Sonic and The Worst Fandom - How does Sonic Fit in Gaming Culture? [Opinions]

[grassgremlin]

Recently a friend of mines happen to link me to this article made in 2010.
http://gamebabble.wordpress.com/2010/02/22/sonic-and-the-worst-fandom-ever/

I'm actually pretty fascinated by this person opinions on the franchise and I think it rings true even now.

Some leverage. I use to be a huge sonic fan, though now, I guess I'm more a fan of the comics then anything else at this point, though I'm curious of the direction it's going with Sonic Boom.

To this day I still participate in certain aspects of the fandom. As an artist, I started drawing my own Sonic Fan Characters in junior high before I grew out of it, though as of recent I went back to just doing some sonic fan art for fun on the side.

I'm a bit cynical about my fandom. I still kept this pledge as crazy as it sound to play every sonic game that comes out, just for nostalgic reasons and cause I was such a huge fan then. I've played some real stinkers. I've played sonic games that I use to love but suck now [Sonic Adventure]. At this age I played a lot of games better then Sonic, so I know a good game from bad one.

Still, this fandom fascinates me. I kind of wonder why I still hold on mildly to the franchise when there were times I should jump ship. I mean, I'm too old for the blue blur, but I guess I still find some charm. Sonic introduced me to gaming, art and even music, so no matter what mediocrity has developed I can still say, eh, Sonic is that crazy thing I happen to still like somehow.

I'll pose a question to all gamers, whether you love sonic, or not, whether you have passing interest or none at all. How does Sonic fit in Gaming Culture?

Can we still say the sonic fandom is the worst ever now? Maybe a little.
Can we say maybe sonic needs a break?
Should Sonic be fixed?
Should Sonic never change?
Or should the blue hedgehog hand up the red sneakers.

That last one interests me. I'm curious at what would happen if sonic left gaming for five, maybe ten years. Do you think he'd be remembered fondly like Megaman? or would he just be that embarrassing thing most gamers don't want to talk about and act like it never happen.

Sonic still runs, because children love him is what the articles says. Is that true now? I wonder, what happens when children no longer love Sonic?

This stuff fascinates me because I thought about doing a study on this. Sonic is actually quite an interesting case for anyone wanting to get into game design or any media product field.

A character created through marketing, with continuous love. A successful "poochie" who's fanbase is so broken it's a mystery how it could be fixed.

For a marketer, Sonic is a money gold mine, have to wonder when that drys up.

 

[shrekfan246]

You're never too old for any piece of entertainment, and the sooner you recognize that the happier you'll be for it. Not to sound rude or anything, I just see a lot of people who think that "growing out" of things they liked when they were young is the hallmark of maturing.

Anyway, I think Sonic would have been perfectly fine if Sega had continued on the path they'd already started traveling with Sonic Generations. Unfortunately, it seems like they couldn't be content with that, so twice now they've tried to reinvent the formula yet again. It remains to be seen how their newest attempt will fare.

As far as the community is concerned, I'm sure you'd be able to find both of those extremes, as you can pretty well find them even right now.

 

[grassgremlin]

You're never too old for any piece of entertainment, and the sooner you recognize that the happier you'll be for it. Not to sound rude or anything, I just see a lot of people who think that "growing out" of things they liked when they were young is the hallmark of maturing.

Anyway, I think Sonic would have been perfectly fine if Sega had continued on the path they'd already started traveling with Sonic Generations. Unfortunately, it seems like they couldn't be content with that, so twice now they've tried to reinvent the formula yet again. It remains to be seen how their newest attempt will fare.

As far as the community is concerned, I'm sure you'd be able to find both of those extremes, as you can pretty well find them even right now.

It's tough to not feel like you should grow out of a franchise that seems to schizophrenic. When the developers deliberately say they are developing the game for children, what's the use fighting it other then feeling like maybe you should cast it aside.

I don't think my opinion of Sonic and how I would want it to be is valid to a franchise that seems to be catered to children. I don't think I have a place to tell Sega what to do sense it's based on my own adult bias.

Though I do have my own opinions how the franchise could go, I realize my ideas might be somewhat irrelevant or even date to what a kid enjoys. If anything though, I guess I believe children deserve better.

Basically it just comes down to me being a grown up complaining about something targeted to children.

But, if I had the reigns with Sega.
I'd reboot the franchise to reflect the comics, mostly the satam franchise and the characters within that.

 

[LawAndChaos]

Speaking as a kinda sorta not quite fan of sonic, my enjoyment turned to irritation, and irritation to resentment. Sega had a lot more to offer than just the blue blurb, and now he's being reinvented yet again, which I honestly don't think will last very long. It's just them making a tv show to accompany a sonic heroes remake with sonic unleashed bits and pieces patched in.

