The blue blur celebrated his 30th birthday in 2021, but one thing fans missed out on was a brand new mainline entry. According to a Sega investor Q&A which took place a week after The Game Awards and Sonic Frontiers reveal, the publisher actually had plans to release Sonic Team's new "open-zone" game in 2021 but decided against it to "brush up the quality" of the project.
Here's the scoop via Sonic Stadium:
"Originally it was planned to be released on this year, the 30th anniversary of Sonic, but we have postponed the release for a year in order to further brush up the quality. Not only for this title, but during the development phase, we have been steadily conducting analysis to improve the quality of the title before release, such as introducing game testing based on external evaluations, and [we] have a feeling that it will become a good game and have high expectations for it."
The pricing strategy will also factor in the quality of the product and IP:
"For the pricing strategy, we feel that we are at a point where we need to rethink. For example, for the new Sonic game, as we are focusing on quality and spending certain amount of money on development, we think it is important to maintain the price by maintaining the value of the IP at high level, rather than simply lowering the price at early stage to increase the number of unit sales."
In 2020, Sega's Aaron Webber mentioned how the company had changed its approach to the development of Sonic games:
"Back in the day it used to be like every year there was a new Sonic game. And as a result of that, there were a number of times...because of that rushed production schedule, the quality of the games wouldn't quite be where they really needed to be.
"A few years ago, we actually said 'hey, that's going to change going forward, we're going to put probably more time into things as we go forward' and that's going to mean that you have to wait longer between trailers or announcements...and we know that's kind of annoying sometimes, cause you just really want news, but that's where we are now and we think that the patience hopefully will be worth it in the end."
Sonic Frontiers will arrive later this year in "holiday 2022", with a recent listing suggesting it could launch around the month of November.
What are your thoughts about Sonic Frontiers skipping the blue blur's anniversary year? Glad to hear Sega is focused on delivering a quality experience? Leave your thoughts down below.
[source segasammy.co.jp, via sonicstadium.org]
Comments 77
SEGA: "We wanted to make Sonic better."
This is an impossible comment to make, but they did.
I am unsure how to feel.
.....lol, quotation marks.
Paranoia. The silent majority is looking forward to a quality, memorable product, not another rushed rendition.
Let me be honest here, that does not give me hope coming from sega.
Hmmm unsure how to feel. Makes me hopeful and nervous at the same time lol.
They say that but let’s face it, it’s more like this.
Considering how little we were shown I doubt it was ready for a 2021 release.
Higher quality = We don't want another 06' debacle
Delaying Forces didn't make it a good game (although God knows how much worse it would've been if they released it on the 25th anniversary as planned). I wouldn't trust this game's delay to make it good either.
To me Sega is like that family member who has gone astray in life. They say things, hopeful things, promises, but don’t come through as they say. All is forgiven, and maybe one day we’ll be surprised..
Actions speak louder than words. I'll believe what they say when they finally show us gameplay. After being disappointed by Forces, I'm not in the mood to get excited for another Sonic game.
This honestly sounds really promising to me and I'm surprised by all the doom and gloom in the comments. I know Sega has let people down a lot over the years, but this year was a step in the right direction. Banana Mania was the return to form for Monkey Ball that a lot of people wanted, with a ton of content. I think the hate on Sonic Colors Ultimate was overblown. I got the game after the first patch, and I've had no complaints (other than one random game crash). It was my first time playing Sonic Colors, and I understand now while it's so beloved.
I had a bad feeling in my gut when Sega said they were going to sell Sonic Forces at $40 at launch instead of a full-budget price but that it wouldn't be a reflection on the quality of the game. So if they're saying this game will be worth $60, I personally think that's a good sign and will happily pay more for a quality product.
This is a really candid interview that acknowledges the company's past mistakes. I don't know of any other gaming corporation to make themselves vulnerable like that other than Nintendo other Iwata's humble leadership. I've never been a big Sega or Sonic fan, but if they keep on the same trajectory they've been on this year, I'm very excited for the future.
I hope sega just aren't trying to pull a BoTW style clone here due it's success, just like pokemon is trying to do and Kirby and even SMT V.
