SEGA of America hosted a special livestream recently, the first Sonic Official stream of this year, where some of their team discussed Sonic-related news. Aaron Webber was there to answer questions from fans in the chat, with one of the most popular ones being why it's been so long since there was a new Sonic game announcement or reveal trailer. Webber's response was that SEGA used to release Sonic titles on a yearly basis, but the company decided that they no longer wanted to rush games out, and made the choice to give each game a longer development cycle. He also says that the team is incredibly excited about what's in store, but they can't say anything more at this time. The last time a mainline 3D console Sonic the Hedgehog game released was Sonic Forces, back in 2017.

Source (response is at 14-minute mark)

 

[MikaDubbz]

Aint going to happen, Whitehead's working for another company now
It's called "evening star studios"

Honestly, I don't think they need Christian Whitehead for a Sonic Mania 2. Sega pretty much got what they needed out of him, a modern engine that plays classic Genesis-style Sonic games. They can just recycle the engine and sprites and get some decent level designers together and flesh out another Sonic game. The heavy lifting has been done, and Sega owns Whitehead's work for the original Mania and its engine. Would I be crazy if this is the route they went? No, I'd prefer for Whitehead to work on a followup, but I'm just saying, especially when it comes to Sonic, Sega tends to find a way to continue the franchise on even when pieces fall out, and in such a situation, it'd be pretty easy to keep going without him.

 

[Joom]

 

[CMDreamer]

look, hmm
"Development of Sonic Forces began shortly after Sonic Lost World was completed in 2013 under the codename Project Sonic 2017"
2013.. 2017, isn't 4 years enough?

No time is enough when the game foundation has no place for developing ideas.

I mean, what can be changed/improved on a very linear game to make it more enjoyable/playable?

Pseudo-3D? Done (not with a very good result)
Isometric graphics? Done (a very forgettable one)

One game that made some improvements to the formula was Sonic Colors and even then, it revolved upon the same linearity.

 

[Bladexdsl]

it won't work. just transfer all control of sonic over to whitehead he is the only one who knows how to make a proper sonic game

 

[Thejigmaster]

Sonic 1-3 (and CD if we're reaching further) were genuinely fantastic platformers, arguably among the best from 16-bit era. The fact that there's still a massive speedrunning and romhacking community behind those kinda proves that it's not "just nostalgia over some "bad" games".

Something boring and conventional =)

Everything is subjective, the original sonic games are really good yeah, but most everything after that era? Hot garbage. If anything SEGA should go back to its roots of that generation and try boring and subjective. It’s obviously been very successful doing things like sega genesis classics on Nintendo switch.

 

[StrayGuitarist]

Y'know, I've grown up with the "good" Sonic games, but I find that even 1-3 devolve into some frustrating bullshit at some point in them. Even Mania was good up to a point, before returning to that classic unfair difficulty spike. I haven't touched a 3D Sonic game since Black Knight, though.. Probably easy to guess why.. But this, right here, is a good sign.

 

[Pokemon_Tea_Sea_Jee]

I don't really care.

Sonic games must be selling well enough. Children still love Sonic.

As someone else said, Sonic Forces had a 4 year development period. I see this latest statement by Sega as little more than marketing to promote the value of the Sonic brand.

Sonic games do well with kids and I do not take Sonic games seriously. Not a big deal. Last one I had serious hopes for was Sonic '06 but that tanked.

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while they're at it they might as well get a better dev team
Forces level designers were literally a team of rookies, more time to make a game means nothing if it's made by a bunch of inexperienced developers (cough cough yanderedev cough cough)

Are you please able to direct me to further info

 

[Viorlu]

Sonic Heroes Remaster in 4k made in unreal engine 5 would be like a dream!

 

[Master Mo]

Time is only partially an issue. The more questionable thing is that with the near perfection of the boost-gameplay-style with Sonic Generation (amazing game btw) the developer had an issue emulating that style with Forces, which was horrible.

I hope they`ve discussed how something like that could happen...

Also I know people praised Mania (I thought it was ok-ish) but Mega Man 9 and 10 showed that kinda stuff is a one-trick-pony kinda deal. Another one of those and I don`t think people will be as interested.

 

[Bladexdsl]

Even Mania was good up to a point, before returning to that classic unfair difficulty spike.

that's how sonic games are supposed to be. you can always cheat

 

[Pokemon_Tea_Sea_Jee]

Sonic Heroes Remaster in 4k made in unreal engine 5 would be like a dream!

You mean a remake

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that's how sonic games are supposed to be. you can always cheat

I only enjoy Sonic Advance 2 when I cheat with unlimited lives.

Especially for the XX zone (the end of the game).

I think that Sonic Advance 1 was fine without cheating throughout the game but I can not remember for sure. I have not played Sonic Advance 3 yet.

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Sonic Heroes Remaster in 4k made in unreal engine 5 would be like a dream!

Or better yet, a straight up Sonic Heroes 2. Without any cashgrab DLC that does not appease real fans or microtransactions. No microtransactions at all, full stop.

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No time is enough when the game foundation has no place for developing ideas.

I mean, what can be changed/improved on a very linear game to make it more enjoyable/playable?

Pseudo-3D? Done (not with a very good result)
Isometric graphics? Done (a very forgettable one)

One game that made some improvements to the formula was Sonic Colors and even then, it revolved upon the same linearity.

I agree except for the isometric one being forgettable. I mean the Saturn and PC versions, I do not like tge Genesis version.

What you type makes sense and I have thought that before, too. Sonic the Hedgehog really is not a scaleable character. They have tried so many different things and I am sure lot of people put a lot of effort and care into their work. Sonic demands speed so he just does not work.

