Apparently Sega still thinks they’re a relevant company, because they just made a groundbreaking announcement today. This summer, we will see Sonic the Hedgehog 4 — supposedly a true Sonic sequel — on WiiWare (and XBLA and PSN).
Well, it certainly looks like a true Sonic game. It even sounds like a true Sonic game. But show caution, gentle gamer friends. The question we should be asking ourselves isn’t “is this going to be a good game?” The question we should ask ourselves at this point is “do we trust Sega?”
You see, Sega has a condition. It’s probably medical, but more than likely just a result of poor management and too many yes-men in the ranks. Sega no longer knows how to take care of Sonic. This much is patently obvious if you look at the history, especially just the past couple of years:
- Sonic the Hedgehog (360, PS3) – a horrendous mess
- Sonic and the Secret Rings (Wii) – pointless story, terrible controls and gameplay
- Sonic Chronicles (DS) – hey, guys! You know what would make a great Sonic game? A TURN-BASED RPG
- Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii) – any game where Toad can outrun Sonic is an instant FAIL
- Sonic Unleashed (Wii, 360, PS3) – hey, guys! You know what Sonic has been missing all along? WEREWOLVES
- Sonic and the Black Knight (Wii) – see Sonic and the Secret Rings
Sega quite simply has no freaking clue what to do with Sonic. It’s like handing a gun to a caveman. You just know they’re going to end up beating an antelope with the thing instead of using it correctly. They are handling a property to which they hold no emotional attachment, no discernible history, and absolutely zero insight into what made the games fun in the first place.
But here, we finally get a tiny glimpse of Sega doing something that — at least on the surface — appears like a tentative step in the right direction. But look at that history. Can Sega screw this up?
Yes, I’m certain they can. And here’s my prediction: it’s going to be crazy expensive.
Because Sega simply cannot be trusted to handle Sonic properly, even when finally attempting to stay true to its roots, I have absolute faith in their ability to screw up Sonic the Hedgehog 4. Since they’re going with an episodic model, where each episode will be published independently on the various download services, I think they will probably price the game’s installments too high. Gamers will probably end up paying double buying the episodes separately than if Sega had just put the game on the disc and shipped it out.
That’s my theory, and we’ll see how it turns out since the rumors now circulating peg episode 1 for a July release.
Despite my prediction, I hope you understand just how desperately I want to be wrong on this one.
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