“That doesn’t mean the SEGA isn’t supporting Nintendo platforms”
When yesterday’s formal announcement of Sonic 4: Episode 2 was released, it lacked any indication the game would be coming to the Nintendo Wii. Many fans have wondered about that omission since, especially since the first episode did make it to WiiWare.
So late yesterday evening, brand manager Ken Balough took to the Sega forums and confirmed there will be no WiiWare version of Episode 2.
“Episode II unfortunately will not be coming to the Wii – for reasons most people have probably guessed, but that doesn’t mean the SEGA isn’t supporting Nintendo platforms,” Balough explained. “We have a very strong partnership and will continue to do so.”
So far, the two guesses most fans have speculated on is the very limiting file size for WiiWare (40 megs max), and simple greed. Balough perhaps touched on the latter while addressing the conundrum of releasing episode I to Wii, but not the follow-up.
“The reason Episode I was on the Wii was because we wanted to bring the Sonic 4 saga to the widest possible audience,” Balough said.
The more likely scenario is that Wii U, a console Sega has already pledged to support, is in the pipeline, and the company is waiting to see if a release there is possible. Should Wii U release late in 2012, and the development timetable for episode 2 is anything like that of its predecessor, it may set up a way for Sega to plug Wii U down the road as another surprise release, while being among the first taking part in Nintendo’s digital strategy for the new console. Balough’s own words appear to hint as much, and keep in mind that iOS was not confirmed for Episode 1 at first; it took some community snooping to find that out.
The bottom line: You’re likely not down for the count yet, Nintendo supporters. We will keep tabs.
Loading ...
“it may set up a way for Sega t0 plug”
t0? typo
Anyway, I somehow knew that it wasn’t comming to the wii because of how the wii is already dead, but i think it will be ported to the Wii U.
i just wish they would hurry up and release it
Sony and Microsoft do what Nintendon’t?
I am sad that it won’t be on the wii. First Generations then Sonic CD, now this. Why SEGA? Why don’t you want my money?
Wow, Wii owners have missed out on a lot lately. No Generations, no CD, and now no Episode II. One good thing about this is that the gane will be bigger and better because of it, a bigger filesize means more content, something Ep.1 sorely lacked. I’m lucky to have a PS3 and a Wii, so I don’t miss out on any of the offerings. In other words, Nintendo fans, don’t let the idiot fanboys at the Sega forums get you down, you’ll have your day. Especially If Tristan’s Sonic Dimensions rumor holds.
@tjthefox : “i just wish they would hurry up and release it”
They did the same thing in 2006, look how that turned out.
@sonikdude
I don’t think that Dimensions is real, but thanks for your support. Luckily most of us have phones XD
Another thing that’s a bit less positive: the Wii U appears to have specs that look very similar to the Xbox 360 and the PS3 (fine, a bit better, but it’s not vastly improved over those consoles). This means that when the PS4 and next Xbox are released, they might spec-wise leave the Wii U in the dust, just like the current consoles. Eventually, that translates to more and more missed Sonic games.
I don’t want that. I really don’t.
@A
While it doesn’t confirm that the rumor is true, there is evidence that starting to make it lean over the not-so rumor terrotory. Oh, and regarding those Wii U specs, those were have said to have come from a source who had the very first Wii U dev kit. Devs are now said to be on their 4th kits. That info is extremely outdated. Mr. Iwata even said himself that the system’s specs are aren’t finalized.
I’m confused. How does not putting Ep 2 on the Wii make Sega greedy? Can someone explain that to me?
@x: The other way around. Putting Episode 1 on WiiWare probably led to some content cuts in it, because a) Sega is for some reason not good at compressing things (heck, no major studio I know is good at it) and b) 40MB is already quite strict limit. Yet S4E1 probably sold the most on Wii. So people find Sega greedy.
I wish people would stop blaming and pointing the finger at Sega for not releasing these games on the Wii. Alright sure, they could have had something similar to the 3DS version of Generations on the Wii, but they didn’t, that was their call.
But Sonic CD and Episode II, blame Nintendo if you wanna blame someone, it’s their file size limitations that they won’t budge on that are preventing these games being released on the Wii. It isn’t Sega’s fault that all the CD audio and video cutscenes in Sonic CD make it take up more than 40megs. And sure Sega could make a budget version of Episode II, but it sounds like they want to go all out on it and make sure it lives up to the new expectations that Generations and Sonic CD have left in their wake, and obviously it is going to end up bigger than 40megs to do so.
