Sega recasting voice actors for main characters(Sonic, Tails Amy etc)

[azoo]

There's really no need to go into conspiracy mode. 

It should be obvious that RCS was happy with his position and didn't want to go, but that's the way the business will move sometimes.  And Tara Strong's right in what she's saying, but I think it's less an attack on Sega and moreso commentary on voice actors getting shifted around in general, in the industry. Best to note it's not all that uncommon.

If Sega wanted a cheaper actor then that's a shame, but it's also just as possible they're changing direction in marketing the series like we were saying earlier. Whether that means getting Ben or just hiring a new guy, who knows. Best not to judge until you get there.

[Razule]

41 minutes ago, Gotta Go Rational said:

Let's be careful when we don't know the specifics. There's a difference between "fired" and not getting re-hired.

If it's a freelance job someone's had for years it's basically the same thing with fuzzier wording.

[Rabbitearsblog]

30 minutes ago, azoo said:

There's really no need to go into conspiracy mode. 

It should be obvious that RCS was happy with his position and didn't want to go, but that's the way the business will move sometimes.  And Tara Strong's right in what she's saying, but I think it's less an attack on Sega and moreso commentary on voice actors getting shifted around in general, in the industry. Best to note it's not all that uncommon.

If Sega wanted a cheaper actor then that's a shame, but it's also just as possible they're changing direction in marketing the series like we were saying earlier. Whether that means getting Ben or just hiring a new guy, who knows. Best not to judge until you get there.

I agree.  He never said that he was fired, although being let go might be the same thing.  And I agree with Tara Strong that voice actors aren't treated that well in the industry, which is a shame.  I just hope that the new voice actor for Sonic would do Sonic justice, not that I hate Roger Craig Smith's voice for Sonic, since I thought it was pretty good.

[Gotta Go Rational]

46 minutes ago, Razule said:

If it's a freelance job someone's had for years it's basically the same thing with fuzzier wording.

I see where you're coming from, but it's sometimes best to be as un-fuzzy and clear as possible (not that anyone's obliged to obviously), especially to people less familiar with the situation who might spread the news. Saying he was fired might lead some of us to think he was actually fired, and report it as such without distinction.

48 minutes ago, azoo said:

There's really no need to go into conspiracy mode. 

It should be obvious that RCS was happy with his position and didn't want to go, but that's the way the business will move sometimes.  And Tara Strong's right in what she's saying, but I think it's less an attack on Sega and moreso commentary on voice actors getting shifted around in general, in the industry. Best to note it's not all that uncommon.

If Sega wanted a cheaper actor then that's a shame, but it's also just as possible they're changing direction in marketing the series like we were saying earlier. Whether that means getting Ben or just hiring a new guy, who knows. Best not to judge until you get there.

Absolutely.

[DabigRG]

This thread is getting a bit uncomfortable.

5 hours ago, Gotta Go Rational said:

SEGA gave a response to Game Informer's request for comment:

"Roger Craig Smith’s portrayal of Sonic the Hedgehog is one that fans are sure to remember for generations to come. He brought the character to life in a truly authentic way, with Sonic’s signature attitude and flair, and we’ll always be thankful to Roger for his contribution to the franchise."

https://www.gameinformer.com/2021/01/28/longtime-sonic-the-hedgehog-voice-actor-stepping-away-from-role

I see what they did there.

3 hours ago, Dr. Detective Mike said:

 

So, for clarification, All of Team Sonic's been replaced. Both Team Dark and Team Chaotix have had one member replaced. Team Rose hasn't been touched. Both Silver and Blaze have been replaced. No one on Team Eggman has been touched either.

This is astonishing. I don't even know if this is considered normal. It's wild if it is.

Willingham was also Zavok and was replaced by Patrick Seitz.

....

Oh wait, you weren't talking about TSR--!

3 hours ago, Snowragnarok said:

I feel cautiously optimistic. Smith had his chance to improve in Forces and totally blew it there. I’m still afraid the next voice will be even worse. I’m pretty sure Pollock will be Eggman until the day he dies.

Uh, what happened to material?

Or common courtesy, for that matter

[ShadowSJG]

v=

Do you think they'll scrap VAS in general?

[SaturnWolf]

8 minutes ago, ShadowSJG said:

v=

Do you think they'll scrap VAS in general?