Now I know, the game's not done, but the previews are meant to be indicative of the direction the game is going in pre-release. If that's what they're going for, they are likely deciding it's time to appeal to a new generation. Either way the game strikes me as a big fat 'meh.'

Sega might have had a lot more going for it had it decided to not toss out all its other IPs. Now those IPs are only known by small groups of fans, most of whom would not be considered profitable enough for Sega to make a new game under those IPs. A comparison would be how Megaman's been treated by Capcom, except in Sega's case the situation is somewhat inverted. Sonic is pretty much the one big thing holding them up (at least that's how I see it). Of course they have the new Alien game, but outside of that it's just a bunch of android and Ipad games in their list of new releases (not counting the Diva Project Miku game...thing), leaving most of their IPs like Crazy Taxi and Monkey Ball to the phone owners rather than giving them console spots.

It's likely that when it comes to main console releases Sonic will always have a spot in the upcoming releases list, and that they'll never develop any console titles with any of their other IPs except for Sonic. I dunno, maybe my opinion here is grossly misinformed. I just feel that the Sonic games are the ones favored most in marketing by Sega because it's their only big IP still standing, and between the fandom, the fact that quite a few games are overrated (not aging well) and the defensiveness of the crazier fans, I can't really say I love the blue blub anymore.

At some point I got so jaded that I actually agreed with Yahtzee on the notion of mercy-killing the hedgehog with a nice bullet between the eyes.

When it comes to Guile's Hedgehog Simulator, I doubt the thing will be a thing. Adventure was 2 games, Riders was 3, Chronicles was 1, and Rush was 2. 06' self-retconned. I think based on how colors, lost world and generations went, Sega would benefit more from having just singular, self-contained adventures that are just fun, classic Sonic platforming, maybe putting different spins on it with each game. Hedgehog Explosions may take off, but I doubt it'll soar for very long. Of course, that's just me guessing.

 

[Hawki]

So, some thoughts-

-Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (8bit) was the first video game I ever played (would have been 3 or 4 at the time). Sonic the Hedgehog 1 (16 bit) was the first game I ever owned (alongside Double Clutch, but whatever). While I can't say I'm still a fan of Sonic in the same way I once was, playing such games at a young age still left their impression. So, what happened?

-Shadow: Believe it or not, I LIKED Shadow. Liked him in SA2 at least. However, Shadow the Hedgehog was the last core STH console game I completed (besides Sonic Riders), and while I did complete it, something felt...off. The article mentions that Shadow was where the series jumped the shark, and while I'd actually attribute this to STH 2006 (more on that later), Shadow the Hedgehog (the game) was the beginning of the end for me.

-STH 2006: GAH! I didn't play this long before quitting. It's basically an evil twin of SA1 (which, IMO, is the best 3D Sonic game that I've played) that barely functions. Unleashed was the last STH console game that I played. I actually purchased Zero Gravity out of some lingering obligation to continue the series but I've never even played it.

-Handhelds: Sonic Rush Adventure was the last handheld STH game I finished. I played the 3 Advance games, both Rush games, heck, I even bought an NG Pocket to play Sonic Pocket Adventure. I agree with the article that these are all good games. They're proof that Sonic games CAN still be fun in this day and age, and can still have endearing characters. I like Blaze. I like Marine. True the story of the Sonic Rush Games is a bit cheesy at times, but I'd argue that's part of the charm. However, then Sonic Chronicles came along, and as weird as this sounds, I didn't like it because of the lore, or rather, how BioWare managed to get everything wrong (geography, history, the obviously ripped-off plot from the Archie comics). Oh, and on that note:

-Archie Comics: I began reading at around issue #40. Got back issues prior to that, stopped reading somewhere in the 200s. But #125 is where I felt things started to go...off. It started feeling too dark and gritty for an STH series, that it was trying to take itself too seriously. And then, Ian Flynn comes along and because of the Ken Penders debacle, has to insert the Genesis Wave stuff. Now the comics are basically "Sega lite" as far as I can tell. And it's this that makes me part of the unpleasable camp, because while I liked that the Archie Comics did their own thing, taking elements from SatAM, AoSTH, the games, and their own ideas, Flynn still rectified the issue I had with the comics in regards to their "dark and gritty" direction. Flynn did something that should have pleased me in theory, but didn't. I am, I regret to say, one of the unpleasable fanboys.

