SEGAbits Forums
Gaming => General Gaming Discussion => Topic started by: ROJM on October 07, 2010, 06:43:13 am
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http://www.mcvuk.com/news/41217/Sub-sta ... -de-listed (http://www.mcvuk.com/news/41217/Sub-standard-Sonics-de-listed)
Sega retires titles with average Metacritic scores to increase brand value and avoid franchise fatigue
Poor or average Sonic The Hedgehog games can no longer be bought new at retail.
Sega has de-listed certain Sonic titles in order to ‘increase the value of the brand’ and avoid confusing the consumer.
The firm plans to launch three new Sonic games this Christmas – Sonic Colours and Sonic Free Riders at retail, plus the episodic Sonic 4 via XBLA, PSN and WiiWare.
“Any Sonic game with an average Metacritic has been de-listed,” explained Sega’s SVP of EMEA Jurgen Post.
“We have to do this and increase the value of the brand. This will be very important when more big Sonic releases arrive in the future
“We could make a lot of money on back-catalogue Sonic titles, but let’s keep the number of Sonic games available under control. Otherwise you can have cannibalisation. If there are ten Sonic games on the shelves, with people seeing Sonic Rush DS or Sonic Rush Adventure, this may not help our overall strategy.”
Sonic’s fanbase ranges from young gamers to core fans who played the games back in the early ‘90s. Sega is targeting both audiences with its multiple titles this Christmas.
“Colours will play well to our younger Sonic fanbase, but should also appeal to the older fans once they realise there are no unwanted surprises,” added brand director David Corless.
“It’s the first console title for a while that’s clearly influenced by Sonic’s platform past but also keeps the series moving forward with new ideas and innovations that complement that legacy. Sonic 4 on the other hand is old school and primarily for those core fans who remember the originals. But there are also a number of younger gamers who’ve recently discovered the classics on the iPhone or XBLA, PSN and WiiWare so it’ll appeal to them as well.”
Maybe they should also stop a SONIC game in development when its obviously a bad title to play.
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Shame they didnt list the ones they want to delist.
Can start with Sonic 06 and Black Knight.
Shame they are currently DEVELOPING one that is bound to be tripe, Sonic Riders for Kenect.
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Good! Nice move! First time I seen a company doing this with a major franchise in my life. Sega is finally worried about the bad reputation Sonic got around the world. Even in Brazil people bad-mouth him now.
Bad for the huge fans, like me, who would not be able to buy some games of Sonic new at the store. Since I love Sonic and still being a Sega games collector, I always end buying most everything they release in the market ;p
Now I understand why Sonic '06 for the PS3 in Japan its now overpriced! Its hard to find it new.
Need to buy Sonic Chronicle before it turns into a rare piece XD
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Well i don't think SONIC CHRONICLES was a bad game. I wonder if they really mean bad sonic titles or Sonic titles that didn't sell that well on the market.
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I thought most of Sonic games released sold more than 1 million worldwide?
Man, Sonic is Sega's saviour :mrgreen:
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I wonder what they mean by average. This industry has a bad habit of calling a 7 average. It's good to see they're acknowledging the excuses of a game they've been releasing for nearly ten years.
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I wonder what they mean by average. This industry has a bad habit of calling a 7 average.
That's what I'm thinking. It's too soon to put Unleashed up on that shelf yet.
Also, I love this image that was on the article. ^___^
(http://http://img830.imageshack.us/img830/7585/18420726soniccryinga.jpg)
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Maybe they should also stop a SONIC game in development when its obviously a bad title to play.
But kids then won't be able to force their parents to buy games they won't play after the 1st time.
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These games are gone most likely:
- Sonic Chronicles
- Sonic and the Black Knight
- Sonic 2006
Questionable:
- Sonic Unleashed
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I think Unleashed (PS3/360) deserves to stay on shelves at least until the 20th anniversary game arrives. The game is worth a buy at $15 to $20.
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I really liked Unleashed :(.
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Just accept SEGA is finally taking things more serious lately. They earn tons of money, but they need to get their reputation back, and sonic as their mascot influences the image of SEGA the most.
I guess if from now all sonic games become actually good, than I stand behind this decision.
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Well, Unleashed is still up at the XBLA Marketplace despite '06 being pulled. So hopefully it will be there to stay. Unleashed has a near 4/5 star rating whereas '06 had a 3/5. I know Unleashed is a flawed game, but I think it's important to keep the last game of the series alive in retail until the next game releases. Also, Spagonia is a great stage to show off to people who have never seen it.
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Also, I love this image that was on the article. ^___^
(http://http://img830.imageshack.us/img830/7585/18420726soniccryinga.jpg)
That's is probably the weirdest and most random picture I've ever seen about Sonic.
I can't wait for the Devaintart artist who did this piece to file a complaint against MCV UK.
