If Sonic Team is working on a new Sonic game, I'd honestly rather they send it out this year. Get the disappointment out of the way early; Forces told me they don't know how to manage extra development time properly when it's given to them. However, this... ...has me thinking that the next Sonic game might not actually be made by Sonic Team. Lost World was said to have started development shortly after Colors' release, and the same goes for Forces after Lost World's release. If Sonic Team was working on another Sonic game, it would had likely started production after Forces' release by this point, rather than starting development now. Of course, there is the possibility that Sonic Team held off starting work on the next game up until recently, due to the supposed studio restructuring. Then again, said restructuring (as recent developments/rumors have suggested) have been hinting more towards Sonic management being moved over to SoA now, and Sonic Team/CS2 working on a different project. So it could go either way IMO. And hey--don't want to open the bay doors on the "IT'S HAPPENING" bunker yet, but Evening Star did set up operations last year and was officially announced to exist a few months ago...
Color tinted hair dumbass asking about sonic fighting the joker... yep, it doesn't fail. Car customisation looks very cool. I think it will be a good kart game.
I'm pretty sure questions like these aren't exactly new to conventions in general, especially anime. Kind of feels like a "mountain out of a molehill" kind of reaction here. I do agree with it pretty dumb, but that's about it. I do wonder if there's that much left to ask when it comes to Sonic. Probably so, but I'm drawing blanks. Anyway... Great to hear more animations are coming from Tyson. Didn't expect that much customization from TSR, but it's definitely a welcome addition. Really liking Bingo Highway's music too.
TSR looked great in the stream. Really sold me on the game after the previous lukewarm showings that we've seen. Is it going to be as good as ASRT? Most likely not, but it's promising at the very least.
The confirmation for the next major Sonic title is exciting news, but man, I'm so dumb! When Jun talked about giveaway items I thought they were going to digitally re-release the Sonic Adventure Music Experience at first.
Who said they've only just started working on it? All they've done is confirmed they're doing so. They could easily have been working on it since Forces came out, which is the likely case. I think you're jumping to conclusions.
Eh, I've got some time to kill. The panelists were Aaron Webber, Takashi Iizuka, Jasmin Hernandez, Jun Senoue, and Austin Keys. Spoiler Q1: Okay... Okay. If you were to have a crossover between the Sonic games and Batman, how would the- how would Sonic meet the Joker? *audience laughter* Aaron: All right! *laughs* Yeah, okay, okay. The question is, if we were to have a crossover between Sonic and Batman, how would Sonic defeat the Joker. That's the question? Q1: How would they meet. Aaron: Oh, how would he meet the Joker. Iizuka: How do you meet? Aaron: Meet the Joker. *laughs* Do you want to answer this one, Iizuka-san? Iizuka: *facepalm* Aaron: *laughs* Iizuka: I have no idea. Q1: Try to make it happen if you can. Team up with DC for it. Aaron: Okay. Hey, DC, we're right here, come- come- come say hi, we'll talk to you, for sure. *laughs* Thanks so much. Q1: The reason why I ask, because I was thinking about what if Sonic were to be asked by the Joker how did he got these scars. Sonic would make some remark, snarky remark, maybe. Aaron: I see where you're going with it. Okay, thank you very much for your question. *audience applause* Aaron: Hi, yeah. Q2: Hi. Umm... I'm... Ack. Aaron: Hey, by the way, don't be nervous, guys. Like you get in front of the microphone and like every thought in your mind is like, WHOOSH, and you're like, "What was I going to say?" Don't worry about it, it's all good. Q2: Hi. Umm, I'm one of the hosts on a podcast that covers news on the Sonic movie. Shoutout to my other hosts watching the stream. It's literally just called the Sonic Movie Podcast. I hope that title's not to esoteric, I know it might be a little hard to figure out what we're about, but you know. Anyway, I know you literally just said that you can't say much about the movie, so my question isn't about any sort of news or secrets or anything, it's more about- I know that there have been a lot of leaks recently, and I know- I'm not asking for any confirmation on any of them because obviously you probably can't. Uh, I'm more just wondering how do these leaks happen, and what are some preventative measures that have been taken? Aaron: Oh, geez. Uh, that's a deep question! Um... Because it is movie related, unfortunately we really- there's really nothing, uh, movie related that we can comment on at all here at this panel. Uh, but please know that we really- we appreciate people like you and the people running that podcast, so thank you very much for the effort and the energy that you put into that. Q2: Okay. Aaron: Cool, thank you! Q3: What's your favorite Sonic meme? *audience laughter* Austin: *off mic* Who's the question for? Aaron: Is there a specific person that question was for? Where'd he- Where did he go? Did he just sit back down already? *panel