Sonic the Hedgehog 360 defecation station

Post by **Popcorn** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 8:45 am

So Viva Pinata bombed? That's kind of amusing, considering Microsoft wanted it to be their Pokemon, if I recall.

Frieza2000 · Post by **Frieza2000** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 9:15 am

Owen Axel wrote:Whelp, I completed the whole emblem/gold medal/whatever collection thingie in this game, because obviously I'm a complete and total idiot when it comes to this sort of thing. If I didn't believe I was an idiot to attempt it, then the fact of there being diddly-squat in the form of unlockables for for getting every last one of those gold medals hammered the point home very well.

I've been meaning to ask about this. I've heard that something unlocks for some people but not for others, but I've also heard that all of the things that were supposed to be unlocked (super, all characters, alternate ending) weren't included at all. Does anyone know the truth to this? I'm going to be borrowing a 360 for Christmas and I want to know just how motivated I should be to waste my time getting S ranks.

Owen Axel · Post by **Owen Axel** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 10:31 am

If there was some fantastic unlockable, then you'd expect it to have turned up on Gamefaq's unlockables page by now. There's nothing but the Achievements, and that's a fact.

If I was gonna lie, I'd have at least thought up something more interesting, like oh maybe an Emerald Hill Zone remake level.

Frieza2000 · Post by **Frieza2000** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 11:17 am

I didn't mean to suggest you were lying, I just thought maybe you were one of the unlucky people that nothing unlocked for. You're right though, there isn't a trace of that rumor on any major site. I won't expect anything then.

Radrappy · Post by **Radrappy** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 11:22 am

When has an american based video game series EVER had the success of Pokemon. I think it is extremely naive of Microsoft to expect that they could churn out something of the like. Viva PiÃƒÂ±ata, while vibrant and colorful, still lacks the concept and memorable character design of what made pokemon so phenomenal. Not to be a japanophile but sorry.

Locit · Post by **Locit** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 11:30 am

I've actually heard really good things about Viva PiÃƒÂ±ata, but they were admittedly not from Microsoft's target demographic. I'm getting the vibe that it's way to complex for the kids likely to be attracted to its bright colors, and that underneath its candy coating lurks a deep and satisfying simulation experience. With piÃƒÂ±atas!

Senbei · Post by **Senbei** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 12:03 pm

I'd think the problem would be that Viva Pinata is on a $400 piece of hardware. Pokemon was on the Game Boy consoles, which were only about $50-70. Which is a parent, or a kid patiently saving his allowance, going to go for?

Neo · Post by **Neo** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 2:34 pm

The Sony Playstation 3.

Zeta · Post by **Zeta** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 4:34 pm

I've actually heard really good things about Viva PiÃƒÂ±ata, but they were admittedly not from Microsoft's target demographic. I'm getting the vibe that it's way to complex for the kids likely to be attracted to its bright colors, and that underneath its candy coating lurks a deep and satisfying simulation experience. With piÃƒÂ±atas!

Yes. Every part of me wants Viva Pinata. It's the only game I feel this way about in regards to the Xbox 360. My very cells each individually cry out for it.

MegaKitsune · Post by **MegaKitsune** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 7:14 pm

Yeah, Viva Pinata is pretty cool.

Shadow Hog · Post by **Shadow Hog** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 7:23 pm

My Dad's getting it for my little brother for Christmas. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from it, so when Gamespot wound up giving it a GOOD review... well, it made me just a tad bit interested, so maybe I'll let you know about its quality then.

Maybe. I'm still not done with <i>Twilight Princess</i>, see.

Zeta · Post by **Zeta** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 10:01 pm

From what I hear, It's actually almost like a really detailed virtual aquarium game. You have to expand your collection while adjusting the enviroment to suit the needs of your favorite pinatas, while feeding some pinatas to others and trying to earn enough money for new decorations and enviroment-altering tools and such.

Not the sort of things that little kids can really understand very well.

MegaKitsune · Post by **MegaKitsune** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 10:24 pm

Pinata Tycoon?

Zeta · Post by **Zeta** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 11:05 pm

Or Seaman: The Forbidden Pinata.

Ngangbius · Post by **Ngangbius** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 12:34 am

I'm also quite interested in Viva Pinata after hearing some surprisingly positive impressions of the game. At first, I thought it would be a simplified Animal Crossing crossed with Harvest Moon for 4-10 year olds.

I'll have to obtain it after finals week though.

Zeta · Post by **Zeta** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 12:59 am

Seems like a quirky niche game like Seaman, Katamari Damacy, Bumpy Trot, or Locco Rollo that was marketed like Pokemon. Which may explain the poor sales. Kids think it's too hard and weird, and the kind of gamers who like quirky experimental titles will be put off by the cartoon marketing tie-in and assume it's a blatant Pokemon ripoff.

Locit · Post by **Locit** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 1:57 am

I have heard rumors of piÃƒÂ±ata genocide, which is really all the incentive I need. Also, an Xbox 360.

SegaSonic · Post by **SegaSonic** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 5:57 pm

The Japanese website got new updates, Knuckles and Omega plus info on the Town Stages!

Owen Axel · Post by **Owen Axel** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 6:39 pm

It hasn't got anything to do with those promise downloadable updates to the game, has it? I might give a fraction of a damn in that case.

Shadow Hog · Post by **Shadow Hog** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 6:55 pm

Absolutely nothing to do with it, as far as I can tell.

BlazeHedgehog · Post by **BlazeHedgehog** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 9:04 pm

I swear they shipped the wrong version of the game. One of the screenshots of Knuckles in Aquatic Base shows water lining the bottom of the level. Though my 360 is kaput and has been for almost two weeks now, I distinctly remember Aquatic Base being lined with bottomless, black pits - not water.

Also, with that update, "Soleanna News" was launched. It's some sort of developer blog run by Shun Nakamura. He talks about what lead to certain decisions on the game, including what makes Sonic cool, why they named it "Sonic the Hedgehog", etc.

Real translations would be great as machine translation only does so much.

Wooduck51 · Post by **Wooduck51** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 10:01 pm

I checked, there is water, sadly.

And has anyone figured out how to use Chaos Blast? or is it just another
spear upgrade?

BlazeHedgehog · Post by **BlazeHedgehog** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 3:10 am

Chaos Blast is pretty unremarkable. I think you hit the R trigger again once you're glowing red.

It's not like in Shadow the Hedgehog. It's range is much more limited.

James McGeachie · Post by **James McGeachie** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 12:34 pm

For anyone curious about sales figures...well thankfully it seems the game is getting what it deserves, in the UK at least.

Perhaps it's due to there being a very limited Sonic fanbase among British 360 owners, but the game has yet to enter the all system top 40 chart in the UK, despite Sonic Rush still making it in at the bottom a few times recently. What this means is that Rush's weekly sales are higher now, a year later, than Sonic the Hedgehog's were on launch week, so hooray for justice for once. Sadly though I guess we wont really know for sure if it's bombed here until the European PS3 launch ...in like fucking March or May or whenever.

Sonic Rivals has also failed to enter the top 40, though it did sell marginally better than Rush in the last week.

Rolken · Post by **Rolken** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 10:52 pm

It would appear that even among 360 games it debuted in 8th place, and then fell to 9th and then 10th place. Cluestick to Sega, perhaps?

Eh, if they get any hint it'll be to just keep releasing the same old tripe on Nintendo machines.