Also Hints at On Target Sales for Sonic 4
Sega West CEO Mike Hayes is making the media rounds again, and he has reinforced a previous statement from the Summer that Sonic on Nintendo panders toward a younger audience, with some clarification.
Speaking to IGN, Hayes reiterated a split in Sonic strategy between the young and the core, and affirmed titles geared toward the former will pop up on Nintendo Wii and DS.
“On the Wii and Nintendo DS, we’re driving those brands to the younger audience,” Hayes said, adding a note on the appeal of the Mario and Sonic franchise (hint, hint). “Then we have our brands where we will focus on our SEGA and Sonic loyalists and we made the decision there to listen to what their feedback is. [....] Where I think we provide Sonic for a younger audience, there we have to take innovation ourselves and try and understand and work out what will be the best game for a more 8 to 12 year old audience. For the core fans, we definitely want to hear what they have to say about Sonic.”
On Sonic 4, Hayes said the download-only title is selling a touch ahead of company expectations, and framed the game’s delay to make a case the episodic title remains a work in progress.
“We delayed the launch of Sonic 4 to make sure we got that as right as we could and we’re still listening because as we progress the series we want to make sure we get that right,” Hayes said.
Also in the interview, Hayes says strengthening the Sonic brand will be a lengthy process, requiring a lot of investment and “the next three or more years to get right,” in his words.
“It’s all part of a general strategy with Sonic where we are passionate about getting Sonic back up to the quality levels we’ve had historically,” Hayes explains.
One should be reminded Sonic’s critical 20th anniversary falls in 2011–next year.
Thanks to ThE InFoRmEr for sending this in. If you have news to share, be sure to share it with us by clicking News Tips at the top of every page.
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OMG dude I swear Sega’s marketing department really fucked up where Sonic colors is targeting.
I hare to say you have a point. Still getting Colours though.
I think I should post my statement here as well… ahem!
I don’t think Sega should reach out mainly for a younger audience, they won’t appreciate it that much. A good Sonic game is a game with a lot of effort put into it, and they really think kids will pay attention to that kind of thing? HAH!
Sega, stick with making good Sonic games, don’t aim for a specific audience. It’s not like you can make a Sonic game too adult (Shadow didn’t count) so just go about making a good Sonic game that will turn out suitable for everyone anyway. Look at Sonic 3 and Sonic Adventure 2, nothing babyish and yet it was suitable for kids.
Though Sonic Colors is turning out fantastically and I can really see that it was the result of fan feedback, I feel that Sega could make another mistake by just simplifying Sonic too much were nobody would enjoy it.
Sega, Sonic 4 was a great way to get the fans back, though ep 2 should improve on the physics. Just don’t aim for the mainstream crowd… you know they don’t look for Sonic games, they just look for crappy party games and other stuff like that.
Ok here is the problem here, I don’t alot of children playing Sonic games. I see them playing mario games. How is sega gonna influence a child to play Sonic games?
“How is sega gonna influence a child to play Sonic games”
Commercials on Nickelodeon / Disney Channel always work. They can’t advertise on CN because nobody watches them anymore.
I wonder if this is a message that Sonic colors is indeed staying in the wii/ds…… Anyways, I don’t really care that much if Sonic is really meant for kids (Rated E-E10 for a reason) We’ve decided in the past that Sonic 4 would be the one game in the series that would bring Sonic back…… It succeeded in some levels of fans, but I can hardly call it “hardcore”
The thing is, the only flaw in SEGA’s strategy is “retro+core fanbase=$$$”. Sonic Colours has proved that what the fanbase want the most, core and otherwise, is a great Sonic game.
Not that I want them to change their strategy. Whether the 3D games cater to us or not, they have been improving lately. Again, look at Sonic Colours.
@Mike: And sadly, CN is now the only good kids channel out there. Compared to what’s on the other ones now, it’s God.
speaking of which, Sega needs to put a Sonic Colors TV ad.
Well, it’s pretty much the joke is on Sega and 360/PS3 owners cuz Sega thinks it sells well cuz they now think Sonic is on the younger audience and 360/PS3 owners can’t make up their minds on whether they actually want Sonic anymore cuz of all the other games (FPS’ and such) which is pretty much one of the reasons Sega keeps on concentrating on Nintendo. PEOPLE please prove me wrong if Colors HD happens.
Of course no ads are really needed. Sonic is one of the most popular video game characters of all time. If Colors ends up being a good game word will spread like wildfire.
I think a Wii kiosk with a Sonic Colors demo would work far batter.
People are really making a big deal about this? Again? *sigh*
Listen People, I’ll say it once: Sonic the Hedgehog has always been for everyone, but the target audience was, and always, Kids.