laughs* Q3: It was for everyone. *panel talks amongst themselves off mic* Aaron: Okay, should- Q3: Feel free to skip it if you don't have a good answer. Aaron: Okay. Jasmin: For me, I just like the Sonic Boom doll because I created that *laughs* for Sonic Boom, so I like bringing that. But Sanic in general. I love Sanic. Aaron: Jasmin made a real-life, uh, S- the doll from Sonic Boom the TV show. It's super creepy in the TV show, Jasmin: *laughs* Aaron: and it's just as creepy in real-life when she puts it on your desk in the morning, and you walk into the office and you're like, "Whooooa, what's that thing doing here?" That's Jasmin's answer. I feel like mine, mine for a long time has been, um, Sanic, but not necessarily just one form of it, but like, the many evolving forms of Sanic. He's really become something more than what he once was, and I think that's- that's one of my answers, I think. There's so many good ones, though. Jun: *talking off-mic* ...oh. My turn? *audience laughs* Aaron: Yeah, your turn, Jun. Jun: Oh yeah? Umm, umm... Sanic. *laughs* Yeah. Austin: Sanic? Jun: Sanic. Yep. That's my answer. Aaron: Okay, Iizuka-san, any answer for you- nope! Iizuka: *gesturing "no" with hands* No, sorry. *laughs* Aaron: Also, the, uh- The Knuckles... Knuckles from Knuckles remix, which is just the song but he just repeats "Knuckles" over and over, that's a good one, too. Sorry, go ahead! Q4: Hi there! Uh, quick shout out to St. Edwards University's video game development major, I'm a part of that and, uh, that relates to my question. I've been working a bit with animation because we take like an Intro to Animation class, and if any of you can answer it, about how long does it take to make- did it take to make like, uh, one episode of Sonic Mania Adventures? Aaron: Jasmin, over to you! Jasmin: Ooh... *laughs* So... Are you talking about like pre-production, or just the actual production process? Q4: Uh, I guess both? Like, what would- yeah. Jasmin: Okay. So we started working on Sonic Mania Adventures in 2017 of Fall, so that was like October, November? And the first episode launched in March. So, it was just a few months for even just two, two and a half minutes of animation. Q4: Yeah, animation- Jasmin: Ye- yeah. Q4: Thank you very much. Thank you for everything you all do Aaron: Aww, thank you very much. Yeah. Q5: Okay, so, uh... Was by any chance the art style of Overdrive inspired by the profile art from Sonic Battle for the Game Boy Advance? Jasmin: *laughs* Q5: Because it kind of looks like a softer version of that art style. Aaron: That was a bit more harsh, I think, right? Like with its- the box art? Q5: Yeah. Aaron: But yeah, so you're- I think it's- it's more of, um... It's almost a more like a CG kind of like look on top of them, I think almost like Jet Set Radio when I look at them a little bit? Jasmin: Yeah, so they're following the- the current models of Modern Sonic, so they're based off the current Modern Sonic, um, designs. Q5: Oh, okay. All right. Jasmin: Yeah. Q6: Uhh, I got a question, uh... Will we ever see anything like Generations again? Aaron: You mean like from a game design perspective, or having... two Sonics, or what are you- Because we had two Sonics in Forces, so you're thinking like, um... Q6: More like- More like how Generations was- the whole thing was just a celebration of all the past- Aaron: Oh, okay, yeah yeah, like a game looking back on it. *Austin gets up to consult with Iizuka* Q6: Yeah. I mean, I would love something like Mania again, because, well, I'm decked out in my Classics- Aaron: It's a good shirt. Q6: Thank you. Also, to call back to the guy who asked about if Jo- if J- if Sonic were to meet Joker, I think that was a reference to the fact that in Sonic CD there was an Easter Egg picture of Sonic in Batman style. Q1: *off-mic* I did not know that. Q6: Well now you do! *panel laughs* Aaron: The guy's like, "I didn't know that, actually." Q6: And I love CD too much, so it's- Aaron: There's a lot of weird things in CD, actually, some fun Easter Eggs. Q6: Yeah, and- Aaron: Um, let me see if we can answer your question real quick so we can move on. Q6: You got it. *Austin returns to his seat* Aaron: Back of the line, I'm so sorry, we're probably not going to get to you if we have to end in like three minutes, but we'll go as fast as we can, let's see. Austin: Celebration title. Iizuka: My answer? Aaron: Yeah. Iizuka: Uh, *speaks Japanese* Austin: So we currently don't have any plans for, uh, the title that you're speaking of, but, you know, having a celebratory title, I think as long as it matches some, like, good timing to release and get everyone excited again, uh, yeah, it's something that could happen in the future. Aaron: Cool, there you go. Next question! Q7: Hey there. Uhh, I had a quick question. You guys were releasing like a special edition for, uh, Team Sonic Racing in Japan that had a bunch of, like, exclusive items. Are you ever going to do that for the US? Aaron: Where's Nathan from marketing? *panel laughs* Aaron: He's running away right now. Um, I don't think we have any news on that version coming out in the US, um, but if there is any news we'll absolutely let you guys know on our social channels if it happens. Q7: All right, thank you. Aaron: Yeah, thanks for the question! Q8: Hi. Umm... First of