2019/6/18: Nintendo Switch: Sonic Team Racing

[VideoGameCritic]

Let's hear your thoughts!

[Sonicx9]

Let's hear your thoughts!

Critic, after this disappointing game that you reviewed, it might be a good idea for you to review both Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy and Atari Flashback Classics on the Nintendo Switch to wash the bad taste out of your mouth?

[Cafeman]

I enjoyed the Xbox 360 Sonic racing games, so I was eager to read your review of this one. It sounds disappointing. I wonder what happened. From the team that brought us Outrun 2!

[Buttermancan]

I thought Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed was fantastic so its sad to hear this one falls below the last effort. Still the score is not bad so I'll check it out when it comes down in price. I wonder if there will be a patch on it's way to improve the 4-player splitscreen. I imagine the Xbox and PS4 are ok in 4 player but maybe not.

[CaptainCruch]

I'm a long time Sega fan, I owned a Master System, MegaDrive, 32X and Saturn, and still play the MegaDrive to this day. I think the original Sonic games and Streets of Rage games are some the best games ever made.

But what's going on at Sega, once one of the biggest gaming companies of the world? If you look at their website, there's just one upcoming game (Judgement for PS4, which looks fine I guess, I'm just not interested in it). I also looked at some of their E3 2019 press releases and those are mostly about the Genesis Mini, which is fine, but I still feel the Xbox 360/PS3 Sonic Ultimate Collection is a better buy, especially now it's on budget. All that's left at E3 was Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, which is fine once more, but also isn't too exciting.

Some other core Sega franchises are even handled by Sega themselves, strangely enough. The new Panzer Dragoon remake for the Switch doesn't even seem to be published by Sega. The new ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove seemed to went under the radar for many as a download-only title and also wasn't developed or published by Sega. The release date of Streets of Rage 4 is still a mystery and that game will also be developed and published by other companies than Sega.

So, can someone tell me what's going? Is Sega just like Atari nowadays, just licensing franchises to other companies without much success? Or is there something I'm missing?

[BlasteroidAli]

I think back in the day when Sega was huge they wasted a lot of money. Sega World anyone? They wanted to become the number 1 games company for all ages. It came back and bit them on the botty. The Sega games worlds are no more. As are so many of the great game series. They did not move with the times and are left in the dust these days.

Golden axe remake on the 360. Terrible. Just awful and unplayable. I know the critic liked it but he is the only one.

Shinobi has not been seen this the Ps2.

Though every year there is a Sonic offering. This year was even worse that most years. I thought Sonic racing on the 360 was average.

I really do love Sega but they are pushing it.

Oh Phantasy Star online is coming the the Xbox 1 this fall and that is Sega so I guess there is life in the old dog yet.

[Paul Campbell]

I thought Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed was fantastic so its sad to hear this one falls below the last effort. Still the score is not bad so I'll check it out when it comes down in price. I wonder if there will be a patch on it's way to improve the 4-player splitscreen. I imagine the Xbox and PS4 are ok in 4 player but maybe not.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is silly smooth in 4 player split screen to my eyes, so I don't think it's the Switch...

[Atariboy]

I wish they'd stow this franchise away and let Sumo Digital tackle developing Outrun 3.

I'd very happily even settle for a remaster of Outrun 2 SP (aka Outrun 2006: Coast to Coast).

[VideoGameCritic]

Sega has basically sucked since they left the hardware business. Remember all those fun Dreamcast games? After that nothing.

Maybe Sega thought it was going to be easy just making software, pumping out remixed versions of games like Sonic Adventure and Crazy Taxi. They got lazy. What new Sega properties have come out over the last 15 years?

When a company falls this far, I can only imagine it's because the people who took over really weren't gamers and really didn't really understand the product. They were probably some boring executives who just care about the bottom line.

The Atari analogy is correct. Sega really is Sega in name only.

[Retro STrife]

Sega has basically sucked since they left the hardware business. Remember all those fun Dreamcast games? After that nothing.

Maybe Sega thought it was going to be easy just making software, pumping out remixed versions of games like Sonic Adventure and Crazy Taxi. They got lazy. What new Sega properties have come out over the last 15 years?

As a developer, Yakuza is the only popular new IP that Sega has started after the Dreamcast. As their one success, they are now milking that franchise to death. They’ve had a few successes as a publisher, but not personally creating any great new series.

They were bought out sometime around 2004, so that might be part of the problem too.