In what appears to be good news for Sega fans who enjoyed Sonic’s GC short “Night Of The Werehog”, Sega recently announced they have created an entire subsidiary designed to create more CG movies. Dubbed “Sega Sammy Visual Holdings” and reportedly set up back on June 1st 2009 the group has the lofty aim of becoming “the number one family-oriented animation studio in the Asia-Pacific region within five years.”, or so Sega’s own industry news paper FunBiz reports on page four.
Existing IP’s are ripe for the picking and considering the popularity of Sonic’s last CG outing it would be no surprise to see the blue blur starring in a similar role sometime soon. The group will be creating “The Best Stories for children Around the World,” so that could rule out a Bayonetta animated short, alas.
So with Sega creating new CG movies what scenarios would you like to see Sonic & friends in and what other Sega IP’s would you like to see get the movie treatment? Let us know in the comments below.
Thanks to Sega Nerds for the heads up.
Cool. I can’t imagine what “stories” these might be though. I’d sure like to see a Bayonetta CG Movie. Minus the blood of course.
I’d prefer the classic approach – kicking Robotn–I mean, Eggman’s arse!
OMG! They HAVE to make a NiGHTS movie. NiGHTS fits in with this perfectly. The story surrounding the character is fantasy enough to be interesting and different, the characters are bright and colourful. Furthermore, a short NiGHTS movie wouldn’t even need voice acting as it’s been there before with NiGHTS: into Dreams.
Something like this could really open up a doorway to allow NiGHTS to get more fans and gain more interest.
Great news in general, of course.
I’ve always wondered why they didn’t make a Sonic the Hedgehog live action movie because it’s been done before (ie. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Garfield, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Death Note – never seen any of these, btw). But then I’m wondering if it could even be executed right. It would be awesome if it could, though.
If the movie’s with the same quality standards as Night of the Werehog, I’ll be VERY happy! Maybe we’ll get a decent Sonic movie after all! Maybe we’ll even get a movie/game dual release!! Who knows? At any rate, I’m sure Sega’s got something up their sleeves for 2011. Something big… and blue 🙂
@Suonike: Wow… You never saw any of those? Good. Don’t bother with Alvin and Garfield. That crap is terrible.
No, if SEGA were to make a live action Sonic movie, it would be best to have it look like Chronicles of Narnia and Where the Wild Things Are. Nothing feels fake. These two movies are perfect examples of how SEGA should make a live action Sonic movie.
Do you think they will all be dialogue free, like Night of the Werehog was? I liked that in Night of the Werehog, but in other stuff, like the Brawl cut scenes, I found the plot a little hard to follow at times.
Anyway, this may seem a little crude, but I’d like to see a short about Knuckles having to go to the bathroom, but not wanting to leave the Master Emerald unguarded.
Or maybe one where Shadow is trying to sleep, but other Sega characters keep bugging him, wanting to race cars and play Tennis. That could be fun.
I wouldn’t mind seeing a sort of dark, edgy sum up of Shadow days on the ARK. Even if it goes for as long as Night Of The Werehog did.
@SoulGage: YES!!
Meh, I think SEGA’s moving off track here. Their key game development studio (Sonic Team) can’t even get a decent game out and now they’re entering the animation industry? SEGA should be concerning themselves with improving the quality of their games first and foremost.
…A CG SA2 recap would be nice, I guess.
@ Final Rush
….Um… isn’t Sega VE Animation a different division that makes those CGI animations =\?
@ Jetronic
Should it matter? SEGA decided to create a new division of their company, diverting their funds despite the fact that its largest and most important division (gaming) is struggling. Unless their new animation studio becomes a huge success, we’ll likely be seeing SEGA spend even less money on their games just to accomodate paying for these CG films. After all, the money has to come from somewhere. There’s a new space on that pie chart, and it’s SEGA’s intent to make it grow.
@ Final Rush
You gotta admit though, people love Sonic, and we the fans just wanna eat up all the content we can get. Sonic X and Sonic Underground were NOT the best shows, but I’m proud to have the DVDs on my shelf. Even if the new games aren’t the best, they still sell really well, not because people like swinging swords and werehogs, but because people love Sonic. Sega know who their audience is, and they know we love the CG cut scenes. That’s why we put up with all those werehog levels, right? Just to see what cool cut scene comes next. I applaud Sega for taking this step towards animation.
(And for the record I love the newer Sonic Games)
Looking forward to it ^^
Although…will they make them silent again like in Night of the Werehog? Or have them talk?
I don’t mind of either ^^
I’m just glad Sega is actually going to make more CG movies of our favorite hedgehog.
@ Final Rush:
That is where we come in…to provide these funds 😉
I thought we put up with the Werehog so we could get back to daytime Sonic, and the sword to get the bonus content. Tho the CG is superb, so I guess there is nothing wrong with getting to that as well.
@sonictoast
I’m glad you prefer watching movies about Sonic to actually playing as Sonic. (Obvious sarcasm)
You’re right. SEGA does know their audience. Sort of. They know that the fans will buy anything Sonic regardless of how good it is. But that’s precisely the problem. SEGA has been able get away with making games of questionable quality for years now, knowing that the fans will buy it simply because of name brand. Not since SA/SA2 has Sonic Team really cared about providing a true Sonic experience. They have been severely lacking in direction ever since, instead “gimicking” the franchise with each and every future installment hoping to make that a selling point, just in case having ‘Sonic’ in the name isn’t enough.
