LiveStudioAudience
Smash Master
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2019
- Messages
- 4,257
While there's a lot of discussion about missed opportunities with the Sonic franchise (what if X-Treme's development was not troubled, if 06 had been allowed another year of work, if the Boost games' momentum had continued after Generations) there's an interesting one that I don't often see get mentioned. What if Sonic had had a series of mainline arcade releases in the 90s (specifically in Japan) separate from the console games?
It doesn't seem that significant but had something like that happened, there could have been numerous consequences down the line. Firstly, it's the kind of thing that could have allowed the franchise a greater presence in Japan much sooner than the Adventure era. Even when that scene was beginning to decline close to the 5th generation in American and Europe, it still endured in the East for much longer and a foundation of titles in that space (with most allowed to be localized to Western arcades eventually) could have really changed Sonic's standing in that region if the games were popular enough.
Secondly, having that kind of line of games from a practical standpoint would have necessitated a specific group to work on it, especially once Sonic Team suffered burnout after the Mega Drive era. Having another team of young developers making games for that kind of hardware not only could have allowed fresh perspectives on the series, but it might have also become experienced enough for SoJ and especially Naka to eventually trust with home console releases. With the dubious communication between the branches of the company in the Saturn era and the disastrous nature of X-Treme's development, a home-grown group that had actual Sonic releases under their belt might been allowed to bloom in a way Chris Senn and his team weren't.
Finally, it could have been a series of releases that beefed up the libraries of the Dreamcast (and perhaps other consoles after) down the line. Even Sonic arcade games that leaned into very immersive parts of that scene (wide screens, deluxe sound, non-split screen multiplayer) could have been translated into the home experience as technologies improved and replicating the arcade feel became possible. For all intents and purposes, a parallel series of Sonic games to the home/portable lines might have been something that could have improved the latter libraries of both with ports just by its unique identity alone.
I'm not saying all this could have made Sonic an AAA franchise in Japan, saved the Dreamcast, or would have steered the series away from missteps in the 6th/7th generations. However, it is something that could have greatly strengthened the franchise at its weaker points and allowed it a more significant legacy in the one video game field where it lacks much of one.
It doesn't seem that significant but had something like that happened, there could have been numerous consequences down the line. Firstly, it's the kind of thing that could have allowed the franchise a greater presence in Japan much sooner than the Adventure era. Even when that scene was beginning to decline close to the 5th generation in American and Europe, it still endured in the East for much longer and a foundation of titles in that space (with most allowed to be localized to Western arcades eventually) could have really changed Sonic's standing in that region if the games were popular enough.
Secondly, having that kind of line of games from a practical standpoint would have necessitated a specific group to work on it, especially once Sonic Team suffered burnout after the Mega Drive era. Having another team of young developers making games for that kind of hardware not only could have allowed fresh perspectives on the series, but it might have also become experienced enough for SoJ and especially Naka to eventually trust with home console releases. With the dubious communication between the branches of the company in the Saturn era and the disastrous nature of X-Treme's development, a home-grown group that had actual Sonic releases under their belt might been allowed to bloom in a way Chris Senn and his team weren't.
Finally, it could have been a series of releases that beefed up the libraries of the Dreamcast (and perhaps other consoles after) down the line. Even Sonic arcade games that leaned into very immersive parts of that scene (wide screens, deluxe sound, non-split screen multiplayer) could have been translated into the home experience as technologies improved and replicating the arcade feel became possible. For all intents and purposes, a parallel series of Sonic games to the home/portable lines might have been something that could have improved the latter libraries of both with ports just by its unique identity alone.
I'm not saying all this could have made Sonic an AAA franchise in Japan, saved the Dreamcast, or would have steered the series away from missteps in the 6th/7th generations. However, it is something that could have greatly strengthened the franchise at its weaker points and allowed it a more significant legacy in the one video game field where it lacks much of one.
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