Sonic Retro, Fans Mocked by Escapist Over Sonic 4 Flap

By
Tristan Oliver
– April 15, 2010

Fake News, Fake Sympathy

We’re now about two weeks out of leak week–the result of an entire playthrough of Sonic 4 being posted to the Internet, mostly through links on prominent research hub Sonic Retro, and culminating in that site’s administrators temporarily suspending game discussion.  Later, Retro head Scarred Sun admitted in a public statement a relationship was being forged between the site and Sega, and that an agreement was in place between the two parties to “minimize leak impact,” at least prominently.

Unexpected was how much widespread attention those actions would be given.  Coverage was given on sites like Destructoid, but just when you think it’s died down, up rises The Escapist, well known for its biting commentary and satire in the gaming world.  Usually a lot of that rests on the site’s regular Zero Punctuation feature, which has already rubbed it in to newer fans of the franchise.

This time, it’s different, with the staff behind the satirical Escapist News Network using the Retro case to frame another shot at Sonic fandom, with a bit more general emphasis.  You can look at the story below, beginning at the 1:20 mark.  ENN did not quote Scarred Sun’s formal explanation after the fact; they instead used profanity laden remarks from the Retro forums from when the entire Sonic discussion was cut off as part of an April Fools joke.  It’s hard to tell whether those remarks were deliberately used out of context.

From there, the fake news dived into an interview segment, with another ENN staffer posing as a psychologist claiming Sonic fandom “is at a crisis point,” and broadly labeling fans as “obsessive” and “self-destructive,” while inferring that some fans tend to put their stock in “sexualized marsupial avatars” and are only worthy of menial jobs and contributions to society.

It is another beam of attention the fandom would prefer not to have.  In 2009, IGN staff acknowledged and then promptly ignored sharp community criticism and bias accusations regarding their handing of recent Sonic fare.

For her part, Scarred Sun briefly responded to the situation this morning on Sonic Retro, tersely quipping, “So, my April Fool’s rant made it on to The Escapist. I feel so Internet famous.”

Whether you think the ENN piece is funny or not, it does again raise a question that’s long been looming: Does Sonic fandom take fandom too far?  Our poll from the past two weeks indicates fans are most to blame for the current reputation of Sonic.  There’s a willingness to acknowledge the problem on that alone, but what of fixing it?  And do you think Sonic Retro is now unfairly being used as a scapegoat in all this? You can share your sentiments in our discussion below.

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