It isn’t Sega’s doing, if they could bring the game to you on Wii they would, they want to make money, it’s Nintendo’s file size restrictions that are stopping them. So go take it out on them and stop crying that Sega doesn’t give the Wii any love and go play Sonic Colours, the Mario & Sonic games, Secret Rings and Black Knight, Zero Gravity and the Wii version of Unleashed. Not every game you want is always going to come out on your system of choice. Which is why a lot of people have multiple consoles.
If the Wii U can’t get the same games as xbox 360 and ps3 I will get really mad with Nintendo ’cause I want to play Sonic ,Zelda,Super Smash Brothers and games like Bayonetta and Arkham Asylum on ONE SINGLE console.Even if I can afford two consoles.
@Frankthehedgehog105
You can’t play all games in one console. You need buy all consoles for this. aka exclusives/best games. (skyward sword, MGS4, Uncharted, mario galaxy 2).
And well.
Good move Sega. I really don’t like the plastic graphics of episode 1
Community snooPING as usual.
Sega can kiss the fattest part of my ass. They didn’t say size restrictions, so I somewhat doubt it’s that. In any case, fuck them.
Sonic 4 Ep. 2 will be a Wii U Launch title. Calling it now.
It STILL doesn’t explain the lack of a 3ds release when even freaking phones get it. I had the same issue with Sonic CD and am getting annoyed at the system getting passed over with not even an attempt at an explanation as to why.
Come on, Sega.
Tisk. Tisk. Tisk. I honestly wish they would tell us FULLY as to why they aren’t releasing it on the strongest console of this generation. But then again, the 40MB file limit is pretty small.
So many bad decisions can lead to so many bad miss-outs.
Well a Wii U release makes sense. The console is very powerful and can produce full HD graphics, and no strange file size limit (the 3DS eShop indicates that Nintnendo is done with crazy storage systems that cause downloadable game limits), and most importantly we will get the same version as the others without anything removed. The Wii U can also play WiiWare games so I can transfer episode I from my Wii to the Wii U. This waiting does not matter anyways considering that neither the game or the Wii U are coming out until later in 2012 (although apparently many major studios now have Wii U devkits in order to prepare launch titles).
3DS or Wii U release and I both shut up and won’t Knuckles Punch every man at Sega US.
I really can’t stand not having a good answer. That’s always the worst part.
Sonic,Bayonetta and Arkham aren’t owned by Sony ,Microsoft or Nintendo so they aren’t exclusives. Sonic Colors could have been on ps3 and xbox360,even with the wii graphics and Sonic fans would have still played it.Batman is coming to Wii U and Bayonetta could be ported easily.
Sonic 4 episode 2 should be on PC there is no reason for it not to be generations sold well and pirating won’t be an issue if you keep the price down and don’t make a lousy port.
“But Sonic CD and Episode II, blame Nintendo if you wanna blame someone, it’s their file size limitations that they won’t budge on that are preventing these games being released on the Wii.”
It’s actually more because Sony and Microsoft DON’T have the low file size ceiling. The reason Nintendo has a very strict file size limitation (which has been increased on the 3DS but not by much) is to prevent game developers from releasing patches for their games. It sounds like a recipe for disaster, but it looks like Nintendo was hoping the ceiling would be universal.
Think of it this way from the developer’s standpoint, if every game system had a 40 MB filesize limit and didn’t allow patches. What would you do when making a game? You’d keep working at it until you found nothing you could patch. Thus, you make the game as good as it can be before releasing it onto the market. Nintendo does this with all of its games, which is why, except for Super Mario Galaxy 2, they all have very long development cycles. (For instance, it takes 4 to 5 years to make a Pokémon game. As soon as a generation of Pokémon is released, they immediately begin work on the following generation.)
However, Microsoft and Sony seem to encourage patches. What this has resulted in is games coming out that feel incomplete, then a bunch of patches get released later that completes the game. This causes buyers to feel betrayed. In extreme cases, the game becomes unplayable. (For instance, one of the Bubble Bobble games has a boss that doesn’t load, preventing players from moving past that point.) The consumer will likely return the game and have a permanently bad impression with that game and possibly the company. Either way, this sets off or excascerbates diminishing returns for that series. (This is what’s happening to Call of Duty right now, as a matter of fact. As much as the diehard fans seem to still eat it up, anyone else will tell you they feel bitter about its reliance on DLC.)
