The GHZ Forum

Sister Settled
Sister Sonic rumours are finally validated

The excitement over E3 may have directed attention to the future of Sonic, but the latest issue of UK publication Games TM finally settles a rumour from the hedgehog’s past.

Issue 31 of the magazine contains an interview with Victor Ireland, head of Working Designs, the company responsible for the Mega-CD edition of Popful Mail. Ireland briefly confirms that Sega had planned to rework Popful Mail as the fabled Sonic spin-off, Sister Sonic.

Rumours of Sister Sonic first surfaced in the 1993, when the game supposedly appeared on the release schedules of Sega’s Western divisions. Fearing that Popful Mail would be too foreign for Western tastes, Sega of America had apparently planned to adapt the title by adding Sonic characters, much as they had localised Puyo Puyo as Dr Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine.

The rumours lost credibility when the Mega-CD version of Popful Mail was released in the US in 1994. Victor Ireland, however, confirms the rumours claming that the head of Sega Japan’s consumer soft department had discussed the title with him in the early 1990s.

Internet rumours suggests that Sister Sonic was cancelled due to negative feedback from Japanese players, but Ireland does not provide any insight into the demise of the title.

The GHZ Newsboard hopes to bring a scan of the interview shortly, but if you happen to have one you could kindly share, click the comment/reply link (no registration required).

Victor Ireland is freaking insane.



Just wanted to get that out there.

The rumours lost credibility when the Mega-CD version of Popful Mail was released in the US in 1994.

Huh?

These were not rumours, the story was published in EGM as fact (I have the issue) long before Working Designs picked up the game. The reason was not so much "negative feedback" as "fan outrage" as Popful Mail already had a large fanbase in Japan.

Would Japanese fans care about the US version of the game? Or was the plan to actually release it as "Sister Sonic" even there?

Speaking of Popful Mail, does anyone know if that was released in Europe?

(Random, embarassing shit was posted here involving Sonic Rush)

I think that you should read more than the title of a thread before you post Omni.

I swear that someone posted something about Gamespot and Sonic Rush in this thread.
Edit: No shit, wrong thread.

Or was the plan to actually release it as "Sister Sonic" even there?

That's the only way it makes sense. With the Sonic name attached you have to figure it would have sold pretty well in Japan too.

And it had already been released on the Super Famicom and PC Engine.