[360]

Sorry guys been super busy lately so only just catching up with this thread now.

Regarding the above 4chan rumour yeah that's obviously a complete fake. The logo is fake and the "leaked" information makes no sense whatsoever. Sonic Team working on the Sony movie game? That is highly likely to be outsourced much like Sonic Boom if it's even happening at all. As for Sonic Team working on another Nintendo exclusive Sonic game for Nintendo again that makes no sense because all Sega has tried to do since the Wii U bombed and Lost World/Sonic Boom failed to sell is try to get out of that deal (hence the outsourcing of the third game to Big Red Button). Why would Sega produce another Sonic bomb that is destined to fail on Nintendo platforms when their exclusivity agreement is complete? The next Sonic game is almost certainly coming out for next/current generation platforms. If the Wii U gets anything it'll be a watered down port.

And as for Sega's current financial situation as some of you have speculated about the answer to that is quite complicated. Sega is broke. Hence the reliance on Sonic/Aliens and their core "four" franchises they announced a while back as part of their downsizing and restructuring. Their parent company however Sega Sammy Holdings is absolutely not broke and financially quite healthy hence the very expensive multi-million dollar acquisition of Relic which almost assuredly came from Sega's cash rich parent company. Basically Sega's consumer division is in the same terrible financial state it has been in for more than a decade, but Sega financially is still more or less invincible because Sega Sammy Holdings is still doing quite well via pachinko and to a lesser extent arcades (which is primarily why Sammy took them over in the first place; they were never really interested in Sega's consumer division hence why Sega's boxed retail releases have steadily declined since the acquisition).

So getting back on track Sonic Team are producing Sonic Runners because mobile has been phenomenally successful for Sega and they're desperate for any success they can achieve. Sonic Dash cost like nothing to make and was immensely popular, generating tonnes of money for what it was. Sonic Runners is just Sega realising that and trying to strike gold again. Mobile/tablet gaming is only going to increase in importance as time goes on. Sega is obviously realising that.

As far as we know via genuine leaks from Sega itself and Endri on here Sonic Team have a 2015 game planned for Xbox One/PS4. Now that Sonic Boom has faded away maybe we'll hear something about it soon. Also Sonic's anniversary is coming up in 2016 so it'll be interesting to see Sonic Team's plans for that too.

This post has been edited by 360: 02 January 2015 - 09:12 AM

[Polish Pete]

360, on 02 January 2015 - 09:08 AM, said:

As far as we know via genuine leaks from Sega itself and Endri on here Sonic Team have a 2015 game planned for Xbox One/PS4. Now that Sonic Boom has faded away maybe we'll hear something about it soon. Also Sonic's anniversary is coming up in 2016 so it'll be interesting to see Sonic Team's plans for that too.

I'm still convinced that this new Sonic game for Xbox One/PS4 won't be released until Sonic's 25th anniversary in 2016. Next-gen games like these can't be made in just one year (in Sonic Team's case, sometimes even TWO years ain't enough). Remember Sonic '06? When did that game's development actually started?

[JaredAFX]

360, on 02 January 2015 - 09:08 AM, said:

And as for Sega's current financial situation as some of you have speculated about the answer to that is quite complicated. Sega is broke. Hence the reliance on Sonic/Aliens and their core "four" franchises they announced a while back as part of their downsizing and restructuring. Their parent company however Sega Sammy Holdings is absolutely not broke and financially quite healthy hence the very expensive multi-million dollar acquisition of Relic which almost assuredly came from Sega's cash rich parent company. Basically Sega's consumer division is in the same terrible financial state it has been in for more than a decade, but Sega financially is still more or less invincible because Sega Sammy Holdings is still doing quite well via pachinko and to a lesser extent arcades (which is primarily why Sammy took them over in the first place; they were never really interested in Sega's consumer division hence why Sega's boxed retail releases have steadily declined since the acquisition).

That makes understanding their financial situation so much easier. I know it's a fact that the pachinko (while it's been dying down just a touch) is an immense cash cow in Japan. But if that was the case, why did Sega have to close down so many branches and restructure what they have? This clears up so much. Thank you.


EDIT:

Polish Pete, on 02 January 2015 - 10:15 AM, said:

360, on 02 January 2015 - 09:08 AM, said:

As far as we know via genuine leaks from Sega itself and Endri on here Sonic Team have a 2015 game planned for Xbox One/PS4. Now that Sonic Boom has faded away maybe we'll hear something about it soon. Also Sonic's anniversary is coming up in 2016 so it'll be interesting to see Sonic Team's plans for that too.

I'm still convinced that this new Sonic game for Xbox One/PS4 won't be released until Sonic's 25th anniversary in 2016. Next-gen games like these can't be made in just one year (in Sonic Team's case, sometimes even TWO years ain't enough). Remember Sonic '06? When did that game's development actually started?

