Topic: Sonic Mania Physical Release For PS4 (All Current Gen Systems?)

I am a big fan of Sonic and can't wait for Sonic Mania but so far I have heard nothing of a physical release for this game. This game just was announce delayed a couple weeks ago, do you think it could be because there making a physical version for all consoles? Do you guys want a physical of Sonic Mania? I would like to know also here's a custom box art I made for the game

@Sonic1994 They're probably looking into it but I suspect Sonic Mania will only be available digitally. Even the special edition comes with a download code rather than a physical copy. Maybe they'll release it on disc somewhere down the line

i would love one but i seriously doubt that it would be worth the cost to SEGA, not with what is basically a 16 bit game

of course they could do some kind of compilation and include it on that, such as a disc all the Mega Drive Sonic Games on it

@FullbringIchigo I'd actually love that.

@FullbringIchigo I wouldn't doubt it yet, twinfinite recently got a change to talk to one of Sega's product manager Jim Dyer and ask him about a physical release of the game and this is what he said http://twinfinite.net/2017/04/sega-is-listening-regarding-phy...

@Quintumply Very true they could always release it later down the line but what could the delay be for you think and if you read my other post with the link sega is listing regarding a physical release of mania

@Sonic1994 The delay could be a number of things. It could be some last minute bugs or flaws they are still working out, it could mean they wanted a better release date, it could mean they want more marketing for it.

@Tasuki Yes I see that

Nice cover. Either way I just want the game. Digital will be fine for me. Gimmie gimmie!!

Yup I'm with Kyle and Stephen on this, I just want some Sonic 2d in my life. Digital is fine as I can't imagine selling it on.

On a serious note, I can see Sonic mania having a crazy high metacritic rating so it's disappointing no physical release is planned for those who want one.

@themcnoisy If the game comes out digital only I'll still play the game because I love Sonic and already pre-order the game when it was announce. I hope this game scores good which I think it will, its the one Sonic game I'm excited

@KratosMD 'Mark my words'

Consider them marked, this gonna be interesting. If Sonic Mania scores 85+ then I win the Internet, 75 or lower and you win the day. 76-84 we draw.

@themcnoisy I've seen some reviewers give games such as Sonic 4 episode I a 1/10. Sure it wasn't great, but was still good and in no way a game that should have scored worse than the notorious E.T. The Game on ANY website.

I highly doubt it. It'll be digital only.
One of the reasons why Sega have gone with 3D Sonic is because that is a £50/$60 store shelf game- hence Sonic Forces. Unless Sonic Mania reviews really well (84+), I don't see it happening. Then again we've seen budget physical titles in Overcooked, Rocket League and Little Nightmares of late.

Either way I'll be going digital. Jump in, jump out. I might be in the minority here, but I'm much more excited for Sonic Forces.

3D>2D

Sonic Mania could score 'highly' just for the nostalgia. It often surprises me how well 25+yr old games (at least in style, game-play etc) get reviewed these days. Compared to games like the Witcher 3 , with its sheer size, impressive visuals and great, complex story, Uncharted 4, a technical showcase with a great story and solid game-play, Horizon:ZD with its incredible visuals, story etc etc. Yes I know these all scored well with the critics but a game like Sonic, with its 25yr+ game-play, simplistic art-style, no story etc will probably score as high as these - probably because of nostalgia. Games like Sonic, Mario, Zelda etc often get 'bonus' points because of their heritage, their history. All they have to do is say a 'new' Mario, Sonic, Pokemon or Zelda game is in development and people go crazy yet if some great developer comes up a new IP - especially if its a departure from their 'normal' genre, people are full of doubt, wanting reviews, almost expecting it to be a flop or fail, critical of the story or concept, critical of the character choice/model etc (yes I am referring to Horizon during the time from reveal to release) but show a 2D image of Sonic in a 16bit inspired landscape and people can't wait for it... is it any wonder why developers and publishers are unwilling to take too many risks, try to evolve franchises?

