Increase access to the show

Consider a new venue

Require more from official partners

It’s no secret that Sega has struggled to put out quality Sonic titles. They occasionally come out with a decent effort, but your average Sonic the Hedgehog game is disappointing these days. What once was Sega’s flagship mascot that drove the sales of millions of consoles is now the butt of many jokes by gamers, journalists, and analysts. Why does Sega struggle so mightily to get things right? Is the problem on Sega’s side, or does the issue lie with Sonic himself?

Sonic the Hedgehog released in 1991 for the Sega Genesis. For all intents and purposes, he was intended to be Sega’s version of Mario; and for a while, he was doing his job well. Sonic helped push the Sega Genesis into a position of market leadership for 16-bit consoles in 1992, placing Nintendo is 2nd place for the first time since 1985. Sonic the Hedgehog arrived with a deafening boom. And that’s the kind of entrance you needed to make in the early 1990s. You had to show up in extreme fashion for anybody to take notice. In an era of neon shorts, MTV, Hulkmania, Ninja Turtles, and the Bigfoot pizza, loud and flashy is how we wanted our entertainment. Sonic the Hedgehog was built for the early 1990s.

Fast and full of that '90s attitude.

Sonic burst onto the scene, allowing Sega to create their “blast processing” buzzword and usher in their newfound in your face attitude. As long as extreme was cool, Sonic had no trouble pleasing Sega fans. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic CD followed quickly after the first release, and sales were strong for Sonic 2, which saw over 6 million copies sold. Sonic CD managed to buoy the Sega CD for longer than it deserved to be around, but it wouldn’t be long before Sonic’s appeal would begin to falter. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 would release to favorable reviews, but would only sell 1.8 million copies compared to Sonic the Hedgehog 2′s 6.3 million. While still no slouch, Sonic was seeing a decline. With Sonic and Knuckles, reviews remained positive, but grumblings about Sonic’s originality were starting to surface among journalists and gamers alike.

Sega continued producing Sonic games for their consoles with mixed results until the launch of the Dreamcast when Sonic Adventure came out. Again, Sonic was back on top with reviewers and fans excited by Sega’s latest effort. The game had been successfully brought into the 3D realm, despite some glitches and unsure feelings regarding Sonic’s new friends. It wouldn’t take long for that unsure feeling to grow. Sonic’s look also got a makeover, losing his pot belly and gaining some height, longer hair, and a bigger capacity for sarcasm. In the days of waning extremism, Sega dialed up his extreme attitude a few notches.

Sonic of the early 90s (right) alongside the more modern Sonic (left).

Sonic Adventure 2 still saw favorable reviews,  but Sega did little to correct some of the issues Sonic Adventure had (camera problems, odd glitches, unwelcome extra friends). In the end, Sonic Adventure 2 would become the signpost for the series, where the sign it bears reads, “CAUTION: BUMPY ROAD AHEAD.”

I remember being at E3 2003 and seeing Sonic Heroes. I got some good time with the game on the show floor, and I left hoping that what I had just played was just severely lacking polish and that it would be cleaned up by release. The gameplay seemed interesting, but it was a technical mess. Upon release, I found that most of those technical issues were still in the game, making it a big disappointment and a an obvious misstep.

Nostalgia and good will couldn’t keep up with Sonic’s slide into the downward spiral going forward; especially when 2005 saw the release of Shadow the Hedgehog. While Sega did a good job capturing the early 1990′s in your face attitude, their attempt to get in on the mid-00′s angst and “mature gaming” movement was a misfire of epic proportions. Forcing themes of maturity into one of gaming’s most lighthearted franchises didn’t spur on new fans, it only alienated fans more.

Subsequent releases in the mainline Sonic the Hedgehog series have continued to disappoint. 2006′s Sonic the Hedgehog and 2008′s Sonic Unleashed both turned Sonic into a sad joke. Any word of a new Sonic game has since been met with derision, mockery, and downright bitterness from once Sonic supporters and fans. I personally handled the review for Sonic Unleashed, and it was at that point that I resolved to avoid any Sonic games until they were both proven through solid reviews and the lens of time.

