SEGA launches the Sonic 2020 project, promises to release Sonic news on the 20th of every month

Did we get any news yesterday?

 

Is the character art they keep putting out by Yui Karasuno part of this campaign? I really like those pieces. Aside from that I'm pretty ambivalent on this whole thing. As has been stated, it's small announcements for the Japanese market and, while I think we all expected a big announcement at SXSW, Covid obviously put a damper on that. While they could've announced it since then, I'm fine with them not doing so. There are plenty of other video games to play and whatever Sonic Team is working on is still coming and if they announce it like 2 months before launch and give us a concentrated marketing campaign in those two months I'll be happy with that.

On the topic of renders and redesigns however, I don't think Sonic needs a redesign. Bit of a hot take, but I think his Modern design is pretty much perfect. Classic is cool too, but I think Sonic benefits from the extra detail and the modern proportions emphasise him being a run, and I think the longer limbs allow for more articulation for body language. What I think needs to change is how the design is presented. Improving technology aside, Sonic has mostly been represented in the same CG style since 2005 with Shadow the Hedgehog. Compare that to Mario, whose CG renders have been really strong as of late, especially Odyssey, to the point where they look as though they've been ripped right out of a contemporary CG movie, whereas Sonic's renders still look like something from around 2010. I think whichever team is responsible for these renders ought to get more creative with the posing and reassess how they texture these models, which I think is the biggest issue in their stagnation.

 

As far as I'm aware, no. But, if there was any news, it was going to be small (as small as a new piece of artwork) and will be on the Japanese social media. If there was anything particularly worth talking about, it would have been posted long before you needed to ask.

 

I actually disagree with the proportions/design aspect, in that I feel a bit that his SA1 proportions (not the artwork, the original game's model proportions) are the best mid-point between the cuteness of Classic Sonic but also the longer limbs allowing him to pose more effectively also. I also strongly dislike the current design's face, ESPECIALLY his mouth, which has this weird ugly/sloppy creasing to it that I keep seeing in Forces renders.

I definitely agree with the lack of skill when it comes to current renders however. He's just so...stiff, and the lighting isn't great either. I feel he'd be better served with a more distinct lighting and shading style than """realistic""" also - while Mario's design is still relatively simple, it is more detailed than Sonic's, so I feel that Sonic's design is given a disservice with trying bog-standard lighting on him. Imagine something like the Riders artworks but in 3D, or even just going with the cartoony shading in the recent 2D animations.

 

That fog arcade system thing was the most interesting news so far, I guess.

Do we have a topic to speculate the upcoming (2021) project, whatever it is?

 

Until then enjoy the lamest PR campaign I've ever seen lol

EDIT: I get that COVID might have thrown a wrench into this but still, this is prettttyyy lame

 

They did promise something in April to make up for SXSW, but alas.

 

Ya they're weird trend of "games can only be announced at conventions, particularly that one for some reason." Memes are great and all but it's been a bit since Mania Plus and TSR lol.

 

I think silence is probably what's best right now. We know Sonic Team is working on something, and we'll find out eventually. The fact the next Sonic game is shrouded in so much secrecy is causing the optimist within me to say it's going to be something pretty darn cool.

Of course, this IS Sonic Team we're talking about, the king of "ooh we have good concepts, wait oh shit Iizuka stop mishandling that gun AH SHOOT NOT AGAIN WE SHOT OURSELF IN THE FOOT"

 

I would say the long silence pretty much means that they didn't actually had anything substantial to show in the first place, probably a lame CG teaser with no name or information whatsoever ,then wait for next year for the actual game reveal, that would have been exhausting.

If they actually took advantage of this covid thing to delay the proper announcement till later, for next year, i would say that's for the better ultimately.

 

Yeah if they use this as an opportunity to delay until 2021 they effectively get another 8 months to fine-tune it.

 

Every time I get a notification for this thread, I get excited they finally broke their silence and there's messages for me to read about it :P

I do really wish they'd just let us know what's going on, even if it's just "we're not gonna announce something until [insert month here]", just so I know not to get hyped for just *any* news whatsoever.

 

So what you want is an announcement of an announcement?

 

Haha yeah this is pretty lame, that's why I've just been away from Sonic for a bit. Plus there's just far more exciting stuff for me to look forward to instead like BOTW2 and Halo Infinite (yes, I know it's 343 but still I'm an OG Halo fan)

I'm betting another 3D entry and Mania 2. Although that's pretty obvious. Announced by the end of the year, release Q1 2021.

What will be interesting though is what they will have in store for the next 3D game... They can't just keep running boost into the ground, can they?

 

In an interview about the Game Gear Micro, it was mentioned that they had to scrap a bunch of their plans for Go Sega 60th Anniversary initiative, due to the pandemic. The GG Micro is one of the ones that made it.

It wouldn't surprise me if Sonic 2020 was supposed to be a bit more than it turned out to be.

 

They already did an announcement of an announcement (SXSW), then after that fell through they did another announcement of an announcement. Let's not pretend like they didn't lol