So... Has anyone noticed... (Sega/Sonic related)

[Sharky]

How quiet it has been on the Sonic front recently?

Unlike the past decade, so far in this one I would go as far as to say I've been aloud to forget Sonic even exists for a while now!

I've heard nothing since last year and it feels quite nice! We have had time to talk about OTHER Sega series for a change! Beautiful...

But I fear this may be the calm before the storm, We know for a fact that this is Sonics 20th Anniversary year and at some point this nice quiet will give way to something either beautiful (Like Sonic Colours) or something utterly terrible... (Like Sonic 06)

I've got nothing to really talk about in this thread, I just wanted to mention the eerie silence on the Sonic front and how I quite like the Sega that isn’t in the shadow of the hedgehog.

[Essay]

Ha!  You know, you're absolutely right, Sharky.
There was that period that Sonic 4 Ep. I, Sonic Colors, and Sonic Free Riders were all released within a few months of each other.

Aside from that clue that the Sega blogs left--something to due with a book written by an author named Berlin--that implicated Tails being in Episode II (which is the conclusion that everyone came to long ago), things have been pretty quiet.

I might be lambasted for this, but I cannot wait for the upcoming announcements.

[Sharky]

I can wait... Oh yes I can wait.

I'm much more interested in PSO2 and Creative Assembly’s new console game then anything Sonic related.

That said I think what I really am not looking forward to is the drama that comes with every Sonic announcement. It engulfs our forum, becomes the main topic of convosation for months on end and gets really boring for me after... a month or three.

That said if they can make a Sonic game as good or better then Sonic Colours I will be IN, IN, IN... The ONLY reason I have stopped playing Sonic Colours is because I know every level by heart.

[Essay]

That said I think what I really am not looking forward to is the drama that comes with every Sonic announcement. It engulfs our forum, becomes the main topic of convosation for months on end and gets really boring for me after... a month or three.

I suppose I can't blame you there.

Lines get drawn in the sand, cynics proclaim the end, apologists grasp at straws, and normal threads escalate for pages on the most minute pieces of data.  I think we'll be lucky if punches aren't thrown once Sonic 4 Ep. II information is released.

That said if they can make a Sonic game as good or better then Sonic Colours I will be IN, IN, IN... The ONLY reason I have stopped playing Sonic Colours is because I know every level by heart.

While Sonic Colors probably best represents a traditional Sonic game playing out in three-dimensions in terms of momentum, platforming, etc...I'd still rather play the Sonic portions of Unleashed.  While detractors of the Sonic games post-S&K have argued that the hedgehog isn't all about speed, Unleashed has me wanting more of what they did right in that department.

[CrazyT]

PSO 2 is where it's at for me too allthough I wouldn't mind a great surprising sonic game

[max_cady]

This, my friends, is the calm before the storm.

Though it is true, for Sonic's 20th Anniversary there is still little very little noise, but you never know.

It's almost certain that there will be a Sonic 4: Episode 2, but it's all still very sketchy.

It would also be nice to have Sonic Adventure 2 announced for XBLA/PSN.

[Barry the Nomad]

I've been very much anticipating Sonic news, and so yeah, I've picked up on how quiet SEGA has been since November '10. For once we had a GOOD year of Sonic games, so looking forward to the current year is actually a positive experience! Haven't had one of these since 2000/2001. After that, they gave us Heroes in 2003 and it was a mixed bag since then up til last year.

However, I agree with Sharky. It has been VERY nice to have SEGA being SEGA without the Sonic baggage. It's a shame that a Sonic game can't release without all the fan drama, but I guess without them we wouldn't have Sonic games. Can't have one without the other.

Hopefully, obsessed Sonic fans who ONLY think of SEGA as the Sonic company have been reading SEGA's blogs in hopes to spot Sonic news, only to discover other properties like Vanquish, Total War, VCII, PSO2, etc.

At one point last year, a kid at TSSMB said "SEGA IS SONIC" and it killed me a little inside. Get out of your bubble, Sonic fans! I much prefer SEGA fans who enjoy Sonic over Sonic fans who never play any other SEGA IP.

[Grant360]

I don't know where I fall Barry to be honest. I have played 90% of the Sonic games and love SEGA for that reason. Sonic introduced me to gaming. That said I have played most of segas other series and even most of the games they simply publish.

On the news front. I think it is good. Sonic rebuilt a lot last year with the excellent SASASR and Sonic Colours and the average Sonic 4 and Riders games. Anniversary is coming and should be great. I feel like it will be a rehash of old SEGA games in Sonic Colours/Unleashed style. If they throw in HD Sonic Colours on the HD consoles with it I am all over it!

