So you're telling the issue with SONIC games is that you play as Sonic and not badly designed friends?
"Wow, Super Mario is bad because you don't play as Toad."
Only Sonic fans.
well let's look at the last major Sonic title that used multiple characters, Sonic 06. It sold well for being next gen at the time and people were excited to play a 3d sonic game after shadow hogged the spotlight in the game before. Not counting Sonic Rush, (which was a handheld game that for some odd reason never count like what happens to mario, mega man, or zelda) it was going to be the next good sonic game. and then they rushed development, added stuff they didn't need to for padding, it was a mess. They had multiple characters, but the play styles weren't fleshed out and there was nothing to do. add that to bad load times that happen way too often, big empty spaces with nothing in them, poorly designed levels loaded with glitches, and you have a game that went against all expectations. It was then that people considered all of Sonic's friends pointless, which in 06 they basically were. Up until then even in Sonic Heroes, people were ok playing as other characters even in completely different styles. Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 did that very well. but ever since Modern Sonic and the story book games after 06, all it's been is just Sonic. Sonic Boom gave you control of the others again, but didn't utilize it at all. It was generic as hell. Again Sonic Boom had a rushed development.