Division Over NiGHTS’s Rumored ASR Shutout
Tristan Oliver | November 19, 2009
NiGHTS Community says They know It’s Out…How?
Today, the fan site NiGHTSIntoDreams.com held a video support stream to rally fans to bring NiGHTS, one of many Sega icons, into playable form in Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing. The broadcast was the first step in a multi-pronged approach to gain support, including an E-Mail campaign, attempts to flood other fan forums with the news, and a purported fan bet to burn all owned merchandise if the character did make the cut.
The problem is, there’s no substantive evidence to affirm the exclusion.
Much of the effort rests on the words of a few fans, chief among them DiGi Valentine, who today proclaimed he knows for certain NiGHTS won’t be in. And that bet he made about burning his stuff? It won’t happen.
“It’s a false bet,” he wrote to members of the Sonic Stadium message board. “Because I already know the outcome that NiGHTS is not a playable character in ASR. He may get a cameo or some other thing like that but he is most certainly not playable.”
DiGi and other NiGHTS fans are urging the community to let Sega know that NiGHTS is wanted. As fans of ToeJam and Earl are fighting their own battle for a potential DLC slot, these fans have started a similar effort.
But two things make the NiGHTS push different: The clear lack of information available to affirm the shutout, and the aggressive and sometimes tense efforts put forth in spite of that.
“I’ve known for 2 months now but as I said in the video I wasn’t sure how to go about it,” DiGi writes on the SSMB, without citing any source or other supporting piece of information.
It is a tough task–not just because Sega’s official outlets have kept mum for the past few months on NiGHTS, but also because like that bet, DiGi apparently wasn’t so certain about his hypothesis five days ago.
“My outlook on NiGHTS is that I BELIEVE he is not in the game,” he wrote November 13th on the NiD fan forum–a clear difference from the sure shutout now being promoted by the NiGHTS community.
Still, that has been enough to rally fans to, among other things, send copious amounts of E-mails to various divisions of Sega and Sonic Team, attempt to control discussion about the controversy on other forums, and even try to establish talking points on the subject with the gaming media.
Don’t believe it? It’s all laid out on the NiD forums, from areas on which fans can confirm whom they’ve E-mailed or where they’ve spread the word, to a thread on which DiGi posts specific instructions on how to spread the yet unfounded allegations to media outlets. Here is that memo, unedited:
You know the rules on this one.
Get it to all the gaming journal websites that NiGHTS is not in AllStars Racing as a playable character. Be very detailed in how you promote this news. Make sure it reads -
“NiGHTS is NOT a playable character in AllStars Racing outside of DLC.” So show support for DLC of NiGHTS.I will only burn our stuff if I’m proven wrong about NiGHTS being playable in the main final game that ships next year, outside of DLC.
Because he is not. The only way NiGHTS will be playable for ASR is via DLC, at which point the bet is void because it’s inside DLC.
Now go, spread the fuss, make the noise, give SEGA their bloody numbers.
And let’s do this sh!t!
Don’t Forget NiGHTS~
–edit–
READ IT CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU SPREAD THIS NEWS.I have clearly stated time and time again, the statement is -
“NiGHTS is not PLAYABLE in ASR”If you wish to further report this news, try taking this next paragraph and personalising it -
“DiGi Valentine from NiGHTSintoDreams.com knows NiGHTS is not a PLAYABLE character in ASR. He’s so certain of this he has made a bet. The bet stands at that he will burn his entire NiGHTS merchandise collection should he be proven wrong on the fact that NiGHTS is not a playable character in ASR outside of being DLC.
He has tried to raise awareness of NiGHTS being absent from the final character roster via other methods but nobody would believe what he was telling them as NiGHTS is an always expected.
DiGi knows NiGHTS is not playable and therefore has made this bet to prove his campaign is legit in it’s information.
He wishes for fans to support NiGHTS as a DLC item as NiGHTS should have his rightful place racing the other characters in the game and not be left out.”
Just take that and work with it. I’m writing this after the video, I’m really really tired right now.
As long as you state – “NiGHTS is not PLAYABLE in ASR” instead of “NiGHTS is not in ASR”.
Don’t twist my words because I know what I’ve been saying.
