Being a Sonic fan is not defined strictly by the ability to play a Sonic game.  You can like Sonic and the characters on their own, you can like the comic, the animated series, etcetera.  There are lots of ways to be a fan.

As por moi...I got Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2 for Dreamcast back in the day.  When I saw Sonic Adventure DX and Battle available for the GameCube, I figured it would be redundant to buy them, so didn't, and I think my life has not been less complete because of it.

I think I stopped trying to follow the game series after Heroes - I rented Shadow the Hedgehog, and '06 was never on a system I had access to, and I never really got into the Advance or other handheld games either.  I've played Unleashed since then, but didn't feel particularly enthused about being a Sonic fan afterward.

I've passed over new Sonic games many times.

I like to just stay in my pre-Sonic Heroes cocoon and try not to think about what Sonic's become since then.

I really like my classic Sonic games, but I had skipped over several console titles until Unleashed. I half-enjoyed it, half-complained about it. I had tried Sonic Heroes out for a while, but I quit once it became apparent the controls were out to get me. A demo of Sonic '06 turned me off from the game.

... Yeah, Sonic Unleashed was the very last console title I've played. I've stuck to the newer 2D titles for the most part, except for the Mario and Sonic titles, Riders series, Super Stars Tennis, and All-Stars Racing. I had tried the DS versions of some of them, and couldn't get into them. I do have Sonic 4 Ep. 1, but I haven't touched it in a while. It's not that great.

I have never left a Sonic game, I generally buy everyone when I can (except 4 because no online consoles). That said I play themgame, maybe beat it, but rarely ever play it again. I generally only buy because I'm a completeist and feel that my collection would never be complete without that one game. Sonic Colours is pretty fun and I'm temptd to play thorugh again but I can't bring myself to do this. Like Kaze I really like my classic games. I play those over and over again. Out of all the versions of Sonic, I generally prefer the Archie Sonic series above all else.

yesterday i froze when i saw sonic colors in the store... the shopkeeper kept asking me if i'm taking it or not cause i keep putting it infront of me and then placing it to the side >___< it was sooooooooo horrible i was so confused that never happened to me with a video game before. to me i always bought anything sonic and anything blue that reminded me of sonic it was natural without thinking but i actually paniced.

That's a bad idea to begin with, really. It'd be better to rent first, or try a demo first, or whatever other means to "try before you buy" if only because you might find something more or less fun than it looks or sounds. Also, it might have been an idea to decide on whether or not to buy it BEFORE taking it off the shelf. o.o

Anyway, aside from a couple minutes' worth of Sonic Riders at some video game place, I don't think I've played Sonic console games past Sonic Heroes, though I recall liking that game more than other users here did. I guess my interest in the new Sonic games gradually deteriorated over time, though IIRC the games past Heroes tended to be on the newer consoles anyway, and I didn't exactly regard newer Sonic games as enough incentive to buy or rent the newer consoles, even in addition to whatever else. Similar thing with the portable Sonic games, I don't think I've played any of them past Sonic Advance 3, but that's because I don't have a DS and don't regard the newer portable Sonic games as enough incentive to buy a DS even in addition to everything else about it.

I did get a Wii for Christmas, though, along with Sonic Unleashed and Mario Bros. Wii; the latter is what I happened to be playing at home... and after bringing the Wii with me to college for the next semester (maybe not such a good idea anyway) it seems I didn't have all the cables to set it up now anyway. Really though, my interest in video games in general seems to have deteriorated over time, so meh. o.o

I've known people whose Sonic fandom extended to buying Panasonic electronics, so I've seen more tenuous dedication than that.

Although I've never really had any problem with passing over a game myself. If I don't like the look of a game for whatever reason, than no franchise name attached to it is going to make me want to rent it. I might hire it or play it at the house of a friend who owns it, if I really want to find out if a bad review is justified, but I don't feel any kind of disloyalty.

I've never agreed with the idea that fandom has to mean buying anything with the right name or picture on it, regardless of quality. I think that quality matters and if I don't want to see yet more sub-standard merchandise churned out precisely because a manufacturer counts on people swallowing anything with the right brand name, then I vote with my bank account, since that's ultimately what most brand owners care about. 