The Werehog did far more harm than good for the Sonic franchise

So why did Sonic falter when Mario was able to continue to flourish under Nintendo’s watch? Well, while Sonic himself was changed to fit the evolving fads of the 1990s and 2000s, Mario never needed changing as a character, simply because he wasn’t created as a reaction to what was hot in marketing. Both characters appeared in product-of-their-times titles, but only Sonic changed noticeably as a character. Mario could afford the occasional misstep, but everybody learned to blame that individual game, and not the Mario character himself. Additionally, Nintendo has been far more reserved in mainline Mario releases while Sega has been fairly liberal in their project green lighting. Nintendo refused to repeat mistakes between their releases, while Sega often repeated and magnified their bad decisions.

So is their hope for Sonic? Well, if you’ve been paying attention to the handheld space, you’ve known that Sonic has actually done quite well with his mainline titles on the GBA and DS. Additionally, Sonic Colors was well received on the Wii, even if many people refused to believe it. It just feels as if Sega is going to have to roll out multiple solid efforts before fans are going to fully trust again.

And what of Sonic Generations? For those that don’t know, Sonic Generations looks to be offering a mix of the old-school Sonic we all loved in the 1990s and mashes his up with the current era Sonic. The game will visit 20 years worth of Sonic levels, allowing the player to control either the classic Sonic in 2D side-scrolling action or the current era Sonic with 3D action. Early buzz is positive, and E3 2011 will be the make or break moment for the game. The concept is great, and it just might be what Sega needs to get the series back on track again.

Sega hopes that Sonic Generations will please Sonic fans from both eras.

Personally, I feel that Sonic is a relic of a bygone era. The 1990s ended, and with them so did Sonic’s heyday. Any attempts that Sega has made to modernize Sonic have irritated longtime fans, while his 1990s-based roots continue to shine through and deter those that don’t carry nostalgic feelings. It’s not to say that Sonic won’t see any quality games, but Sonic will never again be looking down at Mario unless Nintendo loses its collective mind. The Sonic name still carries decent weight in the industry, but if Sonic Generations is a flop, the damage just might be irreparable.

In one week I’ll be down in Los Angeles, attending the E3 expo. Among all the huge titles that are sure to be at the show, I hope Sonic shows well. A well-received Sonic can only help this industry when far too many games are based on space marines and bro-fist military squads.

Update: Some aspects of the PSN are back online, but not in all regions, and the PSN Store is still offline.

Imagine you owned a business where you made a nice product. Also imagine that you were incapable of selling directly to your consumers, so you partnered with a store to carry your products for you. This store promised that they’d be open 24 hours a day and that they’d be helping you promote your product to millions of  potential customers each day. Like most stores, you’d have to share your space with the competition, but whenever you released a new product, it would get a featured placement in the store for a little while. Now, imagine that you were happy enough with the arrangement that you committed your products solely to that store and never partnered with anybody else to sell your product. What if the lights suddenly went out in the store with no indication of when they’d be back on?

For many developers, they’re facing some serious problems with the PSN Store being down. As the PSN limps back online, the storefront is still closed and a few developers and publishers have begun to comment on it a bit. While it’s not good practice to come out and say how many estimated losses they’re dealing with at this time, the losses do appear to be significant for some. The PixelJunk team has publicly stated that the outage is hurting them and have encouraged fans to buy some PixelJunk swag, such as t-shirts to support the team. Ubisoft has said that their losses have been noticeable but that they have the Xbox Marketplace to buffer the effects. Really though, the larger publishers still have disc-based sales and other platforms as revenue streams, it’s the smaller developers that are in danger.

For some of these developers, it has been nearly a month with no revenue stream. Nothing has been said in public as to whether or not Sony plans on subsidizing publishers and developers for lost revenue, but they have no legal obligation to do so. No employees have broken ranks to speak out as to whether or not their pay has been affected, but if the outage continues companies are going to have to start taking measures to stay afloat.

