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Will Sonic stay annual next generation?


Tobbii

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From ChikaBoing's Status Update

Will Sonic still be a yearly franchise once next gen consoles come around? It's been that for a while. Same goes for Yakuza.

People really wanted a thread based on this, and since noone made one I decided on doing it.

As you guys know, Sonic has basicaly had one game a year for 10 years now (Japan being an exception due to earlier releases on games like SA2B or Heroes) with these games:

2001 - SA2

2002 - SA2B

2003 - SADX

2004 - Heroes

2005 - Shadow

2006 - 2006

2007 - Secret Rings

2008 - Unleashed

2009 - Black Knight

2010 - Colours (Sonic 4 if that counts)

2011 - Generations

If we count Sonic Shuffle we can even go back to 1999 with the titles, but that's stretching it. Hell, even counting enhanced ports like SA2B/SADX could be considered a stretch, but to get back on topic...

With Nintendo showing of the first of the next generation stationary consoles in just 4 days, it's timely to ask how do you think all of this will work out?

Will development time be longer due to unfamiliar hardware and higher standards, will it work the same and if it does could it be a case of it getting rushed to meet set annual dates?

I personally think Sega will start of with a "Every second year" deal at first, after all, they don't want another Sonic 2006 disaster and if it works out and people buy/like the games they probably will get back to the annual schedule.

Edited by Tobbii
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I just hope they're smart about it.

Have Companies like Sumo Digital and other companies produce Sega All Stars and Mario and Sonic spinoffs to keep the yearly cashflow running. Then have Sonic Team produce the Bigass Mainstream Sonic Blockbuster ever 2-4 Years (4 years ideally, give them 3 years to make it and 1 extra year to bug-test and polish it).

Edited by Scar
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I just hope they're smart about it.

Have Companies like Sumo Digital and other companies produce Sega All Stars and Mario and Sonic spinoffs to keep the yearly cashflow running. Then have Sonic Team produce the Bigass Mainstream Sonic Blockbuster ever 2-4 Years (4 years ideally, give them 3 years to make it and 1 extra year to bug-test and polish it).

This.

Let's not forget the 2D games though. If notable improvements are made for Sonic 4: Episode 2, I would support an annual release schedule for more digitally distributed 2D Sonic games.

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I'm so used to getting my Sonic fix now, I can only say that outsourcing spin-offs to other departments/companies is the best idea. I'd be cool with something like

Year 1: Main Sonic Title

Year 2: Low-budget/Downloadable/Spin-Off Sonic Title

Year 3: Low-budget/Downloadable/Spin-Off Sonic Title

Year 4: Main Sonic Title

etc etc.

Gives the main games their deserved 3 year timeframe but keep other teams working on stuff like Riders and Secret Rings.

I mean TECHNICALLY this is kinda what's already happening. Generations and Unleashed were clearly in development while Colours and Secret Rings were being finished off respectively.

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Yeah, while Sonic games are released regularly, it's not really annual. Main titles aren't released all to regularly.

2001 - SA2

2002 - SA2B

2003 - SADX

2004 End of 2003 in Japan - Heroes

2005 - Shadow

2006 - 2006 May be considered an slight exception because of the generation change between it and ShTH

2007 - Secret Rings

2008 - Unleashed

2009 - Black Knight

2010 - Colours (Sonic 4 if that counts) An odd ball, considering it's platforms and Generations' platforms.

2011 - Generations

Edited by Blue Blood
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2004 End of 2003 in Japan - Heroes

As I wrote in the very first post, I was talking non-japan releases as those are the most well known.

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I hope not. SEGA said they're being more serious about the Sonic titles, and actually have different divisions working on different games for different systems for different demographics since 2010, when the "average titles" were delisted and they were trying to rebrand Sonic as a franchise with quality. Apparently, the Wii games would be targeted towards the kiddies, while the HD titles would be for the more "hard-core" crowd, and while I definitely think Colors was the best 3D Sonic game in a loooooong time, after seeing Generations, I can definitely attest to this. That said, Colors was released only a year and a half after Black Knight, while Sonic Generations is the first main HD title for Sonic in 3 years! That's gotta be a new record, or somethin'.

My guess is a similar trend will continue during the next generation; while there might be yearly "spin-offs" to apoease a younger demographic, the big titles that will cost more money to make and will be aimed at the more hardcore crowd might have a 2 to 3 year gap per game, so that the game is given the proper amount of development time (based on how long Sonic Team have been working on Sonic Generations in comparison to Sonic Colors) and Sonic Team won't have to stretch themselves too thin. I could be wrong, but I hope I'm not too far off so the future Sonic titles don't feel half-baked and more rushed than a boost run through a Modern Sonic level.