If Sonic was just like Mario but with a different appearance, that would solve the problem but that can not happen because the whole point of Sonic in the first place is his speed compared to Mario.

 

[64bitmodels]

I agree except for the isometric one being forgettable. I mean the Saturn and PC versions, I do not like tge Genesis version.

What you type makes sense and I have thought that before, too. Sonic the Hedgehog really is not a scaleable character. They have tried so many different things and I am sure lot of people put a lot of effort and care into their work. Sonic demands speed so he just does not work.

If Sonic was just like Mario but with a different appearance, that would solve the problem but that can not happen because the whole point of Sonic in the first place is his speed compared to Mario.

I mean... momentum based platforming CAN work. Y'all are forgetting that the only "speedy" part of sonic was the rampant advertising about him being FAST!! And maybe some speed sections too. But it's more of a momentum based platformer than anything- There are too many examples in the classic games where you need good momentum in order to do certain things, need momentum to roll (and even then you can't just roll on random, you need a good slope to gain more speed), need momentum to loop, need momentum to cross steep slopes, need speed to reach far platforms, ya see what i mean here? Heck, Mario had this! All platformers do. Sonic just took it to the extreme.
The big problem is modern sonic THREW that out the window for some godforsaken reason and just gave you fast at the push of a button. Granted, you needed rings (and in later entries/colors, wisp energy) but this is fuckin sonic we're talking about here, they're littered across the goddamn level. Thus it became more of a quick-run reaction based platformer. testing your reflexes and how good they are inorder to get through most levels quickly- It's still a good idea for a platformer, don't get me wrong- but that completely missed the point of the original games. (Plus, Forces didn't even get this right)

 

[DragonBoy]

Something boring and conventional =)

The great long history and the worldwide success of the copany shows otherwise =)

 

[Viorlu]

You mean a remake

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I only enjoy Sonic Advance 2 when I cheat with unlimited lives.

Especially for the XX zone (the end of the game).

I think that Sonic Advance 1 was fine without cheating throughout the game but I can not remember for sure. I have not played Sonic Advance 3 yet.

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Or better yet, a straight up Sonic Heroes 2. Without any cashgrab DLC that does not appease real fans or microtransactions. No microtransactions at all, full stop.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------


I agree except for the isometric one being forgettable. I mean the Saturn and PC versions, I do not like tge Genesis version.

What you type makes sense and I have thought that before, too. Sonic the Hedgehog really is not a scaleable character. They have tried so many different things and I am sure lot of people put a lot of effort and care into their work. Sonic demands speed so he just does not work.

If Sonic was just like Mario but with a different appearance, that would solve the problem but that can not happen because the whole point of Sonic in the first place is his speed compared to Mario.

A HD remaster or Remake in Unreal engine 5.

 

[DS1]

I mean... momentum based platforming CAN work................... missed the point of the original games. (Plus, Forces didn't even get this right)

I feel like Sonic lost that race (hah!) the second Donkey Kong Country 1 + 2 came out. They were basically Sonic, except you could increase your speed by rolling through enemies, and pointless speed gimmicks (a section of loops and corkscrews immediately followed by one spiked enemy to take all your rings) were replaced with those “barrel blast” segments.

I feel like the only thing that kept Sonic alive after that (outside of the “furry appeal”, which I think is more universal than people like to admit) was brand recognition and remnants of the console wars.

Also good to know about Forces - I was wondering if they ever made a good 3D Sonic, and Forces is on sale for $10 right now.

 

[playstays_shun]

Sega is ready: Sonic Dragoon Saga

 

[64bitmodels]

I feel like Sonic lost that race (hah!) the second Donkey Kong Country 1 + 2 came out. They were basically Sonic, except you could increase your speed by rolling through enemies, and pointless speed gimmicks (a section of loops and corkscrews immediately followed by one spiked enemy to take all your rings) were replaced with those “barrel blast” segments.

I feel like the only thing that kept Sonic alive after that (outside of the “furry appeal”, which I think is more universal than people like to admit) was brand recognition and remnants of the console wars.

Also good to know about Forces - I was wondering if they ever made a good 3D Sonic, and Forces is on sale for $10 right now.

Uhh no that's not like that
DKC is way more a mario game than any thing tbh- ive played lots of it and your speed is generally pretty locked- rolling through enemies doesn't increase your speed wherein sonic it does. By that logic Super Mario Odyssey is a momentum based platformer like sonic because there's a roll ability. (that doesn't even hurt enemies)
DKC is more just normal mario platforming with a 3d CGI skin slapped on it- most of the level design is very flat like sonic which has twists and turns everywhere. Plus the physics are wildly different between games- DKC is more grounded and Marioish in nature while sonic is more momentum and speed based- the physics found in sonic were wildly different at the time compared to what had been seen before in platformers

 

[SilverWah]

I would love to see Whitehead and his team make a game with complete new level designs and ideas as a followup to Mania.
Let them go nuts.

 

[bradthehedgefox]

no

 

[BlueFox gui]

No time is enough when the game foundation has no place for developing ideas.

I mean, what can be changed/improved on a very linear game to make it more enjoyable/playable?

Pseudo-3D? Done (not with a very good result)
Isometric graphics? Done (a very forgettable one)

One game that made some improvements to the formula was Sonic Colors and even then, it revolved upon the same linearity.

i think sonic games are hard to translate to 3D, even the fan projects that are considered better than the official games, have it's flaws, sonic have a lot with speed and momentum and stuff like that, maybe it's hard or maybe no one had a good idea on how to make it work properly, also, some people said that part of this time was into developing the hedghog engine 2 but still, i don't think sega or sonic team can have good ideas