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[djtiesto]

Wow, this is some of the most messed up news ever. I'm not a fan of Bioware at all (Jade Empire, 2005 RPG of the year? WTF? That game was horrible and didn't DQ8 come out in 2005?), but I am almost interested in checking this out to see how messed up this is gonna be. It's more intriguing to me than Mass Effect at least Are we gonna have all the typical Bioware stuff like dialogue trees and nonlinearity?

 

[aeolist]

I mean I want to be excited for this, but it's just too damn weird. I need videos.

 

[Myke Greywolf]

To the naysayers: come on, a little faith! It might be Sega, but it's also frakkin' Bioware! It could be awesome!

Spoiler

And I kind of like Sonic's "shitty" friends.

 

[nelkon and parker]

I think it is!

I don't think so!

 

[MMaRsu]

:lol

 

[P90]

This is cool.

Bioware RPGs. Square. DQ IX. Phantom Hourglass. Pokemon. NG. NSMB.

Who'd a thunk that the DS will probably be the best gaming machine of all time to the foreseeable future.

Just needs Halo DS, Parasite Eve, and a handheld version of SSB.

 

[Myke Greywolf]

This is cool.

Bioware RPGs. Square. DQ IX. Phantom Hourglass. Pokemon. NG. NSMB.

Who'd a thunk that the DS will probably be the best gaming machine of all time to the foreseeable future.

Just needs Halo DS, Parasite Eve, and a handheld version of SSB.

I'm having some sort of a deja vu here...

 

[PleoMax]

Bioware wanted to work on an handheld for a longtime.

But kinda weird, Sonic?

 

[evilromero]

Here's hoping Bioware can raise the Sonic franchise to another leve. I'm hoping they establish a game so good that future Sonic titles will build off of it- along the lines of DKC.

 

[Rlan]

There is one thing I really hope Bioware can stay away from, and that is TIME TRAVEL OR ALTERNATE DIMENSIONS.

Shadow The Hedgehog, Sonic Rush, Sonic Rivals [and both sequels coming], Sonic CD, Sonic Nextgen, and Sonic & Secret Rings all involve some sort of time travel or alternate dimension bullshittery, and each game was as horribly convulted and confusing as the last.

Leave it out. In fact, don't even mention Shadow / Silver / Blaze, keep out the princess [and humans in general], add a small cameo by a 6 legged cigar smoking dog character and you're set. Keep it to the main world and leave it at that.

 

[McBradders]

...along the lines of DKC.

You take that back!

 

[Zerodoppler]

A Bioware game for DS and it's...this?

 

[JohnTinker]

So, no media yet?

I'd like to see how this looks, whether its fully 2d, 3d, or a mix.

 

[Pureauthor]

A Bioware game for DS and it's...this?

I know. Isn't it awesome?!

 

[Myke Greywolf]

Shadow The Hedgehog, Sonic Rush, Sonic Rivals [and both sequels coming], Sonic CD, Sonic Nextgen, and Sonic & Secret Rings all involve some sort of time travel or alternate dimension bullshittery, and each game was as horribly convulted and confusing as the last.

I can't speak for the others, but Sonic and the Secret Rings has a really simple story. Simple to a fault, according to some.

Genie appears before Sonic, asks for help saving her world, Sonic helps.

Spoiler

Turns out she's fooling Sonic in order to get him to find all the Secret Rings and give them to the bad guy, but she has a change of heart at the last moment.

How simpler can it be?

Anyway, I hope they include cameos for all the "shitty friends" from the Archie Comics. NeoGAF bitching would be epic!

 

[Cruceh]

I'm not really a fan of Bioware after playing Jade Empire, but I'm curious how this will turn out. Hope it's not horrible DS 3d, at least.

 

[imastalker co.]

if they keep all his shitty friends out, it might be worth keeping an eye on.

 

[DreamMachine]

you guys are crazy.. what's with the hate, this game is going to be awesome.

+1 million sold gaurenteed.

 

[Flakster99]

One of the weirdest announcements I've read in a long, long time. I'm getting Super Mario RPG vibes.

Anyway, looking forward to the first media release, going to be very interesting to see what BioWare comes up with.

 

[Pureauthor]

Oh man, I just realized I've yet to check NGG over this news.

 

[jaundicejuice]

So Sammy/Sega's not content to go quietly into the night, they need to drag down another company with them?

 

[bluemax]

The good: Bioware + new RPG + DS

The bad: Sonic the Hedgehog

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

 

[Kintaro]

:lol

Yeah, I just can't get excited for this. Sonic is the touch of death.

 

[hyp]

gaf, always something to complain about. just be glad BIOWARE is doing a game for the DS. jesus.

 

[Mithos Yggdrasill]

german press release.


