Should of SEGA stopped considering/market Sonic as their Main Franchise?

[Trippled]

Obviously not immediately right now, but I'm asking if they should of done it in like 2008 or especially after 06, and if it would have been better for SEGA's Image.

I think it would have been only natural at least when Plattformers became less and less popular than in the MD/DC days,and sidelining 3rd Party Plattforming Mascots happened alot also. And Sonic wasn't really everybodys thing when it came to plattformers,and many considered Sonic only working as a character and game at the time. So making it seem like Sonic is all what SEGA has  and shoving it constantly in everybody faces made alot of people scare away.

Obviously have the games come out, but don't hype it unnecessarily like Unleashed and Sonic 4,like it's their most important release right now. Colors is how all Sonic games should come out IMO,and it selled well regardless.

Of course Sonic is what SEGA made today, and give alot of income. So it probably a terrible Idea and Thread,but I wanna know what you guys think.

[Waffle]

It sells the most, so from a marketing standpoint it makes perfect sense.

Considering the quality though, I do think it is embarassing. Sonic in the last 10 years has given SEGA a childish image they have never had, so it brings down their other franchises. Excess Sonic focus has also created 'Sonic fans' who do not even like SEGA, which seems bizarre. Mario fans like Nintendo, for comparison. Considering that, they probably are Nintendo fans who just associated Sonic with Game Cube, Wii, GBA, and DS.

So to be blunt: yes, they should stop, it brings in irritating people.

Alternatively they could drop the last 10 years of garbage and focus on quality, but I do not expect that.

[Trippled]

At least Sonic should be treated as equal  to their other franchises.

I mean other than Nintendo and Microsoft, Companies don't really have a mascot anymore.

[Waffle]

Companies still have 'star franchises'. iD with Doom, Valve with Gordan Freeman, Apogee/3D Realms with Duke Nukem, et cetera. I do not think it is that uncommon. Even Sony seems to be going for Nathan Drake as their top character.

[Trippled]

Multiple ones yeah, but not not a Main-one I think.

[Waffle]

So you mean SEGA has no other series going strong?

I guess that is true besides Yakuza being popular in Japan. Others tend to do a lot of trilogies, unlike SEGA.

[George]

Sonic has a huge fanbase, ignoring it would be stupid. Its obvious this is not going to happened and we know this due to Japan head ups always want everyone to know that a SEGA mash up game has Sonic in it too. That is why we get lame titles like 'Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing'

[segaismysavior]

I'm fine with Sonic being the main franchise, but I'd rather they let Sonic Team do other IPs. From Saturn to Dreamcast you would see the Sonic Team logo on another franchise and that alone would sell the game. Of course, they aren't what they used to be, so that recognition is less polarizing today. I don't completely blame them though, since they're locked into designing games around an anthropomorphic animal that has to run fast.

My favorite Sonic Team games aren't Sonic titles. I can enjoy a Sonic game like anyone else, but I don't personally want any more. The ones that I do enjoy (Adventure 1 & 2, Secret Rings, Generations) are enough for me. I feel the same about Mario too, they are great platforming games, but the appeal has run its course and I'd rather know what it's like to not see Mario/Sonic games as guaranteed releases every time a new system comes out.

[CrazyT]

I agree. Sonic shouldn't be sega's main character anymore. To be honest the franchise is not what represents sega's quality at all. Whatever sonicteam aims for, the ending result is usually average. Sonicteam is probably the worst sega division at the moment.

So basically, yes and no. Yes if they keep sonicteam behind the wheel, no if SEGA decides to get new "talent" into the divison and get rid of the incompetent bunch.

[Radrappy]

Well then who, pray tell should carry the torch?  Yakuza? Valkyria?  None of the other franchises sega holds are even recognizable to people who aren't big sega fans.  So. . . yeah, not feeling it. 

