May have also Accidentally Confirmed Download Only
With so little information coming out about Project Needlemouse since the first trailer was released in September, anything new on the next Sonic, in theory, would be most welcome. In this case, that may not be so, because if the hints dropped in the video below are any indication, a notable number of fans could be shut out of playing the game.
That’s because the interview below with Sega France’s Franck Sebastien, conducted by DigitalGames.fr and translated by Benjamin Daniel, may indicate Project Needlemouse will be a download-only experience. When taking about the game, Sebastien makes a clear reference in this translated statement:
But with Project Needlemouse, I think that Sega wanted to settle [sic] demands, because there’s a lot a nostalgic gamers out there, and on XBOX Live or PSN…(pause)…you have a lot of hardcore gamers. And the old versions of Sonic games are selling very well on these platforms, so there’s a real market for these kinds of products. [...] The idea really is to finally please all these hardcore gamers, because we love them at Sega.
Sebastien made that remark when juxtposing press reception of Sonic Unleashed to the game’s target audience–children, according to him. He then transitioned into some Needlemouse discussion, and that’s where you hear the juxtaposition with XBOX Live and PSN–and no talk about the Nintendo Wii.
The Wii shutout may have been a given, as the Needlemouse trailer touted the game as HD. The Wii is not an HD console. What wasn’t clear to this point was whether Needlemouse would be released on disc or as a download. It now looks very possible the latter will be the case.
You can watch the interview, translated and in context, below. Decide for yourself what it means, and then talk about in our comments section.
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Download only? That’s okay, well for me at least. I can deal with this game if it is just download only, but I just want it to be fun and have a good amount of replay value.
Also, IN B4 Sonic fans who are gonna whine about this game being download ONLY.
@Sonication:
Uh yeah, muchacho. I like having a solid copy of it in front of my face instead of being a download only game.
Lovely. SEGA has made a huge mistake here. What’s new?
nice work, doing an voice over, but as I’m not beeing a native speeker, I’d have prefered subtitles, the accent was hardy understandable.
I hope they don’t shut the Wii out. And I don’t think that they will. It’d just be stupid of them.
Darn it. I really hope this isnt download only. I really do.
Download only?… For some unforeseen reason, I saw that coming.
i dont really mind the fact that it’s download only. I as well as others do enjoy having a physical copy of the game in front of me. It makes it feel like it has more value or meaning, to me personally. As much as it’d blow for Wii-owners not be able to play it, I kind of hope they don’t make it for the Wii. Only because if its supposed to be HD, which the wii doesn’t support, theyre going to have to spread themselves thin to tailor to the Wii. And maybe, just maybe, if they worry about one version of the game and not multiple versions (Sonic Unleashed for example) then they might produce a strong, solid product.
And besides, I feel like the Wii is a complimentary console. You normally find people that would care about something like this with definitely a 360 or a ps3 (if not both), and THEN a wii.
Download only isn’t too bad. However, I’d much rather be able to hold the game in my hand. Especially when I get the impression that it will be a mainstream Sonic game.
The “download only” idea also seems to suggest a low price tag. As far as I know, no XBLA game is over 1600 points. (I think that’s around £12 or something like that)
I love cheap games. Though, I think it’d do better if it was a CD. They probably can’t put enough content on there to justify a 60 dollar price tag — fine by me.
@steve: “And besides, I feel like the Wii is a complimentary console. You normally find people that would care about something like this with definitely a 360 or a ps3 (if not both), and THEN a wii.”
—
I am, and have always been, a big fan of Sonic (since the Sonic 1 days). I have the vast majority of Sonic games including originals and re-releases. I also was a collector of Sega/Nintendo consoles until recently. I bought my Wii on release day; however, I didn’t have any non Sega / Nintendo consoles until last Christmas when I bought myself a 360.
I must say though, I am glad to have a 360. Nintendo’s stream of good games is slowing down. The only Wii ones I can think of are Zelda: Twilight Princess, Super Mario Galaxy and Brawl.
I just felt that I should point out that you shouldn’t underestimate Wii fans.
Download only? PLEASE don;t make this mistake. I’d gladly pay double if not triple the price of a download version simply to have Needlemouse on a disc I know will work 20 years down the line – and NOT system locked.
If it is really a download only game, maybe the Wii was left out (besides don’t having HD) because it has almost no internal memory.
