"It's time to reinvent Sonic" - Sega bigwig

Wii News | "Too right" - us.

It seems that even Sega has recognised the need to revitalise Sonic the Hedgehog, if the recent words of company president Simon Jeffery are anything to go by.

Speaking to Newsweek's LevelUp blog, Jeffery said, "We are actually undergoing a fairly considerable refresh of Sonic as an intellectual property, as a character. Sonic on the Wii is probably the first product that's come to market that reflects that. We're not going to be bringing another game out on the other platforms for quite some time, because we feel that it is time to reinvent Sonic, to make Sonic contemporary again."

Jeffery also briefly elaborated on Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, promising that Sega and Nintendo would be including a broad range of sports in the newly announced title. "The ones we're talking about right now - or the ones we're announcing so far - are 100-metre track, table tennis and swimming," he stated. "All of those are very different, very diverse gameplay styles, and that's really the main premise of the game. We want them to be a whole bunch of unique gameplay and interface mechanics that players will go through when they're playing the game, whether on Wii or the DS."

Read the rest of the interview, which also features Nintendo's Perrin Kaplin, here.

Related Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Content

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15 Dec, 2007 Who will take home the gold?

New Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games screens
31 Oct, 2007 Featuring Waluigi and Dr. Robotnik

Dream events added to Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games
11 Oct, 2007 Mii's to star in the game as well.

22 Comments

obscure

5 years ago

Another mini-game compilation for the Wii.
*Sigh* All I want is battalion wars 2 and Metroid Prime 3

ugh the boot

5 years ago

Just let Sonic lay down and die in peace. He's got nothing on Mario and never will. There was a time back in the 8-bit/16-bit days when he gave Mario a real run for his money....but the developers have lost sight of what it meant to be the speedy blue wonder....and the character and it's image has suffered as a result. Whenever I see Sonic now I think cheesy blue hedgehog that's been cashed in on one too many times. It's like the developers actually 'fluked' his success! Whereas when I think of Mario I still think of that awesome sound clip "It's a me, Mario!" That always had this lovable quality to it and the main games in the series have always been faithful to the classics....meaning Mario games were destined to be loved by almost everyone! Nearly every main game has a quality of polish and nostalgia in it. Sonic has had guns, vehicles, all these other useless and cheesy characters that it's really turned me off the whole sonic name....and being such cheap unpolished games just detracts fans more and more. Sonic is dead for me....and after Sonic and the Secret Rings (way too cheesy and imprecise)....I can say that with confidence.

LeonJ

5 years ago

Man, I'm sick negative press about the next-gen Sonic. It was good solid game and if people played it for more then 30 minutes would see the good outshine the bad. Sonic and the Secret Rings was on par with next-gen Sonic IMO, in some places more fustrating.

I feel if they spent another 6 months polishing next-gen Sonic it would of been on par with Sonic Adventure.

ugh the boot

5 years ago

Coulda, shoulda, woulda...the fact is...it wasn't polished...it was glitchy as all hell...and why would anyone want to play it for more than 30 minutes? Do you like being tortured for 30 minutes?

Don't get me started on Secret Rings! Sonic having to stop to jump? It's like they've never played a Sonic game before! And why the hell should I have to power him up? All the moves he's ever needed were in the first sonic game (maybe the spin dash from part 2 aswell).....so this levelling up thing was crap imo!

Sonic Xbox 360/Ps3 average rating on Gamerankings = 43.2% - 46.2%.....so there's something seriously wrong there man.

ittekimasu

5 years ago

they need to take a firehydrant to that hedgehog and make sure to wash all the crap off him. I really liked the series while still on the mega drive, maybe they should throw him into the smash brother's brawl and let them take care of him for awhile.

renegadesx

5 years ago

I think its a load of BS, Sega just don't seem to polish their games like they used to.

Sonic 360/PS3 was just an unfinished game, delaying the game to polish it could have made it the re-defining title it inspired to be

Gutsman Heavy

5 years ago

they really need to take Sonic back to his roots, give me bright happy zones with checker patterns, cute animal robots and the catchy music.

Crestfallen

5 years ago

Sonic was designed for "2 dimensions". You can't just pull him out and throw him into 3, unchanged. They need to go back to the drawing board.

Same goes for Pokemon. It works on the handheld, but bringing it out into the console world without changing anything is going (and did) lead to problems.

ittekimasu

5 years ago

i've always been a fan of pokemon (just got too overwhelming when they introduced more than 150)

Timmaaah

5 years ago

ittekimasu wrote

(just got too overwhelming when they introduced more than 150)

totally agree with that, thats when they lost me

LeonJ

5 years ago

ugh the boot wrote

Sonic Xbox 360/Ps3 average rating on Gamerankings = 43.2% - 46.2%.....so there's something seriously wrong there man.

Seriously think those scores are not correct. I played the game (and playing again through on hard) and while there is a steep learning curve/ occasional cheap death, it's not too bad. In fact, the further you go in the game, the more poslished it is.

Honestly the first level/town bit is the worst in the game. So I assume the average reviewer, with heaps of games to play, plays it for 15 minutes and goes, right, crap, next.

It deserverd the same score as Wii Sonic anyway.