So aside from the PSN Store coming back online, what can PSN-exclusive publishers do? Unfortunately, there’s not much that can be done. It might come as a hard lesson that going exclusive these days is a risky move unless there is some subsidizing that is taking place from the hardware maker. I’m wondering if this will make publishers think twice about putting their games exclusively on a single platform. While this security breach only brought down the PSN, it could have definitely happened to other services as well.

It’s hard to say what the ultimate fallout will be for smaller developers and publishers that are locked into PSN exclusivity, but they’ve definitely taken one pretty hard on the chin in this process. Not only do they lose revenue that can’t be recovered, but their games have aged. In this industry it’s very rare for games to see a sales surge after the first month or two from launch. Sony has said that they’ll be accelerating PSN updates in the short term to make up for the outage, which means stuff that launched before the store went down are about to get buried in a deluge of new content.

If you are waiting for the new PSN Store to come back up to 100% functionality, don’t forget about the games that launched just ahead of the outage and give them a fair shot.

Speculation is wild regarding the next Nintendo console, which as confirmed to be an HD console. For some fans, simply having a Wii that’s capable of 1080 resolutions. For most, however, Nintendo is in need of some reparations in order to get the hardcore to embrace their next offering. I’ve done some digging around into the rumors, have touched base with some developers I know and some PR people and they seem to think Nintendo is sincere in their desire to regain popularity with hardcore gamers and it’s not just lip service to ensure a strong launch support. So what does Nintendo do to get back in the good graces of the hardcore audience?

Better Online Support

One of the most important areas in which Nintendo needs to improve is in their online offerings. The Wii is online-enabled, but it’s pretty horrible overall in regards to the experience you get with online play. Nintendo needs to make friends list management easier, communication a focal point in gameplay, and a better solution for downloading games, content, and updates/fixes. To accomplish this, Nintendo is going to have to back off of their nanny tendencies and trust in parental supervision a bit more. It’s unlike Nintendo to open up the gates to wider communication via their platforms, but the time is now if they want to seriously contend in the online realm.

And for the love of all that is good and holy, Nintendo, make the Virtual Console service better!

A Standard Control Scheme out of the Box

Using a Classic Controller or a GameCube controller is a decent way to play games in a more standard manner on the Wii, but since neither controller came with the console, the inclusion of standard control schemes in games was an option that was typically an afterthought for many developers. With rumors swirling of a screen embedded into the controller, it’s nice to hear just as many rumors saying that the controller has a dual analog setup. How’s this for crazy? Nintendo has NEVER had a console with a dual analog controller unless it was an optional accessory. It’s time to get on the dual analog train, Nintendo.

Standard Media

While just about everybody has more DVD players than TV sets these days, it can’t hurt for Nintendo to finally support a common disc format that allows the system to play media other than video games. A blu-ray player would be nice, but if they don’t opt for blu-ray, DVD has to be the choice, despite its limited storage capacity. Swapping discs from time to time is preferable to an oddball format that doesn’t allow for any other uses.

Actual 3rd Party Support!

Nintendo has always raked in huge profits thanks to their high selling 1st party games, but no console in history has ever won the console war on the strength of their 1st party library alone. It’s time that Nintendo opens its doors more widely to 3rd parties and provides them with better tools, licensing agreements, and does a better job promoting 3rd party offerings. Many times Microsoft or Sony will help 3rd parties advertise their games and it always helps push more units through the sales channel. Nintendo needs to do the same.

Bring Back Core Titles Development

Miis are everywhere these days, and when used properly they’re great. However, aside from a handful of Zelda and Metroid titles, Nintendo has been far too casual with their offerings to appease the hardcore crowd. Not since Perfect Dark has Nintendo had a strong FPS offering (no, Geist doesn’t count) come from one of their own studios. That’s far too long. Keep up with the Marios and Zeldas, but explore some deeper content as well. While 3rd parties could carry the majority of this burden, it’s the 1st parties that generally need to provide the exclusives.

