Sonic fans are worried about Sega’s plans to go all in on mobile gaming.
Sega has confirmed its intention to acquire Angry Birds developer Rovio, and Sonic fans aren’t happy. Whether it’s feared that the Sonic series could be deprioritized, or perhaps even worse, pivoted to mobile games, the community is worried that a follow-up to Sonic Frontiers won’t be at the top of Sega’s agenda.
Some fans are even worried that, with the amount Sega is spending on Rovio, it will want to bring the Angry Birds characters into the fold, crossing them over with the Sonic gang. Whatever this $775 million deal means, fans are far from optimistic – and given how lucrative mobile gaming is compared to single-player titles, it’s easy to see why.
Much of the frustration is related to funding. Sonic Frontiers was said to have gotten by with a main team of 60 developers – pretty small for a huge triple-A release on new hardware.
“There goes the budget for the next Sonic game,” says a Reddit user, discussing the acquisition in the Sonic the Hedgehog subreddit.
“They’re willing to just drop $1B on a basically dead company and series, that they’re then going to invest money into to potentially try to revive,” says another user. “I seriously don’t know how to feel.”
Others are frustrated that Sega appeared reluctant to delay Frontiers, causing it to launch with some performance issues, particularly on last gen.
Of course, Sonic isn’t Sega’s only IP. Fans of the company’s more forgotten series are also speaking out. “I’m am in awe. And in utter anger,” says one user. “Sega, please give us a new NiGHTS game!”
“I just wish they spent that money on old IPs like Shinobi, Ristar, Alex Kidd, Bonanza Bros, Tempo, Virtua Racing, and Columns,” says another.
Others are convinced we’ll get some kind of Sonic and Angry Birds crossover, now that Sega will own both mascots. One fan even suggests it could be Sega’s answer to Mario + Rabbids, a series that has proven incredibly pretty with Mario fans.
In any case, worries that Sega’s primary focus will be the mobile gaming scene are well-founded. In a document detailing the Sega/Rovio acquisition, it’s revealed that the Sonic publisher has huge plans for mobile games.
“Through the Acquisition, the Company [Sega] aims to take-in Rovio’s live-operated mobile game
development capabilities and expertise in mobile game operation, to accelerate the development
of mobile-compatible and multi-platform-supported versions of Sega’s existing game IPs,” it reads. “Existing game IPs” almost definitely include Sonic, so we could expect to see even more mobile games featuring the blue blur.
It’s not all doom and gloom, however. The document also says that Rovio is hoping to “expand its platform outside of mobile gaming,” something which “Sega will actively look to support.”
It remains to be seen if existing games and live services undergo any changes after this acquisition goes through.