I agree that download only isn’t bad, and is to be expected, but I like to actually hold my games and lend them to friends and family as I please. Plus, that’s less HDD space taken up, right there. And I always assumed since this will be HD, that there won’t be a Wii version. Really, alot of kids these days have 360s or PS3s, so I don’t think Wii exclusion would shut out a ton of oldschool Sonc fans. And if it does, one can always buy a PS3 or 360 since they are at reasonable prices nowdays. (I recommend PS3)
I don’t think there’s anything here to suggest that it is download only, or not for the Wii, at all. The way I see it, he merely states that the old Sonic games available to download on XBox Live etc are proving popular, therefore there is a demand for traditional, nostalgic Sonic games, in general. That’s it. And we already know that. Doesn’t mean that that limits old school Sonic to only appear through that medium from now on. Until definite confirmation comes through, stop worrying.
I’d take far more notice of the fact that he seemed enthusiastic that nostalgic Sonic fans will love Needlemouse. If nothing else, it reinforces their previous suggestions that it is a game targeted for those who want Sonic the old fashioned way.
This is not a confirmation in any way, until Sega officially announces the Platform(s) it´ll be on I take this not so seriousely!
I´m more interested in Images or videos of the game than the Platforms it´ll be on! I wanna see if it is worth my money or not. But to say one thing about my personal preference, I would love to have this game on a disc! So, I don´t need to be online all the time in order to play it on my Xbox 360 (if it comes for that one, wich is highly possible)!
I agree with the two comments above me. There really was no true confirmation and the guy was only talking about how the old games were popular as downloadable content on the PS3 and 360; not stating that PNM would be on those two. This article is more likely to be treated as a rumor since there isn’t any real official news yet. As much as I and many of us are excited for this new Sonic game, we’ll just have to wait until SEGA announces and/or show us more on it.
YES~!!!!
Epic news
Screw WiiWare, WiiWare can have fun with their Excitebike
After watching this video, what I don’t like is how they’ve been focusing on kids almost exclusively. Sonic was a franchise that had the appeal to everyone — if they make a good game for the old-generation gamers, the new ones — kids especially — will just follow along.
Take out the Werehog in Unleashed, and kids still would have loved it. This is something I’m afraid SEGA just doesn’t get.
Solution:
Wii retail + XBLA + PSN.
No worries about space limitations and everyone plays it. Sega would be ****ing stupid to leave the Wii out after the massive success of Olympics and the good success of the other Sonic games on Wii like Secret Rings which may be well over 2 Million by now, and Unleashed Wii at over 1 Million, maybe, if Chartz is anywhere close.
SEGA has other games for Wii
too bad for you, time to buy a HD console.
So…Wii owneres are getting screwed over again..sigh…..im trying not to bust out into rant mode, I really am.
@Hero o fLegend:
That indeed would be a perfect Solution! I could buy the Wii disc to have a actual copy of the game and could play it on my 360!
Since I´m planning to get a Wii at some point, this really sounds like a good solution, at least to me. I know I couldn´t use the disc until I get a Wii, but having a actual physical copy of the game is well worth it! Given that the game is good that is, otherwise it would be a waste of money to buy it twice!
Off couse I would buy such a Wii disc when the game falls in it´s price! ^^
If it really is download only, they better make it affordable!
This enfores my idea that SEGA just copied off of Capcom’s Mega Man 9. That was ALSO download only. It is not a bad thing…not completly.
@Hero of Legend: Why pay retail game’s price for the content of a download game?
@Crysore: How can you complain about Wii owners getting “screwed over” when the Wii already has a number of exclusive Sonic titles? You can’t expect SEGA to only cater to the Wii audience(assuming the Wii is in fact not getting this game).
@Mayatemple: Good or not, would you really buy a game twice just to have it in two forms? That’s…ambitious..
How do you get PSN?
If it’s true, it won’t surprise me at all. The 2D games seem to fit best when downloading onto the main console only and not bought from the store. It costs too much money to download onto a disk. Plus, the Wii is not HD compatible.
*LOLs at Greg the Cat at the top* Misery loves company, especially for Sonic pessimists.
I’d only have HD consoles so I can play games I can’t play on other platforms. I’m getting a little bored of my 360 and want the PS3 Slim.