Edited by EXshad
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As I wrote in the very first post, I was talking non-japan releases as those are the most well known.

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Shouldn't make a difference though. The releases aren't annual because these sorts of things are always assessed on the first release, not any other. And anyway, the more important thing is that we're not getting annual main releases. Games like SatSR, SatBK and even Shadow arguably aren't really main/big titles regardless of canon.

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I don't fully agree, I felt all three of thoser were big enough to be conisdered main releases, at least Shadow.

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I don't fully agree, I felt all three of thoser were big enough to be conisdered main releases, at least Shadow.

While Shadow definitely was (I only mentioned it because some people insist on arguing otherwise), SatSR and SatBK aren't. They're not big* titles at all and are just spin-offs on consoles. Unleashed and '06 were the only big titles around those times, released just a few months between SatBK and SatSR respectively.

* Big as in of importance to the series.

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I would really rather have Sega release one finished, idea-rich, technically impressive and glitch-free mainstream Sonic title every two or three years, rather than them pumping out on a yearly basis the trashy snippets of buggy shovelware that have been so abundant in the series since the Dreamcast's death; it's been made extremely clear by the many and multiple Sonic-centric failures of the last decade that the MegaDrive development model (in which the company produced the equivalent of one mainstream title per year to fantastic effect - think 1991 to 1994) is no longer anything close to conventional in the current console environment, and if Sonic is to once again be considered a serious force in the games industry, (and amongst the critics) then Sega themselves need to realise this fact and adapt to it.

And I don't think that it's a particularly good idea for them to waste huge chunks of cash on naff spin-offs and rubbish merchandise, either...

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And I don't think that it's a particularly good idea for them to waste huge chunks of cash on naff spin-offs and rubbish merchandise, either...

No, it is a brilliant idea.

They don't spend much money on these spinoffs at all, but they get a shitload of sales and thus a butload of revenue. They can use the money from these spinoffs and cash-ins to fund the next real big Sonic project for release every 3-4 years.

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Not to mention almost all of said spinoffs are outsourced anyway, so it ain't on Sonic Team's head if they turn out to be shit. And frankly, besides Riders 0G and SatBK, not many of them have been especially bad games anyway.

Besides, it's not like anyone else is ever going to make a Sonic-themed fighting game any time soon. *HINTHINTFUCKINGHINT*

Edited by Blacklightning
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They had a working one-a-year system for the Genesis, so I suppose the idea does have merit. That being said, the reason it worked to have one Sonic title a year on the Genesis (sometimes more in the case of S3 and S&K) is because they built a solid, well-rounded game concept and engine the first time around so all they had to do was one-up it each year to keep the sales coming in.

These days they seem to have found comfortable ground with the Unleashed/Colours/Modern-Sonic-In-Generations formula, so I wouldn't put it past them to have a game of that formula once a year, improving on it each time. Eventually it'll be due for another overhaul, but with enough tweaks, branches, choices and improvements, that formula could be golden for SEGA.

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These days they seem to have found comfortable ground with the Unleashed/Colours/Modern-Sonic-In-Generations formula, so I wouldn't put it past them to have a game of that formula once a year, improving on it each time. Eventually it'll be due for another overhaul, but with enough tweaks, branches, choices and improvements, that formula could be golden for SEGA.

Slightly off topic, but with Unleashed Sonic with the HE, they found identidy that was fresh and new, and attracted many new people and reevoked interest,and established a home for Sonic this gen. SEGA could do this with some of their other franchises as well. Find out what would work well with franchise/character,modernise it to what would attract people today whil still staying true to the Franchise.

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Yeah, while Sonic games are released regularly, it's not really annual. Main titles aren't released all to regularly.

2006 - 2006 May be considered an slight exception because of the generation change between it and ShTH

We all know there is no such thing as a sonic game in 2006. Sega took a break that year. :lol:

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We all know there is no such thing as a sonic game in 2006. Sega took a break that year. :lol:

Truth be told, I wouldn't be surprised if we found out that was true and the game was just something that was congealed from shit particles in a toilet somewhere.

Anyway to be more on topic, I think the best way to go is to really have less games be they big titles or not. Develop a strong and outsourced handheld series for the new generation (like the Advances and the Rushes), the main console series (which may see handheld releases ala Colours and Generations) and leave it at that for the most part. Keep spin-offs like Riders, Riders ZG, SatSR, SatBK and such in production but don't release them so regularly. They aren't really necessary.

Also, most importantly, make sure that Sonic 1 is a launch title for the Vita and Project Café. That's what everyone is most bothered about. Actually, you know what? Scrap every future Sonic title and just release Sonic 1 in it's place.

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