Sonic Next-Gen - First Look from IGN

[SegaSonic]

That's really bothering me! EVERY 3D Sonic game has been in the human world, except maybe Heroes. Amazing that no one in the games journalism world has bothered to point this out.

Heroes took place in the Human world, only humans werent present in that game as well as the rest of all games.

Sonic lives and always has lived alongside human beings, but you knew that didnt you?

So is Sonic's height, like, officially 5-foot-whatever, or is that just an off-the-cuff blurb from some halfwit IGN journalist? Because to me Sonic's model, at least proportion-wise, doesn't look all that different from the SA2 style. (Except for his balloony spines, which kind of bother me.)

exactly, I think it was some dimwit that compared Classic Sonic with this new Sonic.

[Ngangbius]

I still don't care for the art direction of the game, it's all so bland and too real looking.

I wouldn’t be surprised if, like most other Sonic problems, the art style (and the story) is influenced by marketing factors. As the Playstation 3 is expected to have a high launch price, most of the initial owners will consist of older teenagers or young adults. Using an overly real style increases the chance that this game will appeal to such an audience. (Of course the sensible thing to do would have been to wait until the user base is more developed).

Then how do you explain Sonic Rivals' art direction even though it is on a platform that is also popular with the 18-24 crowd?

[Esrever]

That's probably because they've farmed out the development of that game, and because the game is trying to capture the 2D gameplay of the old games. And since our favourite Sonic Heroes director is involved, he's probably inclined to lean that way anyhow.

I think Big Smile is completely right. Sonic's "new direction" is a result of Nintendo's choice to remove themselves from the graphics race.

When Sega could still port one game to all three consoles, it made sense to target that game towards children, because Sonic sold best on the Gamecube. An game for older players might have sold better on Sony and Microsoft's systems than Heroes did, but probably not enough so to justify producing an entirely seperate game.

But now they have to make a seperate ps3/xbox360 game, there is no reason not to age-up the franchise on the two pricier consoles. Most of Sony and Microsoft's users are older, especially in the case of their newer, more expensive systems.

[Zeta]

I just saw a demo of the game.

And the demo actually had a pit death.

Yeah, this is going to really, really suck.

[Segaholic2]

Where'd you see the demo?

[Zeta]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiAu4Uok ... onic%20360

Midway through the level, whoever's playing it falls prey to a cheap pit death. Luckily for him they hadn't programmed in pitfalls causing death, so he was just able to bounce back up. Too bad they don't keep that feature. But the fact that the demo testers actually sort of need that feature programmed into the game should kind of show them that their level design sucks ass.

[Segaholic2]

Oh, that's old. I thought you saw something new.

I've got a 200mb high-res version of that video.

[Zeta]

Well aren't WE a special little duck! Eehhhh?

[Frieza2000]

But now they have to make a seperate ps3/xbox360 game, there is no reason not to age-up the franchise on the two pricier consoles.

Remember though, the Wii is going to have a standard controller as well as its special one. I think the real reason Sonic Team couldn't port it is that the Wii's processing power is inferior and they needed that power to handle the new detailed art direction.

[Ngangbius]

But now they have to make a seperate ps3/xbox360 game, there is no reason not to age-up the franchise on the two pricier consoles. Most of Sony and Microsoft's users are older, especially in the case of their newer, more expensive systems.

The ironic thing is that 18-24 year olds would rather take a happy, colorful Sonic game than a dark one. Or at least that's the impression I get from GAF.

[Segaholic2]

GAF is mostly 18-24? I find this hard to believe.

[Zeta]

Usually it's only little kids who haven't encountered real tragedy or sadness that want to play an angsy, violent, dark game because they think it's forbidden or mature or makes them grownups.

[SegaSonic]

AMEN

[Light Speed]

What is GAF?

[Wooduck51]

The ironic thing is that 18-24 year olds would rather take a happy, colorful Sonic game than a dark one.

Because they are more fun.

And because all you people think I'm a frickin idiot for my defense of Shadow, it stems from a particularly good strain of Fanfiction I read.