?oe?oe

5 years ago

Just stay a 2D sidescroller. Add some snazzy effects in need be. Mario barely changed (in 2D), stick with the roots. It doesn't work at it's best in 3D.

ugh the boot

5 years ago

LeonJ wrote

Well Sonic and the Secret Rings is utter rubbish....so it cant've been any worse. I agree about the game *maybe* getting some inaccurate scores...especially if the reviewer hasn't played through much of it. But if a game glitches hard and generally doesn't play well on the 1st level and then the rest of the game is fine....well that's still a flawed game. I think the whole 'on rails' thing is a great idea....but firstly it needs to be on anything other than the Wii (needs some awesome graphics)...and I really think there needs to be some solid physics in the game. The only way I see sonic working on the next gen systems is if they use physics and speed. Can you imagine building up momentum on a set of loops and turboing foward just from the sheer momentum....and not just from thrusting the controller foward? Just some awesome set pieces with spot on controls! They had the right idea....it was the execution that stuffed it up....and therein lies the key to all this imo. The developers don't even seem to have the same respect they used to for him. I mean if they can't even be bothered polishing his games....why bother?

Nick

5 years ago

Did they ever think of doing a Sonic game (for consoles) like New Super Mario Bros?

Keeping the 2D formula but using 3D graphics.

Problem = solved, no?

LeonJ

5 years ago

I would like to see a sequel on the Wii. While the game was flawed, I do think there is potential like Ugh said.

Yes, Sonic next-gen is a flawed game, but not a bad one. Certainly doesn't deserve 4/10s anyway.

DancesInUnderwear

5 years ago

Nick wrote

Did they ever think of doing a Sonic game (for consoles) like New Super Mario Bros?

Keeping the 2D formula but using 3D graphics.

Problem = solved, no?

I honestly can see no reason not to do this - NSMB has sold ridiculous amounts of copies despite being a rather weak Mario plat former, and almost all of the sales likely come from those that miss Mario's 2D platforming days - and I'd hazard a guess that almost every single Sonic fan misses his glory days of 2D platforming and would rush straight out and buy a decent 2D platformer.

It seems like a no brainer to me. The problem is that as Sonic's other adventures get worse and worse more and more people (ala ugh) are just jumping of the series, so if they don't do something like it soon, Sonic will die.

renegadesx

5 years ago

Nick wrote

Did they ever think of doing a Sonic game (for consoles) like New Super Mario Bros?

Keeping the 2D formula but using 3D graphics.

Problem = solved, no?

Thats not such a stupid idea. I was not a big fan of the Advance ones, nor Sonic rush

Nev

5 years ago

This is a serious concern to me, as these statements seem to show that Sega is completely oblivious as to the problem.

"undergoing a fairly considerable refresh of Sonic as an intellectual property, as a character."

"make Sonic contemporary again."

Say what?

Sonic not being "contemporary" has absolutely nothing to do with the awfulness of these latest games. The way he's talking, it's as though the team at Sega is standing around trying to come up with ways to make Sonic more "proactive" and "in your face" (ala Poochie).

The reason the games have been bad is because... the games are BAD. The only reason the games sell as well as they do is because they have Sonic's face slapped on them. There's nothing wrong with the character - it's the poor level design, broken controls, glitches and busted physics that are resulting in mediocre-to-awful games... not the hedgehog himself.

Sega needs to do what they were supposed to do with the 360 Sonic. Get back to BASICS.

Title Screen - Act 1 - Act 2 - Act 3 - Boss

Lose the cutscenes, lose the voices, lose the supporting cast. Focus on getting Sonic working right before you start adding new characters.

If Sega could create a Sonic game in either 2D or 3D (or both mixed, ala Klonoa 2 and/or NiGHTS), with perfect physics, tight controls (I'm looking in your direction, Secret Rings), bright, lush graphics and music that hailed back to the original games... That's what will make Sonic fun again.

And remember, kids. Always recycle... to the EXTREME!!!

Crestfallen

5 years ago

Nick wrote

Did they ever think of doing a Sonic game (for consoles) like New Super Mario Bros?

LittleBigPlanet is a better example. It shows that side scrolling at 1080p with advanced physics and beautiful textures can work on a big scale.

renegadesx

5 years ago

Nev wrote

Love the Poochie analogy. They thought people would start thinking a cartoony hedgehog is cool coz he scored with a human. Thats what most people laughed at, it was not cool, it was "interspecies erotica" (thanks to Kevin Smith for coming up with that phrase)

A mixed 2D/3D sort of thing like NiGHTS would be pretty cool, though I think they dont want to do that, I dont even see NiGHTS 2 having anything 2D about it

Nev

5 years ago

renegadesx wrote

A mixed 2D/3D sort of thing like NiGHTS would be pretty cool, though I think they dont want to do that, I dont even see NiGHTS 2 having anything 2D about it

I'll be extremely concerned if NiGHTS isn't at least partly 2D, since that was the only reason the game worked. The 3D sections were fun to break up the action, but you couldn't possibly have pulled off those stunts and loops in 3D.

What would work best for a Sonic games is if the majority of the game was designed in 3D but with a 2D viewpoint (like Sonic Rivals or Littlebigplanet) that you controlled with the D-pad like the Mega Drive games, but then there were 3D sections in each level where the camera would shift behind you, and you'd use the tilt control to guide Sonic left and right, up and down (could be running, flying, water-skiing etc).

This method could work for the Wii and/or the PS3.

Klonoa 2 on the PS2 used a similar method and it worked incredibly well.

renegadesx

5 years ago

Nev wrote

but you couldn't possibly have pulled off those stunts and loops in 3D.

.

You're right, it wont work, but I am pretty sure they will try and weather it works or not, they will call it progress

But on the other hand, way back I never thought Ecco in 3D would work either

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