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  • Why Sonic Is Failing

    Sonic fan Sonique gives her views on the cause/effect of the downfall of the hedgehog – touching from Sonic Comics to SatAM to Sonic Underground. The ending of the piece “I Await Your Flames” says it best ^_^

    You may be wondering what’s making me think Sonic is failing, but let’s all face the facts, Archie has been going down since EndGame and Sonic himself hasn't been the same for a while now. 

    In the time of the SatAM and AoStH, Sonic reigned the superhero world and was even more popular than Mickey Mouse, but once the SatAM got canned, Sonic slowly started to go down. We still have the comics, but seriously, the comics just suck.. from what I hear. I don’t actually read the comics because to be plain and simple, I don’t like to read… another thing is I became a Sonic fan after End Game and it seemed pretty pointless to pick up after that. Also, around the time of SatAM going down, SEGA went though a bunch of systems that completely sucked ass! (Hey, I said the swearing would be minimal not non-existant) People lost faith in Sonic and Sega and turned to their Nintendos and Playstations. For some people, SEGA never regained their faith, and they lost all hope for SEGA to prevail. 

    Another point is that Sonic himself doesn't seem as cool as he used to be. What first drew you to Sonic? He was a way past cool speedy hedgehog with an attitude, right? Key word there, WAS. Let’s face it, Sonic just isn’t as cool as he used to be. He doesn’t have that edge to him. When was the last time you heard people talk about how ‘cool’ Sonic was? I haven’t heard it in ages and the main reason is because Sonic has changed for the worse. Even now with the Dreamcast out, it’s not Sonic that’s popular. It’s SEGA themselves or the graphics on the Dreamcast. Dreamcast this, Sega that, Sega Rally 2 this, House of the Dead that.. you hardly hear anything about Sonic himself. 

    A good example is how in Sonic 1, 2 and others, if you had Sonic stand still for just a few seconds, he’d get impatient, tap his foot or tell you to go on; on Sonic Adventure, he has to stand there for quite some time and he says things like, “I’d better get going.” That isn’t attitude. Sure he’s Sonic, he’s blue and fast, but he’s not Sonic. He doesn’t talk cool as much, he’s not as impatient, I don’t know what he’s in, but it’s not my face and SEGA expects us to think he’s cool with an attitude (if you want to call it attitude) like that?
     

    One of the reasons the comics suck is because Ken had to change a ton of his ideas at the last possible moment because SEGA wanted to save Sally, so they may use her in the future. That’s a bunch of bull on a stick. They saved Sally because they didn’t want to see their mascot cry. That’s right, no tears for Sonic. Cool people don’t cry according to Sega. They sure had no problem with Sonia or Manic crying, but Sonic could not. (except when he was a kid) Another thing is this ‘Rotor roboticised’ rumor. I mean, why Rotor? They’ve all ready shipped him off else where from what I hear. I won’t go into it too much, for it is just a rumor at this point, but to roboticize him would be one of the biggest mistakes in Sonic history. If it is true, Ken Penders is just asking for another repeat of End Game. I think if he wants to kill or roboticise someone, he should just do it and get it over with without any warning. Then, he won’t have a repeat of End Game and we wouldn’t have fans so upset before it happens. Personally, I’m wondering what became of Snively. I’m probably the only one, but I miss the little guy. Anywho.. SEGA is constantly getting into Archie’s way and if anything, they should work together or SEGA should go make their own comic. I understand that they created Sonic and don't like the way he turned out in Archie, well TOUGH! They shouldn’t have given their mascot away in that case, or they should be using Sally in Bunnie in their other games. (Yes, I know about Spinball, but that was a one time deal.) Perhaps a game with Sally would do well, seeing as how she is quite popular in the Sonicverse.