SEGA und BioWare kooperieren für ein neues Sonic-Rollenspiel für Nintendo DS


London & San Francisco, 21. Juni 2007: SEGA® Europe Ltd., SEGA® of America Inc. und das kanadische Entwicklerstudio BioWare® Corp. kündigen gemeinsam die Entwicklung eines neuen Videospiels auf Basis der SEGA-Spiele-Ikone Sonic The Hedgehog an. Der genaue Name des Spiels steht noch nicht fest, doch der Titel wird exklusiv für Nintendo DS entwickelt und 2008 erhältlich sein.

"BioWare ist einer der heißesten Rollenspiel-Entwickler weltweit", so Simon Jeffery, Präsident und COO, SEGA of America, Inc. "Jeder bei SEGA ist überzeugt, dass Sonic hier in den besten Händen ist, und dass BioWare das ultimative Handheld-Erlebnis für Spieler aller Alterstufen gelingt."

BioWare ist ein preisgekrönter unabhängiger Entwickler, der für internationale Bestseller wie die Reihen Baldurs Gate™ und Neverwinter Nights™, das Spiel des Jahres 2003 Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic™ sowie das Rollenspiel des Jahres 2005 Jade Empire™ bekannt ist. BioWare entwickelt derzeit mit Mass Effect™ einen der am sehnlichsten erwarteten Next-Generation-Titel 2007.

"Wir sind hocherfreut über die Zusammenarbeit mit SEGA an Sonic, einer der beständigsten und überzeugendsten Spielfiguren", so Greg Zeschuk, Präsident von BioWare. "Da wir selbst Riesenfans von Sonic sind, sind wir entschlossen, ein wirklich faszinierendes Erlebnis mit fesselnder Handlung im Sonic-Universum zu erschaffen, indem wir uns auf die Anziehungskraft des Charakters konzentrieren und ihn in ein absolut originelles Abenteuer versetzen", so Ray Muzyka, Chief Executive Officer von BioWare.

Die Partnerschaft mit BioWare unterstreicht SEGAs verstärkte Ausrichtung auf die Entwicklung speziell für das westliche Publikum produzierter Spielinhalte. In den vergangenen Jahren schloss SEGA bereits Partnerschaften mit den Entwicklern Bizarre Creations, Gas Powered Games, Monolith Productions, Obsidian Entertainment, Planet Moon Studios, Pseudo Interactive und Silicon Knights – und erwarb zudem die Entwicklungsstudios The Creative Assembly, Secret Level und Sports Interactive.

Danke viel Mal !

 

[TreIII]

There is one thing I really hope Bioware can stay away from, and that is TIME TRAVEL OR ALTERNATE DIMENSIONS.

Shadow The Hedgehog, Sonic Rush, Sonic Rivals [and both sequels coming], Sonic CD, Sonic Nextgen, and Sonic & Secret Rings all involve some sort of time travel or alternate dimension bullshittery, and each game was as horribly convulted and confusing as the last.

Leave it out. In fact, don't even mention Shadow / Silver / Blaze, keep out the princess [and humans in general], add a small cameo by a 6 legged cigar smoking dog character and you're set. Keep it to the main world and leave it at that.

I would agree with you totally...if you didn't mention Sonic CD.

I mean, really, what was so convoluted about it? There really wasn't that much in the way of story besides what we were used to for 16bit era Sonic titles (Stop Eggman/Robotnik! Save the World! Collect these mystical gems to get Good Ending!). If you didn't want to mess around with the time dynamics of the game, you didn't have to, it was basically just another means that served to get the Best Ending of the game, just like collecting the stones.

So, again, I see no reason to try and lump a classic from the 16bit era with the junk that's permeated the series for the last 7 years. It's really not even in the same league...

But I do agree that this game needs to do its own thing, and not jump at the chance to use such things. Let it be in its own seperate continuity altogether, as opposed to trying to fit within the scheme of the games. Letting Bioware be in charge of its own version of Sonic and the mythos of his world may be truly the best that could stand to happen to the franchise at this point in time.

 

[Pureauthor]

Why are people whining? What made the recent Sonics lousy (with possible exceptions of Sonic Rush and SatSR) was not the characters, but the broken (boring) gameplay.

Bioware at the helm of a Sonic RPG (you know, a genre they specialize in?) should negate the lousy gameplay part, after all.

 

[ascii42]

This is finally it, this is the reason why I bought the DS.
Sonic RPG> everything else. Hopefully.

 

[ElectricBlue187]

NOOOOOOooooooooo not my Bioware DS game!

 

[elostyle]

It's like Sonic is the only thing they come up with when thinking about a product strategy for nintendo platforms.

 

[Segata Sanshiro]

Why are people whining? What made the recent Sonics lousy (with possible exceptions of Sonic Rush and SatSR) was not the characters, but the broken (boring) gameplay.