Make the Gimmicks Count and Support Them

Nintendo loves to engage in quirky behavior with their hardware. Sometimes the quirks turn into significant contributions to the industry (trigger buttons, rumble, d-pad, etc.), and other times those quirks fizzle and are left in the past (bongos, GBA link, Wii Speak, etc.) to fill closet space. While I don’t want Nintendo to stop pushing out their quirky accessories, they need to do a better job at supporting them once they’re out. The Wii Balance Board had some potential that was definitely left untapped. It’s fine to experiment, but don’t leave the buyers out in the cold once they gamble on new concepts.

It’s a long list of things that Nintendo needs to do, but I think that’s pretty indicative of where they stand with the hardcore crowd. Nostalgia always propels Nintendo’s efforts with the older crowd, but that effect seems to be losing its potency as each year goes by. If Nintendo is truly serious about becoming a mainstay in the hardcore gaming circles again, they better come to the next generation with a new attitude and a broader vision. We’ll find out more at E3 2011 this June.

Cliches are never a good thing to find in professional reviews. Often times we lean on them to convey an idea or concept in a quick or easy manner, but when we’re evaluating a product, it’s really important to avoid cliches and to opt for a more detailed and concrete description. Some things probably bother me more than most, and I probably use some terms and descriptive techniques that bother people, but here’s my list of terms I’d like to see banned from usage in game and gadget reviews.

Sleek

Often times people describe an interface, a menu system, or a hardware design as being sleek. The problem is that it’s a completely unhelpful term that vaguely implies a modern and clean look and feel. It can also mean streamlined, smooth, glossy, contoured, smooth, or even deceitful. It’s much more helpful to JUST SAY WHAT makes the object in question “sleek.” If we’re talking about a game’s menu system, use the extra words and say, “the game offers a streamlined menu system that’s easy to navigate and intuitive in its design.” If we’re talking about an mp3 player, I’d much prefer to read, “the player is smooth and comfortable to hold. The lines give the device an attractive look and the construction is tight and makes the player feel solid and modern.” Tell us what makes the object in question sleek, not that it simply is. Note: Slick is often used the same way as sleek for similar reasons.

Mixed Bag

Mixed bag is used a whole heck of a lot instead of saying that something has some high points as well as some low points. It’s far more effective to detail out the products high and low points and show the reader that it is indeed a mixture of pros and cons that constitute the overall package. Even when the term isn’t used to replace proper description, it still makes a terrible lead in phrase to say, “graphically the game is a bit of a mixed bag.”

Product X is Product Y on Steroids

This is another term that’s just a bit lazy to me. I’ve used it in the past, but I’ve resolved to not do it again. Saying that Vanquish is like Gears of War on steroids is a bit of a disservice to both games; but worse yet, it’s a disservice to your audience. Some gamers may be reading your Vanquish review because they have an interest in the game, but they may have not played Gears of War. Also, aside from the cover system, there’s very little Gears in Vanquish (and that applies to many similar comparison using this cliche). It’s far more effective to just describe the game or product and allow the readers to draw parallels between it and similar content or products. It is perfectly fine to compare things to one another, but go deeper than the surface of just a cliche.

Killer App

Killer app is synonymous to saying “AAA” or “must have.” Usually killer app is used when saying that a certain title fills an important gap in a console’s lineup or when this single game is going to send people out to stores in droves to pick it and its affiliated console up in droves. The term has just been overused far too much.

Cookie Cutter

Another shortcut term that allows the reviewer to avoid writing a detailed description. It’s not enough to say that a game only “offers cookie-cutter gameplay.” Use your words, people. It doesn’t take much more time to explain that the game uses tired tropes and conventions, but it’s far more useful to readers to know which aspects of the gameplay you’re referring to rather than just applying a single blanket term to everything.

Really I could name many more terms that I dislike, but there’s just one thing to remember when writing. Detail and specificity are always more valuable to readers than the repetition of cliches, even if the cliche is generally a well understood one within the context in which it’s being applied. That said, I’d invite all of you to ignore my past usage of many of these things, mmmkay?