Many developers don’t seem to understand this. Heck, I’d say nearly all of them don’t get it. They’re seeing on the surface that Nintendo has rules while the others don’t, and so they’d go towards the systems that don’t.
I don’t see why the filesize for Sonic 4 Episode 2 has to be so big anyway. Nintendo 64 games were downright massive in scale (look at Banjo-Tooie, for instance) but were never more than 16 MB. What’s hogging up the file space for everyone?
That’s totally wrong. Its not to discourage patches. It exists because the Wii has a pathetic internal memory of 512MB. Its basically so WiiWare games don’t take up all the system memory.
Once again, you are very, very wrong. 40MB file size cap has nothing to do with patches and development cycles. You sound like you’re making this up.
I’m not sure what this has to do with Sonic 4 Episode II. Once again, 40MB file size restriction has NOTHING to do with patches and DLC. We’re talking about why Sonic 4 Episode II isn’t coming to WiiWare. This is totally irrelevant and it sounds like you’re pointlessly railing on Sony, Microsoft and Call of Duty.
It is becoming more and more clear that you understand nothing about game development, or how digital distribution works. 40MB file size restrictions doesn’t mean games need to be made better because no patches can be released. It means developers have less memory available to them to make a downloadable title.
Once again, I don’t think you know anything about game development. N64 games had low resolution textures, low poly models and MIDI music. That is why they had files that were only 16MB in size. This is not 1997-1999, this is 2011/2012. Games need more memory because new graphics require more space. Higher resolution textures take up more memory, higher polygon models take up more memory. MUSIC (that is to say, high quality MP3 files) take up more memory. Heck 1 piece of music can take up 5MB of space. So, if there are 4 zones, each with 3 acts (number of zones Episode I had) with their own unique piece of music, that would already take up 60MB, more than the 40MB allowance Nintendo has. Before you say “But Episode I was on WiiWare”, well Episode I had highly compressed textures, low poly models and MIDI Music (just like the N64), just so it could fit onto WiiWare.
Sonic CD, the recent remaster for XBLA, Android, iOS, PSN etc, had a file size of 258MB. The iOS version of Sonic 4 had 89.5MB file size. Do you understand now? Developers and publishers NEED larger file size allowances (ideally NO limits at all) to make better looking, better sounding and bigger games. 40MB is not enough for Sonic 4 Episode II, so Nintendo fans have to miss this one out and the only people you have to blame are Nintendo.
SEGA shouldn’t have to sacrifice the quality of their game just to fit Nintendo’s restrictions, especially when every other Digital Distribution system doesn’t have such restrictions. They should be free to make their games as large as possible.
Wii U?
All we need now is Vita and we’re set.
this is my only Respond…->http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07So_lJQyqw
@Bystander
You make perfect sense about restirction in digital distribution and file size allowance.
@ Bystander
”The Wii has a pathetic internal memory of 512MB”
Last time I checked, the Wii also had an SD Card Slot, which allows up to the 32GB SD/HC Cards. Not to mention, that when downloading a program from the Wii Shop Channel, it gives you the option to save it to either the Wii’s Hard-Drive, or an SD Card.
So, I highly doubt the 40MB limit was due to the Wii’s extremely small Internal Memory Capacity.
I doubt SEGA did this because of greed, like most are saying, cause that flat out doesnt make any sense. Games on the Wii sell undeniably well because:
1) The Wii is the home of numerous casual games suitable for younger audiences, which are more plentiful than older gaming crowds
2) The Wii is (last time i checked, it may be less) around $100, compared to the $150 Xbox and the $300 PS3.
Cheaper hardware that’s more suitable for kids is a battle plan for any parent. If SEGA were greedy, then they would cut corners to make it suitable for the Wii’s hardware, not the other way around
I’m actually fine with this. The Wii has had Sonic Colors and the Storybook series so it’s not like we Nintendo fans are being neglected.
Think of it this way: if it was released for Wii it’d be a watered-down version with piddly graphics and half the number of levels. Like Sonic Unleashed. Seriously, I cannot get over the fact that they cut the entire Empire City from that version.
Episode 2 will be on 3ds, i can feel it, they ll announce it later^^
^ I hope so!!!
@ The Shadow Emperor
Did Episode I on Wii have the OH SO VERY SPECTACULAR (obviously exaggerating the HD graphics effect), no. But apparently, it seems that you haven’t played the Wii version in Full Resolution.
