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Sonic the Hedgehog 4 - Wii/PS3/360; downloadable episodic release - [Update: $15?]

B

B.K.

Member
TimmiT said:
Won't load for me right now, but here's the announcement: http://www.sonicstadium.org/news/sonic-the-hedgehog-4-delayed-to-late-2010-iphone-confirmed
Click to expand...

Loaded for me.

Sega has announced that Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 will be hitting digital distribution platforms in the “latter half of 2010,” with the “added development” time spent on the ‘tuning’ and ‘balancing’ of the game. While no release date has been announced officially, the use of wording in the company’s statement implies an internal delay.

A press release went live today, officially confirming that Sonic 4 will also be released on Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch products. The game will be available via the App Store.

“SEGA is incredibly happy at the overwhelmingly positive response to Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Episode I from both press and fans around the world, and wants to ensure that we’re delivering the best Sonic experience possible,” reads the official statement, which was also posted on Sega’s Blognik. “With this dedication to quality and the Sonic experience in mind, SEGA has decided to extend the development of the game, and will now release Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Episode I in the latter half of 2010.

“The additional time will allow the Development Team to focus on ensuring overall high-quality throughout the game by continuing to tune, balance, and maintain the kind of polish that an important title like this demands, and ultimately providing fans with an unrivalled classic Sonic feel.”

The details come after The Sonic Stadium gave you the scoop that updates were imminent, following a long period of silence from the publisher.

Sega America community manager RubyEclipse will be appearing in an episode of GameSpot’s On The Spot to discuss the announcement and the new video. It will be aired in an hour’s time. Stick with The Sonic Stadium for any Freudian slips or other announcements as they happen.
Click to expand...
 
M

Mama Robotnik

Member
Sega has announced that Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 will be hitting digital distribution platforms in the “latter half of 2010,” with the “added development” time spent on the ‘tuning’ and ‘balancing’ of the game. While no release date has been announced officially, the use of wording in the company’s statement implies an internal delay.

A press release went live today, officially confirming that Sonic 4 will also be released on Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch products. The game will be available via the App Store. A brand new trailer consisting of Splash Hill Zone gameplay was revealed at the same time, watch it below.

“SEGA is incredibly happy at the overwhelmingly positive response to Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Episode I from both press and fans around the world, and wants to ensure that we’re delivering the best Sonic experience possible,” reads the official statement, which was also posted on Sega’s Blognik. “With this dedication to quality and the Sonic experience in mind, SEGA has decided to extend the development of the game, and will now release Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Episode I in the latter half of 2010.

“The additional time will allow the Development Team to focus on ensuring overall high-quality throughout the game by continuing to tune, balance, and maintain the kind of polish that an important title like this demands, and ultimately providing fans with an unrivalled classic Sonic feel.”

The details come after The Sonic Stadium gave you the scoop that updates were imminent, following a long period of silence from the publisher.

Sega America community manager RubyEclipse will be appearing in an episode of GameSpot’s On The Spot to discuss the announcement and the new video. It will be aired in an hour’s time. Stick with The Sonic Stadium for any Freudian slips or other announcements as they happen.
Click to expand...

Tuning and Balancing? Please tell me this is industry slang for nuking the project and starting from scratch.

and ultimately providing fans with an unrivalled classic Sonic feel.”
Click to expand...

Well, that's interesting language.
 
Z

Zen

Banned
How isn't this good news? Jeez guys. You were complaining about the quality of the game and now they've announced that they've pushed back the release date to improve it. :lol

TimmiT said:
Won't load for me right now, but here's the announcement: http://www.sonicstadium.org/news/sonic-the-hedgehog-4-delayed-to-late-2010-iphone-confirmed
It's been delayed until late 2010, and iPhone confirmed
Click to expand...


Delayed until late 2010? That's great news actually! :D (For everyone aside from the admittedly insane MammaRobotnick :lol)
 
B

B.K.

Member
Zen said:
How isn't this good news? Jeez guys. You were complaining about the quality of the game and now they've announced that they've pushed back the release date to improve it. :lol
Click to expand...

They won't improve it. That's a joke. Press releases are always lies and PR people are liars. You can't believe anything they say.
 
I

I AM JOHN!

Banned
“SEGA is incredibly happy at the overwhelmingly positive response to Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Episode I from both press and fans around the world
Click to expand...
Lol.

...and wants to ensure that we’re delivering the best Sonic experience possible,”
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it. Still, I guess they deserve a modicrum of respect for having the balls to delay it, even though the very fact that an iPhone version (continues to) exists is pretty much proof positive that most of the changes are going to be negligible and probably having little to do with many of the poor design philosophies (like homing attack).
 
Z

Zen

Banned
[Nintex] said:
Could still happen if SEGA goes bankrupt before the end of 2010. :lol
Click to expand...

They actually made money during the latest FY, not going to happen. :lol

B.K. said:
They won't improve it. That's a joke. Press releases are always lies and PR people are liars. You can't believe anything they say.
Click to expand...

So I guess the game is coming out pretty soon then?

Yes, I'm sure that months old relatively semi complete looking partnernet build will be what we're getting, and the development team will use this extra time on hookers and blow.

There's being a pessimist and then there's throwing reality out the window.
 
O

OMG Aero

Member
“SEGA is incredibly happy at the overwhelmingly positive response to Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Episode I from both press and fans around the world, and wants to ensure that we’re delivering the best Sonic experience possible,”
Click to expand...
Really?
Because to me this announcement sounds like "Shit, people really hate this game, we need to delay and fix this shit right now".
 