I hate that term, paradigm shift. It was so overused by PR folk and fanboys at the beginning of this generation, but luckily it has died down quite a bit. Wikipedia gives this definition for the term:

representing the notion of a major change in a certain thought-pattern — a radical change in personal beliefs, complex systems or organizations, replacing the former way of thinking or organizing with a radically different way of thinking or organizing

With that definition, I think it’s wholly possible that 2009 gave us a game that will actually be far more significant than we realize. The game I’m speaking about is Borderlands. For those that played it, they found out that RPG elements could be successfully infused into more genres that we originally realized, and it could be done without majorly interfering a game’s flow or design. You couldn’t safely call Borderlands and RPG, but you also couldn’t label it an FPS game, it was something new. It wasn’t just a game with some RPG characteristics, it was two genres so intricately intertwined that it was both, but neither. This is starting to sound crazy, but what I’m trying to say is that Borderlands is a game that will be looked upon years from now as a title that had as much influence and weight as games like Mario 64, Grand Theft Auto, or Halo.

Maybe it won’t happen in 2010, at least not in the first half of the year, but in the near future you’re going to see more genres, especially shooters successfully integrate RPG elements into the mix just as Borderlands did. Characters in gaming are going to become more dynamic, even in the most one dimensional genres. Much like Modern Warfare’s perk system (which is being copied or adapted like crazy these days), Borderlands will be the starter’s pistol for a major new trend in gaming.

Moving forward, RPG elements will no longer be the hook into a good game, they’ll be the backbone. And years from now, when we trace back the jumping point, Borderlands will be identified as the first game to make that leap.

I’ll be the first to admit that these kinds of posts are stupid, but I’m actually serious about setting some goals for myself this year and trying to make gaming a more enjoyable hobby in 2010. Funny enough, several of my resolutions read very similar to those being made by non-gamers.

1. Save more money

In recent years gaming has become more expensive. The average price of a game is $10 higher on consoles and $5 higher on handheld games. And while online retailers like Amazon.com have great sales, it’s still hard to go as far with your gaming dollar as you could during the last round of consoles. To make up for this, I’m going to only grab the absolute must have games on release day and wait for sales, price drops, or (sorry publishers) for used copies of the game to become available. I’m also going to rely on rental stores to help me experience the games that I’m more likely to play through once.

As much as I love gaming, I really think it’s one area in my life where saving a few bucks would be a good idea.

2. Finish what I start

I have a real problem finishing a lot of the games I start. I know I’m definitely not alone in this, but I really could be better about focusing on finishing the games I get into before moving onto newer releases. Doing this will stretch the amount of gaming I get out of each dollar spent, and it will also allow games I’ve yet to get to see a price reduction while I work on my backlog.

This also refers to getting my podcasts recorded, edited, and released more regularly.

3. Lose some weight

I’ve always considered myself a bit of a collector, but lately I’ve been better about selling off some of the excess and dead weight in my collection. I can definitely be better at this, however. Basically I’ll need to be a bit more honest with myself about what games are going to be keepers and what games should be sent along. Not only will I get some extra money to put toward other games, but I can pass along a good deal to another gamer looking to pick up a newer game at a cheaper price.

4. Finish a JRPG and a Western RPG

It’s been years since I’ve finished a console JRPG. If I had to guess, the last one I finished was probably Final Fantasy X. I’ve always like the genre if it’s executed well, but I’ve been horrible sticking with any of them long enough to finish one. Western RPGs are something that I’m still warming up to, but it’s been just as long since I finished one. Knights of the Old Republic was the last Western RPG I completed start to finish, but in 2010 I’ve got a mind to finish Fallout 3 (finally) and Dragon Age: Origins at the very least.

5. Resist the Madden hype

Every single year I get talked into picking up Madden near release date and I every single year I realize that the series hit its peak on the PS2/Xbox last generation. No more buying the game for me until they can prove that the series is indeed worth the yearly price tag once again. Same goes for NCAA football.