    So, Ken Penders expects to walk in to DiC and Sega headquarters and say, “Let’s make a new series.” And they’ll say, “Okay, Ken sure!” Yeah right! The reason why there can’t be a new series is because of the fact that Sonic isn’t popular enough. That’s what this whole essay is about. That’s one of the reasons SU failed… one of the many reasons. (that and smart Sonic fans like me boycotted it) All together, the Sonicverse seems to be a big mess right now and that’s why Sonic is failing. I still have faith though, and I await patiently for the next big break for Sonic. I know if we work hard enough, the Sonic we grew to love will return. It’s just a matter of time.

    And now, I await your flames. 
    Sonique 
    Perfect Chaos

    Editorial Replies (3)

    by Mike C

    Well, you asked for comments, and here you go:

    I honestly believe if every item that made Sonic “cool” in his Genesis days (foot tapping, SatAM immature attitude, etc) were copied into the Dreamcast game, it would make Sonic very annoying nowadays, where those kinds of actions are more “uncool” and, unfortunately, the “in” thing is mature behavior. Not mature as in grown-up and experienced, mind you, but mature as in mature content. Mature as in sex and violence. No longer is it “cool” just to use hiphop lingo and act defiant in today’s society. It’s sad(?), but true. So, I think it was better that Sonic sort of grew up mentally for SA, or else he would be, as the phrase goes, “so ten minutes ago”

    As for the comics, it appears to me (without including the recent SA crossover) like SatAM on steroids. You have all the familiar SatAM characters, and a whole bunch of new ones. The SA crossover is a bit of fresh air for someone like me, who was tired of all the non-SegaSonic characters except for Princess Sally. I don’t like Sally as Sonic’s girlfriend, as I don’t like anyone with that title. Sonic is real choosy about his friends, and doesn’t let anyone get TOO cozy with him. I like him that way. Besides, I’ve been influenced lately by an anime fangirl who likes yaoi couples, and so a general “ho-hum” attitude of male/female couples has rubbed off on me (I’m straight, thank you). So no, I don’t like Sally for the romantic role. I like Sally because she’s a bit of a tomboy character compared to other game women in this genre, actually helping out in the job instead of being captured all the time. And think about it, Sally’s been running Freedom Fighter missions for years before Laura Croft and company appeared and made girls in games popular! I do feel that Ms. Croft has two other big reasons for her success, but I digress… ^_^

    Where were we? Oh yes, Sonic’s popularity. You can’t say that Sonic is really lacking fandom anymore. Why, look at this

    http://www.sega.co.jp/sonicteam/info/ev0823/event.html

    Look at that page and tell me in the eye that Sonic is hardly popular anymore. The people to blame for a lack of Sonic happenings anymore is Sega of America. After being burnt again and again with their 32 bit systems, Sonic has been reduced to appearing in games as a system savior, as Sega hopes that a Sonic game (by Sonic Team or not) will make the system hot. SoA doesn’t make this any better by turning off the Sonic Marketing Machine, meaning those Oreo/LifeSaver tie-ins, TV shows, etc hardly appear anymore.

    I understand I may have made some irate with my statements, such as my beliefs of the comic, SatAM, Sally, SoA, etc. Please don’t flame me with hate mail. If you MUST mail me to support a particular point of view, please give me more information than “because I like it that way” ^_^

    MikeC
    Sonic City – http://www.sonic.net/~michaelc/sonic/

    by Tom Hancock

    Dear Sonique,

    I couldn’t help but be slightly enlightened by your editorial titled “Why Sonic is Failing”. You do indeed make some very good points. However, I have to point out some other points that may offer hope, and others that reinforce your position. This is not intended as a flame. I just wish to inform; forgive me if I say anything you already know. I must say your article did indeed change my opinion of things slightly, and shed some new light on things.

    I honestly don’t see SEGA giving up on Sonic. He’s their main mascot and franchise, making an incredible amount of money. SEGA knows this, and will continue to exploit Sonic as long as the franchise is profitable. Since Sonic Adventure was sold at a nearly 1:1 ratio with the Dreamcast console, I think he’ll be around for a while. He may not always be the same hedgehog, however. This is because developers frequently come and go at all companies. Now, each new game he’ll be a little different, as the newer games are capable and do, in fact, portray him in much more complicated manner. I.e. voice, animation, etc.

