Sonic 2016 Rumours

[big_smile]

I'm quite surprised that their involvement hasn't been finalised yet (unless Johnny was being vague to create mystery). Seeing as Sonic Team have made anything since Lost World, you'd think Sonic 25 would be virtually finished by this point. If they are still working on the music, then it probably won't be out until Q4.

https://twitter.com/sonic20th/status/68 ... wsrc%5Etfw
^ Sonic Japan have released a 25th Anniversary wallpaper. Many are speculating that it's a sign Sonic 25th will be based around Classic Sonic. It's probably one of the laziest items SoJ has released as it just copy and pastes bits from old assets. (Sonic Channel in Japan normally has custom hand drawn artwork for each of its wallpapers).

[big_smile]

http://www.sonicstadium.org/2016/01/seg ... le-guides/
^ Some more promotional artwork for the 25th anniversary.

[Crazy Penguin]

(unless Johnny was being vague to create mystery)

That's the impression I got, seeing as "might" was in quotation marks.

[Frieza2000]

http://www.sonicstadium.org/2016/01/seg ... le-guides/
^ Some more promotional artwork for the 25th anniversary.

Whoa.

WHOA.

HOLD ON.

WHAT?!

...SMBZ is back?!

[Majestic Joey]

So It looks like it may be a sonic game featuring many different sonics and universes. I hope that there is a Comic Sonic level in Robotropolis or maybe like a Knothole village under siege level.

Thinking back, was Sonic Spinball the only sonic game loosely set in the Sonic saturday cartoon/comic universe?

[The Doc]

Honestly, that's a shame. I was really hoping to get the Sonic 2006 Remastered that I've been begging for for the last three years.

[big_smile]

In the promotional artwork, they have put Quartz Quadrant elements in the Green Hill Zone.

So It looks like it may be a sonic game featuring many different sonics and universes. I hope that there is a Comic Sonic level in Robotropolis or maybe like a Knothole village under siege level.

Hmm... I think that artwork might just be for merchandise. I can't see Sonic Team using other people's characters in their game.

[big_smile]

http://www.tssznews.com/gallery/f4f-rev ... ve-feed/1/

First4figures have revealed a render of their 25th Anniversary Sonic Statue. It's been shown before, but this is the first time they have confirmed it as the final design (I think). It now features swappable consoles, so hopefully it can cover all the different Sega iterations.

[big_smile]

http://www.tssznews.com/2016/02/04/aaro ... -fire-ice/
^ Aaron Webber (Sega of America's Social Media manager) has confirmed that Ken Pontac is working on Sonic Boom Fire & Ice. The way his message is worded implies (but doesn't confirm) that he won't be working on Sonic 2016.

If that's the case, then HOORAY! I know quite a few people weren't a fan of the Sonic Team's unnecessarily convoluted plots and so found Pontac's simpler take on the series to be a breath of fresh air. I, however, couldn't stand his work. It always felt like some generic kiddie cartoon with cast frequently being bent out of character to accommodate some pointless gag.

If Sonic Runners is anything to go by, it looks like Pontac's legacy will live in on in the form of Cubot and Orbot (These were creations he fought to keep in, even though Sonic Team felt they didn't suit Eggman's character). However, as badly written as Runners is, it does a good job of stopping these unnecessary additions from making Eggman seem like a complete buffoon, so hopefully they won't impact future stories too badly.

[big_smile]

http://sonic.sega.jp/25th/

Japanese Sonic Anniversary site opens. There's nothing new, although there's an alternative version of the 25th anniversary logo that has modern Sonic in place of classic Sonic.

The Boom version of Sonic also seems to be taking a prominent spot. Hopefully that's not a sign that he will be in the anniversary game.

[big_smile]

https://www.sonicstadium.org/2016/06/ja ... onic-game/

So apparently there was a job posting which suggests the next Sonic game will be a 3D remake of the original and released on PS4 and Xbox one.

I'm a little skeptical of the evidence. The job posting apparently concealed the fact that it was from Sega, but then revealed that the game was about a blue hedgehog. Plus, it was apparently it was posted a few months ago and you would think they would have started work on this title in 2013 after Lost World. Still it does tie in with some of the rumours that have been floating for a while. I hope there's a WiiU port and a PC version as well.

I'm not sure how I feel about a 3D remake. If it is happening, I hope they go down the route of Sonic Generations where they have brand new levels that draw on past elements, as opposed to the approach followed by GHZ in SA2, where it was a direct 3D remake of the level.

[cjmcray]

Hey, remember that picture a few months back of Alex Hirsch (Gravity Falls creator) sitting next to a Sonic statue at SEGA HQ?