So far, NiGHTS enthusiasts have hit forums on not just the Sonic Stadium, Sonic Retro, and the official Sega forums, but also IGN, Gamespot, NeoGAF, Giant Bomb, and Gametrailers, among many other general gaming forums. Mass E-Mails also purportedly hit Sega’s French division, and Tweets are in to Sega’s feed, the former merited response by the company. We do not know the tone that response had, but we do know the NiD community has asked its supporters to cease E-mailing that division. We also know that Steve Lycett did respond to the offensive directly, before it was turned up. He would not confirm or deny the existence.
“When this campaign started I didn’t want to shoot for the sky and just kick everything off,” DiGi wrote on the SSMB. “I wanted to raise awareness about the situation before i brought this out. This was a last resort for me and seeing as nobody would believe anything I said I bet against myself to prove my legitimacy.”
Still, there is a fine line between awareness and extremism. Has that line been crossed?
The notion that the campaign would knowingly attempt to control media output of the issue is troubling, especially as the campaign itself has nothing to prove a theory that, in a span of five days, has been clarified, if not contradicted. Some outlets have fallen into the trap. We have not, and with good reason: In August, during the Summer of Sonic, we published two articles detailing a Q&A with members of Sumo Digital. In the course of the conversation, NiGHTS was namedropped, perhaps accidentally, and several in the community–including us–believed that to be confirmation of a return appearance, a notion DiGi disputed on our site. We have not retracted those articles.
This news, combined with the current thinking that most primary characters from Sega Superstars Tennis will return (Ulala has already been cited in a Nintendo Power article) and the sheer overpowering nature of the campaign has some fans scratching their heads.
“I’m not believing this whole ‘NiGHTS isn’t playable’ until I get solid proof,” wrote Vatek on the Sega forums. He is one in a chorus wondering where this information stems from. That was one of the nicer comments of opposition.
“I want proof. I had [sic] enough of this stupid campaign,” wrote BlueHedgehog92 on the SSMB. “You’re fooling us without giving any proof. Why are you so scared to give us them?”
Despite the skepticism, the campaign has its followers.
“If DiGi is that confident that NiGHTS is not in, I’m going to believe him,” wrote Mushashi HUmar on the Sega forums. “He knows his stuff and wouldn’t say anything without having seen something solid for himself first. Therefore, we have to keep pushing for the DLC.”
Many Sega fans are admittedly following the campaign knowing full well the lack of supporting evidence.
“Call it blind faith but I’m gonna have to believe [DiGi,]” wrote Paraloop on the Sega forums. “We’ve all been waiting months and no news popped in yet.”
That may the core of the issue–the almost complete lack of information on both ends of the debate. Aside from the two articles we published, the release of who will be who in ASR, aside from a few potential flubs–has been tightly controlled. Many fans speculate a proper NiGHTS announcement could arrive during the Holidays, which is around the corner, and may be the most appropriate time given the franchise’s history. Wherever the truth lies, however, may not explain nor excuse the tough tactics executed by the NiGHTS community to ensure they are represented in ASR.
There are many questions to consider in our comments section, chief among them is whether all of this is necessary, or too extreme. We welcome your discussion.
Filed Under Gaming News, Hot Topics, Rumor Alert, Sega, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, Sonic Scene
They should put Axel from Crazy Taxi in there, I mean, HE ACTUALLY DRIVES A CAR!
Alright, I made sure to read through this article thoroughly before typing this, so here goes…
Tristan, there is one thing you don’t seem to understand: DiGi and TRiPPY have VERY close ties with SEGA Europe. They knew about Journey of Dreams a full six months before the game was ever confirmed to the press, and continued to feed bits of information regarding the game throughout development. None of the articles you cite really contradicts this. Sumo Digital never even came CLOSE to confirming NiGHTS back at SoS. I was excited after I read your articles, but after going through the actual audio several times, it simply didn’t confirm anything.
DiGI is about as reliable as you can get outside of an announcement directly from the company. There isn’t going to be any source or “proof” because much like JoD, these people who leaked this info are under NDAs and would get FIRED if they did. DiGi has made it clear that he wanted to take a more subtle approach before laying out all his cards on the table, hence he didn’t outright confirm it to begin with.
NiGHTS isn’t in the game. That much is a fact. I don’t particularly mind myself, as big a fan as I am of the character. I do intend to spend a minute to send an e-mail, in support of both NiGHTS and DLC.
I don’t much like online drama, and I hope I don’t get much after sending this. But I just had to say this.
If they’re speaking the truth, they shot themselves in the foot with the delayed response. This is assuming they’ve known for months.