Hopefully the map has lots to do and has more than one biome.
Also has this been confirmed for the switch? As the first trailer shown looked like graphics the switch can't handle. This might have to be on ps5 for me for technical reasons
I hope it will be good. I'm ready for an open zone Sonic.
Ha this game ain't ready for 2021 especially with how it looks right now, late 2023 or early 2024 would be the better launch release window imo.
@Diogmites I like to keep mediocre expectations.
Now this...is something I actually liked to see regarding the development of this game. Holiday 2022 is a great time for this game to release and the fact that they are from the time they showed it off at TGA 2021 giving them an entire year for polish, bug-crunching and glitch-breaking? That to me is only a good thing. SEGA wants to do right by their mascot so I can wait until the holiday season to see release of this game. Well played SEGA and Sonic Team. That's what's on my mind and until next time I am out!
@NinChocolate
Uhhh, what?
SEGA releases some of the best quality and highest rated games in the entire industry.
This year SEGA released Lost Judgment, Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania, Shin Megami Tensei V and Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown. All good to great games. There’s much more to SEGA than just Sonic.
"Back in the day it used to be like every year there was a new Sonic game. And as a result of that, there were a number of times...because of that rushed production schedule, the quality of the games wouldn't quite be where they really needed to be."
This should be gamefreak about pokemon
Here's hoping this supposed time was spent well. Sonic frontiers looks promising and has a lot of potential. I'm looking forward to seeing more
@JustMonika I actually liked sonic 2006 didn't like forces though
I don't have very high expectations if it's a brand new release. Sonic feels a bit oversaturated at this point.
However, I won't excuse Sonic Colors Ultimate. Whether it comes to a game remade from the ground up or remastered, I set very high expectations just because there's the opportunity to meet them. Sonic Colors Ultimate ignored the Switch's fullest capabilities and just swept it under the rug.
@RushDawg glad to hear you’ve found some good ones.
We'll see what happens. Personally devs have been delaying games and making promises they can't keep for some time now. If it turns out that this is actually a good game and has something to show for the delay...that's fantastic. If not, it's just more proof that Sega is still as incompetent as ever with just how many games they've fumbled on in the past 20 years.
This is definitely nice to see. I feel like this mindset should have already been a given for all developers, but like I said, it is nice to see it being said out loud. I do have a decent amount of hype for this game, but I am trying to keep my expectations tempered just in case it ends up being a good game, rather than a great game. I do expect for the game to be at least a good game. And the premise has been one that I have been most interested in the more recent years of Sonic and I hardly ever say that. I can't wait for some solid screenshots.
@HedgehogEngine
Sonic 06 was pretty unplayable on PS3. That’s the version I played. It was terrible.
From what I was understand, the 360 release was better.
A bad game is worse than no game at all, j would rather have a 8 year development then have two bad games 4 years apart, if need be
@OnlyItsMeReid
8 years is way too long. No game should take that long to finish no matter it’s scope.
I do think four years is the sweet spot, though. Games that take three to four years to finish tend to be the best games on the market. Any longer than that and I start to feel like there’s Duke Nukem Forever going on. Any shorter and it feels like Battlefield 2042.
@UltimateOtaku91 Kirby looks nothing like BoTW since it doesn't remotely look open world and I'm playing SMT V and it's definitely no BoTW LOL
@Would_you_kindly I actually think sonic 06 had something going for it, it was the glitches that bogged it down.
If they're brushing up the quality it has a chance of being a solid 6/10
"[We] have a feeling that it will become a good game"
Honestly that makes me feel even more dubious. Saying that they feel it will become good means that it must be a bad game at the moment.
Is it really going to go from bad to great in 1 year?
I think the interesting thing is about wanting to defend their starting retail price and not wanting it to drop significantly after a short time. In others they want to model the Nintendo strategy of not letting their game get put on big discount within a few months.
The problem they'll find is that you can't just turn like that on a sixpence (also a problem they might find with the actual gameplay!), people know that Nintendo games don't go on sale for years, they expect Sonic games to be bargain basement prices within a year.