Sonic 06 was actually developed in less than a year; Shadow was the same. (Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's true.)

Also as far as we know, the Unleashed/Generations team last worked on just that, Generations, three years ago (four in November). Unleashed had a three-year development cycle. Historically it took developers a much longer time to work on PS3/360 games because it was the first generation with multi-core processors as well as HD graphics and most devs were taken aback by the resources and time that suddenly had to be put in (Nintendo experienced this shock with the Wii U as well). Now that everyone has been over that initial shell shock for almost eight years, I doubt it would take much longer than 3-4 years for Sonic Team to release a Hedgehog Engine Sonic game, whether it's Modern gameplay or not.

This post has been edited by JaredAFX: 02 January 2015 - 10:28 AM

[Polish Pete]

JaredAFX, on 02 January 2015 - 10:20 AM, said:

Polish Pete, on 02 January 2015 - 10:15 AM, said:

360, on 02 January 2015 - 09:08 AM, said:

As far as we know via genuine leaks from Sega itself and Endri on here Sonic Team have a 2015 game planned for Xbox One/PS4. Now that Sonic Boom has faded away maybe we'll hear something about it soon. Also Sonic's anniversary is coming up in 2016 so it'll be interesting to see Sonic Team's plans for that too.

I'm still convinced that this new Sonic game for Xbox One/PS4 won't be released until Sonic's 25th anniversary in 2016. Next-gen games like these can't be made in just one year (in Sonic Team's case, sometimes even TWO years ain't enough). Remember Sonic '06? When did that game's development actually started?

Sonic 06 was actually developed in less than a year; Shadow was the same. (Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's true.)

Also as far as we know, the Unleashed/Generations team last worked on just that, Generations, three years ago (four in November). Unleashed had a three-year development cycle. Historically it took developers a much longer time to work on PS3/360 games because it was the first generation with multi-core processors as well as HD graphics and most devs were taken aback by the resources and time that suddenly had to be put in (Nintendo experienced this shock with the Wii U as well). Now that everyone has been over that initial shell shock for almost eight years, I doubt it would take much longer than 3-4 years for Sonic Team to release a Hedgehog Engine Sonic game, whether it's Modern gameplay or not.

From what I've read, Sonic '06's development started no later than before June 2005 (before that E3 trailer), so it's at least 18 months. As for Shadow, didn't Sega Studio USA start developing the game right after Heroes? That'd be actually almost two years of development. And are you saying the Unleashed/Generations team didn't work on Sonic Lost World? If so, then remind who exactly made it, if not them. Also, Unleashed couldn't possibly have more than two years of development because they started making it AFTER Sonic '06.

[Dario FF]

Polish Pete, on 02 January 2015 - 11:01 AM, said:

And are you saying the Unleashed/Generations team didn't work on Sonic Lost World? If so, then remind who exactly made it, if not them.

There's good proof here that it was (mostly) the Colors team. While both teams very likely share people that come and go as they're needed (say artists or designers in certain phases, etc.), there's a very clear and trained workflow for each team, and it would be a waste of time to train different people to use different middleware constantly.

This post has been edited by Dario FF: 02 January 2015 - 11:06 AM

[Polish Pete]

Dario FF, on 02 January 2015 - 11:05 AM, said:

Polish Pete, on 02 January 2015 - 11:01 AM, said:

And are you saying the Unleashed/Generations team didn't work on Sonic Lost World? If so, then remind who exactly made it, if not them.

There's good proof here that it was (mostly) the Colors team. While both teams very likely share people that come and go as they're needed (say artists or designers in certain phases, etc.), there's a very clear and trained workflow for each team, and it would be a waste of time to train different people to use different middleware constantly.

Huh. Interesting. Okay, now I see where you're going with this, JaredAFX. So basically there are supposedly two different teams within Sonic Team: one that makes next-gen games for Sony and Microsoft, and one that makes Nintendo alternatives. And judging from that POV, yeah, you're right. The Nintendo team after the Storybook series and Colors made Lost World, while the next-gen Sony/Microsoft team after '06, Unleashed and Generations made... nothing. This also means that whatever they've been working on, they've had even more development time for it than ever. Four years! (Five, if they decide to push it for 25th anniversary.)

This post has been edited by Polish Pete: 02 January 2015 - 11:34 AM

[Covarr]

Polish Pete, on 02 January 2015 - 11:28 AM, said:

while the next-gen Sony/Microsoft team after '06, Unleashed and Generations made... nothing.

Part of the reason for the introduction of a third branch of Sonic games done by a third party was so that Sega's internal teams would have more time to work on their own Sonic games. I'm sure they've got something new coming in Novemberish, worked on by the Generations guys.