    SEGA isn’t going anywhere, either. They’ve had a fantastic response with Dreamcast, partly because of the console’s relative cheapness. The console is still selling well, according to a friend who works at Babbage’s, and is probably going to continue to do so. Also, don’t expect Dreamcast to be the last SEGA console. We don’t know what they’re working on, but rest assured they’ve got something up their sleeve that’ll blow away even the Nintendo Dolphin. That’s the way the cycle goes. Since SEGA is going to stay here for a while, the above logic in the 2nd paragraph would note that Sonic will be here for just as long.

    Sonic the Hedgehog is a household name now, and SEGA knows it. Notice how we got a third Sonic cartoon, after such a long absence of them? Yes, it was crap, I agree. But it was still there. Since Sonic will be around, I would wager a guess that future Sonic cartoons will probably come back as well. (I just hope DiC finally listens to us and gets us back SatAM.) It may not come back, but there is a fairly good chance, since so many fans got hooked on SatAM and the comics.

    Trust me, Sonic is as popular as ever. He isn’t as “new” as before, so he’s talked about less, but he’s everywhere and everyone knows the little blue speed freak’s name and fame. I can ask any random person at my high school, and they’ll know him. I could ask almost anyone on the street, and they’ll know who he is.

    The SEGA consoles themselves weren’t bad, but they did have external problems. At one point, SEGA had several console platforms out at once. People and developers didn’t know what to do, so they went elsewhere. SEGA CD, Genesis, 32X and Saturn were all available to the end user, and developers were confused as to which to move to. So the moved to another console. With only a few games out for each platform, each platform failed. SEGA has shown us that it’s learned from it’s mistake by the fantastic launch of the Dreamcast console.

    You do bring up some good points yourself, however. The Archie series reached its peak a little before End Game. After that, they strayed almost entirely from their concept of Tails being a “chosen one” and everything they stood for. It was only mediocre to begin with, but at least it was something. I don’t pick up the comic very much, if at all, anymore. It’s just gotten to the point where SEGA is keeping too tight a hold on things and the plot holes are so incredibly huge that an aircraft carrier could fit through them with a 5-year-old at the helm.

    SEGA itself is causing problems, as you said. Without giving the authors any creative freedom, the Archie series and Sonic Underground have suffered, and one has died. When an author’s creative freedom is limited, the story is impacted very negatively. Since SEGA has decided to keep a stranglehold on Ken Penders, the Archie series is suffering.

    Part of the reason that SatAM became so popular was that somehow Ben Hurst was able to get a lot past the SEGA reps. Think about it; he’s done a lot in the Sonic universe no one save fan fiction authors (who aren’t limited by SEGA) have been able to do. Including having Sonic display some emotion. When you let an author turn him or herself loose on something, especially with one as talented as Ben or Ken, you’ll get some seriously cool stories. Limit his abilities, and the story’s impact on the audience will be limited as much or more.

    So what can we do to pass the time? Well, for starters, we can bring Sonic more life than he ever had in the games, cartoons, or comics. To do this, we must write. We must dream. We must create. I know there are many very capable fan fiction authors out there who can truly bring out the best in Sonic, Robert Brown and Francis Tolbert being one team. We, as fans, have the tools, the talent, and the opportunity to write about Sonic in such fan fiction that would make Mercedes Lackey turn her head. Hidden the ruff of the ordinary fan fiction are a few diamonds that are amazingly bright. SEGA is a business involved in many things; it’s up to us to fill the gaps when SEGA is forced to turn it’s attention elsewhere.

    Yes, Sonic is going downhill in many ways. The Archie comics are falling behind in creative power, the many cartoons are no longer showing, and SEGA isn’t helping by keeping Ken under their crosshairs while he tries to do his work. The fans, however, are not limited by such business politics. We can create, too. We have been. We will continue to do so. In this manner, even if SEGA itself were to fall, Sonic would live on. Sonic will once again be in the spotlight; he will return. Until he does, let’s keep the throne of gaming warm for him.