6. Improve my reviews

I’ve always been satisfied with the quality of written reviews I do over at Kombo, but I really want to figure out how to improve them even more. Also, I’d like to do more reviews here on the blog as well, and I’m guessing that this would be the perfect place to try out some different review styles.

7. Post more on the blog

I have some new projects coming, but I also want to keep this blog going and  have an active posting schedule. I’m sure that during busy times I’ll struggle to keep up, but I can’t control that. It’s the laziness that I can shrug off a bit better in 2010, I feel.

8. Enjoy the hobby more

I’m not 100% sure how I can enjoy gaming more, but I’m guessing that if I stick to the resolutions I’ve made that I’ll find that 2010 is a better year than 2009 was from a pure enjoyment standpoint.

And to everybody else out there with any resolutions, good luck with them and have a fun 2010.

On the next Stupid Gamer podcast I will be discussing extreme (violent, sexual, language) content. In light of the “No Russian” level in Moder Warfare 2, the upcoming Heavy Rain on the PS3, and years of GTA controversy, I felt like it would be a good time to discuss how the gaming industry should be handling this sort of content and how the industry can be more proactive in dealing with it. Here are a few questions I’d like some feedback to. You can pick and choose one or two to answer or answer them all. I’ll read some responses on the air.

1. Is violent/sexual/language content a problem in gaming?
2. Is the ESRB rating system adequate? Does it need to be changed/replaced?
3. What can developers and publishers do better to educate parents?
4. Do console manufacturers need to play a role in content control?
5. Does mature content offend you in any way?
6. How does mature content in gaming compare to film? Should it be regulated differently?
7. If you were a parent (or are one), how will you approach mature content with your kids?
8. Does extreme content add to the enjoyment of a game for you, or is that completely based on context?

God of War III will have crazy amounts of blood, brutal kills, and some sexual content.

Send your responses to me at jar155 [at] gmail.com and  I’ll use them in the next show. You can also comment here on the blog, but the email is a surefire be that I’ll see it before going on the air.

I’ve always been critical of Bungie’s shameless attempts to artificially lengthen their games by putting either ridiculously repetitive (The Library) or go one way, come back again (1/2 of all Halo games) levels. I feel that these levels have always been a cheap tactic to make the games feel longer or to inflate the time needed to complete the game. For the most part, however, these sections at least provided some sort of enemy resistance…until now.

In Halo 3: ODST there is a hub world between levels. You’re out on the streets of New Mombasa and you’re looking for your squad mates, intel, and a way to get to the next level. These sections are incredibly long, rarely provide any action at all, and are repetitive to the point where you consider quitting every time you’re forced to play through them. In co-op mode this is particularly painful as you and three friends are removed from the game’s action to wander around a lifeless zone. Let’s call it like it is, this section is purely to expand the length of the game and stretch out the total time needed to complete the game. When Microsoft decided that Bungie needed to turn ODST into a full retail package, this was their way of justifying the length of the game. You might have a few diehards who don’t mind humping every inch of the hub to find audio drops and such, but for those that just want to move the story along or stay in the action, nothing could be more painful than this hub area.

Yeah, I gave Microsoft my $60, but now I’m feeling a little gypped. It seems to me that this really would have been an excellent value at $30 with a shorter overall experience. I would have urged everybody to get it at that price, but now I just feel like I would have been better off renting the thing. It’s a very fun game when you’re in the action, but the hub areas just bring everything to a screeching halt a little too often.

“Tighten up those boot straps, it’s a long walk, team.”

If you’re not interested in ODST, but you do want to know what the hub world is like, I have a suggestion for you. Call up a few friends that all live about 2-3 miles from each other. Have each friend get something you love and put it inside their house. Step out your front door and walk (no running!) to friend #1′s house. Enjoy the object they laid out for you, and then walk (again, no running!) to the next friend’s house. Keep doing this until the walking between each house feels like the worst thing ever. You did it, you now understand the New Mombasa street sections of Halo 3: ODST.

And don’t get me started on that ridiculous VISR…