I suppose you could say that Sonic Team tried with ’06 or Unleashed, but then why include Silver’s slow gameplay, keep Shadow in vehicles, or introduce the random Werehog? They shouldn’t be in there in the first place, regardless of the flashy cutscenes. What is so hard about sticking with the tried and true? Why are they so afraid to make Sonic games consistent?
Instead, it appears SEGA wants to animate and woo the fans with pre-rendered graphics. You serve as a perfect example of the kind of fan I’ve been talking about. You’re willing to overlook poor gameplay just so you can watch a few pretty cutscenes revolving around the gimmick-of-the-day. The guys at SEGA are great animators, I know that. But if it means taking away from the actual gameplay, then, as much as I hate to say it, I want no part of it.
This has been done a thousand times before. I know that, and I don’t care. It had to be said. I’m just going to be attacked anyway, but whatever.
Blerg…*gimmicking*…
Well remember, FR, that Sonic Unleashed has become the closest in recent years to being just that experience. Granted, the Werehog was kind of a gimmick, and it was directed to the younger crowd (but I honestly can’t see a 6 year old play God of War and not get freaked out at the mere sight of blood oozing out the neck of a decapitated body), but I really see it as a missed opportunity, whether it be “Knuckles should’ve been playable instead” or “Werehog should have played a bit more like Sonic/been a bit more acrobatic”.
But it doesn’t matter if it’s gonna be some new character, or gameplay. It just has to have the same spirit that the previous games had. The Sonic stages in Unleashed are signs that Sonic Team does in fact understand that, and hopefully I can safely say that, that amount of spirit was shown in Black Knight (tho that might just be the fanservice talking).
Oh, I better get back on topic… CG movies… it is just a different department when concerning the games, so if they want to do a bit of that, they can be my guest. In fact, I was kind of hoping for a Sonic and the Black Knight short before the game itself came out.
Im curious if theyre going to produce a Sonic short to coincide with the release of project needlemouse or if this is there way of prepping for an official theatrical Sonic movie. Granted, their CG animation may be impressive to the standards of PIXAR, but Sega has yet to master storytelling and character development along with selecting proper voice actors. However, I do commend them for pushing boundaries and actually branching into film making. Thats an audacious gambit and could be the start of an epidemic for the new decade. The notion of Nintendo, Konami, Capcom establishing their own animation studios is feasible. So bravo Sega for throwing your hat over the wall.
As for other Sega IPs, would be interesting to see a Toe Jam & Earl short.
HOLAS: ™
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“Instead, it appears SEGA wants to animate and woo the fans with pre-rendered graphics. You serve as a perfect example of the kind of fan I’ve been talking about. You’re willing to overlook poor gameplay just so you can watch a few pretty cutscenes revolving around the gimmick-of-the-day. The guys at SEGA are great animators, I know that. But if it means taking away from the actual gameplay, then, as much as I hate to say it, I want no part of it.”
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I don’t get you, are you saying people will ignore the (theorically) crappy games just because a movie?
As far as I know Night of the Werehog (a short generally liked by the fanbase) didn’t stop people from bitching about Unleashed…
Back on topic: as much as a fan of Sonic as I am, I would really love a NiGHTS movie…
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OMG! They HAVE to make a NiGHTS movie. NiGHTS fits in with this perfectly. The story surrounding the character is fantasy enough to be interesting and different, the characters are bright and colourful. Furthermore, a short NiGHTS movie wouldn’t even need voice acting as it’s been there before with NiGHTS: into Dreams.
Something like this could really open up a doorway to allow NiGHTS to get more fans and gain more interest.
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QFT
I’d like to see a short movie of Sonic trying everything he can to get away from Amy. There’s great comedy potential there!
I’d like to see some more Sonic shorts, as well as Ristar, NIGHTS and Shenmue sometime please Sega. 🙂
NiGHTS! An animation in the style of the storybook would be nice and original.
Night of the Werehog was fantastic, and an animated cg Sonic movie would be just awesome. Sega have good potential in that field, and their cinematic skills are wonderful.
I think it would be funny if Sonic starred in versions of classic stories, like the Mario version of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. I would also be very excited if we had a GOOD CG Sonic movie shown here in the states, something that might boost the blue blur’s popularity a little.
@AKnotholeResident: Problem is Toejam and Earl aren’t owned by SEGA.
Anyway, I wish them luck on this.
i would love to c some more CG movies of sonic and friends. maybe more fight scenes tho. wasn’t a fan of the ghost love story going on
This is DEFINITELY good news. Because Night of the Werehog was just Genius and looked STUNNING
Let’s calm down a sec people (“ack here comes the critic!”). Firstly as much as I enjoyed Sonic and the Night of the Werehog this came down more due to some good action scenes and quality animation rather than good storytelling (and that the characters didn’t talk). That’s all fine and good when your making an animated short but Sega seem to be implying actual movies or tv series which would require a plot, which Sega have never really been good at doing, at least in detail.
It also seems, as the source states that they are aiming at children rather than everyone meaning we might be getting some rather simple and childish animations. I’m not really holding my hopes high but then again I’m always up for surprises.