Yeah, I sat down and read into the reports more after the initial burst and realized what's happening isn't as cataclysmic as people think. Sonic remains unaffected so far anyway.
Sega will be more dependent on the franchise now more than ever, and that can mean one of two things: attempting to elevate the brand again to make it worth more, or flood the market with even more entries and spin-offs per year. History leads me to fear the latter being true. But I certainly hope it's the former. In the meantime, revealing Sonic Runners very very soon would be an excellent move to build a little more confidence in the company. Even if the situation's not as bad as the initial reports claim, the game industry will be drawn to and stuck on the headlines. Unless of course Runners is shaping up badly, in which case it's a null point anyway.
Quite possibly the most vague trailer I have ever seen in my life. The only thing it told us is that the game is coming out in Spring. Also, why is it so ominous?
At least the logo is better than most of the fan ones. They also get bonus points for using Flying Battery at the beginning of the video. And I guess by showing the classics (with Tails and Knuckles as playable characters it seems) they are trying to imply it's going to be like those games. Then again, they did show Sonic 4 :$ Though as much as I would like a mini chao garden, I think they are going to use the Lost World feature of rescuing them along with the critters. Also a little link for you guys here
Premium items... let's hope it's nothing like Sonic Dash. From this website: http://sonicrunners.sega-net.com/en/index.html
I didn't think the Sonic 4 marketing could be outdone for it's worthlessness. This takes the cake. There is literally nothing learned here, and nothing event to discuss except that Tails and Knuckles are confirmed in some capacity.
The trailer's cool in a "let's build hype using Sonic's retro legacy" kind of way but zero gameplay footage is underwhelming and a little disappointing. Even twenty seconds of one stage would have sufficed. Looks like the game's inspired by the classics and is 2D at least. Segabits have more information here and here and Sonic Stadium has more here. Both sites are getting their information from a Japanese interview between Famitsu and Iizuka. Quick summary from both sites: *The game is a 2D action side-scroller *The game's out at the end of February in Japan *Colour powers and companions are mentioned which I'm presuming means Wisp powers *Sonic is playable from the start; Tails and Knuckles are playable but have to be unlocked *The game has one or two minute stages; is playable with one hand and has multi-branching paths *Characters run forward automatically and player input determines jumping strength *New music will be composed for the game regardless of Flying Battery in that trailer *Eggman shows up as the end of level boss; the interview notes Sonic recoiling projectiles at him *50 stages available at first; future stages added through potential DLC The game is not an endless runner and will have self-contained though also rather short stages. Sounds like your standard low-budget mobile title to me. This can't be Sonic Team's big game for this year. Sounds too limited in scale. Kind of still excited for this but I need to see gameplay footage. Echoing everyone else here on the sentiment that we need to see more before we get excited. Also if the game's out this month we'll have gameplay footage very soon if not runthroughs of the entire game itself.
Description like that makes it sound like a more limited version of the Rayman Run games on iOS, and that has me intruiged. I'm not an endless runner guy, and I loved 100% the stages in Jungle Run. If that's how it is, I'd much rather play it.
Color me concerned. Seeing nothing of the actual game and just classic gameplay (with just a hint of re-hash for flavor) doesn't bode well. It feels like a cover-up, or an attempt to subliminally associate this mess with the classics. It feels like they're trying to hype a mobile game, and I just can't see it living up to it. Then again, they could've learned a thing or two from Taxman....
I found something interesting in Casshern's link: Assuming I'm deciphering that Google Translate correctly, that means there's not going to be any F2P mechanics (or at least not to the same extremes as something like Sonic Dash) but instead a focus on content. Apolgies for jumping the gun, but this might turn out to be decent. Hard to say, though, with that trailer and the uncomfortable amount of Sonic 4 references in that interview.
Pretty sure he mean't that Sonic 4 wasn't free to play because at the time of its development free-to-play was considered selling out.
Three things come to mind, seeing this image. 1. Lost World assets re-used. Not a good sign for original stages. 2. Why don't we see any Hero chao anymore? Neutral has become the new good, apparantly. 3. What on earth is Mother Wisp doing here?
Why would anyone have assumed this would be the big budget game of the year? It's a mobile exclusive! Of course it's gonna be small. You people baffle me at times. This is standard fare. We expected to be told something. We got that something.
I'd love to say that since wisps' presence on Lost Hex was a massive plothole Sonic Team decided to explain them somehow, but the true answer probably is that Sonic Team just felt like including Mother Wisp for no reason.