This post has been edited by Covarr: 02 January 2015 - 11:34 AM

[TimmiT]

Like I said earlier in this thread: last year Endri leaked that Sonic Team has an Xbox One game in development, which is likely for PS4 as well. Not like it's hard to come to the conclusion that they're making one, but there you go.

This post has been edited by TimmiT: 02 January 2015 - 11:50 AM

[Polish Pete]

Dario FF, on 02 January 2015 - 11:05 AM, said:

Polish Pete, on 02 January 2015 - 11:01 AM, said:

And are you saying the Unleashed/Generations team didn't work on Sonic Lost World? If so, then remind who exactly made it, if not them.

There's good proof here that it was (mostly) the Colors team. While both teams very likely share people that come and go as they're needed (say artists or designers in certain phases, etc.), there's a very clear and trained workflow for each team, and it would be a waste of time to train different people to use different middleware constantly.

One more thing. Which team was responsible for the Sonic Riders series (specifically Sonic Free Riders)? From what I know, they're also part of the Sonic Team, aren't they?

[Ashram]

Polish Pete, on 02 January 2015 - 12:01 PM, said:

Dario FF, on 02 January 2015 - 11:05 AM, said:

Polish Pete, on 02 January 2015 - 11:01 AM, said:

And are you saying the Unleashed/Generations team didn't work on Sonic Lost World? If so, then remind who exactly made it, if not them.

There's good proof here that it was (mostly) the Colors team. While both teams very likely share people that come and go as they're needed (say artists or designers in certain phases, etc.), there's a very clear and trained workflow for each team, and it would be a waste of time to train different people to use different middleware constantly.

One more thing. Which team was responsible for the Sonic Riders series (specifically Sonic Free Riders)? From what I know, they're also part of the Sonic Team, aren't they?

From our handy-dandy wiki:

Sonic Riders, while technically developed by "Sonic Team", actually comes from the part of Sonic Team that used to be United Game Artists, who developed Space Channel 5 (the game Ulala comes from), and Rez along with Feel the Magic: XY/XX, and The Rub Rabbits!. United Game Artists eventually merged with Sonic Team.

[360]

JaredAFX, on 02 January 2015 - 10:20 AM, said:

That makes understanding their financial situation so much easier. I know it's a fact that the pachinko (while it's been dying down just a touch) is an immense cash cow in Japan. But if that was the case, why did Sega have to close down so many branches and restructure what they have? This clears up so much. Thank you.

You're welcome. Happy to help.

Polish Pete, on 02 January 2015 - 11:28 AM, said:

Huh. Interesting. Okay, now I see where you're going with this, JaredAFX. So basically there are supposedly two different teams within Sonic Team: one that makes next-gen games for Sony and Microsoft, and one that makes Nintendo alternatives. And judging from that POV, yeah, you're right. The Nintendo team after the Storybook series and Colors made Lost World, while the next-gen Sony/Microsoft team after '06, Unleashed and Generations made... nothing. This also means that whatever they've been working on, they've had even more development time for it than ever. Four years! (Five, if they decide to push it for 25th anniversary.)

This is why I'm so damn super excited for this core Sonic Team produced Sonic game from the Generations team. The assumed development cycle (presuming development began post-Generations which it probably did) is longer than any Sonic game that has ever existed. I mean seriously do we know of any Sonic game that has come even remotely close to a presumed four/five year development cycle? It's new and more powerful hardware so obviously development is going to be lengthened because of that but four/five years is immense, extreme and unprecedented for the Sonic franchise.

I guess what I'm saying is that given the lengthy development and the fact that this is the same team and talent behind the fantastic Generations; signs are looking extremely positive and promising this game could actually be decent if not amazing. We're also all assuming the Hedgehog Engine is a given when it's more likely the game will at the very least use an upgraded evolution of that engine meaning the game could and should look even better than that engine which still to this day and even at the dawn of a new generation is still one of the best visually spectacular engines of the entirety of the last generation.

As for the proposed timeframe part of me thinks Holiday 2015 because Sonic has generally been an annual franchise since Sega left the hardware business (and relied on Sonic so much) and part of me also thinks Sega might make an exception and delay it for the 2016 anniversary for quality and marketing purposes.

If I was pushed to make an educated guess I'd go with Holiday 2015 just because Sega has nothing else (thus far announced) for this year and Sonic remains their relied upon lifeline.

[Lobotomy]

WAIT WAIT NO SONIC TEAM BEFORE YOU SAY IT LET ME GUESS.

IT'S AN ENDLESS RUNNER, RIGHT?

BECAUSE WE TOTALLY NEED ANOTHER ENDLESS RUNNER, RIGHT?

