Petition to Include SatAM in the Sonic game franchise

[[USMC]OldSonicFan]

Hate to be "that guy", but I almost would rather not see it done, seeing as how the sonic games have been... poorly handled, for quite some time. I have this nagging feeling that if it happened, sega would find a way to halfarse/notbugtest/otherwise ensure the game is sub-par at best, 06 at worst. You know what I mean?

Yes, but since then Sega has been at least careful with what they throw into the franchise. While Sonic Generations has yet to hit stores, the demo (available for 360) seems to be more on target.

Again, there are more important things than fear. This effort has potential to reviving the franchise and putting it on right tracks for the future. Though I suppose if you'd rather just have memories of "the good old days" and no intention of ever seeing such things again, that's entirely up to you. I think we can find enough people who will think its worth a shot. I really don't think there's too much to lose. Even if they screw it up, you'll always have SatAM.

[GekiTheReviewer]

Hell, Crash and Spyro are in the crapper right now and they were my games of choice before Sonic. Do I think they should kill both series? Hell no! There's always hope.... not for the new Spyro game though... he just looks fugly.

[Rozax]

Whenever the petition is drafted, be sure to let the mods know so it can be posted to Twitter! And if you'd like a proof-reader, I'm a grammar nazi.

[HaricTheHedgehog]

I would like to sign the petition but I can not. I can not find the petition on Facebook. There is a link that could take me there ?

[GekiTheReviewer]

I don't think it's made yet. Right now he's just looking for support.

[[USMC]OldSonicFan]

I would like to sign the petition but I can not. I can not find the petition on Facebook. There is a link that could take me there ?

I'm still writing it. Waiting on feedback from Archie Comics Customer Service to see if I can show them the market they have outside of the Sonic comic subscribers who themselves are invested in a number of characters from SatAM. The more professional and thought out this looks, the better. I want to present the business end as well as show the fan enthusiasm since Sega is apparently a very stiff-necked bunch and obviously sees its decisions as Japan-centric to a big extent. Anything from America will need to be pretty damn convincing, even if it ever gets Sega of America's support.

Once it's completed, it will be f*cking everywhere. If you check this site every now and then, you'll definitely be in the loop. I'll post it in 'News & Updates' as well as here. The petition will be hosted on a separate website from facebook. It'll be up to people like you to use your networks to raise awareness for a group or event centered on this petition.

[[USMC]OldSonicFan]

FOREWORD: I finally had some spare time and completed the petition. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like getting back to my information request is a very high priority for the folks at Archie. I've prepared this petition so that I can easily include information about the comic sales (and its implied audience) in the latter part of the second paragraph. However, if we never get that information, the petition is worded such that it creates a strong argument without it.
Anyway, this is your time to look it over and suggest revisions. I'm giving it one week on this forum. Next week, providing we have solid support for the document (or agreements on a revised version), I will put it up on a petitioning website and put the link here. At that point, we'll simply need to work on publicizing it wherever we can on the web.

[[[THE PETITION (Pending Review):

Sega of America
ATTN: Mike Hayes
350 Rhode Island Street, Ste. 400
San Francisco, CA 94103

Mr. Hayes:

We write to you in hopes that our voices may be heard and that together we may bring your company’s treasured mascot back to the forefront of popular culture. While we recognize the Japanese origins and contributions to Sonic the Hedgehog, it was Sega of America who gave him the classic look we know and love. He is a multinational character, and we in the West deserve as much of a say in his future as those audiences and developers in the East. We all know that the Sonic franchise has been struggling in the modern game industry. The 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog game highlighted this, with reviewers like GamesTM denouncing it by saying "...Sonic's relationship and kiss with Princess Elise truly marked the point the series had veered off into absolute nonsense." We, the fans, are not comfortable staying the course as the Sonic universe drifts into ridiculousness; nor are we content letting our favorite video game character disappear into the pages of history as one who was once more recognizable than Mickey Mouse. It was not merely disappointing game play that didn’t meet the gold standard we expect from the Sonic franchise though. In this, the age of next generation gaming, a compelling storyline is expected as well. The franchise as a whole lacks continuity, and what’s more, fans demand it. This is why we now formally submit this petition to you for the purpose of including the cast, locales, and general storyline of the Sonic the Hedgehog Saturday morning cartoon series into future Sonic the Hedgehog games and media.

