Sonic Mania (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC...Netflix?)

Except the Classic games still sell. Whoever they are selling to is largely irrelevant, these are games which had a sales lifespan of just over two to three years each while in cartridge form. These games are still being made available to nearly any device capable of playing them (consoles, handhelds, PC, tablets, phones, pre-touchscreen iPods), and are selling reasonable amounts to keep making these continuous ports profitable. No other Sonic game outside the classics are literally drowning in ports for years since their original release. (On a different note, Genesis Sonic-themed merch has similarly also held a pretty decent foothold for itself despite the introduction of the current designs.)

Sonic Mega Collection [Plus] in particular --based on Sega's IR reports-- was still selling as late at 2008 (a compilation first released in 2002 for GC and went multiplatform in 2004), and can be said to have cumulatively sold at least over three million copies--which would make it the best-selling Sonic game of that generation of consoles. Even the average pre-smartphone Verizon mobile port of Sonic 1 was said by the former Sega Mobile division to have sold over 8 million downloads.

That said, I do think Sonic Mania would be a moderate success rather than selling gangbusters, but I think that can be attested more towards the smaller scope of this project (unlike, say, Nintendo's 2D revivals and the recent Rayman games, which are treated as major projects, complete with hefty marketing campaigns Rayman aside and being retail releases); and the fact that up until very recently, the classic Sonic paradigm in general has been a background occurrence when compared against the contemporary era of Sonic that defined the series ever since Adventure.

EDIT: On a more personal note, I am a bit concerned that a new 2D classic Sonic may be something of a hard sell after Sonic 4 and Generations. The Sonic retro-revival card has already been played out with those two titles; and Sonic 4 could be said to have burned the bridge on 2D classic Sonic for a lot of people, given how Episode II flopped. With that in mind, first impressions and pre-release reception to Mania is widely --if not overwhelmingly-- positive, so it's possible Mania doesn't have an uphill battle waiting for it.

 

I think marketing should definately treat this as a big release and probably take a hint from what Ubisoft did for their Rayman revival. Else, they'll be missing a big opportunity for revitalising the franchise.

I'd say this could work even better for them than the whole movie thing, if they play their cards right (although they're already making the mistake of ignoring last-gen systems, in which this game could surely work without problems).

 

Excellent post! You're completely right. Mega Collection along with the mass ports prove that classic retro Sonic still sells extremely well. I know so many people that bought Mega Collection for example and I think the constant re-releases and ports prove that there's still a decent market for retro Sonic. Furthermore there's an overwhelming amount of positive hype and buzz surrounding Sonic Mania, far more than for Project Sonic which I think should translate to decent sales. You only need to take a cursory look at the NeoGAF thread that reached 50 pages to see hordes of people enamoured and excited for the game. I'd predict that this will sell extremely well potentially equalling or doing better than Sonic 4.

I'd say decent sales are assured which should ensure at least one sequel and potentially a series. At least I hope that's what will happen.

 

(THIS PART OF THE MESSAGE HAS BEEN REMOVED DUE TO IT BEING AN UNFUNNY JOKE)

Anyways, it would be cool if they put in secret pathways that can only be accessed using the drop dash in the levels. For example, imagine if there's a breakable wall, but there isn't enough room to roll into it and there was something preventing you from spindashing (like the oil from Oil Ocean for example), and the only way you can break through the wall is by using the drop dash. Another thing they could do is put in an object like a lift or something which would only function using the drop dash.

 

Ok, I want the game to be a massive success too, but making not buying it a bannable offense is going too far. It makes as much sense as forcing people to buy health insurance or pay a penalty.

That's right, I'm comparing that idea to Obamacare.

besides, how would you even check to make sure the user wasn't lying about buying it?

 

Ummmm... what? I know I haven't been here in about a week, but how does that make any sense? We're a message board, people are free to do what they want. It seems reasonable for everyone on a Sonic forum to buy a Sonic game especially under the circumstances Mania is in, but it shouldn't be a punishable offense to not buy it. I'm really struggling to find the logic in that.

 

It was a joke and some people thought it was serious.

 

It was kinda funny at first but it got really annoying seing it reemerge every other page of this thread.

 

Didn't even take you long to start up your crap once again. Really? >_>

 

I wonder if we will get online multiplayer and debug mode :v:

 

This also leads me to wonder if the only coop pairing will be Tails and Sonic. They do honestly have the best synergy of any of the pairs, in story and mechanics. You could try to add something, like say Knuckles boosting Sonic high into the air on request, or being able to use him as a temporary platform as he is gliding. But these imaginative, one minute ideas don't seem very intuitive. Tails and Knuckles would mostly work, except Knuckles' huge mobility would make Tail's flight almost pointless.

I liked that Sonic Heroes hack for Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and feel they should really build on that premise in official context. This of course, is hardly the game for that.

 

It would be nice if Sonic and Tails had co-op, but I'd like to see an improvement to it. I'm thinking the best thing to do would probably just be adding a "warp" button so Tails could instantly fly/teleport to Sonic's current location. It's never too fun to just have to wait for Tails to show up again.

 

I would like to see them improve the combo moves from S4E2 and make them optional for things such as secret areas and hidden item boxes. I also really want to see Knuckles use Sonic/Tails as boxing gloves like Sonic Heroes.

Also, if there would be a warp button it should only work in single player for obvious reasons.

 

The whole "not buying Sonic Mania will result in a ban" is unnecessary even if it was intended as a joke since 99% of the forum are pretty much guaranteed to be buying Sonic Mania upon release regardless. You only have to take a brief look at this thread to see most members enamoured and super excited for the game. I would have thought pretty much all of us will be buying it. I know I'll be there the second it goes live on Steam and downloading the hell out of it.

Hopefully the game will sell extremely well as we've discussed. I'd absolutely love for this to become a retro revival and the game to become a series.

 

Seeing the elemental shields from S3K got me hyped. I've seen what little game play videos there are and kind of came to the conclusion that the Insta-Shield has been dropped or no one uses it when they play (unlikely). Does any one have any idea if the Insta-shield is making a return?

 

I heard the drop dash replaces the insta-shield, so no. It would be cool if it were it's own shield or even an option.

 

It's a shame really, that was always one of those bad ass moments, Insta-shielding through a projectile at the last second or even using it to get an extra hit on a boss, adds a bit more depth to the normal game imho.

 

Losing the insta-shield is a shame but at least we get the cool new mechanic of the Drop Dash instead. Perhaps if we make enough noise about it they'll add the insta-shield back in even if it's just optional or something like that. I'm sure they're avidly reading the reaction threads to Sonic Mania and taking all useful feedback on-board.

 

Yeah, even if they implemented a control option like Sonic 3 Complete where you could choose various control settings and abilities from different games (I'm thinking this would be an unlock), Super Peelout, Insta-Shield and even a light homing attack for shits n giggles.

 

Cool idea! Both Taxman and Stealth are members here and read this thread so hopefully they're taking the positive feedback and suggestions on-board!