Its all relative of course and I really don't understand how some games are rated with reviews so I don't tend to pay too much attention to scoring. I tend to look for certain key aspects - like performance related comments. I am sure pricing plays a factor into reviews and indie/budget titles that score a 9 are very different '9's' from a AAA game. I think they are scored according to their 'peers' rather than actually having a universal, across the board, reviewing system. I am not criticising indies, budget titles, games like Sonic Mania etc or the way reviewers score games but if you were to compare games equally, looking at the visual quality, the depth of story, game-play mechanics, variety of content, etc etc. Even if you did a 'cost per hour' based on the time it takes to complete a game - not factoring in replayability as that could also be a separate point, in the majority of cases, AAA games despite costing a lot more, often work out better value on a pure 'cost per hour' basis. It seems a 'conscious' decision by reviewers to give these games a lot more leeway because they are 'cheap', made by small teams on small budgets and expectations are much lower too. Mass Effect:Andromeda was criticised and compared to recent RPG's, justifiably so, but I still spent 100hrs on the campaign alone, still think despite some of the animations and dialogue (at least it had a story and proper spoken dialogue), some performance issues, its still technically far superior to these 2D 16bit era looking games that will probably score higher and be a 1 trick pony.

By the time the Sega MegaDrive collection arrived on last gen, I really had moved on from 2D Sonic. I can't deny I loved these games back in the early 90's but I was also moving into adulthood when Sonic released. Its not part of my 'childhood', which maybe a factor, but I really lost interest in the what those 2D sonic games offered. I know 3D sonic hasn't been successful but I actually enjoyed Sonic Unleashed and Shadow the Hedgehog much more. Last gens 3D 'Sonic the Hedgehog' wasn't great admittedly but I still prefer that now to the same 2D sonic games we had 25+yrs ago.

@BAMozzy Its not nostalgia. The 2D Sonics were and very much still are great games. I expect Mania to do well because it will be a solid game. You need to understand some people genuinely like 8-16bit style games for what they are!

@KratosMD I'm with @themcnoisey on this one, it'll do over 85 on Metacritic I reckon!

@KratosMD See I'm counting on it getting less reviews than bigger releases so a few high scores will have a big impact on its average. But yeah, I can still see it getting 7 average as well, especially if more outlets review.

On the point of difficulty the originals were certainly tough but made harder due to the limited lives and continues. I expect Mania will do away with this and combined with the ability to save I don't see it being too difficult to complete.

@kyleforrester87 It wasn't meant as a criticism - more a point on how these type of games can score very high despite the lack of visual excellence and technical showcase, despite the lack of depth and story, despite the lack of mechanics (basically just left, right and jump). I wouldn't be surprised if it scored 9's or more and ends up being the 'best' 2D sonic game but I still think that '9' would not be a '9' if it was assessed in the same way as games like Uncharted, Witcher 3 or MGS for example. If a 3D AAA game released with character models and visuals like Uncharted (the first on last gen) released today, it would be slated

You make the point by saying people like these games for what they are - and a lot of that comes down to 'nostalgia' for that era. Not just in visuals but the game-play too. A throwback to a more simplistic era in gaming. Things like Story can be quite personal and much more objective. I, for example, didn't think that much to the Last of Us because I found the story quite predictable and had no affinity to the character I was playing - Joel. He wouldn't be someone I would want in my social circle which obviously had an negative 'impact' on my overall view and feel of the game - Mechanically it played well, vocally can't fault it, music was good too and visually stunning but the story and characters were somewhat of an issue and the side characters on the whole were quite poor too and predictably died - pretty much within a chapter or two of meeting them if not sooner. With games like Sonic, there is no 'story' to affect opinion, the more simplistic nature of the visuals, not only help with performance but also eradicate possible distractions, like poor facial animations and lip synch issues etc. The lack of character development, story and progression and often relatively quick levels leads to instant gratification. Jump straight in and start playing and can often complete several levels whilst you could be having a 'conversation' in a game like the Witcher 3 for example.