Bioware at the helm of a Sonic RPG (you know, a genre they specialize in?) should negate the lousy gameplay part, after all.

You and I will have words later, but not on this most joyous day.

 

[jaundicejuice]

Why are people whining?

It's the internet, and that's what you do when not looking at porn or downloading music.

 

[Pureauthor]

You and I will have words later, but not on this most joyous day.

I'm guessing you missed post 168.

 

[bluemax]

Why are people whining? What made the recent Sonics lousy (with possible exceptions of Sonic Rush and SatSR) was not the characters, but the broken (boring) gameplay.

Bioware at the helm of a Sonic RPG (you know, a genre they specialize in?) should negate the lousy gameplay part, after all.

Eh, I honestly think Sonic is a character that probably should have died at the end of the 2D era. His "world" just doesn't make sense except as a shallow back drop for a 2D platformer.

And now to put his shit tastic universe into an RPG? I honestly don't know. I'm sure the game play will be better than passable and possible amazing, but what the **** can you do with the shitty ass Sonic universe?

 

[Segata Sanshiro]

I'm guessing you missed post 168.

No, I saw it, hence why there will be words. But not today.

LET US ALL PLAY OUTRUN 2 TO CELEBRATE THIS AMAZING TEAM UP

 

[Dartastic]

Best Sonic in the last... god knows how long? CONFIRMED.

 

[Pureauthor]

Eh, I honestly think Sonic is a character that probably should have died at the end of the 2D era. His "world" just doesn't make sense except as a shallow back drop for a 2D platformer.

And now to put his shit tastic universe into an RPG? I honestly don't know. I'm sure the game play will be better than passable and possible amazing, but what the **** can you do with the shitty ass Sonic universe?

Seriously? Just based on the the 16-bit Sonic days -

Robotnik is back. Unleashes a horde of Badniks on the world.

Sonic teams up with... I dunno, Tails, Knux, Amy, etc, sets out to destroy them. Places like Green Hill Zone serve as town/hubs, places like Chemical Plant Zone serve as dungeons, places like Casino Night Zone serves as a minigames area.

In order to counter Dr. Robotnik's latest creation, you need the 7 Chaos Emerald again. Gather 'em, and beat the crap out of Robotnik.

Of course, this skews more to the jRPG side than the wRPG side, but I don't see how adapting it would be a really big issue.

(Of course, they could base it on the American cartoon...)

 

[AstroLad]

I hope it plays like Phantasy Star II. For some reason the colorfulness of that game reminds of Sonic.

 

[JDSN]

Geez, I remember laughing at the possibility that SK's sega game being about Sonic trying to solve a millenarian conspiracy, but this is even better. :lol

 

[ZeoVGM]

You take that back!

You don't want a good game?

 

[ant1532]

This might be the best Sonic game in a while. Can't ****ing wait.

**** the haters as there is no reason to hate.

Bioware is making a sonic game. Not Sega. There is no reason for his friends to be considered shitty any more given this.

 

[bluemax]

Seriously? Just based on the the 16-bit Sonic days -

Robotnik is back. Unleashes a horde of Badniks on the world.

Sonic teams up with... I dunno, Tails, Knux, Amy, etc, sets out to destroy them. Places like Green Hill Zone serve as town/hubs, places like Chemical Plant Zone serve as dungeons, places like Casino Night Zone serves as a minigames area.

In order to counter Dr. Robotnik's latest creation, you need the 7 Chaos Emerald again. Gather 'em, and beat the crap out of Robotnik.

Of course, this skews more to the jRPG side than the wRPG side, but I don't see how adapting it would be a really big issue.

(Of course, they could base it on the American cartoon...)

That sounds like some serious RPG Maker level bull shit.

 

[Endless]

 

[McBradders]

You don't want a good game?

Not if you're counting DKC as a "good game" no

 

[ZeoVGM]

Not if you're counting DKC as a "good game" no

It was a good game, so yeah.

 

[DeathbyVolcano]

Not if you're counting DKC as a "good game" no

DKC2 is one of the best platformers ever made.

 

[justjohn]

ewwww

 

[Pureauthor]

That sounds like some serious RPG Maker level bull shit.

Hence why I'm not a professional games designer. I don't see any inherent issue with an RPG set in the Sonic universe. It doesn't have fleshed out universe, but it doesn't need one for a good RPG. What exactly is the problem?

 

[ant1532]

Here we go. Let the Donkey Kong Country arguments commence!

 

[Borys]

This might be the best Sonic game in a while. Can't ****ing wait.

**** the haters as there is no reason to hate.

Bioware is making a sonic game. Not Sega. There is no reason for his friends to be considered shitty any more given this.

Winner.

Exactly.

Now when do we get some screens?