According to an interview with Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka and Sonic Rumble director Makoto Tase, the upcoming 3D mobile royale game Sonic Rumble will eschew the “gacha” or pay-to-win mechanics to better appeal to a global audience,
Speaking to Automaton, both Iizuka and Tase elaborated on their thoughts:
Learns: “It is common to spend tens of thousands of yen in the Japanese and Asian markets [in a game] until you draw a rare character and finally move on. But this is not the case in the global market, especially for action games like Sonic Rumble, where players should enjoy the game equally. The starting point of the project itself was to make a mobile game that would be sold globally. Therefore, the monetization model was designed from the beginning based on global standards.”
Level: “Monetization models using gacha mechanics have not been very successful when it comes to games aimed at a global audience of all ages. Also, such mechanics are usually avoided abroad, so we didn’t think it was the right choice for this project.”
Gacha games usually lock characters, weapons, or other game-affecting items behind systems like summoning or “loot boxes,” where consumables will give you a chance to get a desired character or item. Gacha has become a lucrative model for mobile games as players spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on the game, and even Nintendo has used it in games like Fire Emblem Heroes and Animal Crossing Pocket Camp.
However, despite this decision, Sonic Rumble will still have an in-game purchase available through its ring shop, where players can exchange money for rings (which can be obtained through the game) to purchase cosmetic items.
Sonic Rumble is expected to hit PC and mobile before the end of the year.