Those are reputations forged over a very long period of time and you can't unilaterally change that back - however much you might wish to be able to.
This sounds troubling, because you can't count on them putting all this effort into the theoretical game you want. They're making something different, Forces supposedly had a long development cycle, yet it's riddled with problems all over, simple gameplay, simple cutscenes, sloppy/inconsistent story, cut content (why show Chaos in the trailer? He's barely in the game...)
I want to get excited for a Sonic game again, but they make it really difficult. The least they could do is bring back games from the console-only era (Shadow/06/Unleashed) I miss playing challenging Sonic games that take more than a few hours to beat.
See, when Nintendo say this, we usually have seen the game, thought wow, that looks cool then get disappointed it's delayed or have a vague release date. You can't just reveal it and say it shoulda come out last year. It comes accross as disingenuous and more worrying, wasn't somethng they were happy with showing earlier. So instead of wanting it to be the best version of the game it can be...it sounds more like they are polishing a turd.
@Bolt_Strike half of Sonic Force development was spent in improving the Hedhog Engine.
i will wait for reviews, before i consider buying the game.
God I really hope this quote ages like a fine wine. If it doesn't then that would be absolutely hilarious.
I'm ok with Sonic 06 camera. Bring it on 😂
I have no idea why they wanted to release Frontiers in 2021 in the first place.
They said exactly the same about Sonic Forces...
@CallingSonicSpeed The 30th anniversary maybe?
We heard the same for unleashed, boom, 06 and whatever else came out. The truth is, these always suck.
I wonder why Sega had this paranoia and wanted to release a Sonic every year when Nintendo take forever to release a single game. Everybody prefers a good Sonic than a yearly Sonic. Besides, it's not like Sonic is their only franchise. Considering that this year Sonic Origins comes with the first remake ever of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, this could be the best year for Sonic since the Mega Drive days, if Sonic Frontiers delivers. Sonic Generations is awesome, more than ever with the FPS Boost on Series X/S but Sonic Forces is even worse than I expected after reading the reviews. Sonic Frontiers has a lot of potential, let's hope that they don't mess up this time.
Good. Finally some common sense in Sega's HQ no less.
At this point I think I'd want to see Nintendo try their hand at making a Sonic game and see how they would handle it. It's probably never going to happen, but I think Sega could do with an example on how to make a good video game.
It'd be like Gordon Ramsay teaching restaurants how to function but in video game development. If Gordon was the one looking over these Sonic projects, I could totally see him yelling "IT'S [BLEEPING] RAW!!"
I'm keeping my expectations low for this one. Last Sonic game I got super hyped for was Sonic Boom and... well... somehow Sonic Forces managed to be worst. 😕
I am interested when they try to change up the formula, while lost world was dissapointing i am curious to see how they handle this one since i am interested in a more exploration focused sonic.
my only concern is how the switch version will turn out, as mentioned in another topic when you have a generally fast paced game the last thing you need is for the framerate to chug or for objects/enemies to suddenly pop into existence near you.
I'm not feeling this why does most of newer games has to copy BOTW formula anyways I'm keeping my expectations low there hasn't been good sonic game idk since generations after sonic 06 almost killed franchise.
It better be good and bring back chao garden feature.
Good luck polishing a turd
@Bolt_Strike Forces was never delayed. They started production for that in 2016.
Gotta say their track record is not good.
I mean they released colours on the Wii then had 11 years to tweak and re-release and still cocked it up.
I want this game to be good, but I still don't have much hope.
They can't even make corridor stages properly, 3D Sonic failed because they spend the whole year making a stage, and then players finish in 2 minutes without hurry, and they want to try an open-world.
May people finally realize that the problem with the Sonic franchise is not that it never changes, the real problem is that it changes too much.
