You're welcome. Happy to help. This is why I'm so damn super excited for this core Sonic Team produced Sonic game from the Generations team. The assumed development cycle (presuming development began post-Generations which it probably did) is longer than any Sonic game that has ever existed. I mean seriously do we know of any Sonic game that has come even remotely close to a presumed four/five year development cycle? It's new and more powerful hardware so obviously development is going to be lengthened because of that but four/five years is immense, extreme and unprecedented for the Sonic franchise. I guess what I'm saying is that given the lengthy development and the fact that this is the same team and talent behind the fantastic Generations; signs are looking extremely positive and promising this game could actually be decent if not amazing. We're also all assuming the Hedgehog Engine is a given when it's more likely the game will at the very least use an upgraded evolution of that engine meaning the game could and should look even better than that engine which still to this day and even at the dawn of a new generation is still one of the best visually spectacular engines of the entirety of the last generation. As for the proposed timeframe part of me thinks Holiday 2015 because Sonic has generally been an annual franchise since Sega left the hardware business (and relied on Sonic so much) and part of me also thinks Sega might make an exception and delay it for the 2016 anniversary for quality and marketing purposes. If I was pushed to make an educated guess I'd go with Holiday 2015 just because Sega has nothing else (thus far announced) for this year and Sonic remains their relied upon lifeline.
WAIT WAIT NO SONIC TEAM BEFORE YOU SAY IT LET ME GUESS. IT'S AN ENDLESS RUNNER, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE TOTALLY NEED ANOTHER ENDLESS RUNNER, RIGHT?
Any particular difference in crew between the first two games and Sonic Free Riders? Also, does anybody know what they're working on right now? Or were they disbanded? Well, for 2015 we already have the Sonic Runners mobile game announced and that's a Sonic Team game, and who knows, maybe we'll finally get that Sonic 4: Episode III (for the ending's sake), but maybe that's just me. And personally, I'd rather have this game released on Sonic's 25th birthday, because if it's released one year earlier, then what WILL we get for Sonic's 25th birthday? A cheap Nintendo-exclusive? No, thank you. At least the next-gen game would have one extra year of development to polish every last thing in it. + - I just hope they won't be tinkering with time-travel again...
Well, I mean, Sonic could probably adapt to that format better than most. Sonic & The Secret Rings was basically an endless runner minus the "endless" part. Sonic Dash was actually a huge letdown to me because it was so slow and generic compared to what a real Sonic endless runner looked like in my head. Even Temple Run is significantly faster than Sonic Dash.
I'm in the "wait for Generations 2 in 2016" camp. Though unlikely, they could fill the console void with Sonic Racing Transformed for PS4/XB1, adding three more tracks to make a full new cup that includes OutRun Bay. Sumo Digital would've probably been too busy with LittleBigPlanet 3 to make that happen, though.
I'd be surprised if a console Sonic game didn't come out this year. It's been well over a year since Lost World shipped, let alone went gold, and it doesn't take a significant part of a big console game team to make a mobile title (which is also kind of the point of doing mobile, since people are expensive). We also don't know if Sonic Team are handling Runners in its entirety or not. Personally I'd assume it's more of a Sonic 4 affair, with Sonic Teams name on the box but most of the work on their end being supervisory. I'm expecting a console game announcement at some point before the spring, with Runners releasing around spring or summer and then the 2015 console game coming before Christmas. I'd be down with a Sonic Lost World 2 for 2015. It had some good ideas with poor execution, and an iterative sequel might give Sonic Team the ability to concentrate on the level design and polish rather than the engine or mechanics.
Maybe with a Lost World 2 they can have more than just Tomoya Ohtani working on the soundtrack. I'm sure Fumie Kumatani and Kenichi Tokoi are still around somewhere.
