Sonic fans have been very vocal within the last month, since an interview retailer GAME held with Takashi Iizuka hit the net. The reason being, because Iizuka stated that Sonic Colours is being targeted at the six-twelve age group, while Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 will cater to older fans. This comment worried and angered many fans, making them feel isolated and lead them to believe that this game will be too easy or won’t be any fun at all for them.
Well, now concerned fans can put their fears to rest. When asked by Destructoid about Sonic Colours‘ target audience, Sonic senior brand manager Judy Gilbertson said “Sonic Colors is for everyone! Let’s say that right out of the gate,”
Gilbertson then went on to say:
“But to clarify further, we definitely don’t want to isolate any of our fan base — we’re absolutely thrilled to see the positive reaction Sonic Colors has gotten from fans and the excitement in the community about its upcoming release on Wii and Nintendo DS.
“Obviously, everyone at SEGA has a deep-rooted love for the Sonic franchise, and we’re always working on bringing new and exciting Sonic experiences to our fans. This year, we have three very different but equally great Sonic titles coming out; each with their own unique design philosophies and approaches to gameplay and all of which are created for Sonic fans and gamers, both those new to the franchise as well as those who have followed these games from the very beginning.”
Gilbertson explains that the game is being developed to be accessible to younger gamers as well as ‘core’ fans, that their mission is to try to cater to existing fans and potential new fans.
“With Sonic Colors, we’re looking to deliver a fast and fun Sonic experience that blends both 2D and 3D game mechanics in a way that a lot of fans have desired for some time,” Gilbertson adds. “But we’re also looking to create a game that is accessible to younger gamers as well as our ‘core’ fans.
“In short, Sonic Colors is designed first and foremost to be fun; the emphasis is still on everything that makes Sonic great, so there will be things there that will please long time fans in addition to elements in the game designed to bring in new Sonic fans as well. We expect that all of these aspects of gameplay will result in an experience that gamers of all ages will truly enjoy. And the game is a great compliment to both Sonic 4, a title that focuses on that retro style of gameplay and is also being released later this year as the first true sequel to the SEGA Genesis line of games, and Sonic Free Riders, which is the first game of its kind on Kinect this fall.
“Sonic fans continue to be vocal and supportive of their favorite franchise and we’re very aware of, and appreciate, that loyalty and dedication. In short, there’s something for everyone in our Sonic line up this year.”
What do you think about this new development? Discuss in the comments.
Source: Destructoid
Yes!
YAY FOR DIFFICULTY!!!!!
*sigh* You can bet your ass all the bitching and moaning this fandom has been doing is finally taking its toll on Sega.
Senior brand manager? Does that have some kind of involvement in designing the game, otherwise what he says doesn’t mean much… I think
QTE —> “A”+”A”+”A”+”A”+”A”+”B” XDXD more dificult
@ jwiwo:
“He” is a she actually. It’s part of a brand managers job to know what a game’s target audience is.
All the bitching and whining from the fanbase about this lately, I’d knew that SEGA will have to explain themselves better sooner or later. Now hopefully people will shut up about it.
I just have to say: Well done Sega 🙂
“There’s something for everyone in the Sonic line-up this year”
No offence Sega, but there’s one group of people you forgot to include; those who can’t get their consoles online (for Sonic 4).
*Yeah, that complaint is getting old, huh?*
Sonic Colors is for everyone… that has a Nintendo console.
…
Anyway, atleast Sonic Colours looks nice, but I’m praying for an eventual disc release of Sonic 4 when all episodes are released.
Thanks for clearifying shadzter
They have to make the game easier for all the people who showed up to E3, Pennyarcade, etc….watching those people attempt to play this game was painful and they’ll need all the help they can get so they can make it from point A to B without getting a brain hemorrhage.
LIES, ALL LIES. ;P
This changes nothing. They aren’t going to change the game in any way to make it any harder than it was before this statement. If their original philosophy was to make this a simple and easy kids game, that is exactly what this game will be. This is simply an ass-covering ploy to get those “core gamers” to still buy it
That being said, I’m sure it WILL be fun for gamers of all ages. But I was sure of that when they were still calling it a “kids game”. I DO hope they prove me wrong and it provides a more challenging experience than I’m expecting, but I have no reason to believe that it will.
This doesn’t reassure me at all.
I’m actually looking at her comments as being slightly tougne in cheek. When the director of the game says it’s for kids I feel worried but when a brand manager says that it’s for everyone it just sounds like a market ploy to lure back the worried gamers.
Way to go Sega, good to know that you are masters of confusing your audience, whoever your audience are.
Damn, who cares. The game still looks great and as long as the game is fun to play then I can care less what the age audience for this game is. Even if this is a kids game, it still looks better then every 3D Sonic game in the last 5 or so years.
Iizuka said in a Sonic Stadium interview back at E3 that the game would have challenges for older gamers. That whole uproar took Iizuka’s statement regarding age out of context; he was always referring to the game’s CONTROLS, not the level design, or the missions, or anything else
Sonic games IMO isn’t really challenging anyway and when they do, the game gets unfairly difficult and frustrating with all the bottomless pits and traps (like some of Sonic Unleashed daytime stages).
Sonic Adventure is one of the most easiest 3D Sonic games ever but that won’t stop fans from liking it.
A game being easy doesn’t necessarily make it less fun. How many of you here play Kirby games? They are easy to complete, but have great replay value in experimenting with all the different abilities Kirby has to find all of the games secrets. Here, in Sonic Colors, we have Unleashed’s day stages, which were already challenging and fu as hell, plus added abilities for Sonic, allowing for replay value and more secrets. I remain optimistic about this game and am in no way worried or angered about the game .