So, what now? I've followed the development of the games beyond Unleashed, some elements of the comics, and I could say plenty on the cartoons, anime, novels, manga, etc., but that's beside the point (yes, I still have my Sega World Sonic plushies, thanks for asking). If I had to say what got me out of Sonic, it was this - I grew up. Sonic, at its core, is a franchise that I think works best with a younger audience. Platformers are a genre I used to love (the N64 solidifed that for me), but nowadays I've found myself gravitating more towards RPGs. I honestly do believe that there's a generation gap with the STH fanbase. Sonic was one of the poster boys of Generation Y (or he was for me at any rate), but Generation Z would have grown up with him as well. Gen. Y grew up with the 2D era, with Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, with SatAM and AoSTH on TV. Gen. Z grew up with Rouge, Shadow, and Silver, with Sonic X on TV. I think Sega has made mistakes (STH 2006 being the most ergerious IMO), but I agree with the article - there's too much age divide, style divide, story divide, and gameplay divide between all the STH eras (I'd say at least three distinct eras exist, with Colours beginning the third) for Sega to please everyone.

So yeah. Sonic is one of those things I just haven't let go of completely, even though I'm no longer the fan I once was. I don't resent Sonic Boom. I doubt I'll get the game, but I wouldn't mind seeing the cartoon - I can enjoy MLP for example as light entertainment. It's been outright stated to be designed to appeal to a new crowd, but Sonic himself was designed to appeal to a new crowd - Gen. Y, for him to be "cool," to be distinct from Mario. This isn't confined to STH after all - Star Wars Rebels is designed to introduce SW to a new generation, and superheroes have reguarly been re-invented after all. So if "the new kids" have fun with Sonic as he is now, more power to them. I had my fun over the 90s and early 2000s with the guy, and grew up with him. There's no reason for me to stop others from having the same experience.

(And Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles is the best platformer EVAR! XD)

Oh, and this (http://fanfiction.wikia.com/wiki/User:Hawki#Sonic_the_Hedgehog). Some hobbies never die.

 

[LawAndChaos]

To be honest, it's not the fault of the audience. A series can grow up alongiside its audience, and be the better for it.

Sonic was in its early days an appeal to a wider range of ages than Mario. Kind of funny, because now the tables have turned. Mario appeals to many ages, while Sonic still limits itself to younger age groups. It remains mired in its past rather than trying to grow or develop. It really shows how badly SA 1 aged, how badly many of the games aged, and how this new game is basically them retreading older games.

Some things never die. Even when they should. But it can't. Can anyone honestly tell me with a straight face that Sega could kill Sonic? Like, at all? Of course not, they would say. And that's exactly the problem. Sonic is their face, but the face has got two black eyes, a broken nose and some busted teeth. He can still give a nice smile, but you can see he's been better. And at the same time they can't afford a surgery, so they just put some bandages on and hope that's enough. No backups. No Skies of Arcadia, no Jet Set Radio, no Phantasy Star. If Sonic fails, the game's over.

Of course my hatred is directed towards Sega's marketing department. I believe the Dreamcast's failure was their fault, if memory serves.

 

[Guy_of_wonder]

As a previous sonic fan, i would say that sonic really does not work anymore. When consoles could only render 2d Sonic was a great idea to compete with Mario, but now it doesn't work. The 3d games are too fast for smooth controls and when they get it right (Sonic lost world) it is a clone of Mario Galaxy with more speed. I am glad i left when i did around Sonic generations (the game was boring). If i play a sonic game, i will hook up my sega genesis and play the originals (Sonic 3d blast included).

Side note: Sonic Boom look absolutely horrible. The redesigns are ugly as hell and it looks like a rachet and clank game reskinned as sonic.

 

[The Lunatic]

It's hard to say the sonic fandom is really the worst. They do keep to themselves for the most part.


I'd honestly have to say the MLP fandom is by far the worst in my eyes.

 

[LawAndChaos]

It's hard to say the sonic fandom is really the worst. They do keep to themselves for the most part.


I'd honestly have to say the MLP fandom is by far the worst in my eyes.

They're both similar in nature, really.

Some sonic fans aren't nearly as defensive, but they still think that Sanic is a great franchise. This extends to the fact they think Blue Guile is going to be amazing, despite nothing being shown that would demonstrate that it's going to be anything beyond 'okay.' They're basically Michael Bay fans of gaming. They think there's nothing wrong with it, they think it's going to be good and that people who rag on it are blind haters, and of course if you say anything bad they'll tell you to 'wait until it's out.' Like I need to wait to smugly flip up my nose and go "nyeh" when it turns out the game's mediocre.