Bear in mind, this tweet is from Dec. 2015, but it is rather curious..

https://mobile.twitter.com/_AlexHirsch/ ... 4005400576

He also tweeted in May about possibly directing a movie based off a videogame franchise.. HMMM..

[Yami CJMErl]

Well we're about a week away from when all the party stuff is happening...maybe we'll FINALLY get to see what all the teases have been about ('cause if it's another announcement for an upcoming announcement like at E3 I'm gonna be pissed).

[big_smile]

Although Sonic's anniversary is on the 23rd June, the party isn't until July 22nd, so I don't think there's going to be any news until then.

[cjmcray]

Yeah, I don't think we'll get anything in regards to the anniversary game until July 22nd. Still hope Sega gives us with something before then. A clip to season 2 of Boom, something related to the movie, or the reveal of a new toyline would be nice. It'd be a shame for the 23rd to fly by without some sort of surprise from Sega..

[Yami CJMErl]

Well, there's an official Sonic Humble Bundle for the anniversary. Spend $35 and get a shirt!

also less anniversary-related, but



only the deepest shade will do for the OFFICIAL SONIC TWITTER

[big_smile]

https://www.sonicstadium.org/2016/06/ii ... onic-game/
^ New Famitsu article where Sonic Team reveal that they are developing a completely new Sonic game. Naka and Oshima came back for the interview and there's even a pic of Naka holding a Sonic 1 promo poster.

Incidentally, Oshima recently returned back to the Sonic series as his company produced Mario & Sonic Rio (where he acted as supervisor).

https://twitter.com/SoaHCity?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
^ There's a new Sonic 3DS theme.

[Frieza2000]

I've suspected for some time now that their big surprise is that Naka is working on this new game. His appearance at SXSW and E3 increased my suspicion, though it would make sense to have him in the public eye for the big anniversary even if he's not involved. Naka and Oshima teaming up again after all these years would certainly have a good chance of breathing some life back into the series. If nothing else, their names are enough to pique my interest. If the game is called SA3 and doesn't involve Ken Pontac in any way then I'm sold.

[G.Silver]

The most important thing is not the fact the series survived for 25 years, but how many games was developed.

"The most important thing is to crank out as many games as we can, whether it burns people on the franchise or not."

[G.Silver]

https://www.sonicstadium.org/2016/06/ii ... onic-game/
^ New Famitsu article where Sonic Team reveal that they are developing a completely new Sonic game.

The key phrase "completely new" as actually absent from the Japanese text they cite in this article. It says "Besides the game we at Sonic Team are making..." and then on to the movie stuff and Boom and whatnot. It seems safe to assume it's a new game (obviously, right?) the emphasis of "completely new" is nowhere to be seen and quite misleading. It's not like that Miyamoto quote from the other day about a "new kind of Mario game."

The interview itself is a quick stroll through Sonic's development history, including some bits about the rabbit ears, Dreams Come True, Sonic 2's development in the US (of particular note, Naka blames "unusual color schemes" in Sonic 2 on communication problems between the Japanese and US staff), the Sonic 3 event at Alcatraz, Sonic CD's load times, and the absence of Sonic on Saturn. I wasn't able to glean much of interest/stuff we don't already know, but maybe there'll be some good stuff when the whole thing is translated. Assuming I didn't completely lose faith in the translator for inserting that "completely new" statement.

[G.Silver]

Ha ha ha even IGN is running with it: http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/06/23/ ... y-new-game

I started second guessing myself (my Japanese sure isn't perfect) but there's a couple guys in Sonic Stadium's comments who noticed the same thing.

[G.Silver]

On the "Happy Birthday Sonic" angle, Yasuhara posted this picture (on his Facebook) from Sonic's early development, when a hedgehog had been decided on but Oshima hadn't designed him yet:

[Yami CJMErl]

Welp, the Joypolis stream was a total bust. Apart from a few new bits of concept art for a few characters, the only announcement was...that there is going to be an announcement. On July 22. (also that said new game will be out in 2017)

[big_smile]

2017???

I was under the impression that work on this started after Sonic Lost World. But I'm wondering if they only started after Sonic Runners.


@G.Silver
That concept art is interesting. It looks like Sonic could smash bridges to access new routes. There's some Sonic 2 concept art, where Sonic could use the bullets from enemies to do something similar,, so it looks like Yasuhara was quite keen on the idea.

[G.Silver]

That concept art is interesting. It looks like Sonic could smash bridges to access new routes. There's some Sonic 2 concept art, where Sonic could use the bullets from enemies to do something similar,, so it looks like Yasuhara was quite keen on the idea.

I don't think I've seen that one, have you got a link to it? Is it at Retro with the other Sonic 2 concepts?