Sega management has once again maintained that there are no plans to delay Sonic Frontiers following mixed reception from fans and media.
Following a Q1 briefing for the fiscal year ending March 2023, Sega Sammy senior executive vice president Koichi Fukazawa and executive vice president Makoto Takahashi answered questions on a number of topics.
One question asked whether Sega was considering postponing the release of Sonic Frontiers to improve it, following feedback from players and the press.
“We do not consider postponing the launch at this point,” Sega’s official English translation of the response reads.
“Within the communication with users, we intend to reflect the parts that can be reflected within the development timeline and to build empathy with users.
“Sonic IP is a mainstay title we will sell over the long term in the future, and we will continue to strengthen it in the next fiscal year onwards as well.”
The execs also noted that they expect the success of the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 film to have a direct impact on Sonic Frontiers sales.
“We have high expectations for Sonic Frontiers, the mainstay title that is scheduled to be launched this winter,” their statement reads. “In the previous film, repeat sales of Sonic titles grew and Sonic’s licensing business was also positively affected after the film was released.
“The same effect is expected in the film this time, which has become a bigger hit than the previous one, and while aiming to expand the reach of Sonic IP, we also want to aim for the upside for the new title.”
Press went hands-on with Sonic Frontiers earlier this year and feedback varied wildly
In an interview with VGC in June, Sonic Team studio head Takashi Iizuka first stated that there were no plans to delay Sonic Frontiers following its gameplay reveal.
“We really feel confident in the playtest results that we’re getting,” Iizuka told us in June. “A lot of people are saying they had a lot of fun, they really enjoyed the game.
“So we realise a lot of people are watching the videos online and making assumptions, but we do feel confident based on the playtest results from the target demographic that are coming in and playing the game start to finish, they really like the game and we’re confident that we’re making a game that will be satisfying.
“So if our development team all gets coronavirus, or they’re all hospitalised, or there’s something that actually prohibits us from being able to deliver the game on time, we will need more time.
“But we’re working right now with our team in Japan who are working really hard to make sure this holiday people can buy the game, pick it up, take it home and have a fun experience with it.”
Gamescom Opening Night Live host Geoff Keighley stated earlier this week that “a world premiere new look and news about Sonic Frontiers” will be shown during the live show on August 23.
Sonic Frontiers is still slated to release in 2022 for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Switch and PC, and Sega has said it’s targeting high review scores for the game.
However, the publisher has still to officially confirm the game’s release date.
Source: https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/sega-claims-again-that-sonic-frontiers-wont-be-delayed/