And honestly that is the name of the game with Sonic now. Mediocrity. Sonic Colors was 'an improvement.' Sonic Generations was 'okay.' Sonic Lost World (from what I hear) was 'alright.' They're not blast processing the fact that Sonic isn't going to have the mind-blowing stuff we had back in the early days. Even though SA 1 is by and large a mess, at the time it was revolutionary, and I can at least understand why people to this day still appreciate it. But once the leap was made, Sega just kinda meandered about. I mean, SA 2 was nothing really amazing either; the emerald search stages sucked ass and the Eggman/Tails stages were kinda boring. Only stages that were alright were sonic and shadow's stages, and keep in mind even in the SA games the camera was still pretty crap in places, and this camera problem was brought to its fullest in 06. (I will say though Eggman in SA 2 was badass. He actually kills Sonic, who only survives because of Deus Ex Machina. Is it weird when I say I'd like a game where I can play Eggman and pilot all his machines?)

I just feel really irritated that the fanbase worships this franchise when it's mostly been just 'okay' for so long lately. I really would rather see another Jet Set Radio, with all its colors and kickass music and fun gameplay. But because their other IPs never took off (Dreamcast age, man. Marketing was snorting lines, I swear) they all got shunted aside for Sonic. And Sonic has become little more than a steady source of mediocrity, at least for the older audience.

 

[grassgremlin]

It's hard to say the sonic fandom is really the worst. They do keep to themselves for the most part.


I'd honestly have to say the MLP fandom is by far the worst in my eyes.

They're both similar in nature, really.

Some sonic fans aren't nearly as defensive, but they still think that Sanic is a great franchise. This extends to the fact they think Blue Guile is going to be amazing, despite nothing being shown that would demonstrate that it's going to be anything beyond 'okay.' They're basically Michael Bay fans of gaming. They think there's nothing wrong with it, they think it's going to be good and that people who rag on it are blind haters, and of course if you say anything bad they'll tell you to 'wait until it's out.' Like I need to wait to smugly flip up my nose and go "nyeh" when it turns out the game's mediocre.

And honestly that is the name of the game with Sonic now. Mediocrity. Sonic Colors was 'an improvement.' Sonic Generations was 'okay.' Sonic Lost World (from what I hear) was 'alright.' They're not blast processing the fact that Sonic isn't going to have the mind-blowing stuff we had back in the early days. Even though SA 1 is by and large a mess, at the time it was revolutionary, and I can at least understand why people to this day still appreciate it. But once the leap was made, Sega just kinda meandered about. I mean, SA 2 was nothing really amazing either; the emerald search stages sucked ass and the Eggman/Tails stages were kinda boring. Only stages that were alright were sonic and shadow's stages, and keep in mind even in the SA games the camera was still pretty crap in places, and this camera problem was brought to its fullest in 06. (I will say though Eggman in SA 2 was badass. He actually kills Sonic, who only survives because of Deus Ex Machina. Is it weird when I say I'd like a game where I can play Eggman and pilot all his machines?)

I just feel really irritated that the fanbase worships this franchise when it's mostly been just 'okay' for so long lately. I really would rather see another Jet Set Radio, with all its colors and kickass music and fun gameplay. But because their other IPs never took off (Dreamcast age, man. Marketing was snorting lines, I swear) they all got shunted aside for Sonic. And Sonic has become little more than a steady source of mediocrity, at least for the older audience.

I agree with this whole-heartedly. While I currently been reading the comics, and I kind of like the direction with the reboot, despite what many thinks, I get people who will shut me down the moment I bring it up.

A lot of people in my fandom are really attached to the series. Whether it's the old genesis guard or the new dreamcast guard, people aren't really united.

After all, we all like the same things, right?

I agree with people, Sonic Boom looks terrible, but I honestly can't help liking the direction, at least in terms of the cartoons. Hate the designs all one would wants, but as an artist, there is one thing Sonic Boom gets right.

Sillouettes. The sonic series has had this stigma of characters looking exactly the same. Even as a artist, I don't stick to the official art style because, honestly, it's boring. Now the characters have varying heights. Knuckles is no longer a red Sonic, I like this.

Before Sonic Boom, I once stated the franchise needs a reboot. This is healthy because now Sonic can rid himself of all this baggage and start from scratch. I stand by this completely because I think the sonic game that broke me was sonic lost world.

It was . . . disappointing and it seemed like the plot should not have existed because it was disjointed and full of wholes. The Sonic series needs two things. A reboot and a break.

Even IF sonic boom is just an Alternate Universe, I think the main series, if it continues should shed all the narrative baggage completely and start from the top. I think this requires it to break.