Panasonic must *love* that! *looks at her Panasonic DVD recorder* Um, believe me when I say I chose it because it was cheaper and RGB Direct called it "future proof"

The last Sonic game I bought was Riders and I think I waited until it was under £20. The trouble is that these days I don't play video games by myself, so unless I have folk staying over the Gamecube moulders away in its box under the coffee table. Like Matt, I haven't upgraded to recent consoles - last portable game was SAdv3, and I actually won that and a GBA to play it on in a magazine competition. Again, didn't play it for ages so I gave it to the children's hospital - someone must have a use for it there!

As for merchandise, I agree with Sam. Good stuff, please. That special edition SA2 (Dreamcast) with CD soundtrack and coin? Yes, please. Sonic X soundtrack? Yes, please. Sonic Heroes soundtrack even? Sign me up. Rushed out game, remix collection or cheap & nasty plushy? I'll pass, thanks.

DW

I understand, and honestly I would be better off not picking up those games I have no interest in (god knows I could use the munny). It's not just Sonic that I buy every game for or fanboyism (I'm hardly a fan of Spyro yet I got all of those)! Honestly I don't really know why I do it. I guess there's something wrong with me! ^_^

While I agree than being a fan does not necessarily mean buying everything with the brand name on it, the collector in me won't let me pass it by. It hasssssss to be miiiiiiiiine.

While I agree than being a fan does not necessarily mean buying everything with the brand name on it, the collector in me won't let me pass it by. It hasssssss to be miiiiiiiiine.

So if, hypothetically, Sonic Team were to drastically increase the rate of game output (well, assuming a decrease in effort per game) would there be some limit to the "has to be mine" approach to however many of them you would buy? o.o

I've been intermittently skipping games since Sonic 2006. I'm skipping Colo(u)rs, and likely the games coming out this year. I'm tired of 'em not living up to my expectations, which are pretty low to begin with, with Sonic games.

So you're skipping the one game that's come out in the past few years that has been receiving good reviews from both critics and fans? If you have low expectations for the franchise shouldn't this be the one game you'd WANT to pick up?

The better question would be what Sonic games haven't I left at the store. I've never been much more than a casual video game fan. While I have more Sonic games compared to most series, I haven't touched a console Sonic game since Sonic Adventure 2, unless one counts the PC version of Sonic Riders and/or the XBLA version of Sonic Adventure: DX. Other than the Advance series, Battle, and Chronicles (the latter two being "gimick" games that I love), I've mainly ignored the handheld games as well. I do technically have Sonic Rush, but I never made it past the first level because I just couldn't get into it.

If Knuckles isn't playable, I tend to skip it as I get bored easily.

So you're skipping the one game that's come out in the past few years that has been receiving good reviews from both critics and fans? If you have low expectations for the franchise shouldn't this be the one game you'd WANT to pick up?

Yeah, I know Colors got good reviews. My reasoning comes from being burned by Sonic 4 (and other games in the past, hence skipping games) and wanting to say "Screw you, Sega!" Though when it comes down to it, I'm just not interested in getting Colors, expectations not withstanding. I'm weird, I know. ¦D

While I agree than being a fan does not necessarily mean buying everything with the brand name on it, the collector in me won't let me pass it by. It hasssssss to be miiiiiiiiine.

So if, hypothetically, Sonic Team were to drastically increase the rate of game output (well, assuming a decrease in effort per game) would there be some limit to the "has to be mine" approach to however many of them you would buy? o.o

Plenty of different factors to take in the account. Just how many games per year are we talking? 2? 3? 13? And are these different games individual games, or multi-platform stuff? Also, has the decrease in effort per game left them at a Shadow/Secrets Rings level, or has the quality shrunk to...

...this level?

While I agree than being a fan does not necessarily mean buying everything with the brand name on it, the collector in me won't let me pass it by. It hasssssss to be miiiiiiiiine.