    Tom Hancock
    TNFST Network

    by DCX Liquid Rain

    Yes you read the subject title – there is NO flaming in this email!

    That is because I agree WHOLE HEARTEDLY that Sonic has gone downhill!

    I have not read the comics myself, but have been a loooooongtime fan of Sonic, and specifically Sonic SatAM. (every other Sonic cartoon blows goats) And I have to say, Sonic has been in decline. I just never realized it until now, with your help. 🙂 All the old Sonic quips of SatAM fame (“way past cool”, etc.) shouldn’t have been dumped in Sonic Adventure… and (well, if this IS Sega’s motif, like you said) they don’t want Sonic to cry, well.. DAMMIT.. the most powerful SatAM pieces are when Sonic himself would cry or (kind of) breakdown! When the Hedgehog himself goes… you know it’s bad.

    Sonic’s Adventure character… was more like a half-assed Sonic. You know, he was stubborn and still a “solo” sorta guy… but he was lacking his (aforementioned) tradermark comments and there’s a difference between the headstrong of SatAM and Adventure. SatAM is more like an egotistical “oh yeah I’m allll that and a bag of chips” (quote SatAM Season 1 Epsiode 11 [referring to huge dinasour thing] Sally: “How did you know it was a Robot?” Sonic: “The Hedgehog knows.”), while SA’s is more like what Sonic’s theme song dictates: “I’m just livin by my own feelings.” ; “But I ain’t outta control, just livin’ by my word. Don’t ask me why, I don’t need a reason.” ; “There is no way I’m gonna give up till the very end.” ; no way in HELL you would find the SatAM Sonic spewing that out!! Heheheh I could see the SatAM Sonic goin: “Uhhh come again? I’m just good that’s all.”



    Also, the SatAM Sonic was (and still is, by FAR) the fastest Sonic and the one with the cooooolest moves. Running up the walls, slicing through doors, and the rest of it ar, you might say, way past cool. SA is missing that cool “whoosh” sound Sonic made in SatAM too, which adds a very nice touch. And as a final touch, Sonic Adventure is missing the character clashing/melding that has occurred only in Sonic SatAM. Sure, there’s Amy and Sonic… but that’s peanuts compared to Sonic vs. Antoine, Sonic + Sally, Sally + Bunny, Sonic + Uncle Chuck.. hell Antoine vs. or + anybody (haha Antoine has got to be the funniest character in Sonic history!!) and of course watch when the Sonic vs. “Robuttnik” sparks fly! Hah! The worse you get out of the SA Sonic is “ya big loser!”. May sound fine WITHOUT a voice or the context it is in, but if you played that part of SA over again, you would realize something: that “big loser” was FORCED in there. The Sega translaters STUCK the “big loser” in there to make him seem more like he had that “attitude” from days passed… the loser line… it lacks something. It lacks the voice behind it, the meaning, the soul you might say. It’s as empty has a can of beans in Blazing Saddles. They should put Jaleel White on duty to train the new Sonic voice. Seriously. The new Sonic voice is fine, a little more grown up… but the attitude is missing.

    Let a REAL writer, like (no Sonic SatAM hailing can go without a plugin for:) Ben Hurst, and get Jaleel White to show how a REAL Sonic voice is done… and SA2 would be the rebirth of not only Sonic as a game, but Sonic as a character. G*dd*mmit you are so right I cannot believe it. The time between SatAM and Sonic Adventure (the last 2 GOOD things to come of Sonic) was so great people forget what Sonic was alll about.

    But don’t get me wrong. Sonic Adventure, outside of it’s cinemas, is still the rebirth of a gaming legend… but only in terms of gameplay. Thanks for making my realize this. I have an email I need to write to Sega now… 🙂

    <–DCX Liquid Rain–>