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Sonic Week: Day 5 - The Future of Sonic
What's next for our blue friend? - by Reojojo
Sonic the Hedgehog has been a Sega icon since his introduction in 1991. He's appeared in tons of games over several different consoles. He's touched our lives like no other hedgehog ever has. So we've decided that it was time to show him exactly how much he means to us.
The recent announcement that Sega has stopped production of the Dreamcast console has left the future of many key Sega titles up in the air. We've seen certain Sega production teams move to different consoles, such as Smilebit to the Xbox, and United Game Artists to Playstation 2. Sonic Team appears to have taken a liking to Nintendo's Gamecube. Does that mean we'll finally see Sonic on a Nintendo platform?
The Future of Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic Advance for the Game Boy Advance. Looks snappy, doesn't it? |
As we already know, nothing says "Sega" like "Sonic", but with Sega's new "Platform Agnostic" policy, what does the future hold for our beloved mascot? After all, to many (including myself) it just doesn't seem right to sell Sonic the Hedgehog off just anybody. There's something truly special about him and I just couldn't imagine seeing him on certain consoles. I won't share my personal tastes on this issue with you, but the question of Sonic's future is a very pertinent one.
First off is Sonic's future on handhelds. The Game Boy Advance recently launched and I've had the opportunity to try one of the little suckers out. For the record, the GameBoy Advance rocks. I won't go into too much detail, but its technical capabilities easily equal those of a SNES, minus a couple of buttons. But then again, this is a handheld. Sega has already announced Sonic Advance for the Game Boy Advance and it is well underway. The few screens we have so far look much better than any previous handheld version of Sonic. Yet this still doesn't completely settle the question of Sonic's future, since he was born on a Sega system. I'm some of you think he'd be much better off staying there.
The first possible candidate is the PlayStation 2. It will not be the system of choice for Sonic Adventure 3, and while no official reason has been given we can deduce a few. The first is that many developers have already spoken of how the PS2 is a very difficult system to develop for. Yes, Sonic Team probably could easily use it but why bother, when there are much simpler development environments to choose from. The second (and more important) reason is that the PlayStation 2 is, well, the PlayStation 2. The Sega Saturn suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the original PlayStation, and I'm sure there are still some wounds and bitterness left over from that.
Sonic Team's Phantasy Star Online for the Nintendo Gamecube. Does this mean that Sonic is headed there as well? |
The next candidate is Microsoft's new Xbox. With plenty of power and a simplistic, Pc-like development environment, this is thought by many to be the system of choice. While Sega is planning to release some top-notch titles on Xbox (and PS2 for that matter) Sonic isn't among them. Microsoft is still a new player in the world of consoles. Microsoft has an absurd amount of money set aside to market the Xbox, which means it probably isn't going anywhere. And with a ton of sports games in the pipeline from EA, the Xbox is likely to sell very well in America. But right now, Sonic Team is taking a wait and see approach with Sonic. Though they have mentioned that Phantasy Star Online 2 may make it to both the Playstation 2 and the Xbox.
Finally we come to Nintendo's Gamecube. While it was at first hinted at by both Yuji Naka and Charles Bellfield that Nintendo's new box would be the system of choice for Sonic the Hedgehog fans, there has been no official confirmation of a Sonic game in development for the console. Sonic Team is already hard at work on their Gamecube version of Phantasy Star Online. They also recently released a version of ChuChu Rocket for Nintendo's Game Boy Advance. Also, rumors have suggested that Sonic may even show up amid the strictly Nintendo crowd of characters featured in Super Smash Bros. Melee, the cartoony, fighting game that will launch with the console of November 5, 2001. Much was revealed both at E3 and in this excerpt from an IGN interview with Bellfield:
"Well, I can't make a huge generalization for all SEGA fans, but maybe if you're a Sonic Team fan, my recommendation is to buy a Gamecube."
Draw your own conclusions, boys and girls. We appear to have a winner, with Sonic settled into his comfy new Gamecube home. But why? Well no official reason was given (Does anybody else see a pattern here?) we will once again use our powers of deduction. First off, Nintendo has been in the industry since Atari dropped the ball. While they may be ex-rivals Nintendo and Sega have a mutual respect for each other. A few months ago, when the New York Times started spreading a rumor (they prefer the term article) about Nintendo buying Sega, quite a few people fell for it. Why? Because it seems like something that could happen. And moreover, it seems like something that many gamers would love to have seen happen. With Nintendo and Sega working together, all the other console makers would have had to work very hard to compete. Oh well, at least we know that Sonic still has a future. There's more to come with our favorite hedgehog yet!
Well, Sonic Week is officially over. Tomorrow is Sonic's big 1-0 so I invite you to sit back, crack open a beer or coke (depending on your age) and look back at all this. Ladies and gentlemen, it's been one hell of a decade. Now I'll finally be able to get some sleep... no scratch that. I'll be playing Sonic Adventure 2. So you folks can expect a review here at PlanetDreamcast very soon.
Choose a day of Sonic Week coverage:
Day 1 - The Games of Sonic (1991 - 1994)
Day 2 - The Games of Sonic (1995 - Present/Unreleased)
Day 3 - Sonic Merchandise
Day 4 - The Creators of Sonic
Special thanks goes too our hosted site, Shadow of a Hedgehog, for most of the media and some great info.
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