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Also, I love this image that was on the article. ^___^
(http://http://img830.imageshack.us/img830/7585/18420726soniccryinga.jpg)
Why are they blushing? Two males blushing never ends well on the internet.
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Anyway, I guess the new Sonic the Hedgehog brand manager (http://http://www.mcvuk.com/features/760/INTERVIEW-Making-Sonic-super) takes his job very seriously.
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I really liked Unleashed :(.
Me too. I'm a little relieved to hear that they're not severing ties with the game just yet. It really doesn't deserve all the hate it gets.
Why are they blushing? Two males blushing never ends well on the internet.
Well, if it was done by the artist I'm thinking of, then it probably ended with Sonic and Shadow, um... let's call it "going on a friendship adventure". xD
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Sonic Unleashed got too much hate for sure, but I think it is mostly due to it being one of the most frustrating and unfair platformers I have ever seen in my life. The rest of it had to do with unappealing concepts and general bias.
Actually bias is most of it. There is no reason in the world a game like that should be getting scores like 3/10. I expect games like Sonic Colors to get similar treatment.
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Sonic Unleashed got too much hate for sure, but I think it is mostly due to it being one of the most frustrating and unfair platformers I have ever seen in my life.
Pshhh, the game isn't that hard. It's a bit challenging, sure, but the challenge is what helps make it fun. ^___^
Try beating stuff like Super Magnetic Neo or the original Ninja Gaiden trilogy on the NES, then we'll talk about whether or not Sonic Unleashed is extraordinarily hard.
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Sonic Unleashed got too much hate for sure, but I think it is mostly due to it being one of the most frustrating and unfair platformers I have ever seen in my life.
Pshhh, the game isn't that hard. It's a bit challenging, sure, but the challenge is what helps make it fun. ^___^
Try beating stuff like Super Magnetic Neo or the original Ninja Gaiden trilogy on the NES, then we'll talk about whether or not Sonic Unleashed is extraordinarily hard.
"Frustrating and unfair" is not the same thing as just a generally hard game. I beat all of the Ninja Gaiden games fine without much complaints, but stuff like this:
[youtube:1mmi7lgy]GMty0PE8RLs[/youtube:1mmi7lgy]
Is just downright bullshit. You literally HAVE to memorize everything in there perfectly to do it at all, and do not get me started on S ranking that bullshit. It is just horribly bad design.
That would be fine if this was not designed as a kids game... But it totally is. Not many people would find gameplay like that very enjoyable, but on top of that kind of story... It is just hard to market good.
A lot of Sonic Team games have been really awkwardly frustrating lately, it is just their style to have bad game design.
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It was the pipe jumping as the Werehog in Eggmanland that really pissed me off. Balancing sections were B.S. in God of War, and they were even worse in Unleashed.
Other than that, I enjoyed it immensely. But that section was just not fun at all.
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Bayonetta is hard. Sonic Unleashed is just bullshit. Not only the level design was extremely frustrating and unfair (ie, cheap), there were so many glitches that caused a death for the stupidest reason...
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Yeah, dying because you weren't good enough is fine (God Hand for example), but most deaths in Sonic Unleashed were due to bad camera/controls/instant deaths that you can't predict etc.
Anyway, I feel theres a bit of BS in this, those titles were probably quit/de-listed because they weren't selling anymore. Sega probably thought, "Hey lets pretend we give a shit about Sonic!" and made a press release about how much they love the fans and don't want them buying sub-average games.... then they release Sonic Free Riders.
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I really enjoyed Unleashed.
I think if they patched the werehog levels so there was a shadow under him at all times and made the bad guys have half health then the game would have been better received.
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"Frustrating and unfair" is not the same thing as just a generally hard game. I beat all of the Ninja Gaiden games fine without much complaints ...
You literally HAVE to memorize everything in there perfectly to do it at all, and do not get me started on S ranking
Would you try to tell me that you didn't have to memorize anything with the Ninja Gaiden trilogy? That you just breezed through all those games on your very first attempt? :roll: Yeah, maybe if you used an emulator and cheated with save states, I'd believe it.
I had a blast with Sonic Unleashed. All of the later speed stages were awesome, and Eggmanland was like the cherry on top. It is a bit old-school hard, but then, I love games like that. <3 If I had been able to beat every stage without losing a life then it wouldn't have been quite as enjoyable.
I know you generally don't like challenging games, though. :P
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Unleashed is amazing. It's meant to be played like a "score attack" kind of game, which is why you have to memorize everything. If you mess up, the game will kick your ass. That's what I love about it. It's a good challenge.
Plus, it's addicting to try to perfect your run and find the perfect route.
