside of the characters. And the games tend to sell regardless of their quality because Sonic, the character, is just that popular to sell on his name alone. 

[Jango]

Told you guys it was happening.

jk. But hey. Keep an eye on for upcoming news.

[Red Hot Jack]

I don't want to act like a jerk but... @Jango care to explain your "sources"? You just can't drop half teases and then leave. You either don't say anything, or say it, but since you started, you may as well finish.

Also, "just because you are convinced that something is real, it doesn't mean it's the truth."

[Roger_van_der_weide]

Seems it's meant as a joke to mock people believing the rumor.

It's cute how video's like Badnik mechanic's dismanteling video and that mockery video will only throw more coal and oil on the fire with the click baiting.
Whether the rumors are true or false, there's gonna be a heck of a lot of obnoxious people yelling about the hypothetical Sonic Adventure remaster when the reveal panel comes. Poor Sega.


Ah screw em.
They had it coming with the endless cockteasing anyway.

[Kuzu]

In case anyone hadn't read yet, the panel planned for this month has been cancelled as well and postponed indefinitely. 

[Roger_van_der_weide]

Dissapointing but expected.
Can't be helped.

But, if anything, at least I hope this means the reveal of the new game will be closer to it's actual release now. (Yeah I know the release of the game is likewise also postphoned further, but still.)
I hate that Forces and Team Sonic Racing were revealed far too early, they had way too little content to show off to substain hype for so long.

[Kuzu]

To be fair to Team Sonic Racing, it was originally planned to release just a few months after it's reveal, it just got pushed back six months later into the following year. 

[A Peep]

46 minutes ago, Kuzu said:

To be fair to Team Sonic Racing, it was originally planned to release just a few months after it's reveal, it just got pushed back six months later into the following year. 

I see what you’re saying, but I just get the feeling TSR was always meant to release on 2019 because of the lack of gameplay before release and no proper release date. But besides that, I’m disappointed but understand the pandemic is more important than speedy porcupine 

[Blue Blood]

2 hours ago, A Peep said:

I see what you’re saying, but I just get the feeling TSR was always meant to release on 2019 because of the lack of gameplay before release and no proper release date. But besides that, I’m disappointed but understand the pandemic is more important than speedy porcupine 

The signs that TSR would miss its original holiday 2018 release date were pretty clear, but regardless of how you feel it was meant to release then. It was officially delayed to work on the online infrastructure, although it seems reasonable that more was worked on during this time as well. TSR wasn't "revealed early", it was just released late. The game went through a massive media silence because of the delay.

[Plasme]

I think it's a less a problem that the games are revealed too early and more that the marketing is absolutely dreadful. The marketing of Sonic Forces is probably the worst marketing of a game I have ever seen.

[Kuzu]

8 minutes ago, Plasme said:

I think it's a less a problem that the games are revealed too early and more that the marketing is absolutely dreadful. The marketing of Sonic Forces is probably the worst marketing of a game I have ever seen.

You can't market a game you have no footage for; iirc, Forces only started development about a year or so before release, and the game was revealed in 2016. It's likely they simply had no footage to show off in the time from the reveal to the release, hence we only saw the city level all of the time because that was the only level they actually finished. The marketing actually got more substantial when the release came closer. 

[UpCDownCLeftCRightC]

1 hour ago, Roger_van_der_weide said:

Dissapointing but expected.
Can't be helped.

But, if anything, at least I hope this means the reveal of the new game will be closer to it's actual release now. (Yeah I know the release of the game is likewise also postphoned further, but still.)
I hate that Forces and Team Sonic Racing were revealed far too early, they had way too little content to show off to substain hype for so long.

I agree. Imo, it's better when games are revealed with lots of substance to show off and that tends to happen at the very least within a year of release. Although Forces kinda screwed that up too, since it was revealed at SXSW in 2017 (I was there and massively disappointed that the game didn't seem close to finished). 

5 hours ago, Kuzu said:

It sucks if you're a fan of the video games, but it wouldn't shock me if Sega tries to put more focus on Sonic as a multimedia franchise than just a video game one; the movie is literally the most successful piece of media the series has produced, and it's not related to the video games at all outside of the characters. And the games tend to sell regardless of their quality because Sonic, the character, is just that popular to sell on his name alone. 

This is all true. However I think SEGA knows now that quality does correlate with higher sales and better reputation for the series. So I don't think they're willing to tread down the same path of pushing unfinished/broken games out the door, at the very least. 

[Plasme]

1 hour ago, Kuzu said:

You can't market a game you have no footage for; iirc, Forces only started development about a year or so before release, and the game was revealed in 2016. It's likely they simply had no footage to show off in the time from the reveal to the release, hence we only saw the city level all of the time because that was the only level they actually finished. The marketing actually got more substantial when the release came closer. 

I don't remember it that way. I distinctly remember everyone on this forum complaining about the game's marketing.

Either way, it wasn't just Forces, Team Sonic Racing also had an absolutely dreadful marketing campaign where all they did was show off the music.

It's a wider problem with SEGA's marketing.