You can look at the character and tell that he is a game character for a younger audience. A lot of mascots are like that. Yes, I’m aware that when Sonic was created, he presented a sense of “attitude” that distinguished himself from other mascots at the time, but in the end, he has always been targeted towards young children. Just like Mario, just like Kirby, etc. However, Sonic, and every other mascot, is AVAILABLE for everyone, so if you wanted to play a fun game, why not buy it and play it. It’s not like people are going to berate you for buying Kirby’s Epic Yarn in your twenties, or buying Super Mario Galaxy in your thirties. Are you self-conscious or something!?
As far as I’m concerned, SEGA can only make maximum potential out of Sonic if they put him on the Wii. For many reasons:
1. The Wii is…commonly known as an “underperformed system”. Thus, Nintendo and a few third-party publishers, if they put the effort, can create games that can fully utilize the console to its limits, and this results in games with little bugs or errors.
2. The reception towards Wii games are noticibly less strict, and this is obvious with Sonic. Sonic Unleashed has a 60 (360) and a 54 (ps3) on Metacritic, but the Wii version has 66 despite the fact that it’s a downgraded version of the true version. This happened with SASASR: 360=75, ps3=77, and Wii=78. The most recent piece of evidence is Sonic 4 Ep1: 360=70, ps3=74, and Wii=80 (a full six point difference at least!). A significant portion of Wii-exclusive reviewers tend to sugarcoat the reviews, thus leading to a better track record for the franchise.
3. The Wii itself is the highest selling console of the three, not to mention that it is marketed as a “family” entertainment system. Thus, the core audience of the Wii is a young audience; kids and young adults. Not to mention that…it’s freaking Nintendo for Christ’s sake. Their mascots revolutionize the gaming world. Plus, if Sonic has good games on the Wii, kids will play it, and that will slowly create the future fanbase that will buy future Sonic games.
Sonic being on the Wii is probably the best thing for Sonic Team and SEGA to do. And if they say the target audience is kids, they’re right. So what? Is it unfair for the HD console loyalists that wants Sonic on their console? Maybe, but I won’t know because I have a Wii *laughs evily*. But again, people are taking this way too seriously, and that should tell the SEGA managers that they need to put tape over their mouths for the next three weeks.
If my rant is wrong in any form whatsoever, please tell me. I accept constructive criticism.
This^
I really have no idea what’s going on with the 360/PS3 on Sonic. If it’s really not for kids, then Sonic 1-4 is “mature”. Besides, this is probably Sega’s sign of saying. “Sonic on Nintendo is for younger audiences…….. But it sure is ALOT better than the pieces of shit on 360/PS3″.
“Pandering”? Seriously? They’ve been doing that “pandering to kids” shit since 1991! And yet you’re outraged…why, exactly? Ultimately, we gotta make games that are good for those who are kids and kids at heart, and I think that they’re moving in the right direction at that front. Now if only we could stop acting like BABIES…
As nice as it is that they care about the title’s rep as much as they do, there’s still one thing about this that bugs me. More recent games might have not been everybody’s cup of tea, but overreliance on Metacritic to dictate perception of quality AND delist games as a result is not a good thing. Adam Sessler explains it perfectly here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QsXrswJ-yM
While their intent was understandable, their motives and methods aren’t really that solid. I can understand delisting Sonic ’06, but Unleashed? Werehog or not, you can’t say that SU’s quality somehow EQUALS that of Sonic ’06 based on a composite score and therefore isn’t deemed suitable for human consumption. (Same goes for the Storybook series, the last one less so than the first one, but still, NOT at the ’06 level)
@Mike: You’re right, a Wii demo station with Sonic Colors WOULD be a good idea…but it’s not going to happen much if at all, I guarantee you. Until recently, I worked at GameStop. While there, it came to my attention that the people responsible for choosing what games go in the demo stations (and these are generally Nintendo reps, NOT store employees) intentionally choose first-party titles 99% of the time. Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympics went in briefly, and was removed again in favor of NSMBW, which was older and had been in the system once already. Her explanation was that they wanted Nintendo-published games in the system. Now we come to this season with Kirby’s Epic Yarn out already and DKCR coming next month? Sonic Colors doesn’t stand a chance.
Oh, and I still think this “aimed at kids” thing is BS. All it REALLY means, provided you’re making a quality game and not a half-assed cash-in (which with SEGA is questionable of late), is that everyone can enjoy it. Duh.
@iAUDIBLE
While I agree that using metacritic as the basis for their actions wasn’t the most fair or logical move, in the end I don’t think it matters too much.
It’s a chance for Sonic to start fresh. Getting rid of the “decent” along with the bad isn’t really a huge loss. If Sega can keep up the standard with games like Colors and beyond, then really the only direction to go is up.
So what if some people wind up missing out on a couple of mediocre to bad games that are already more than a few years old?
SONIC IS NOT FOR A YOUNGER AUDIENCE 15 -30 year olds like him as well
Guys, SEGA knows this. Hence Sonic 4. They’re expanding their market. The end.