B

B.K.

Member
Zen said:
Yes, I'm sure that months old relatively semi complete looking partnernet build will be what we're getting, and the development team will use this extra time on hookers and blow.
Click to expand...

They'll probably send most of the time on the port. Just a few more months of work isn't going to turn the game from the trash we've seen into a masterpiece.
 
Z

Zen

Banned
Varjet said:
"A delayed game is eventually good, a bad game is bad forever"
Right, guys?
Click to expand...

A delay, especially on a relatively small project like this where changes can be implemented relatively quickly, can only be a good thing.

OMG Aero said:
Really?
Because to me this announcement sounds like "Shit, people really hate this game, we need to delay and fix this shit right now".
Click to expand...

People need to stop getting so caught up with the Halo Effect.

So what if PR lies and spins things, that's their job. It doesn't invalidate everything else. Game is getting delayed to be improved because of the mixed feedback = GOOD.
 
F

Father_Brain

Banned
OMG Aero said:
Really?
Because to me this announcement sounds like "Shit, people really hate this game, we need to delay and fix this shit right now".
Click to expand...

Hilarious indeed. Couldn't they have put a positive spin on the news without flat-out lying about the Internet reaction?
 
2

2 Minutes Turkish

Banned
Delayed, I guess that can be seen as a good and a bad thing.

Sorry guys, didn't get a chance to play it yesterday. Dude was having 'marital issues' :lol :lol :lol Gonna try and swing past this weekend, I'm desperate to get my hands on it, or should I say, the build that was leaked.

He really enjoyed it so I'm wondering what sort of things they're changing.
 
Z

Zen

Banned
2 Minutes Turkish said:
Delayed, I guess that can be seen as a good and a bad thing.

Sorry guys, didn't get a chance to play it yesterday. Dude was having 'marital issues' :lol :lol :lol Gonna try and swing past this weekend, I'm desperate to get my hands on it, or should I say, the build that was leaked.

He really enjoyed it so I'm wondering what sort of things they're changing.
Click to expand...

Tell him to go to counseling with his wife while you house sit/play the damn game. :lol
 
S

SAB CA

Sketchbook Picasso
Man, the reactions to this game are funny.

The only real complains I've seen about this game have been based on cloppy physics and enemy placement.

SEGA announces they're pushing the game back to fix such things. Save for the details, the game looks like a competent downloadable Sonic game. And now they're saying "We're fixing the details!"

And people see that as a BAD thing? How in the world?

This game is the basis for an episodic series. They realize it'd be foolish to release a broken part one when they plan to make multiples. This is a very good decision!

Well, I'm happy about it. It's a nice thing in this industry to see people willing to refine and polish a product. We've seen XBLIG releases that have improved substantially from control mods done in a few weeks time. Sega should be able to fine tune a lot given this pushback.
 
D

Dandy

Member
Mama Robotnik said:
If they are trying to infer that a delay is going to turn this shit-into-gold, then why release such an awful trailer?
Click to expand...
Stop crying already, nobody cares. Trailer looks fun.
 
A

Anth0ny

Member
“SEGA is incredibly happy at the overwhelmingly positive response to Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Episode I from both press and fans around the world, and wants to ensure that we’re delivering the best Sonic experience possible,”
Click to expand...

3hqp2.jpg
 
Z

Zen

Banned
jman2050 said:
So they delay the game in order to have time to make more bad decisions?
Click to expand...

Tweak the game based on the criticisms from the leaked footage. Developers are weird like that.
 
P

Peff

Member
What I'm most concerned about is this bumping up the price, if it wasn't already 800 Allards/10$€. I guess that as long as the quality is bumped too it's ok, but balancing and tuning isn't as drastic as what this game needs.
 
Nabs

Nabs

Member
can you really save this game w/ more time? wouldn't it be better to release it on time and start work on the next ep?
 
Z

Zen

Banned
jman2050 said:
You're not very good at this.
Click to expand...

Damn my firm grip on reality!

Nabs said:
can you really save this game w/ more time? wouldn't it be better to release it on time and start work on the next ep?
Click to expand...

It's not like the game looks as bad as the hyperbole brigade says (Bonus points for occasionally admitting said hyperbole). It's in Sega's best interest that the first episode has as solid a foundation as possible.
 
T

Teknoman

Member
Sega really really REALLY needs to stop using the most non-Sonic sounding music ever in the Sonic 4 trailers. Jeez, Splash Hill zone theme is already known...unless they are completely redoing the music as well.

Also reduce the speed boosters to a minimum
 
Z

Zen

Banned
jman2050 said:
Reality says the game we know about sucks and that whatever game they will make will suck until proven otherwise.
Click to expand...

Your subjective opinion means as much as mine so don't state yours as empirical fact, bud.

Suzuki Yu said:
SEGA needs to stop reading any reactions for good , i mean seriously ! WTF !

is this considered as a bad news now ?! for real ?
Click to expand...

A lot of people here operate in such delusional extremes, it's embarrassing.
 
J

Jocchan

Ὁ μεμβερος -ου
SonicMegaDrive said:
Think of it this way, guys. Maybe the game being leaked was the best possible thing that could have happened to this game.

Maaaaaybe. :lol
Click to expand...
You spelled "cancellation" wrong.
But yeah, the full leak put how horrible this game was turning out under the spotlight.
Hopefully it will get slightly less worse, even though large parts of it should be pretty much redone from scratch.
 
J

jman2050

Member
The delay is not bad news, but it isn't automatically good news either. It just means we have to wait longer to judge for ourselves
 
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