This interview doesn’t really confirmed that they’re making Project Needlemouse into a download only game, though. Even if it is I don’t really see it that big of a deal.
Damn, downloadable only?
Fuck you, SEGA. Actually, a massive fuck you to the bastard who invented that stupid downloadable concept in the first place.
And SEGA reckons it’ll please the nostalgia fans? That’s laughable.
Kits Okami: It hasnt actually been confirmed that its downlodable only.
Really not surprised.
Actually i’m surprised so many people are getting pissy about it.
Good Grief. SEGA has no idea what to do. And Needlemouse alone won’t fix it either.
SONIC LOVESSSSSS hehe
SONIC THE BEST AND WAY PASS COOL GAME CHARACTER (AND HIS GAMES TOO) EVER!!! 
@ Moururi: Yeah, I know. We should wait till the game is really confirm to be a downloadable title first before people starts to get bitchy over nothing.
But genesis games aren’t on psn.. i go on it every day…
But genesis games aren’t on psn.. i go on it every day… and ps3 and 360 have 2 REAL sonic games(unleashed/06) The Wii has how many(like 6 or 7 now?)
He just said that XBLA and PSN gamers are hardcore…
”
and on XBOX Live or PSN…(pause)…you have a lot of hardcore gamers. And the old versions of Sonic games are selling very well on these platforms, so there’s a real market for these kinds of products.”
You COULD take that as a hint, but I wouldn’t read it that way. He’s saying there’s a market for nostalgic games, due to the success of downloadable retro titles.
@Kits: Mega Man 9 pleased Mega Man fans.
If they don’t give the Wii the Project Needlemouse, they can still release Sonic Rush 3… SR and SRA were good games in 2D, amirite?
That’d be a kinda douchebag move, really. I know a buch of people with HD colsoles, but no internet connection….. doesn’t really seem a great ploy. I don’t want the greatest Sonic game on a console to be strictly a DL…. is SEGA cutting their losses or something?
Sega you dumbasses
Woah, people are getting so angry over a small line someone said. Relax, he never actually said it was going to be download-able only, he was just talking about how DLC has become so big recently and it’s a new place to release games and they’re thinking about it. Talk about over-reacting, sheesh!
Man, nothing interesting happens anymore..
HEY LISTEN UP EVERYONE!
What if this game only comes out on PLAY SEGA! Recently they have been trying to boost there members.!!!!!
The game is HD.
The Wii is not.
Blame Nintendo.
Shut up Epicenter…
@leommj: Um, you do know about how they fixed that, don’t you?
I’m going to be mean here, just as a warning.
Screw the little kiddies that don’t know what a true Sonic game is. Sonic isn’t about the werehog, vehicles, and treasure hunting. He’s about speed and fast movement! Why do you think his name is Sonic? You little kids today weren’t there when the games were good, like I was. Go out and play Sonic 3 & Knuckles from the days of the Sega Genesis. That’ll show you what Sonic supposed to be. Or games like Sonic Rush on the DS. That’s what Sonic is. A blistering fast platformer, not a big burly brute that smashes things with his stretchy arms. A fun loving and loveable little hedgehog that craves speed and adventure! At least Needlemouse seems to be getting the picture. Finally, a decent/good Sonic game!
@ The one who lost the music on: I agree. It’s like some of you guys are ready to lash out at Sega over one little line when there’s hardly any confirmation. Calm down and listen real closely to the interview.
What I find sad is that this game sounds perfect for the Wii, simply because it gets the little kids into this game. What’s more, Konami has taken advantage of WiiWare with the Rebirth games(Gradius, Contra and Castlevania). I’d rather SEGA port this to WiiWare because even little kids deserve to play a new mix on 2D Sonic.
@udx: You act like kids can’t download games. Kids own 360s and PS3s too ya know.
DL only would be dumb, my brother DLs all his physical games to his XBox HDD, we’d have no space for it, I ALWAYS prefer a physical copy. No Wii version would be dumb too, didn’t Sega themselves say their target audience for Sonic was children around twelve? Well isn’t PS360′s target audience about 17+? Lastly, Wii can do low end HD, 480p. If they made the game at 480p, the XBox and Station would upscale it like they do DVDs, and the Wii would downscale it for people not setup in HD. If they just do it right they could make it for every console pretty cheaply.