Article: Why SEGA Doesn't Care when Sonic Sucks

[Gilly]

WHY SEGA DOESN'T CARE WHEN SONIC SUCKS

It's the money, stupid. And enough gamers buy crappy Sonic games for Sega not to care, according to an anonymous Sega employee.

"Boss Rush was an anonymous blog, currently deleted, run by someone who actually turned out to be Sonic Europe employee Ben Andac (who is no longer with the company). Among other things, he clearly knew about the impending "Werehog" gimmick of Sonic Unleashed a full year before the game's trademark was even registered. On the subject of Sonic the Hedgehog games, Andac had this to say, as preserved by archive.org:

    Instead of using the re-structuring for good Sonic Team became complacent slaves of their earlier successes. Their primary goal now is purely business driven: to please the managing directors wth good ROIs; this is not so abnormal - it is a business after all - but they leave little room for creativity and originality in their particular brand of working practices. Clearly the blame does not lay squarely at Naka and Sonic Team's door - the direction of Sega (or rather Sammy) as a corporation; the narrow-minded short-term annual business-plan practices and development processes (i.e. tight development schedule) that demand yearly churning out of Sonic products all play a major part...

So that's why Sonic is constantly in roughly three or four games a year, despite few of them being any good. To Sega, the Sonic franchise is now a money train the company is willing to ride all the way to shovelware station. As long as gamers keep buying lousy games starring Sonic, nothing is going to change."

By Alicia Ashby, OMGNintendo.com
January 07, 2009


Well, I can't say I'm surprised. It is good buisness owning Sonic, but it sucks that they have to not care at all about what Sonic has become. Although at least we now know how little Sega cares about their official mascot (even though it's kind of obvious with many recent Sonic Games), to be honest, thinking in the perspective of a businessman, I could see why Sega would make crappy Sonic games; because they get the same money they would if they made decent games as they do when they make the crap ones. Do little work, get paid well. Sad, but true.

[Elija2]

Wow, is Sega Sammy really that cheap?

[Shadow84786]

I can't believe it but I see it, Sega doesn't even care if Sonic Sucks I like playing the games since I was little but now they want to make money out of it

[Gilly]

I can't believe it but I see it, Sega doesn't even care if Sonic Sucks I like playing the games since I was little but now they want to make money out of it

They always wanted money out of it, because if they didn't it wouldn't exist, but the difference is that they clearly cared more about Sonic in the past than they do now.

[Hakudamashi]

wow..just wow 
I'm not sure how to feel right now

[chet]

this is what i am talking about when i cry WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS!!

[Hakudamashi]

I guess all the b*tchin from everyone cause them to just stop caring.Cause no matter how hard they work,they always get bad....everything.Also the fanbase isn't that large either
So they just gave up,make money and took some fukitol pills

[chet]

hang on! if we do it the old-fashioned way, they could start making good sonic games again! i mean look, it says: "they sell enough crappy sonic games for sega not to care" if we stop buying the "crappy" sonic games, they should care so they will have to make better games!!!  do you know where i am going with this? 

[Hakudamashi]

I think ur forgetting the underused word known as

OPINIONS

[CradledEggle]

Winds got the right idea.i am in aw about this just...aw...

[Super Empra]

There goes all my respect for SEGA, this is what I am feeling right now...

[Tavy]

You're so right, almost all the companies that make games seem to not care that much of what they sell as much as making money... the world is so going down.... I think if we change first (by liking just games that desirve likyng and such) then they will also change.

[Super Empra]

This means SEGA is becoming more like Nintendo. All Nintendo do is put Mario in a game and watch it sell millions.

[Hakudamashi]

True,companies today hardly give 2 sh*ts about the fans anymore

[darkness shadow]

True,companies today hardly give 2 sh*ts about the fans anymore

they will when they don't have any fans 2 not give 2 sh*ts about