Games like the Witcher 3 for example have many more areas that reviewers can mark against it - the quality of the story, the character models and animations, the vocal performance - not just of main characters but NPC's and 'nobodies' who are just there to give you a 'quest', the quality and variety of 'side' quests, how the combat feels, do the weapons feel like they have weight, feel right etc, is there enough variety to the combat and how 'complex' it is (or isn't), the variety of enemy types and variety of combat this can offer, how the levelling up and progression works, what's the 'economy' like, how 'dense' or sparse the world is, how it all fits together and performs - are there any glitches because you stumbled on a quest early or performance issues like drops in frame rate, draw distances (something 2D games never have to worry about), textures and pop-ins, even things like 'water' gets picked up on - how well it looks, does it splash properly etc. things like lighting, shadow quality, atmosphere, reflections etc - all technical aspects that help give a 2D image the depth and illusion of a 3D space. Then you have things like hair, clothing etc, how these move and flow. is there any clipping issues - hair that goes through clothing or people that are half in a rock or fence. Any errors or issues here bring a score down but a game that's much more simplistic in both art-style and game-play is unlikely to have these concerns and would inevitably score higher because there is so much less to consider.

I know I said variety a lot above but the only real variety to a sonic game is the level stages. If this Sonic looks like a 2D sonic game and does what a 2D sonic game does - i.e. get from left to right, quickly with responsive controls and no performance drops, then I can't see it getting 7's. The only thing that will bring it down is performance and variety of levels for the price. If it only has 4 or 5 zones with 2-3 stages in each for £35, then maybe some may feel its not enough for the money but other than that, there is far less to consider when reviewing these games, far less areas to pick holes in, far less areas where issues can arise or divide opinion. Story for example can be divisive and depend on whether you feel emotionally involved, whether the characters feel 'real' or not. Going back to Joel, despite my opinion on him as a character, I can't deny that he felt like a 'real' character.

There is still a place for games like this. People don't always want to get bogged down with story, character development etc and just want something fun and simple to unwind from the stresses of everyday life. I totally understand that and like I said, it wasn't meant as a criticism. It was more about the review structure and scoring system. Even if Sonic scores 100% on Metacritic and is the 'best' 2D Sonic game ever, there is no way that makes this a 'greater' achievement and game than something like the Witcher 3. Point I am making is that a review score is not necessarily indicative of its 'place' across ALL games but more indicative of where it falls within its 'genre'. If that does get 10's, that's more indicative of how good it is compared to other 2D games like this not that its the 'best' game of all time. A 9 for an indie game to me tells me its one of the 'best' indie games available but I certainly don't expect it to offer more than a AAA game rated at 8. Its just I see so many people saying how can you give this massive 20hr+ 3D AAA game an 8 with additional MP, co-op modes a lot of replayability, awesome graphics by todays standards etc, when you gave this 'indie' 5hr 2D game, with dated graphics/game-play, no additional content like MP or co-op, etc a 9. Scores are 'relative' so those thinking that Sonic may only score 7's at most because its not evolved visually or from a game-play perspective, and looking at games like Horizon:ZD, Uncharted etc and their scores are missing the point of the review score structure. Point I was making is that review scores are NOT equal in that a 8/9 for a AAA open world Action RPG with incredible visuals compares to an 8/9 for a 2D sonic game or an 8/9 for indie game or even an 8/9 for a AAA linear shooter with MP/Co-op options. I know that 'Sonic' will probably score a bit higher than a modern day 'clone' because its 'Sonic', the original and still holds a nostalgic place in peoples hearts - even if technically the other is 'superior' in someway - its just a 'Sonic' wannabe. You can't tell me that Nostalgia doesn't play a big factor in this. Can't tell me that people aren't hoping this conjures up memories of the 90's and can't wait to play Green Hill Zone again - more than any 'new' zone. Games like Crash and MWr are/were anticipated highly hoping to recreate that nostalgic feel of playing these games the first time, conjuring up memories. People don't want them brought up to date - other than a visual make-over at most.

@BAMozzy how can Witcher 3 be compared to Sonic? It's like comparing Terminator 2 against an episode of family fortunes. But it could be the best episode of family fortunes ever!

Either way I'm probably going to love mania because its a game for me/the fans of the classics. I think the genesis games hold up pretty well, 1 can be hard to come back to but 2 and 3 are awesome. So getting back on track who wants a physical version of Mania?