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Should Sonic games be lower-budget?
- Should Sonic games be lower-budget?
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Should Sonic games be lower-budget?
Tominique > 10-13-2024, 06:44 AM
I recall watching a video by Pariah695 talking about if the Sonic franchise should have Triple-A games, and I've been wondering what others here thing about this.
So summarize the points in the video, though I will still heavily recommend a watch 'cause I'm omitting a lot of stuff:
Yes, a big, high-budget, über cinematic journey of a Sonic game would kick all kinds of grass, but Sonic's appeal in the gaming landscape is kind of a double-edged sword that doesn't let that happen without massive monetary loss.
Sonic as a franchise is in a weird spot where everyone knows Sonic, but it's only really the minority of the hardcore fans that really stick around for the games themselves since even back at the Genesis trilogy, they were not mass-appeal games in terms of their gameplay. What drags Sonic for most is simply the brand name and it's characters more than the actual games, which leads the franchise to something like Sonic Frontiers, where it tries to shape the franchise into something it isn't because what the franchise is doesn't make sales.
Therefore, it would be a much safer investment and better for the franchise's identity to make smaller-budget, less committal games that focus on the niche that Sonic does best. Look at Sonic Mania and it's success, since it didn't really make insane sales, but still did well enough to get an expansion due to the game's lower budget.
Which is to say, smaller games that don't need as big of a success to net a positive gain. And thus the franchise can, again, focus on it's niche instead of trend-chasing, and hopefully grow into something more as a franchise with smaller, but quality games that you wouldn't get elsewhere.
... Now, for what I think of it.
I've always seen Sonic as a franchise with games on the lower-end of production. They're usually games you could beat in a few hours, but their main drag is the replayability that keep you in more from mastering what content it has rather than tagging you along for a massive journey. So specially now I do think it's kind of a dumb idea to risk a bigger budget on games of which the appeal is more on the brand itself than the actual gameplay.
As much as I say that these past years have been a good year to be a Sonic fan, that doesn't mean Sonic's perception to the general audience has changed much. It's wild how such an iconic franchise in the gaming industry can be that way with such a rocky reputation. Sure, everyone knows Sonic, but the real question is does everyone care about Sonic and will actually play the games starring the blue rat?
SEGA seems to be putting all their chips in Sonic X Shadow Generations, which has me both excited and a bit concerned for it's reception, and overall glad they're putting so much trust in the Sonic name. But I still believe more Sonic projects moving forward should be more focused experiences in that small package that Sonic usually has them on. Like Sonic Superstars! (Because I'm still very sour about how poorly that game got received despite being the best thing ever.)
And y'know, less committal projects also lets the franchise get wildly experimental again. Maybe outsourced to third-parties like the DIMPS days.
Because let's face it, even with stuff like the movies giving the franchise a boost, the games are nowhere near as big as they were back in ye olden days and shouldn't be treated as such, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing if that means we finally get that Omega third-person-shooter spin-off!
