It would’ve been cool if they were working on Mania 2. But it’s also cool they’re doing their own stuff. I am very excited for what they’ve got in store. We all should be!
Welp… should I get ready for disappointment in regards to who is developing Sonic Origins? Don’t get me wrong I’m more than happy for the team and I am eager to see what kind of game they will cook up.. but at the present moment, my concern has now increased.
Writing was on the wall for months, foregone conclusion. Sucks, but ah well. Wishing the ES team the best. (And Stealth/HC too, would be kinda cool if he's helping out with ES' new IP.)
Again, companies can work for more than one game at a time. There's no reason to conclude Taxman and co have no involvement with Origins. Regardless, this was the best move for the team. Excited and hopeful for what they are able to make.
Evening Star is a small studio, developing their first 3D platformer and first original project. I can't see them trying or even wanting to juggle their new game along with yet more Sonic ports. It's a shame that ES likely aren't working with SEGA anytime in the foreseeable future, because I'd love to see more Sonic games from them. But frankly I've been keen for them to have the opportunity to prove themselves as more than "those fans that made a Classic Sonic game" for a long time, because that dismissive mindset totally undermines the bales of talent that they have. This game, whatever it is, will hopefully do just that.
This isn't their first original project is it? They did that Captain Magnet or something or other mobile game didn't they?
Major Magnet was by PadogaWest Games. That’s still an active separate studio from Evening Star, although I think one of the members from that studio left to join ES after Mania’s production.
The news is bittersweet. On one hand, Sonic Mania was the best Sonic game Sega's produced in about 20 years so having the creatives not working on another Sonic game is disappointing. On the other hand, Evening Star working on something original sounds really cool and I hope whatever they're making is fantastic.
Taxman has mentioned before that he was working on a 3D Dreamcast esque game before he was contracted for Sonic Mania. I wonder if the Evening Star project is a continuation of that idea. See here: https://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?threads/freedom-planet-2.35099/page-2#post-848130 And here https://forums.sonicretro.org/index...taxman-and-stealth.31061/page-134#post-825281
Not to sound like a dumbass, but can you give an example of when that’s happened? Like a programmer/developer of one studio working independently for another developer/publisher? Unless there was a previous working relationship, wouldn’t that be considered conflict of interest?
A lone programmer of one studio working independently for another developer/publisher was never mentioned, so don't know why that was brought up. As for companies working on multiple projects, it happens in our studio all the time. We usually have a main project, but if a client needs work that only requires a single programmer and the main project doesn't need urgent attention we often pull one programmer off the main project and put them on that task instead. Frequently a good allocation of resources, beats having someone sitting their twiddling their thumbs waiting for other things to get done (since you still have to pay them).
So apparently one of Zippo's "leaks" made at least one headline. He's claiming that there was a disagreement between Sega & Evening Star which means that Mania 2 is scrapped internally. I figured it's totally fake, but I thought people should know about it.
That was Sega of America, specifically. You should obviously take all this stuff with boatloads of salt, but that IS a wrinkle I hadn't heard about. Either way, it sure seems likely that against all logic, a Mania sequel isn't happening, at least not anytime soon. This isn't the first "industry insider" who's said something to that effect. Best case scenario, maybe public awareness of this will cause people to be more vocal, and put pressure on Sega to make better decisions.
No, people shouldn't know about this totally fake rumor, this type of news brings more harm than good, i give a pass for new games "leaks", but claiming there were some drama and cancellation of a supposed sequel...seems more malicious and just asking for attention/clicks, something they shouldn't have. The way SEGA treats Mania , that even it's influence reached to Super Monkey Ball for example with it's launch trailer that had the same animation/music team as Mania trailers , just make me think that if they could make Mania 2 ASAP, they would, they clearly see the value of that game, but also Evening Stars should have their freedom and seek to do what they want, instead of stuck doing Sonic games and risking burnout, for all we know they had it already and we shouldn't ask for another Sonic game so soon It's funny really, for how the fandom sometimes complain that Sonic Team had burnout and should seek a break or doing something else -if they don't outright ask for different team altogether-, they also want Mania 2 ASAP anyway, the dilemma is real
I think the fact this rumor/article went viral and was given attention at all is a sure sign that the fandom is really, really fucking bored.
This is one of Zippo's trademarks where he tells you something that feels like it matters until you think about it. Like, Sonic Mania 2 didn't happen. It's easy to assume there was a disagreement of some kind, and it's not like this piece gets into what the disagreement was. This didn't even surface until AFTER Evening Star's new project was confirmed, so it doesn't even have the credibility of the original Rangers leak from 4chan.
100% agree with this. The original Sonic Team may have faced burnout as well since they decided to make NiGHTS instead of a new Sonic game for the Saturn immediately. They did make five mainline games (I'm counting Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles separately) in less than four years from '91 to '94 after all. I also didn't understand seeing those comments and posts of people wanting a Sonic Mania sequel just a year after Mania released. It was just way too soon for one again. I guess they forgot to account for said burnout.