all, love the 3D models in the animation, blends really well with the 2D. Jasmin: Oh, thank you. Q8: Umm... I had a question, uh- Could I get any insight to like the concept and ideas for the game Sonic Rivals? Iizuka: Sonic Rivals? Aaron: Iizuka-san, you were on that one, yeah? Iizuka: Sonic Rivals, PSP version? Aaron: Yeah, PSP, yeah. Q8: That's the game I started out with, so Iizuka: Oh, good. *laughs* Aaron: What do you- Let's simplify it. Umm... *Austin gets up to consult with Iizuka* Aaron: Do you want to know just, like, what- what inspired the idea? Q8: Yeah. Aaron: That's probably the easiest to answer quickly. *to Iizuka* What inspired the idea behind it. Iizuka: Yeah. *speaks Japanese* *Austin returns to his seat* Austin: So, all the games up until then, Sonic was always like a platform-action game, and it was a very solitary experience, so you play as a single player through the platform-action, uh, gameplay. But, you know, Iizuka-san had an idea, "What if we had a versus game, where it wasn't just about you playing on your own, but there was someth- you know, some versus element to that. Uh, so they teamed up with, uhh, a development studio in Canada and developed that title. Q8: Thank you so much. Iizuka: Thank you. Aaron: Okay, now, I think I'm gonna check with the people in the back. I think we gotta wrap up pretty soon, right? Like, we got like two or three minutes left total? Okay, uhh... What we're gonna do then is we'll maybe take like, let's take two more questions and then we'll have to go on from there. Everyone else, I'm so sorry we couldn't get to your questions. Hang out with us at the meet & greet, feel free to ask us your questions there, okay? We are going to do that right after. Next question, go ahead. Q9: Umm... I'm actually colorist in a project called Sonic Linked, and I was wondering, if Mania Sonic was the one from Generations then does that mean that the- Does that mean that Sonic Forces is its own timeline and it's actually, like, not a part of, uhh, the rest of the Sonic games? Aaron: Good question. *Austin gets up to consult with Iizuka* Aaron: So your question is, uhh, because Classic Sonic goes into the modern world then comes back, uhh, does that mean there's two different timelines? Is that what you're asking? Q9: Yes. Aaron: Right? I ask this question all the time, don't worry. Let's- Let's see. *Austin returns to his seat* Iizuka: *speaks Japanese* Austin: So Modern Sonic does follow the same timeline, he does exist in that, uh, single timeline. Classic Sonic is kind of in his own separate timeline, uh, and those titles do have, you know, the crossover? But they're both in their own separate timelines. Continuous. Aaron: Yes, is your answer. Q9: All right. Aaron: Cool. Q10: Okay, first of all, big fan of the IDW comic book. Second, I was- I kept up with the story so far, and I recognized some several seven emeralds in the th- in one of the issues. Will it be canon to the remaining of the series, and will we be able to see Super Sonic in the comics? Aaron: So the question is, will we possibly see Super Sonic in the comic books, and are the comic books entirely canon? I think I can answer the first part of that, which is the comic books are kind of their own canon to a certain extent. Uh, they follow the game lore, but they kind of- they're probably going to branch out into all sorts of crazy things. Umm... And Iizuka-san, then Super Sonic would be canon, right, in that case? Yeah? *Iizuka nods* Aaron: Yes. Q10: Thank you. Aaron: You're welcome. If it happens, it's canon. Okay, now that's all- all the Q&A, uh, that we have time for right now, uh, because we're about to get kicked out of the panel in, uh, sixty seconds. So, Jasmin: *laughs* Aaron: We're going to try to wrap this up real quick. Yep, go ahead, grab your seats. We're not done entirely yet, because we do have, um, maybe one last thing to show. Umm... No no no, don't worry, there's- it's not- not- not what you're thinking, it's not that. That wraps up the Q&A.
I think there is a difference in stating that the next Sonic game is (currently) in production as opposed to saying the next Sonic game has entered production. I'll accept the idea that I may be looking into things that aren't there, but I feel that if the former was the case, the Sonic panel staff would had made a point of making that clarification. Moreover, there was also the time when the main Sonic website in Japan posted that "Project Sonic 2017 development start!" picture that was posted shortly after Forces was revealed back in 2016. People made note of that, and translators were quick to shoot that down at the time as people making mistranslations of the text; but it did have some merit to it when interviews later revealed that Forces entered "full production" during the final year of it's development. But I suppose we'll see either way.
Thanks a bunch! They really, really need to start vetting questions, but honestly some dark part of me enjoys the cringe-factor.
I love the bit where Iizuka-san cries briefly (wipes away tears) after watching the TSR Overdrive short: https://twitter.com/MotoBadnik/status/1107389074397151234 Shows just how much he cares for the franchise. He must be so proud with how good both the Mania Adventures & TSR overdrive shorts turned out and how popular they are.
