Sonic Colours Discussion

[MadeManG74]

^You have a proint crackdude. Wii/DS games aren't as front-loaded as PS360 titles are, and can usually sell over time. Having said that though, if a game has very poor sales to start with, that's not really a good thing either, especially one that has the push that SOnic Colors is getting. I know that there are TV commercials in Australia for it, which is quite rare for games, so you would think that it's the same in other countries.

[Aki-at]

First of all, it's two days worth of sales, not one. The chart is for Friday and Saturday and Sonic Colours came out on Friday.

Second, Mario & Sonic became number one on it's release week in the UK, with just the Wii version alone, so I'm not sure what point Crackdude is getting at. The fact Sonic Colours does not manage top ten in the Wii or DS only chart is a major cause of concern. Mario & Sonic made it into the top 10 for all formats almost all country in it's debut week. So again, not sure why we are comparing the two.

Infact, Yakuza 3 and Sonic Classic Collection debuted higher in the charts than Sonic Colours and that was with Borderland and Final Fantasy XIII being released in the same week and this was despite that both were available on only one console, whilst Sonic Colours barely made it into the charts with two versions.

Yes Sonic games sell for a long time and eventually, it will probably become a million seller, but the fact is this game has probably underperformed significantly in the UK.

[crackdude]

Isn't Sonic Colors only counting 2 days of sales in a week-chart? Doesnt that make it have less than a third of potential week sales? That's what I thought of it.. Is it a 2-day chart?

[Aki-at]

Isn't Sonic Colors only counting 2 days of sales in a week-chart? Doesnt that make it have less than a third of potential week sales? That's what I thought of it.. Is it a 2-day chart?

Most games are released on Friday in the UK, so most of the number ones the UK has had come out on Fridays, recent one being Football Manager 2011 (Which shot to number one) although there are a few games that are released earlier (Like Call of Duty)

[CrazyT]

The thing is even if it's just one/two day(s). The idea of sonic being that low compared to that whole list is kind of worrying. Sonic is the only major selling franchise SEGA got. And that in the UK, a place where sonic was chosen to be the most popular character a few years ago.

But yeah, like someone else stated. I think it's possible that the game possibly wasn't in stock everywhere. That happens usually with sega products I think. I was lucky I guess

[George]

I said 1 day because SEGA doesn't really sell games the first day. They 'ship games' on release dates, but most retailers sell them the next day.

Trust me, I have pre-ordered my fair share of SEGA titles to know about this. Ask the gamestop manager I yelled at before

[crackdude]

The thing is even if it's just one/two day(s). The idea of sonic being that low compared to that whole list is kind of worrying.

My point is exactly the opposite of this.
If that chart is counting 1 single day of Sonic sales against 7 days of most other games, it is no surprise at all to see it low.

Am I the only one understanding that the other games had 7 times more time to be sold than Sonic? Or am I getting this totally wrong?

I could understand FM being #1 in a couple of days, since many of it's fan base gets it in the first days (they will buy it anyway, might as well do it soon). But I don't see most people and fans rushing around to buy a Wii exclusive Sonic game on day one.

[Sega Uranus]

Sonic is the only major selling franchise SEGA got.

No. Not at all. In fact, Sonic is not even considered SEGA's mascot in Japan anymore because most of them do not even care anymore. In Europe, tons of other SEGA IPs are as big or bigger than Sonic, whilst in America, yeah, it pretty much is just Sonic for the past few years, but I think that will be changing soon enough.

If that chart is counting 1 single day of Sonic sales against 7 days of most other games, it is no surprise at all to see it low.

Sonic is one of the best known characters in the entire world, his popularity reaches far beyond the medium. The fact his game is not in the top ten list when they are on the two best selling platforms this gen is not good at all. The game has been known to exist for awhile now too, these sales numbers count those pre-orders that had been set up for months and months by thousands and thousands of people. The first day means much more than you would expect.

I mean, if a Mario game (even a spinoff) was released and did not crack the top ten list, it would be a very, very big deal. Especially so if it were a game like this that got so much positive attention.

This has a lot to do with the general public not thinking it is part of the main series because Sonic the Hedgehog 4 just came out, everyone has a mentality that the spinoffs suck, so why buy one that has such an awkward childish style?

Regardless of the quality of the next major Sonic game, I know straight up now that it will sell better than this is doing, not just because it will be on multiple platforms, but because it being the 20th anniversary next year is reason enough to get people excited.

[Autosaver]

"Sonic is one of the best known characters in the entire world, his popularity reaches far beyond the medium."
Sonic is considered for kids now a days.

Ok... Sonic against Fifa, COD, Kinect titles(THAT ARE THE ONLY TITLES EXISTING FOR KINECT I should say) Fall out, Mario, Star Wars, Halo, Toy Story....etc

These titles are very well known and hyped like hell. A lot of adults play these games too.

[Aki-at]

If that chart is counting 1 single day of Sonic sales against 7 days of most other games, it is no surprise at all to see it low.

Two days.