[cube_b3]

2 Sonic games are more or less confirmed for this year.

Sonic Anniversary and Sonic 4 episode 2 and i'd bet a 3rd one for handhelds or Wii may very well pop up as well.

So we'll have the usual Sonic games, I don't see any silence or absence. They are just waiting for June.

At one point last year, a kid at TSSMB said "SEGA IS SONIC" and it killed me a little inside. Get out of your bubble, Sonic fans! I much prefer SEGA fans who enjoy Sonic over Sonic fans who never play any other SEGA IP.

Ideally Sonic is the mirror image of SEGA but the title of SONIC & SEGA ALL STAR RACING SUGGEST that he is bigger then SEGA. Otherwise it would've just been Sega Superstar Racing.

[Radrappy]

Hopefully, obsessed Sonic fans who ONLY think of SEGA as the Sonic company have been reading SEGA's blogs in hopes to spot Sonic news, only to discover other properties like Vanquish, Total War, VCII, PSO2, etc.

It's important to recognize the difference between a Sega game and a game Sega's publishing.  The success of platinum games as a developer really does nothing to improve Sega's reputation as a developer themselves.

[Barry the Nomad]

Hopefully, obsessed Sonic fans who ONLY think of SEGA as the Sonic company have been reading SEGA's blogs in hopes to spot Sonic news, only to discover other properties like Vanquish, Total War, VCII, PSO2, etc.

It's important to recognize the difference between a Sega game and a game Sega's publishing.  The success of platinum games as a developer really does nothing to improve Sega's reputation as a developer themselves.

I know the difference and I get that a PG game being developed well does not equal a SEGA game being developed well, however a good SEGA published game does a lot for the SEGA image. Check out the praise for Bayonetta and Vanquish. Yes, the gaming media cites PG, but they also often refer to the game as "SEGA's" in the headline or at least the first paragraph. I'm certain that many video game fans would list off Ecco and TJ&E in the same breathe as Sonic and Phantasy Star when listing their favorite SEGA franchises from the 90's. To the casual gamer, the cover art of Bayonetta and Vanquish look no different from the cover for Sonic Colors or Yakuza 4. Same placement of the SEGA logo, same placement of the developer on the back. There isn't even a note saying "yo, PG isn't internal".

[Centrale]

It's important to recognize the difference between a Sega game and a game Sega's publishing.  The success of platinum games as a developer really does nothing to improve Sega's reputation as a developer themselves.

This old line... look, Platinum put more Sega fanservice into Bayonetta than anything internally developed in recent times that I can think of.  It was developed by Platinum but it's a Sega game through and through.

[Happy Cat]

It's important to recognize the difference between a Sega game and a game Sega's publishing.  The success of platinum games as a developer really does nothing to improve Sega's reputation as a developer themselves.

This old line... look, Platinum put more Sega fanservice into Bayonetta than anything internally developed in recent times that I can think of.  It was developed by Platinum but it's a Sega game through and through.

Not to mention that SEGA funds the games and owns the IP's... =P
So technically they are SEGA games.

[Radrappy]

They're as much Sega games as Halos are Microsoft games.  No one pats Sega on the back for making them.  Bungie and PG get the credit, which is how it should be.  It helps Sega's reputation as a publisher, not a developer.

Platinum put more Sega fanservice into Bayonetta than anything internally developed in recent times that I can think of.

 

So what?  It still wasn't made by Sega.  The new Mortal Kombat has Kratos as a fully playable character but that doesn't make it a Sony game.  It's nice to be responsible for releasing these games but I'm more interested in Sega reclaiming their position as one of the top developers.  I love Vanquish but I recognize it for what it is, a Platinum Games game.

[Pao]

They're as much Sega games as Halos are Microsoft games.  No one pats Sega on the back for making them.  Bungie and PG get the credit, which is how it should be.  It helps Sega's reputation as a publisher, not a developer.

Platinum put more Sega fanservice into Bayonetta than anything internally developed in recent times that I can think of.

 

So what?  It still wasn't made by Sega.  The new Mortal Kombat has Kratos as a fully playable character but that doesn't make it a Sony game.  It's nice to be responsible for releasing these games but I'm more interested in Sega reclaiming their position as one of the top developers.  I love Vanquish but I recognize it for what it is, a Platinum Games game.

SEGA helped in the development of some PG games, mainly Vanquish, plus Sega didn't just publish them, they funded the projects and own the IP.
I understand they're not developed by SEGA, but they are considered Sega games.

I do not understand why you bolded Total War though, because Creative Assembly is owned by SEGA.