[Barry the Nomad]

In 2006 I would have agreed that the focus on Sonic should be lessened, but now I would disagee. SEGA may not have the consoles anymore, but they still have the mascot. I'd hate to see Sonic dropped. In terms of gaming, and not just marketing, Sonic has had an uptick in quality so I'd want to keep the series active.

Perhaps instead of lessening Sonic's presence or amount of games, SEGA should promote other franchises almost as much as Sonic or bring back more old IPs. Do the whole "Classic Sonic is BACK!" hype to an older franchise like Space Channel 5, JSR, Alex Kidd or Fantasy Zone... or Shenmue. I'd imagine maybe a PSN/XBLA sequel to a classic Genesis series handled by an apt developer. Think Sonic 4 but a complete success.

[CrazyT]

@Radrappy

Hmm that's a good question. Super monkey ball was pretty great before nagoshi started putting lots of attention into the yakuza franchise ever since it's existance, but i dont think monkey ball would ever be icon worthy like sonic.

There isn't anything more iconic than sonic. This is why the argument bout sonic's character design not being importatant has always been a moot point, because that was exactly what attracted me to the franchise (classic sonic specifically). I think sonic just looks really good.

I just wish SEGA would hire some decent programmers. They managed to make the rolling better at sonicretro by hacking into the game. Stuff like this upset me, especially when the change required one digit change.

And then I look at all the other games made by SEGA that are built in such a larger scale and probably are way harder to make and still manage to be polished well built games within 2/3 years.

I guess the team just needs better staff but it's as if nobody really seems to care or maybe they're not aware.

[Barry the Nomad]

There isn't anything more iconic than sonic. This is why the argument bout sonic's character design not being importatant has always been a moot point, because that was exactly what attracted me to the franchise (classic sonic specifically). I think sonic just looks really good.

Totally agree. It wasn't the gameplay or the fact that it was a SEGA product that got me into Sonic, it was the character design. Of course, I really enjoyed the games, but I probably wouldn't have stuck with the franchise like I have had the design been shitty. Like Bubsy or something. Yuck.

I actually had a falling out with the franchise in 2004 when Sonic Heroes released, I bought it and really disliked Sonic's design. I liked the SA1&2 design, but Heroes just looked like a weird plastic knock-off. The fact that the game was so-so didn't help. After that, I sort of followed gaming news and saw the ugly fuck that was '06 Sonic. That iteration was even worse than Heroes. It wasn't until the Unleashed trailer that I spotted the much improved design and got back into the series. Now I actually am happy to see the modern design and will even buy a bit of merch featuring the current design. Usually I stick to the classic stuff. The 10" modern Sonic figure looks awesome, as does that exclusive 20th anniversary statue.

[George]

I think the main issue here is that SEGA west gives most of its attention to Sonic. SEGA Japan has big budget advertising stuff for other games, like the Phantasy Star series and Yakuza series.

I think SEGA West needs to start treating their IPs like that with more care. I mean, if Yakuza 1 was actually handled right from the start, it could have been a 'pretty good' western IP. Even if it failed, I think Valkyria Chronicles, if handled right could have been the next been franchise for them. I mean, the writing and cutscenes to me where right on, the gameplay was fun. Everything that people hated about FFXIII is not present here.

Problem? Square actually puts a decent marketing budget for Final Fantasy titles. Don't say "Oh, dats kuz its a huge franchise in world wide" ... it wasn't always a huge franchise...They took a huge risk and put in advertising dollars for FF7 and now they reap the rewards of a big mega hit franchise.

SEGA is making money, put some damn marketing behind your 'new IPs', especially if they are going to be a multi sequel franchise.

[Radrappy]

Valkyria is an anime game and Yakuza takes place in japan.  They are very japan-centric franchises that will have a seriously hard time catching on in the USA no matter how much money you spend on marketing.  FF7 came out during a different time.  The climate was nothing like it is today.  At that time, Japan ruled the gaming business with little to no competition from the west.  Standards are way different in 2011 as far as what an ordinary western gamer is going to buy.