It it’s true, had they spoken up immediately, they could have turned the tide such that it would have been feasible to model NiGHTS in. Instead, it’s an issue now, and we get a campaign for DLC, which hasn’t been confirmed in of itself?!
It does not make sense, and running a WWII era propaganda campaign in light of that isn’t going to win the hearts and minds.
I’d be happy to be proven wrong (maybe not), but I want a primary source document. They can send it through News Tips; as long as the info is accurate, I keep my sources private.
-T
Any news is good news eh ? ; )
I especially liked the fact that your trying to back up your disbelief by quoting your previous (mis-informed) articles about NiGHTS being name-dropped at SoS.
Oh, Sorry T, didn’t see your reply there.
The reason we were wary of saying it out front before, is because we only had one source to go on. Since then, 3 more insider sources have spoken up in support of our campaign. That’s what pushed DiGi to come flat out and announce it like he did.
Question. If NiGHTS is confirmed to be DLC, what happens to the people who bought the WII version?
lol, according to S0L, the character roster had already been finalized two months ago. In fact, I do believe that was the exact response DiGi and the community got from Sumo when they e-mail bombed Sumo in…what was it, August?
And DLC is being discussed right now, which is the primary reason this campaign is being launched NOW. There are discussions of ToeJam and Earl getting some DLC love.
Obviously, I don’t know the nature of DiGi’s primary source, but I’ll go ahead and forward your request over to him. If it’s something that can be sourced like that, hopefully he will.
Frankly, I hope I’m wrong too. Though, then DiGi would have to burn all his stuff. Wonder if he’d be willing to sell any…..
All right, let me rephrase the question, If DLC is confirmed, what happens to the people who bought the WII version? How are they going to get them if the WII can’t handle DLC?
Wii owners don’t deserve a quality experience =P
you get what you pay for. although, 360 costs the same as the Wii, but for 100 dollars more you can get the greatness known as PS3.
I agree with this article 100%. As I stated on the SEGA forums, IF this whole thing is true, and DiGi DID get this info from an unknown SEGA source, then this info would be “leaked”. This wouldn’t cause anything good to happen over at SEGA of Europe, I promise you that.
Still, I don’t think its true anyways. Seeing as how NO info has been given from SEGA on this matter, I cannot believe this whole thing. I think SEGA is saving a grand reveal for NiGHTS. Like, a cool Christmas reveal, since NiGHTS has had a Christmas game, and its just around the corner, and is also before Sonic&Sega All-Star Racing’s reveal. I am a man of my own opinion, and do not like being told to think otherwise. I still have hope for NiGHTS, and it isn’t DLC. This nonsense should stop before a lot of bad things could happen.
@Shadi: not just everyone can afford a PS3/360, I see rather unfair that Wii owners wont get to play as NiGHTS …if s/he’s ever announced as a DLC character
Well, my username says it all, but I also have the luxury of owning Sony products, too. ToeJam & Earl, NiGHTS, and *hopefully* Vectorman, here I come!
Here is a post from Steve Lycett himself, on NiD.com:
Hello,
I’ve been keeping an eye on your campaign for NiGHTS, and whilst I simply cannot talk about NiGHTS status in the game (as we’re not to confirm or deny anything!) what I have to say is what an amazing fanbase you are.
We’ve had all manner of emails at Sumo, we get some great ones, some strange ones and some downright shouty ones!
But the ones I’ve enjoyed the most have been the ones from NiGHTS fans. You’re always polite, enthusiastic and most of all, dedicated!
Should you all be making noise to make sure NiGHTS appears? As above, I can’t answer that for you, that would be a confirmation or denial we’re not allowed to do 8P
What I would say is I don’t feel there is any harm in showing your support for any character. What have you to lose? If that character is already in the game, then you’re home free. If they’re not, it could make a difference.
Anyway – back to the grind
—
S0L
—
Sounds very much like this is powered by Colbert’s brand of truthiness
This is ridiculous and DiGi is an utter and complete idiot. Nights is not a character that they’re just going to arbitrarily drop for no reason. Nothing that DiGi says should be taken to heart…
(EDIT – Inflammatory -T)
For those of you who don’t believe this,
I’ve only been a part of the NiGHTS community for two years but I have grown to love and trust TRiPPY and DiGi as if they were my own parents. I know for a fact that the universe would explode into chocolate mousse before this dynamic duo would try to play a joke on us. What they are saying is true, and just because DiGi will not say where his information comes from doesn’t mean that it’s false. As previously stated, if he were to say where he got classified information on a new game then the people who leaked it to him and TRiPPY would be fired, and thus no more info. Also, I know they’d feel awful if they were the cause of some people getting laid off.
