How Sega Can Save Sonic? Is It Too Late?
Over at 1UP, Mr. Parish has the obvious article that nonetheless it is necessary to write: 'How Sega Can Save Sonic The Hedgehog', and the intro starts as the piece means to go on:
"Remember the glory days of Sonic the Hedgehog? Once upon a time, he stood face to face with the likes of Bonk and Pac-Man and Mario himself, sneering sarcastically across the battle lines of the 16-bit console wars to remind Super NES owners that their system of choice might have a totally killer sound chip, but dang, was it slow... Those halcyon times, alas, are long gone. Sonic is still a pretty big name, and his adventures make good money for developer Sonic Team and publisher Sega. But these days the little blue guy is way past his prime, as proven by his new outing on Xbox 360 and PS3."
But, but, but, what can be done? "It's not too late for Sonic, though. We still want to love Sega's hyperactive hedgehog, and while our affection becomes more strained with each new, unplayable sequel, we're a forgiving bunch. We've come up with a simple four-step plan to help Sonic speed his way back into our hearts. Please, Sega, before it's too late." Needless to say, the fixes include less Lacey Chabert.
Comments
Jeremy's article is right on the money. It seems like Sega is falling into the classic "Atari marketing" strategy, and thinking that they can get away with packaging crap with a big franchise name on it and sell it. Doesn't work in this day and age. But I guess that's what happens when a company takes on the role of the dreaded "publisher" instead of concentrating on retaining the qualities that once made Sega great. It killed Atari, and I fear for Sega now.
I remember discussing this with Jeremy at the arcade I used to own a few years ago when he lived in Michigan. I find it quite interesting and telling that it's still on his mind. Definitely troubling...
Posted by: Brian Deuel | February 13, 2007 7:49 PM
It's really a sign of how much trouble Sonic is in when LESS Lacey Chabert is part of the solution. That should almost NEVER be part of a solution.
Posted by: Tetsuo | February 13, 2007 9:17 PM
Isn't it true that Sonics problems started when he transformed into 3d where there wasn't much use for his speed? I believe sega is trying to counter that problem with the Wii game by let him run on a predetermined path. Personally I love to see how that turns out. It's not the first time they did that, check the Sonic Arcade movies on youtube. Although that game had an isometric view. So yeah there is still hope for Sonic, just a little bit. I wouldn't be too happy is the little blue guy would disappear completely.
Posted by: Cruds | February 13, 2007 9:29 PM
Don't understand why Sonic needs saving. Sonic is just another franchise. I thought we all wanted less sequels and more original stuff?
Posted by: fluffy bunny | February 14, 2007 12:15 AM
a more appropriate essay might have been "How We Can Get SEGA to Move Less Units of Sonic Games So They Might Actually Give a Crap About Their Dwindling Quality"
Posted by: Jared | February 14, 2007 1:01 PM
It's all gone so horribly wrong that I cannot even find the words to describe my feelings about Sonic games any more. It used to be my all-time favourite game series, up until Sega seriously screwed up with their consoles as well as with the games (Saturn, then Dreamcast, of course). And it keeps getting worse. Oh dear. I pray they come to their senses very quickly and save Sonic from video-game hell. I'm not holding my breath though. How come they don't pay attention to, and learn from, Nintendo's (10 years longer) far more successful efforts with Mario? Is the top Sega boss secretly a major Nintendo shareholder or something?
Posted by: Peter Inns | February 18, 2007 3:47 PM
In my opinion, the last decent STH game(other than Shadow the Hedgehog) was Sonic Adventure 2. That is, except for Cream's high-pitched voice. I think that the thing that's most to blame for Sonic's apparent downfall, is 4kids. Some of their voice actors are just bad-mostly Jason Griffith (there is another article about that subject).
And I'm also just a little bit confused-what does Lacey Chabert have to do with my favorite little dude's recent suckiness?
Please explain! -wii out
Posted by: JJ7x | August 19, 2007 5:20 PM