After looking at a few Comparison Videos, I got myself my very own pair of Component Cables from GameStop earlier this year. May I see, going from 480i to 480p; although isn’t much of a big difference, if there’s one game that benefited VERY MUCH from it was Episode I. So, I must say that you’re term of Wii Version’s graphics: ‘piddly’ isn’t exactly spot on.
I noticed quite a remarkable change, and that wasn’t on 1 T.V. I tried it on numerous of HD T.V’s and the effect was still there. The Model was much clearer, and the levels were A LOT brighter & clearer. Overall, it boosted the Eye-Candy-Level x2.
But even so, do you need good Graphics to play a game? Let me just ask you this:
Would a rather a game having:
A.) Amazing graphics, but horrible gameplay?
OR
B.) Plays amazingly, but has horrible graphics?
Go on you little HD Fan-Boy, tell me. Good graphics or Good gameplay? Which would you choose?
A said: “Eventually, that translates to more and more missed Sonic games.
I don’t want that. I really don’t.”
Then don’t buy Nintendo’s next system. Simple as that.
And miss Mario games? No thank you.
Still hoping for an eShop release.
@Myst
Problem is, I’m not going to buy a Playstation or Xbox just for Sonic (believe it or not, I’m actually not interested in big sellers like COD, Uncharted, or Skyrim). I would much rather have Mario, Zelda, Kirby, etc. games at my disposal. That is why I chose to buy a 3DS instead of waiting for the much more powerful Vita. There are many others on board with me with this one (and it’s also important to note that the largest Sonic fanbase is indeed on Nintendo’s consoles) so if I miss out, then I get really angry and miss out.
Oh, and for the record, it’s not the Wii’s internal storage that can’t support Ep.2, it’s the WiiWare filesize limit itself. Ep.1 already needed compressed music to fit, so they probably just couldn’t fit a larger game. No use complaining now. Better just to get the mobile version.
I rather have a beautiful game (visual, audio, and gameplay-wise) than subject consumers to downgraded versions of masterpieces.
Sonic Unleashed for Wii and PS2 still saddens me
Glad I have a ps3 and Im really glad they are not releasing this game on the Wii because then that would make it were the game would have less fun. I hope thus game is jam-packed with with nothing but sonic goodness. Also can wait to hear word on what new sonic gane is going to be released on the PlayStation Vita
@chris
How would releasing the game on the Wii reduce the quality of the other versions? HD Unleashed wasn’t bogged down by Unwiished, was it?
Sonic 4 doesn’t need to have high-resolution textures, high polygon models, or non-MIDI music. It’s a 2-D platformer.
For an example, look at Jett Rocket. This is a 3-D platformer that uses up the Wii’s entire graphics processing power and is a full-length game. If this game can stay under 40 megabytes, then Sonic 4, a 2-D platformer, should be able to as well. I don’t see a reason what causes it to inflate its filesize so much that isn’t trivial and doesn’t have a more space-efficient alternative. Wayforward makes 2-D platformers under this filesize limit all the time. (Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t New Super Mario Bros. Wii take up less than half of the total disc space? I know Pokémon Diamond and Pearl does for a DS card.)
Working under adverse conditions prevents the people who make something from feeling spoiled and entitled. When people work under these conditions, they feel they need to shine. They never become lazy or complacent, but instead, feel as though they have to prove themselves. Brain Age was made by a small staff, and Nintendo gave a budget of approximately $100,000 to make it (which it didn’t budge from), for example. That the guys behind Super Meat Boy asked to have a special exception to the 40 megabyte limit shows how spoiled and entitled they became. They were used to working without restrictions, so they decided to try to break through the wall instead of traveling around it. (You could likely tell that this attitude disgusts me. There is little I loathe more than narcissism and self-entitlement. Before anyone thinks of me as a slave driver or whatnot, I say the same applies to people in management and executive positions too.)
What do you get when there is total creative freedom? You get Duke Nukem Forever and the 20-year failure streak known as Spümco.
By the way, this is not entirely my explanation on why Nintendo does what it does: I took this information from Sean Malstrom. (He’s the guy who wrote the (in)famous Birdmen article about the Wii and the Blue Ocean.) He previously worked in politics and studied business. I was previously puzzled why there’s such a low filesize limit and why the Wii has so little storage space, but his explanations brought some sense to it.