“That whole uproar took Iizuka’s statement regarding age out of context; he was always referring to the game’s CONTROLS, not the level design, or the missions, or anything else”
Of course, people always takes things way out of context when it comes to Sonic and Sega soon have explain and clear it up. I play Sonic games to have fun, not get frustrated cause of the games difficulty. That’s why I haven’t played Eggmanland since I’ve beated it for the first time. No kid will be able to beat that stage.
Thank You!
Now shut up, and let Sega do their job. ^_^
Disclaimer: the “shut up” was aimed at the fanbase. Not Sega.
I just hope it doesn’t go throught the sonic cycle a massive build up towards the games and theey are a let down that is going to be my only worry
im a MEGA HUGE sonic fan this is sweet plz fan base SHUT UP and let SEGA work
@ Ryan the Game Master and sonickuuu
You do realize that if the fans didn’t speak up the games would never get better. Let the fans complain, it’s what drives SEGA to move forward and try to make the best possible game they can.
Seriously? People where complaining about this?
I dont think any Sonic game is really that difficult however usually they offer extra challenges like for example my fave part of sonic unleashed was getting a rank S on every level so for us ‘core’ fans there is always more challenge than compared to someone who just wants to finish the game
Oh. Okay. Was going to buy it regardless, but if people need reassurance that their game is aimed at them and not ‘just for little kids’ to have fun, then go right ahead.
I never worried about the comment. So what if it were targeted towards kiddies? I beat the classics when I was a kid. Sonic 4 isn’t too mature for kids either. xD
But like they said, the 3 games allow them to give a little to almost everyone in the fanbase. That’s pretty good if you ask me! =D
Im still getting this game. Im not as interested in Sonic 4 as i am in Sonic Colors. This game is sure to deliver.
Fans complaining about the game’s difficulty? and since when have Sonic games (without counting the glitched ones) been hard?
I honestly couldn’t care less about difficulty. So long as the game is fun, why should I care how hard it is?
Sonic games weren’t hard or challenging in the first place(with the exception of getting the Super Emeralds in Sonic & Knuckles), I don’t see why people are making a big deal outta this one game. Honestly, nickpicking annoying the crap out of me.
Sega can say what they want, it’s not going to stop ½ the community from bitchin’
The only thing that’s ever been hard in Sonic games since the jump to 3D has been getting perfect ranks on every mission (or muscling past the gag reflex and playing all of the missions, in the case of Sonic Heroes). Even then, with the exception of Sonic Adventure 2 (which requires you to get good at the game), that only requires a couple of playthroughs before you can achieve a perfect mark (except for Sonic 2006, where glitches often ruin an otherwise perfect run, and day stages in Unleashed, which are essentially based on luck… crap game). If Sonic Colors is ‘easier’ than previous games, hopefully that means there are less segments that rely entirely on luck and memory as seen in Unleashed.
Hopefully, for the next Sonic game, SEGA will focus on making it easier on the ears. Damn you, Cash Cash!
I couldn’t care less who the game is aimed for, the Sonic series is obviously a game series targeted toward children anyway, so what’s the big deal? I don’t find any Sonic game impossible anyway, just a bit frustrating at times.
I think this is a step in the right direction as they seem to be tracing sonic back to his roots with a twist of course^^
@Lieutenant Goomba says:
“I don’t see why people are making a big deal outta this one game. Honestly, nickpicking annoying the crap out of me.”
They’re making a big deal of it now cause Sega at first said that the game is targeted for kids now they’re complaining about the difficulty saying that this game will be too easy when Sonic games aren’t really that difficult in the first place. I can beat Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Heroes, Sonic Rush, etc in one sitting if I want to.
SEGA,
Thank you for listening to your fans and letting us know you hear us, if nothing else. This is not a sarcastic comment to say ‘OMG finally, about time you gave a crap!’ or anything like that. I have had a soft spot for Sonic since I first started playing the video games, and it’s awesome to see that it’s personal to the people working on these games, too. Looking forward to Sonic Colors.
The only time i remember a Sonic game being hard was Dusty Desert for Silver. I still hate that stage.
Sonic Unleashed’s day stages were hard(harder than mario galaxy 2) but I got S rank in every stage .
@ Edge
The fanbase complaining is a double-edged sword. Sure it gives them things to work on, Sonic Colours is obviously the day stages of Unleashed (the part the fanbase consistently praised) when you get to the core of things, but some of the complaining isn’t construcive criticism for the games, but merely whining about trivial matters and cutting down others opinions. Through the danger zone and battlefield that is the Sonic fanbase, yes, there are some good tidbits of advice for our favorite game company, but more often than not, it gets drowned out by usless bickering amongst ourselves.
A house divided against itself will fall. Remember that, guys.
To limit a game to a certain age limit is like shooting yourself in the foot in the gaming industry. This could have very well been Sega’s attempt to cover up their mistake. To be honest, i doubt majority of copies of this game would have been sold to 6 to 12 year olds anyway. At that age, I didn’t even have $50 to spare. Regardless, I still cant wait to get my reserved copy of Sonic Colors. I still walk to the little kid comic book section of Hastings to purchase the Sonic comics, so buying a sonic game they say is aimed for kids wouldn’t have been much of a problem for me. However, I am relieved that, whether genuine or not, they announced that Sonic Color is for everyone rather than such a small age group.