So if, hypothetically, Sonic Team were to drastically increase the rate of game output (well, assuming a decrease in effort per game) would there be some limit to the "has to be mine" approach to however many of them you would buy? o.o

Hypothetically? They release at least 1 (usually 2/3) Sonic titles per year. 2010 alone had Sonic Colors (Wii), Sonic Colors (DS), Sonic Free Riders (360), Sonic 4 (DLC), Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (Wii/PS3/360) and the Classic Collection (DS).

If they spent more than 16 months in development time, maybe we would have more decent titles.

Incidentally, positive feedback to both versions of Colors makes me want it when I have money and time that isn't being dedicated to games that actually deserve my attention.

While I agree than being a fan does not necessarily mean buying everything with the brand name on it, the collector in me won't let me pass it by. It hasssssss to be miiiiiiiiine.

So if, hypothetically, Sonic Team were to drastically increase the rate of game output (well, assuming a decrease in effort per game) would there be some limit to the "has to be mine" approach to however many of them you would buy? o.o

Plenty of different factors to take in the account. Just how many games per year are we talking? 2? 3? 13? And are these different games individual games, or multi-platform stuff? Also, has the decrease in effort per game left them at a Shadow/Secrets Rings level, or . . .

Well, that these questions apply at all suggests there is at least SOME limit, though that was presumably pretty evident to begin with. The question then is how far it would go before you resist that kind of impulse, and why you wouldn't sooner. In any case, if you ask what "level" the games are at, it's a subjective question, and the answer would be to just try before you buy. o.o

And Craig, by "hypothetically" I meant more drastically than that, though I don't know much about the specifics or the recent history of the Sonic series. My idea was to be deliberately vague by setting up a hypothetical in which the rate of game output could increase without bound, (granted, implying in turn a vanishingly small effort per game) so as to make the point that at some point along one needs to resist this "it has to be mine" impulsive buying. Granted I probably could have said that a little more directly...

While I agree than being a fan does not necessarily mean buying everything with the brand name on it, the collector in me won't let me pass it by. It hasssssss to be miiiiiiiiine.

So if, hypothetically, Sonic Team were to drastically increase the rate of game output (well, assuming a decrease in effort per game) would there be some limit to the "has to be mine" approach to however many of them you would buy? o.o

Plenty of different factors to take in the account. Just how many games per year are we talking? 2? 3? 13? And are these different games individual games, or multi-platform stuff? Also, has the decrease in effort per game left them at a Shadow/Secrets Rings level, or has the quality shrunk to...

...this level?

If it ever shrinks down to that level I'd be afraid of the would to come. The terror that would ensue. Ghastly...

i ..... i bought it. the pressure was too much.. and reading what everyone said here made me go for it    i cant find sonic warewolf cause i didnt get it on time, and everytime someone talks about it or i see hiro's avatar i regret not buying it when i had the chance. i dont want to be outside the sonic loop more than i had been. i couldnt open the cover though, its sitting there infront of me but i'm too scared to play it, cause i fussed a lot about it till i got my family to get it for me instead of the usual birthday special dinner >__< i wont go to the rich people city and eat at that fancy place on my birthday ... i hope that was a worth it choice.

i really love sonic, i never bought a panasonic device like darkwing or bought all the games like gyser which makes them the coolest sonic fans but i did buy sonic balloons, stickers and a sonic watch... that's the best i can do.. and like swanson said this is the best game reviewed right? so i gotta take a chance on this one, i loved sonic heroes a lot and sonic 06 anyway.

X________X  but i'm still scared i cant unwrap the plastic covering.

Just take a deep breath, place your hand on the cover, find a finger-hold, tear until all plastic wrapping is no longer present, dispose of wrapping in nearest trash receptacle, make sure trash receptacle is completely full before disposal or you may unleash Godzilla on Tokyo, open case, Remove disk, place case on head, insert disk into disk drive, enjoy game.

Just take a deep breath, place your hand on the cover, find a finger-hold, tear until all plastic wrapping is no longer present

i like to open wrappings with my teeth instead. its more fun XD

That's bad for your teeth... and your gums... and the case, probably.

Poppycock I do it all the time, and my teeth are perfectly fine (I think)!