And almost all new releases chart for only two days, Alien vs Predator did (And surprise, came number one) Final Fantasy XIII did (Another number one) Bayonetta did too (That made it into the top ten) and even God of War 3 did. Infact, almost every major release, with the exception of certain Microsoft titles, releases on Friday. Vanquish was placed higer in the charts (About 15th) and that’s a certified bomb.

So yes, it is a major surprise to see Sonic so low, especially when the number 38 is when you combine both SKUs. Individually, neither makes it into the top 40.

Am I the only one understanding that the other games had 7 times more time to be sold than Sonic? Or am I getting this totally wrong?

I could understand FM being #1 in a couple of days, since many of it's fan base gets it in the first days (they will buy it anyway, might as well do it soon).

You're not understanding what I'm saying. The UK does not work like America, with the exception of a few titles, all of our new releases are released on Friday.

And just because the other games had the full week does not mean they should outsell Sonic Colours, first day sales are usually bigger than most other games week after release. And look at that, Guiter Hero is considered a failure in the British Charts but oh look, it charted higher than Sonic Colours.

It's true, Sonic will continue to sell for a while still, but no going away from the fact, Sonic's first week sales are terrible.

But I don't see most people and fans rushing around to buy a Wii exclusive Sonic game on day one.

The 38th in charts includes sales of the DS version, of which Sonic Rush entered the chart about 27th all formats when it was released several years ago. When you do Wii version standalone, it wouldn't even be in the top 50, let alone top 40. That's terrible, anyway you look at it.

Here are the Wii games that all outsold the Wii version of Sonic Colours, Just Dance 2, New Super Mario Bros Wii, Wii Party, Goldeneye 007, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Mario Kart Wii, Super Mario Galaxy 2, The X Factor, FIFA 11 and The Sims. Some of these which have been out for weeks now. Its not unfair to think a NEW RELEASE will outsell the week of games that have been available for a long time now. And now here are the DS games that beat Sonic Colours, Professor Layton and the Lost Future, New Super Mario Bros, Toy Story 3, Art Academy, The Sims, Pokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs, Mario Kart DS, Style Boutique, FIFA 11, Super Scribblenauts, Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4.

When Sonic Rush released, it was above Harry Potter, Mario 64 DS and FIFA.

Sonic is considered for kids now a days.

And kids games sell very very well, or did you forget how good licensed superhero games sell? Or licensed cartoon games too. Even stuff like Bakugan.

Children are one of the biggest markets in the game industry incase you've forgotten.

And why are you, someone who lives outside of the UK, where are tastes are radically different from America, be suitable to comment on the preception of Sonic here in the United Kingdom? The Master System outsold the NES here, the Mega Drive crushed the SNES here and the Game Gear was extremely popular here too. And Sonic Heroes was one of the best selling games in 2003 and 2004. It was bigger than any Mario game last generation here.

Ok... Sonic against Fifa, COD, Kinect titles(THAT ARE THE ONLY TITLES EXISTING FOR KINECT I should say) Fall out, Mario, Star Wars, Halo, Toy Story....etc

These titles are very well known and hyped like hell. A lot of adults play these games too.

Yakuza 3 (Which on one sku and charted 24th) was up against Final Fantasy XIII, Battlefield 2, Just Dance, Heavy Rain, Aliens vs Predator, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Bioshock, Ben 10, Warhammer, New Super Mario Bros Wii etc and still came 24th in the all formats charts. Yakuza, a series that has next to no marketing.

Sonic Colours failed spectacularly on its first week, this is a fact. Deal with it.

[SOUP]

I've played through the first 2 worlds on the DS version. I've only got the two wisps that were available in the demo that was on the Nintendo Channel.

So far it feels a bit more like Sonic Rush Adventure, than Sonic Rush as far as presentation goes. There's a decent amount of text dialogue between stages, but it's all skip-able.  The level designs are pretty fantastic so far though. Tons of branching paths, and I don't think I've run into any bottomless pits.
Instead of the trick system, hitting blue wisps and taking out enemies fills up your boost meter.
The music is just as great as it was in the last two Rush games.

Very solid game so far.

[Sharky]

I agree with CrazyTails.. Sonic's sales are terrible, both 'Soni Colors' and ' Sonic Free Riders' bombed.

So when I look though your posts these days it seems to be all doom and gloom mongering... Any negitive bit of Sega related news you can find and not much else.

What is the deal?

[CosmicCastaway]

Hopefully word of mouth will get more people to pick this up, I'd hate to see such a fantastic game do poorly.

[Aki-at]

Sonic games sell for quite some time though. So hopefully good reviews + Christmas coming up + good word of mouth could help the game pick up on the charts.

But it's debut week is pretty bad in the UK, all things considered.

[MadeManG74]

I'm just throwing in my support for Aki-at here, Sonic Colours sales have been pretty poor. We can try to twist it and justify it in various ways, but unfortunately it looks like it's not about to set the world on fire.

I'm not really feeling sad though, I think Sega needs a kick in the pants like this after all the shit Sonic games they've made. Maybe now they'll learn to be more careful with their franchises.