Probably not? Ditching having voices as a whole is like, such a nuclear solution to people not liking how characters sound that not even Sega would consider it

[Natie]

The reason for him getting let go is probably something unexciting but still depressingly corporate like wage disputes or something. No need for conspiracies, really.

[Made in Heaven]

Despite how long Roger was Sonic's VA, he actually voiced Sonic in far less media than Jason. Roger's voiced Sonic in Free Riders, Colors, Gens, Boom, LW, and Forces, whereas Jason has FAR more games, from Shadow, 06, Secret Rings, Rivals 2, Unleashed, Black Knight, Zero Gravity, and Riders. Not to mention Jason's games were far moe dialogue heavy. Just something I wanted to mention.

[Multikaris]

2 hours ago, Winston said:

Griffith also had entirely different writers and likely voice directors, although I don't know the whole picture when it comes to direction. RCS has been a great voice actor in everything I've heard him in, so I don't see him being at fault for the direction and scripts he is given. You might not like his voice for Sonic, which is fine, but I don't think he deserved to get fired as Sonic because you think he failed to deliver in a game with terrible dialogue. 

I understand. SEGA needs a better voice director for the series. I apologize for blaming Roger for poor delivery.  Boom is a good example of him with a good voice director.

[Sapphirine Wind]

32 minutes ago, Winston said:

Griffith also had entirely different writers and likely voice directors, although I don't know the whole picture when it comes to direction. RCS has been a great voice actor in everything I've heard him in, so I don't see him being at fault for the direction and scripts he is given. You might not like his voice for Sonic, which is fine, but I don't think he deserved to get fired as Sonic because you think he failed to deliver in a game with terrible dialogue. 

Yes, this. There's criticizing the voice, but I've been of the opinion that these voices, love'em or hate'em, are "chosen", so to speak.

It's unlikely that RCS could do anything in the booth and that Sega couldn't not accept it. I wouldn't doubt it if he couldn't deviate from the voice Sega wanted him to portray.

I'm sad to hear that this change may not be as amicable as it could have been. RCS deserves better than that.

[SonicFanForLife]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This can't be!!! I loved Roger Craig Smith as Sonic. He is Sonic!!! It was bad enough he wasn't chosen for the movie, but no more voicing Sonic at all?! WHY?!

They better not have replaced him with Ben Schwartz! He was an okay Sonic for the movies, but not for the games! If Roger's gotta leave, find Jason Griffith! Jason Griffith would be my choice if he must be replaced.

I'm going to miss Roger. I just hope that it wasn't Sega's decision.

This is the worst Sonic news ever.

[SaturnWolf]

9 minutes ago, SonicFan2832 said:

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This can't be!!! I loved Roger Craig Smith as Sonic. He is Sonic!!! It was bad enough he wasn't chosen for the movie, but no more voicing Sonic at all?! WHY?!

They better not have replaced him with Ben Schwartz! He was an okay Sonic for the movies, but not for the games! If Roger's gotta leave, find Jason Griffith! Jason Griffith would be my choice if he must be replaced.

I'm going to miss Roger. I just hope that it wasn't Sega's decision.

This is the worst Sonic news ever.

We've been here before. Don't be like this

[Miles Storzillo]

Now that Smith is gone I can have hope again for 2000s Sonic to return.  No more of these Teen Titans Go lines, and more “Do I need a reason to want to help out a friend?” please.

[Rabbitearsblog]

2 minutes ago, Miles Storzillo said:

Now that Smith is gone I can have hope again for 2000s Sonic to return.  No more of these Teen Titans Go lines, and more “Do I need a reason to want to help out a friend?” please.

I don't think Roger is to blame for that.  The writing of the games for the past decade was terrible and Roger was working with what he had.  I just hope that SEGA actually focuses on writing good characters again.

[Sapphirine Wind]

How are the "Teen Titans Go" lines any of Roger Craig Smith's fault? I highly doubt he had that kind of influence on the script. Wouldn't that be the fault of the people who wrote for Sonic, like Pontac and Graff?

[SaturnWolf]

It's hardly Roger's fault that his scripts were garbage. There's only so much you can do with a performance when the writing sucks, and complaining about that when you're hired talent is a great way to get fired

[PeterPancake]

While Roger wasn't my favorite Sonic VA, i respect the fact that he defined Sonic for a whole generation. Farewell, Roger. You won't be forgotten 

[Detective Kaito]

9 hours ago, Tracker_TD said:

Someone had to say it, and I'm glad it was someone like her.