Sonic Boom is being made by different devs, so it gives sega ample time to just work on other projects. Let's let sonic boom ride about independent in it's own little world for the young kids until they get tired of it, I say. I mean, Sonic is STILL profitable despite what many will say.

That's what I think.

 

[Norithics]

People consider every fandom to be the worst fandom, because they have no sense of perspective. When you cut out a slice of a fandom, you get exactly the same proportion of decent people to assholes, thinkers to doers, etc. The only reason people put down any group is to either A) Feel superior to that group of people, or B) Participate in said group but distance themselves from others for reasons of hilarious high-school popularity concerns.

 

[European Uppercut]

The more cringe worthy portions of the Sonic fanbase are things that people mostly grow out of through their teens - so it doesn't affect much of anything that matters past that age, unless you're going to cherry pick a few people here and there that would make any fandom look bad.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Sonic fandom is like ponies to me, completely incomprehensible but it doesn't bother me at all.

I loved the genesis sonic games, never played any other ones, never was much of a "sonic fan" as much as a "person who loved sonic games when he was a young child" and that's about it.


Sonic was cool, then it started sucking after the 16 bit era with terrible game after terrible game so I just stopped following it. I dunno what happened in this spread of time and what these current sonic fans are so in love with but they have a right to be sonic fans and as weird or w/e as they want to be.

 

[scorptatious]

I used to play and really enjoy the Sonic games. Mainly the Adventure and Advance series. Somewhere after the first Sonic Rush though, I felt something was not quite right with the Sonic series. Initially, I felt Shadow the Hedgehog was an okay game, but later on I realized how flawed it really was. That didn't prepare me for the horrors that was Sonic 06 though. After that game, I dropped out of the franchise right then and there.

Much later on, I played through Generations, which in itself was a very good game. Albeit a bit short and had a lacking final boss. As good as the game was however, it didn't pull me back into the series. With the rather lukewarm reception of Lost Worlds and the weird direction they're taking with Sonic Boom, I probably won't get back into the series again.

The one thing I do still like about Sonic is watching the rather... demented side of the fandom and it's antics.

 

[grassgremlin]

Sonic fandom is like ponies to me, completely incomprehensible but it doesn't bother me at all.

I loved the genesis sonic games, never played any other ones, never was much of a "sonic fan" as much as a "person who loved sonic games when he was a young child" and that's about it.


Sonic was cool, then it started sucking after the 16 bit era with terrible game after terrible game so I just stopped following it. I dunno what happened in this spread of time and what these current sonic fans are so in love with but they have a right to be sonic fans and as weird or w/e as they want to be.

Let the crazy flow like a river of weird and terrible fan character recolors, I say!
But still, if it's not the worst fandom, why is it joked to be so much.

I do find it funny we get articles like this as of recent when it comes to sonic games now.
http://www.destructoid.com/we-re-celebrating-sonic-s-23rd-birthday-the-only-way-we-know-how-277022.phtml

and this http://www.polygon.com/2014/7/31/5956683/sonic-boom-bad-sonic-fan-art

If not the worst fandom, it sure is gaming's punching bag.

 

[LawAndChaos]

I suppose it's because of those sonic recolors and such.

And it's easy to spiral out of control with some people, too, especially if they end up acting like lulcows. Of course anime fans in general can end up being lolcows but there's something...

I dunno, something magic(?) about using Sonic as a punching bag?

I mean, we get stuff like this:

[link]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XA-4B2d4L18[/link]


I think it's because among Sonic fans, trolls get fed. VERY, VERY fed. More than most other fandoms, I think. Of course that's just conjecture, but it's the only reason I can really come up with as to why it's Sonic more than most other fandoms.

 

[grassgremlin]

I suppose it's because of those sonic recolors and such.

And it's easy to spiral out of control with some people, too, especially if they end up acting like lulcows. Of course anime fans in general can end up being lolcows but there's something...

I dunno, something magic(?) about using Sonic as a punching bag?

I mean, we get stuff like this:

[link]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XA-4B2d4L18[/link]


I think it's because among Sonic fans, trolls get fed. VERY, VERY fed. More than most other fandoms, I think. Of course that's just conjecture, but it's the only reason I can really come up with as to why it's Sonic more than most other fandoms.

Oh, I see nothing wrong with it being a punching bag. It's has a lot of absurdity, no lie.
Hmm, though if not the worst fandom, maybe the most eccentric and fascinating?

 

[LawAndChaos]

Oh, I see nothing wrong with it being a punching bag. It's has a lot of absurdity, no lie.
Hmm, though if not the worst fandom, maybe the most eccentric and fascinating?

More like one of the worst fandoms when it comes to taking a joke, I think.