[Polish Pete]

Ashram, on 02 January 2015 - 12:10 PM, said:

Polish Pete, on 02 January 2015 - 12:01 PM, said:

Dario FF, on 02 January 2015 - 11:05 AM, said:

Polish Pete, on 02 January 2015 - 11:01 AM, said:

And are you saying the Unleashed/Generations team didn't work on Sonic Lost World? If so, then remind who exactly made it, if not them.

There's good proof here that it was (mostly) the Colors team. While both teams very likely share people that come and go as they're needed (say artists or designers in certain phases, etc.), there's a very clear and trained workflow for each team, and it would be a waste of time to train different people to use different middleware constantly.

One more thing. Which team was responsible for the Sonic Riders series (specifically Sonic Free Riders)? From what I know, they're also part of the Sonic Team, aren't they?

From our handy-dandy wiki:

Sonic Riders, while technically developed by "Sonic Team", actually comes from the part of Sonic Team that used to be United Game Artists, who developed Space Channel 5 (the game Ulala comes from), and Rez along with Feel the Magic: XY/XX, and The Rub Rabbits!. United Game Artists eventually merged with Sonic Team.

Any particular difference in crew between the first two games and Sonic Free Riders? Also, does anybody know what they're working on right now? Or were they disbanded?

360, on 02 January 2015 - 01:00 PM, said:

Polish Pete, on 02 January 2015 - 11:28 AM, said:

Huh. Interesting. Okay, now I see where you're going with this, JaredAFX. So basically there are supposedly two different teams within Sonic Team: one that makes next-gen games for Sony and Microsoft, and one that makes Nintendo alternatives. And judging from that POV, yeah, you're right. The Nintendo team after the Storybook series and Colors made Lost World, while the next-gen Sony/Microsoft team after '06, Unleashed and Generations made... nothing. This also means that whatever they've been working on, they've had even more development time for it than ever. Four years! (Five, if they decide to push it for 25th anniversary.)

This is why I'm so damn super excited for this core Sonic Team produced Sonic game from the Generations team. The assumed development cycle (presuming development began post-Generations which it probably did) is longer than any Sonic game that has ever existed. I mean seriously do we know of any Sonic game that has come even remotely close to a presumed four/five year development cycle? It's new and more powerful hardware so obviously development is going to be lengthened because of that but four/five years is immense, extreme and unprecedented for the Sonic franchise.

I guess what I'm saying is that given the lengthy development and the fact that this is the same team and talent behind the fantastic Generations; signs are looking extremely positive and promising this game could actually be decent if not amazing. We're also all assuming the Hedgehog Engine is a given when it's more likely the game will at the very least use an upgraded evolution of that engine meaning the game could and should look even better than that engine which still to this day and even at the dawn of a new generation is still one of the best visually spectacular engines of the entirety of the last generation.

As for the proposed timeframe part of me thinks Holiday 2015 because Sonic has generally been an annual franchise since Sega left the hardware business (and relied on Sonic so much) and part of me also thinks Sega might make an exception and delay it for the 2016 anniversary for quality and marketing purposes.

If I was pushed to make an educated guess I'd go with Holiday 2015 just because Sega has nothing else (thus far announced) for this year and Sonic remains their relied upon lifeline.

Well, for 2015 we already have the Sonic Runners mobile game announced and that's a Sonic Team game, and who knows, maybe we'll finally get that Sonic 4: Episode III (for the ending's sake), but maybe that's just me.
And personally, I'd rather have this game released on Sonic's 25th birthday, because if it's released one year earlier, then what WILL we get for Sonic's 25th birthday? A cheap Nintendo-exclusive? No, thank you. At least the next-gen game would have one extra year of development to polish every last thing in it.

I just hope they won't be tinkering with time-travel again...

This post has been edited by Polish Pete: 02 January 2015 - 02:14 PM

[BlazeHedgehog]

Lobotomy, on 02 January 2015 - 01:42 PM, said:

WAIT WAIT NO SONIC TEAM BEFORE YOU SAY IT LET ME GUESS.

IT'S AN ENDLESS RUNNER, RIGHT?

BECAUSE WE TOTALLY NEED ANOTHER ENDLESS RUNNER, RIGHT?

Well, I mean, Sonic could probably adapt to that format better than most. Sonic & The Secret Rings was basically an endless runner minus the "endless" part.

Sonic Dash was actually a huge letdown to me because it was so slow and generic compared to what a real Sonic endless runner looked like in my head. Even Temple Run is significantly faster than Sonic Dash.

[Jason]

I'm in the "wait for Generations 2 in 2016" camp. Though unlikely, they could fill the console void with Sonic Racing Transformed for PS4/XB1, adding three more tracks to make a full new cup that includes OutRun Bay. Sumo Digital would've probably been too busy with LittleBigPlanet 3 to make that happen, though.