This has been a shitty practice Sega's been doing for decades now, this is the 3rd Sonic VA they've replaced for no apparent good reason, and that's not even counting all the other Sonic characters. I'm not very broken up about it cause I never liked Roger's performance, but imagine if they kept Ryan or Jason around instead of replacing them. Shame on SEGA, indeed. lol

Tara Strong is a queen and I simp, goodbye

[Eurisko]

I can see someone like Yuri Lowenthal getting this gig. He has his hand in a lot of pies right now kinda like when Roger got the job back '09/10. He was playing a fair few roles such as Chris Redfield and Batman.

Yuri also has that youthfulness to his voice. 

Also, Roger would have had zero input on main game scripts and stories. Thats what the writers and directors are for. Throwing Mud at Roger or any of the cast for such things is just .......well.....dumb to be honest.

The only thing that he may have had a tiny piece in was the Twitter Takeovers as they were done on the fly and- from what I've seen and I'm sure @RubyEclipse gave an insight to them somewhere- that it was more of a colaborative effort. 

[Ellipsis-Ultima]

Man its nice to see a lot of peeps acknowledging the work he's done.

I really liked this one tho:

 

[Blue Wisp]

With stuff like this sometimes I wonder if SEGA even knows what its doing with the franchise. So many voice acting changes, so many gameplay swaps, so many writers coming and going. 

Like, voice acting changes are normal in media I know but Sonic's been through like 6 voice actors in 25 years and I sometimes wonder if it's due to not finding the voice actor or if it's a matter of some kind of "Well your time's up, bring in some new blood" mentality which is kind of mindboggling to think about to me. Sonic's lack of persistent consistency pisses me off to no end. 

[DaddlerTheDalek]

20 hours ago, Marcello said:

Honestly never loved Smith's voice for Sonic. I don't think it was particularly fitting, and it always sounded put on, So, I can't say I'm particularly sad to seem him go. Wish him all the luck in the future, though, of course. Seemed like a decent enough guy.

I don't think Ben Schwartz will be voicing Sonic in the games. Probably to expensive. My hope would be Drummond, but I don't really expect that either.

Also, the fact that this is being announced right now, certainly indicates the next game announcement isn't super far off anymore.

This really the end of an era. He was at his best in the Sonic Boom cartoon show.

 

[Kuzu]

1 hour ago, Blue Wisp said:

With stuff like this sometimes I wonder if SEGA even knows what its doing with the franchise. So many voice acting changes, so many gameplay swaps, so many writers coming and going. 

Like, voice acting changes are normal in media I know but Sonic's been through like 6 voice actors in 25 years and I sometimes wonder if it's due to not finding the voice actor or if it's a matter of some kind of "Well your time's up, bring in some new blood" mentality which is kind of mindboggling to think about to me. Sonic's lack of persistent consistency pisses me off to no end. 

Money. 

That's most likely what it comes down to at the end of the day. 

I'm not familiar with the particulars outside word of mouth, but Sega are a corporation that want to save as much money as possible and will cut corners to do so. So that means hiring the cheapest possible voice work that won't cost them too much.

As I mentioned, rather than pay for Ryan Drummond's union fees, they straight up wanted him to leave his union to voice Sonic again. So that is likely what happened to Roger, Sega refused to pay up and just cut their losses and dropped the man. 

The fact that Roger has been voicing Sonic for so long is irrelevant to them, and that's what Tara Strong's tweet was about, voice actors simply aren't respected by businesses and are treated as expendable.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

7 hours ago, SaturnWolf said:

Probably not? Ditching having voices as a whole is like, such a nuclear solution to people not liking how characters sound that not even Sega would consider it

Actually, given the way technology is progressing and voice synthesizers and Artificial Intelligence become more capable and easier to automate, it wouldn’t be too far fetched if they ditched VAs in the near future in place of fully digital made voices unique to the characters. The question at that point would be how long it takes to get to that point, but don’t ever rule it out from happening.

At any rate, I’m more glad things were done more professionally with RCS’s departure than they were with Drummond and Griffith. Not that it’s good to hear, but I’ve always been curious to how Sega would end things with him when the time came.