[Delphine]

Fanfic, even good fanfic, does not redeem the fuck-ups of the original creators.

[Wooduck51]

says you.

[Popcorn]

Just because some basement-dweller managed to make Shadow into a legitimate character-- and I seriously question even that claim-- does not mean that he will necessarily ever be a worthwhile member of the series' cast. We have every reason to expect that Shadow's character will once again fail to be deployed in any particularly meaningful or interesting manner.

There is only hope.

[Ngangbius]

GAF is mostly 18-24? I find this hard to believe.

The only act under that age limit as far as gaming company loyalty is concerned. ;)

What is GAF?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaming_Age_Forums

[Wooduck51]

I just realized, why do we care what the other thinks? in the long run we don't, and I have wasted your precious time with this argument.

[SegaSonic]

Yay, even more things from Gamespot. They've put up their own preview as well, but they revealed some more promising and... interesting things than what IGN did in their little crack at it. Here are the notable parts of the interview:

-- Although the audience was pretty impressed with the speed, Sonic Team says that was the demo was running the game at only half the speed it should run at when it's done.

-- It seems Eggman's design so far is the most drastic of all, as he is now... skinnier?

-- The princess is indeed human, and is her looks and design are so elaborate and detailed they're even comparing her to Square Enix's characters.

-- Adventure fields, or town stages, are said to absolutely own the ones from Sonic Adventure. They will be much larger, full of lively, bustling, human activity, and you will actually have to travel from quite far from town to town.

-- Supporting characters will indeed appear.

-- Even though it's vague at this point, Sonic Team says that Sonic's abilities will be somewhat customizable for the player's pleasure. How that will go about is anyone's guess.

I knew that demo looked halfassed.

Skinny Eggman?? yeah right...right??

The princess is human W00T!!!! the game will R0X0RS now!!!

Adventure Fields!!! WOOHOO!!!

I knew Tails would show his face.

Customizable stuff? neat!

[Light Speed]

Sounds more like an RPG than a fast paced Sonic game now.

[SegaSonic]

Hmm..well, atleast if it resembles a better SA1.

[big_smile]

Then how do you explain Sonic Rivals' art direction even though it is on a platform that is also popular with the 18-24 crowd?

By the time Rivals is released the PSP will probably have had a price drop for the holiday season. This will open up the platform to a much younger user base.

Two features of Rivals also suggest that it is aimed at a younger audience. The concept of head-to-head racing can only work as a multiplayer game (AI simply can’t offer the challenge or unpredictability of a human player without appearing to be cheating). Younger audiences are often considered to be more able to engage in multiplayer portable games, as they have a greater access to shared spaces (such as playgrounds, youth clubs etc). Secondly, a big selling point of the game is its trading card system, which again is something that is more popular with children. ^_^

I think the real reason Sonic Team couldn't port it is that the Wii's processing power is inferior and they needed that power to handle the new detailed art direction.

The Wii is supposed to be at least twice as powerful as Gamecube, so it shouldn’t have any problems handling a first generation PS3 title.

The absence of a Wii version probably again derives from marketing reasons.

Most Wii launch titles will emphasise the controller and be sold as offering ‘unique gaming experiences’. A port of PS3/Xbox-360 title wouldn’t be able to compete with this and so would probably be ignored. A Wii Sonic exclusive title is, therefore, more able to capitalise on Nintendo’s marketing approach.

Once the hype of the Wii dies down, it is likely that we will see a port of game on the system, especially as Sega like to release a series ports and spin-offs in between each major Sonic title. With its ability to play Gamecube games, the Wii has access to virtually the entire library of Sonic games. It seems unlikely that Sega would miss the opportunity to sell a major Sonic game to such a Sonic-friendly platform. ^_^

[Segaholic2]

The Wii is supposed to be at least twice as powerful as Gamecube, so it shouldn’t have any problems handling a first generation PS3 title.

Actually, from everything I've heard the Wii is about on par with the original Xbox in terms of power.