Why doesn't Sega ever port Sonic Unleashed to the PC?

Because they don't like you personally.


Or because it's not a good enough game. It presumably wasn't finanically viable to release a port in 2008, and even fewer people are likely to care now.

The critically-acclaimed console-selling Dreamcast game and its well-received sequel.

 

I'm not lying to myself. When I first played Unleashed I had to replay the first night time level to go get medals. Maybe I'm just an inferior gamer but this isn't something I just dreamt up. For a start the game doesn't warn you that you are going to need to collect medals to progress in the game. When I played first time around I assumed they were collectables like in every other action platformer and were not mandatory like in collectathons.

After that point in the game you have due warning that they are required, but it's stlll annoying to have to replay long, tedious levels because you missed on some medals because you aren't skilled in exploration. It's too punishing in design.

I'm not addressing the ratio thing because @Aerosol has said pretty much everything I think on the matter

Do remember that I said that Unleashed should be on Steam btw

 

Doesn't seem like it's gonna happen at this rate. It only took them almost 11 years to re-release (or rather, remaster) Sonic Colors, which scored better than Unleashed.

It must've costed a lot to make Unleashed back then considering it released in FOUR different platforms and featured two very different play styles. In addition, I believe SEGA would rather not revive memories of the Werehog, since it wasn't a very appealing character for most and it detracted more from the game than it offered.

If you're interested in the day-time levels, there is the Unleashed Project which I believe contains all those levels.

 

Well, they threw ported Sonic Lost World to PC/Steam, another game with bad scores/reviews and which is far from being a fan favorite like Unleashed.

 

Mi only hope is that the Xbox Series X|S gets FPS boost at least... But I don't see any SEGA effort to port to PC, or even to modern consoles...

 

Lost World was actually originally developed for the PC, and it was released on Steam immediately after the Nintendo exclusivity deal ended. I'm willing to bet that the PC version had already been made when the game was originally released for the Wii U, they just waited until the deal expired to put it out.

Anyway, the closest we'll probably ever come to Unleashed on PC is the Unleashed Project. Hopefully I'm wrong, but a straight port would cost too much money and not be that popular - the daytime stages are fantastic but as a whole game, Unleashed's problems are far too fundamental.

 

An Unleashed port on PC would have to cut the entire medal requirement and transform it into collectibles for costumes like Colors Ultimate, and also cut half of the nighttime stages and threw them in an "extra levels" together with the DLC daytime stages.

This would make Unleashed much more enjoyable.

 

I'm sure they will at some point (looking forward to the Xth anniversary), but maybe Sega just don't know how to sell it in 2021? Besides, there are more than enough ways to play them if you really wanted to. If you really wanted you could emulate them or buy a PS3 on ebay, for example...

Or Sega just prefers physical copies? =P

Just to test whether or not it was the Wii U's fault LW failed, I bet.

 

Well, at least the game is not that hard to obtain. I would want to try out Sonic Boom (yeah, I heard it's bad but I just want to check it myself) but getting a pricey WiiU just for Boom is... Not a great idea.

 

And yet the werehog keep appearing still in various official forms, new art and mobile games etc. - he even appeared in the "Sonic Central" stream that promoted all things sonic and included werehog as a character that will come to Sonic Forces Speed Battle- , SEGA don't seem to mind the werehog at all, and embrace it as a part of Sonic history with no problem.

The actual closest is PS3 Emulator that plays the game in a great form last i checked, it even benefited from the PS3 version having uncapped framerate so it runs better on emulator.

 

I personally get more puzzled with the lack of re-release of simpler games like Knuckles' Chaotix; Throw that into Sonic Origins as a bonus!

But on Unleashed, they probably won't touch any game with 'mixed' reception. Colors getting a re-release took them long enough and it was one that got positive reception!

 

I mean Unleashed had a mixed reception, yeah, but Chaotix had basically no reception. I doubt most beyond the hardcore crowd are even aware it exists.

 

But the versions they ported--the Gamecube ports--got awful ratings. Unleashed also has a loyal following especially from Adventure fans as the last gasp of the Adventure era's themes and tropes. The answer is probably more that SEGA just didn't port many Sonic games in that time period. Shadow and 06 did not get ports, the Adventure ports were later (and clearly low-priority rush jobs), Heroes and Riders got clear rush jobs that were not a priority at all (and Zero Gravity never got ported) etc. Colors didn't get one either--it was with Generations that Sonic games began having day-and-date (or nearly so) PC ports that were clearly taken seriously. Sonic on PC was pretty rocky before then.

 

The contemporary reviews for DX weren't as positive as the reviews for the original release four years earlier, but the game still sold well and earned positive user reviews. Sonic Adventure 2 Battle was frequently regarded as superior to the original release though, with praise directed at the expanded multiplayer options and how well suited the gamecube controller was for its gameplay. Unlike the games that followed over the next decade, the reviews never fell into the negative range. They continue to recieve releases because they have proven multiple times over to sell well, and because they represent the last point where the series was in the spotlight prior to the release of Mania.

 

I think the honest answer is that while Adventure 1 and 2 got mediocre reviews on Gamecube, they didn't do horribly like Unleashed. That said, I do think there are some desperate arguments made by Adventure fans. I love Adventure 1 but it did get absolutely trashed by critics when it came to Steam, Xbox 360 and PS3. It's generally held in the same regard nowadays as Unleashed by the general gaming public and is seen as a notorious broken mess.

The Adventures only ever got ported when they received mediocre reviews at worst. I doubt SEGA would ever port them to new consoles again after their last reception.

 

Ah yes, the "critics". Were user scores also bad? I don't give a damn about game journalists, sadly Sega does.

 

You are right, SEGA do care, which is why they won't port the games, which is the point of the topic

 

The "it was delisted" doesnt hold water cos it was made backward compatible on the X1 and Series X/S. Bit weird Sega would give the OK on that if they wanted people to forget it ever existed.

Speaking of, why hasnt Forces been delisted yet? Unless bad games are somehow acceptable these days?

 

It's not liked very much outside of hardcore Sonic circles so they probably don't see it as worth the effort. I really wanted to see it happen I've personally given up on it. Play it on Xbox.