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(http://http://mob63.photobucket.com/albums/h144/Maxtaro/robotnik.png?t=1241940765)
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Unleashed is amazing. It's meant to be played like a "score attack" kind of game, which is why you have to memorize everything. If you mess up, the game will kick your ass. That's what I love about it. It's a good challenge.
Plus, it's addicting to try to perfect your run and find the perfect route.
No offence but I believe you meant Ikaruga?
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Yeah, dying because you weren't good enough is fine (God Hand for example), but most deaths in Sonic Unleashed were due to bad camera/controls/instant deaths that you can't predict etc.
Anyway, I feel theres a bit of BS in this, those titles were probably quit/de-listed because they weren't selling anymore. Sega probably thought, "Hey lets pretend we give a shit about Sonic!" and made a press release about how much they love the fans and don't want them buying sub-average games.... then they release Sonic Free Riders.
What if free riders, is good?
After SASSR I thought the series was axed, so it is good to see it return.
Also kids can somehow playthat game phenomenally better then us, they are more adapted to Wii. I was amazed at how well my lil cuz played Black Knights, he defeated Arthur with HIS EYES CLOSED and just heard the sounds.
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Unleashed is amazing. It's meant to be played like a "score attack" kind of game, which is why you have to memorize everything. If you mess up, the game will kick your ass. That's what I love about it. It's a good challenge.
Plus, it's addicting to try to perfect your run and find the perfect route.
Totally agreed.
Old-School Hard 4Ever.
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Would you try to tell me that you didn't have to memorize anything with the Ninja Gaiden trilogy? That you just breezed through all those games on your very first attempt? :roll: Yeah, maybe if you used an emulator and cheated with save states, I'd believe it.
Most of the deaths in those games do not come from OHGODHOLDTHEBOOSTBUTTONORLOSE while on water with bombs and spikes everywhere. Ninja Gaiden had demonic birds, but certainly nothing like that. You usually came to expect some stupid stuff in the Ninja Gaiden games, but you were never rushed into them or timed or anything.
I like the game too, but believe it or not, the game is not really that great. Random QTEs are the best example of this, just stupid bullshit design. The original Ninja Gaiden games had nowhere near as much bad design as that. And it is also like a set of 25 year old games now and were never designed with children in mind. I much rather hand children those games than Sonic Unleashed, just because they are not as frustrating.
Oldschool challenge my ass. Play Bayonetta.
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Bayonetta wasn't really that hard, thanks to the healing items. Playing without healing items though... holy shit that would be tough, evidenced by the Lost Level where you run the gauntlet without any items.
Also, God Hand is probably the best example I can think of a game that was really hard but really fair. Also Comic Jumper and Splosion Man.
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Which sonic games would each of you 'delist' ?
Are 'spin-offs' included?
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All of them. All games get 'Delisted' when they stop selling, it sounds to me like Sega is just trying to spin this into something positive when every company does it.
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I shudder to think that someone somewhere is still buying Sonic The Hedgehog 2006 for either PS3 or Xbox 360. That's a spooky thought.
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Unless it is even lower now than last night Sonic the Hedgehog 4 had a 71 on Metacritic and was going down fast. If it goes down just two more points SEGA will have to delist it or else we knew they were just trying to get PR the whole time.
[youtube:bfamx3u0]1ytCEuuW2_A[/youtube:bfamx3u0]
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Funny thing is, Sonic The Hedgehog Episode 1 has a 75 Metacritic score for the PS3 version while the Wii version once again is a stunning 80.
Once again, it's the 360 version that gets the most attention from everyone, but as such, ii's one of those cases where I feel that the Xbox 360 Universe in general is more hostile towards Sonic and Sega.
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I shudder to think that someone somewhere is still buying Sonic The Hedgehog 2006 for either PS3 or Xbox 360. That's a spooky thought.
I kind of want to try it just to see what's so crazy about it.
That's another thing, too; I appreciate Sega acknowledging the lesser quality titles, but outright smiting them?
And above that, using MetaCritic for that basis? That thing is too damn powerful. Sorry, it's a neat tool for users to use for reference or source, but for anything else it just feels whack. Sure, they made "bad" games, but you would think they would show a little pride in them, too. Maybe my "philosophy" of games are outdated or just don't work in today's industry.
Not to mention, some of my favorite games score at an "less than average" 50, if they get listed at all.
I hate ratings :evil:
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Funny thing is, Sonic The Hedgehog Episode 1 has a 75 Metacritic score for the PS3 version while the Wii version once again is a stunning 80.
Once again, it's the 360 version that gets the most attention from everyone, but as such, ii's one of those cases where I feel that the Xbox 360 Universe in general is more hostile towards Sonic and Sega.
No, the 360 version's Metacritic score is out of 35 reviews. The Wii version's Metacritic score is out of only 8 reviews. So you can't really go by that.
Once the Wii version's page is updated with the rest of the reviews, it'll have a lower score.