Honestly, I’m really optimistic about Frontiers. I actually enjoyed Forces (fight me) but, if you really think Forces was bad although development took ages, most of that was used to polish the hedgehog engine and not forces itself. Also, even if Classic’s physics are funky, normal Sonic’s physics aren’t terrible. If Frontiers is in a release-like state, and they’re taking a whole new year just polishing and making it cooler, this could be what the series needs the most. Although I haven’t been a fan of the open-zone concept, I think it has a lot of potential. I’m just saying, I don’t really have crazy high expectations, but I don’t think this Sonic game will be below average (like Forces/06 level in the eyes of the community) and I really think this could be the series’s revival, like the success and popularity of Mania but with modern Sonic, which is a sentence I’m surprised yet happy to write.
That's really good to hear. It's always refreshing when a company openly admits its faults and makes changes instead of pretending the problem isn't there.
@CallingSonicSpeed Ummm... 2021 is Sonic's 30th anniversary, you seriously have no clue? The fact that they choose to delay it was the reason they gave us Sonic Colors Ultimate to begin with so we had something for Sonic's 30th anniversary while they continue working on Frontiers.
"Sonic" and "brushed up quality" has never been a thing for any 3D game.
EDIT: Well, Generations was good so okay. One time it happened.
I still enjoy 3D Sonic, Lost World being my favorite contemporary Sonic (probably because it had actual platforming and not just running fast), but expecting Sonic Frontiers as a 2021 title? Just look at the whole launch of Sonic Colors Ultimate.
Sorry, Sega. I'm not really interested in playing a tight, polished 3D Sonic game. Give me the buggy, hilarious mess we all know we crave but few admit out loud.
blah blah blah... they always say the same
Can y'all stop being so negative.
@BoostPower stop
@bagajr finally someone who is optimistic.
Ok...why is this news? Lol
@TheRedComet Yeah I 100% agree, but I would rather wait twice as long and get a product I enjoy if it ever came to that then get a terrible product in a short amount of time.
"We have a feeling that it will become a good game" doesn't exactly inspire confidence...
@BeefSanta They've already filled this decade's "Glitchy Mess" quota with Sonic Colors Ultimate
I'd love for this to be good but the style of it is so generic I find it a bit off putting. The world doesn't look very Sonic at all, just another fairly realistic open world, which seems to be a missed opportunity to make something a lot more interesting. Not saying the graphics are bad, just a bit boring.
So funny... If this releases all unfinished, I will not be surprised.
@FizzyChalice On Nintendo Switch, yes.
Not on any other platform though 🤔
@Doktor-Mandrake Nope it's also on other platforms as well, in fact there are still bugs a bound in those versions. I own the PC and PS5 versions and even those still had hiccups. Unless you're playing it for the sake of actually playing the game and not give a damn about bugs and glitches though then it does play like a fun game and this applies for the Switch version as well. If you're playing the game just so you could find glitches and bugs, then you'll be heavily disappointed as they are still there, just not as game breaking as before.
@FizzyChalice tbh I was disappointed about how little glitchy wackiness I encountered in my playthrough of the utterly mundane Colors. Therefore, Sonic Team kinda owes me. Big Time. I expect nothing less than Sonic Boom levels of madness.
It's Sonic. I have zero hope it will be any good besides for a few laughs. Hope I'm wrong though. I mean that.
@Clear-green-track-pi No. It's Sonic.
@Specter_of-the_OLED I mean I played Sonic 1 at release and read news all the time and had no clue either. Probably because Sonic is awful now.
@LikelySatan ???
It's important to keep in mind that delays aren't always good. In an ideal world crunch conditions wouldn't exist, nor would crunch continue while delays are happening. Unfortunately we don't live in an ideal world, and crunch conditions will continue because the game is delayed, thus delays will not always guarantee a better product, or at least one that warrants the additional time. The longer development goes on, especially unchecked or with constant cracking of the whip, the more likely things will go wrong.
I do look forward to this upcoming entry, but I know too little about it to give praise to SEGA on delaying. For every decent Sonic game, there's ~3 Total Wars that could've done with a more generous release date and less time per day spent sweating it.
@Specter_of-the_OLED Yes I do know 2021 was Sonic's 30th anniversary but unless they had nothing bigger in their plans (like Movie 2 in 2022) it wouldn't go well sales-wise to release Frontiers this year, let alone whatever kind of quality we're going to expect but for the reason that how messy SEGA's management is, most can expect bare minimum
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