I agree with your general sentiment that Lost World had potentially amazing ideas that fell short that could be improved and iterated in a sequel but when Endri was asked about whether the next game is Lost World 2 he stated: I believe Endri is both genuine and accurate. The game is not Lost World 2. Lost World was an attempt to mimic Super Mario Galaxy in order to create and dedicate a game that would specifically sell well on Nintendo platforms. It was specifically designed with the Wii U and Nintendo exclusivity deal in mind. I expect an Xbox One/PS4 Sonic game to be (as Endri said) something completely and entirely different targeted at the userbase of those platforms. The game will likely be based on an evolution of the Hedgehog Engine. So the fast-paced modern Sonic iteration that Iizuka spearheaded. Sega needs something for Holiday 2015 so I would still expect the game for later this year. As others have stated we'll probably hear something around Spring. E3 2015 at the very latest.
I'm seeing people mentioning Endri a lot. I guess I'm somewhat out of the loop on this, does anyone have a link to his posts/an explanation of why he's credible? I must've missed this when it was first posted. My personal guess is we'll be getting the Generations team's new game this year; like 360 said, 4 years is a longer development cycle than we've ever seen for a Sonic game, and I'm not quite convinced they'll push it to 5. If we assume the Lost World team has a new project going right now, though, and it started right after Lost World shipped, then they'll have had three years by the time 2016 rolls around, which is the usual Sonic development length. I'm betting that's what we're getting for the anniversary in 2016.
I don't get why people are expecting this to be anything more than a simple endless runner with Sonic in it. It might be a platformer! But it's going to be simple enough so that you can pick it up on your phone and play it for 5 minutes on the bus to work or something. It's not revolutionary; the mobile game market is massive right now, so I would expect a company like SEGA to try to cash in on that. Don't expect the second coming of Christ. Expect something really simple. It's for mobile phones, so it naturally will be. That being said... it's a graphics engine, it has nothing to do with gamplay Also, whatever game Sonic Team are working on for the XB1 (and potentially PS4), news'll pop up eventually with time. Who knows, maybe it'll be good. Or something.
I'm not sure how much can be said about Endri's position, but I'll just say he's definitely credible. He wouldn't lead us around as a joke, either. Then again, if he would, I wouldn't blame him. :v: EDIT: We need "Hedgehog Engine is a graphics engine, not a game play engine" in big rainbow text at the top of the Rules post
I had a dream about this game last night. It was treated like a Sonic Dash update but had a crap ton of new features. The graphics were like a combination of Lost World and Generations, and for some reason the character designs were like a mix of Boom and Modern Sonic... So yup :specialed:
At last check, Endri was working for Harmonix on the latest Dance Central game. When did he start getting inside information on Sega?
I really doubt Endri would stake his reputation in the community on a troll. He's been around for years. I have absolutely no issues trusting his assertions.
So the 4chan leaker is at it again. This time with "exclusive details" on the game. They sound authentic but they're so generic they could be applied to any Sonic game. A quick search on Twitter reveals a host of wannabe leakers also "leaking" further information. One guy for example says the Xbox One/PS4 game is 2015 whilst the Wii U is getting a game based on the Sony produced movie in 2016. I have zero idea how potentially legitimate any of these guys are but it makes for interesting, intriguing though also doubtful reading. We're definitely getting hard information from Sega on Sonic Runners this January as that was included in the original announcement. The date floating around seems to be January 12 so hopefully we'll hear something real from Sega soon. Also if that 2015 Xbox One/PS4 Sonic game is coming this year then information for that should come Generations-style in the Spring. Or they could save it for E3.
Guys stop linking obviously fake rumors from 4chan. Anyone on there can claim that they're the Sonic Boom leaker and he even still uses the fan-made logo.
Besides leaks on 4chan are confirmed after the fact, so we won't even know if these guys are real or not until it happens already.
Apologies for posting the 4chan rumour! I was looking for real news last night and it's just a minefield of misleading information. It's funny how Sonic as a franchise seems to draw more "leaks" and "rumours" than most indicating that the franchise even after all these years still has pull and can so easily garner interest, excitement and attention. The frustrating thing is people are even generating Youtube videos based on the "leaks" passing the information off as real and correct to easily convinced people like children for example. You'd think those Youtubers would have more grace, intelligence and tact. Anyway I won't update the thread again until we get real, hard information from Sega. At least then we'll have something firm to go on to carry the discussion. I'm hoping that now that Sonic Boom has bombed spectacularly both critically and commercially Sega will now shed some light on their new plans to revive Sonic soon.