What I’m getting to is that you need to trust these two on this, and show some support for NiGHTS DLC whether you believe them or not. Either way NiGHTS will get into the game. If for any reason DiGi and TRiPPY are wrong, (which they aren’t) and NiGHTS is in the game as a playable character, then boom, he’s in. But seeing as he isn’t, all this hype about getting him into DLC will eventually lead to him to getting him in DLC. Tada!
Now for all you people screaming about them being over-obsessed fans, shut up. This isn’t just about NiGHTS not being in a game. This is about NiGHTS being forgotten and cast aside like many times before. We had to wait over a decade to see our beloved jester return in a new game. We don’t want that to happen again. NiGHTS has inspired his devoted fanbase in so many ways, and has brought us together as one. You see those two on that screen? Our very own admins, TRiPPY and DiGi were brought together by NiGHTS. He is so much more than just a mere video game character to us, and seeing him not in an ALL-STAR game just completely shatters and breaks our hearts into a billion tiny pieces.
Please just trust DiGi and TRiPPY. Go and email Sega and ask for NiGHTS DLC. You have nothing to lose. Just do this for the future of Sega, and NiGHTS.
Don’t Forget NiGHTS! NiGHTS for DLC!
Hi Tristan.
I don’t know you, you don’t know me. Simple as. So, seeing as how your article seems to sound like it’s ridiculing my campaign i will say that on the basis of you not knowing me you can’t really expect me to just OUT my sources like a bloody leak. I’m not compromising anything for anybody. But i know what i do and as far as NiGHTS related news goes in regards to ASR i’m top of the board in terms of information. NiGHTS is 100% not a playable character in ASR. He may or may not get featured some other way but i can guarantee you right here and now NiGHTS is not playable.
What i will do is suggest you do what i did, should you really be so interested to prove this campaign incorrect and dumb. Go looking for info. What is stopping you? Why should i have to be the one to put myself in to further deep water than i’m already in when all you have to do is ask around.
Your a news site, are you not? Surely you must have sources of your own. Why not ask them to see if my campaign is bullshit instead trying to get me to put myself in more shit than i’m currently in.
In closing, i hold no beef with you or anybody here. I just know it’s a stretch to believe me so if you want proof get your second opinions and start asking because, boy, i ain’t lying with this campaign.
greatest respect
-
DiGi Valentine
@Shadi: You’re an idiot.
Umm… Too much for me to read. Can someone say this more… simple?
If it’s true, it’s kind of odd. At this point, Nights is practically a major Sega franchise. I mean, it has more credibility than Space Channel 5. Maybe they couldn’t figure out a vehicle, since he flies? Oh well.
DiGi…if you are so confident of your information…E-Mail me something…ANYTHING primary source related to corroborate your information. You can do it through News Tips, and I hear you have up to four sources, so any combination of up to those 4 will do just fine. You have my personal assurance that names, positions, etc. will be kept confidential.
I am not interested in ruining people’s lives. I am, however, interested in getting the story right. If you can give me something to affirm your story, I will *immediately* retract my story.
-T
@Werehog: I knew I would see your “It’s too much to read” comment somewhere here.XD But if it isn’t something too intresting I’m wit you to much text!XD
Thats just ridiculous
Oh well, I’m hoping Nights can make it plus Metal Sonic, Tails Doll and maybe the Werehog with his Werecar hehe
There. Will. Be. No. More. Sonic. Characters.
I KNOW THAT, but hope is for everybody! they could make it there by DLC man, I’m hoping that
I wonder if it would be possible to try and include DLC for the Wii version by trying to fit a DLC character file in the form of a WiiWare downloadable. Just a thought.
lol, you don’t need a primary source, T. All you gotta do is look at NiD.com’s past to know they don’t BS. All you gotta is ask your own sources. You do have your own sources, right? You run a news website, you must have connections like other Sonic newsites do.
[...] Thursday’s story ran, principal organizer DiGi Valentine of NiGHTSIntoDreams.com has publicly stated the sources giving [...]
I agree with Speedy Hedgehog (comment on the top). I want to see AXEL and BD JOE.
these are crazy fans who gets this crazy and upset over something like this? plz don’t act like they represent all nights fans