Everyone knows: Sonic the Hedgehog won’t have celebrated his 30th birthday in time. And yet SEGA hadn’t forgotten: the plans just changed.
After an initial teasing in the spring, SEGA has formalized the arrival of an anniversary episode to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its supersonic mascot: At a time known as Sonic Rangers, Sonic Frontiers used the 2021 Game Awards ceremony to give it its real name to unveil, and its late release in 2022. And a shame for the little party.
Sonic will talk to you, but not right away
And yet the ex-manufacturer would have been well aware of the schedule that was incumbent on him, as the report on the question-and-answer session organized by SEGA immediately after the award ceremony shows, and recently released. Reading the document will allow you to discover black and white that Sonic Frontiers, like so many other titles, has is the subject of a report:
Originally, Sonic Frontiers was supposed to be released in 2021 for Sonic’s 30th anniversary, but we’ve postponed the release for a year to further improve the quality. During the development phase, we did regular analysis to improve the quality of the game before it was released, such as game testing based on external ratings, and we feel it will be a good game.
As a result, gamers who are used to reading between the lines will understand that the initial feedback on the next Sonic in the open world would not have been the most convincing, and SEGA would have been forced to review its copy. Remember that this new episode will be the first in the open world and that the challenge for SEGA promises to be gigantic.
31 years old, the beautiful age
Because beyond the 30-year license, Sonic Frontiers could even mark the beginning of a new pricing policy that SEGA would borrow directly from Nintendo and its fixed-price policy:
As for price, we’re at a point where we need to rethink things. For example, we focus on quality with the new Sonic and have invested a certain amount in development, and We think it’s important to keep the price down by keeping the license value high, rather than dropping the price quickly to increase the number of units sold.
Therefore, unlike most third-party providers, SEGA would be willing to change their mind and sell their game in full in the hopes that the quality would be enough to win this daring bet. We almost wanted to wish them luck, hey.
Sonic Frontiers is now expected on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One and Xbox Series in late 2022.
Could SEGA win his bet? What do you expect from Sonic Frontiers? Let us know your supersonic thoughts in the comments below.