Looking back on Sonic’s history, the Sonic the Hedgehog Saturday morning cartoon series by DiC has stood the test of time with their fanbase more so than any other form of Sonic media. Now popularly known as “Sonic SatAM”, the show was cancelled on the premise that it wouldn’t be able to compete with the Power Rangers, which itself only lasted 3 seasons.
However, the Archie Comics Sonic the Hedgehog comic series, which is based on the “SatAM” cartoon, has been running strong since June of 1993, even breaking the Guinness World Record for longest comic book series based on a video game character. It is now in its 18th year of publication. Many comic series even spinoffs of popular characters such as Batman or the X-Men, don’t last more than a few years. This Sonic comic series is highly successful and for good reason. Its stories are deep, the characters have rich personalities, the tone is tastefully darker, and it builds off of the solid foundation provided by the Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon.

We, the undersigned, ask that Sega put its faith in the fans of Sonic the Hedgehog and incorporate the world of Mobius, as seen in the Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon series, complete with the Freedom Fighters (Sally Acorn, Bunnie Rabbot, Antoine, and Rotor) into the Sonic game franchise. We believe this would give Sonic the continuity, direction, and support the franchise desperately needs as it moves further into the 21st century. We believe this is entirely possible without sacrificing Sonic’s classic elements, the characters that have been added to the franchise thus far, or the history provided by past games. The tone and character cast are ideal for Western audiences and will certainly gain support among the casual gamers of Japan as well. More importantly, it will appeal to multiple generations of gamers: those who are just starting to play and those who still have not forgotten Sonic and his first blockbuster games.

We implore you to strongly consider this petition and submit it with your blessing to Sonic Team and Sega of Japan. We will be attempting to contact Hajime Satomi, CEO of Sega of Japan, and Takashi Iizuka, head of Sonic Team, in a similar fashion. We thank you for your time and consideration.


Very Respectfully,

The Fans of Sonic the Hedgehog ]]]

[GekiTheReviewer]

Pretty good, well written and obviously had a lot of thought put into it. With that being said you should probably be more clear when you say

for the purpose of including the cast, locales, and general storyline of the Sonic the Hedgehog Saturday morning cartoon series into future Sonic the Hedgehog games and media.

While I like Sonic SatAm there's no lying that it feels nothing like what Sonic is actually all about and is a completely different atmosphere. You mention that you'd like to make the world of Mobius in cannon but what exactly do you want when you say "Plot"? And what exactly should the FFs be doing? Sonic doesn't really need them to beat Eggman. You should specify a bit more as to what changes adding these guys might bring as SEGA sure would be considering them and they've probably considered many times over why they wouldn't work. This kind of makes me want to make reference to a conversation I had on Ian's forum were I was discussing what changes Sally in particular would have to go through to be better suited for the games and that the Comics would have to do most of the legwork to make the comics more like the games. http://bumbleking.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... 0&start=45

[[USMC]OldSonicFan]

Pretty good, well written and obviously had a lot of thought put into it. With that being said you should probably be more clear when you say

for the purpose of including the cast, locales, and general storyline of the Sonic the Hedgehog Saturday morning cartoon series into future Sonic the Hedgehog games and media.

While I like Sonic SatAm there's no lying that it feels nothing like what Sonic is actually all about and is a completely different atmosphere. You mention that you'd like to make the world of Mobius in cannon but what exactly do you want when you say "Plot"? And what exactly should the FFs be doing? Sonic doesn't really need them to beat Eggman. You should specify a bit more as to what changes adding these guys might bring as SEGA sure would be considering them and they've probably considered many times over why they wouldn't work. This kind of makes me want to make reference to a conversation I had on Ian's forum were I was discussing what changes Sally in particular would have to go through to be better suited for the games and that the Comics would have to do most of the legwork to make the comics more like the games. http://bumbleking.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... 0&start=45

A fair criticism. Supporting characters can always be removed, but more characters tend to add a bit more depth to almost any story. As for a game, you don't necessarily need Tails to beat Sonic 2 either, but it was kinda fun having him around (except for those levels where you're not sure if you're the one drowning).
I'm not convinced that Sega has given these characters a fighting chance though. From what I've gathered, they seem to be a very closed-minded bunch when it comes to the Sonic franchise and aren't too keen on letting outsiders have much of a say. For instance, they make a lot of demands of the comic and don't incorporate any of its aspects into their games while expecting them to accept all of their changes, even though the comics put in a lot of creative effort. It seems they're more focused on their Japanese audiences too, since the company is headquartered there, and they almost always lack proper marketing for their products in the US. I feel its almost done out of disinterest for markets outside of Japan. Given, we're sending this to Sega of America, but everyone knows that its Tokyo that is really in charge.

By listing that we want these characters and the general storyline, we are implying that Sonic's world has already been overtaken by Robotnik and the Freedom Fighters are trying to end his reign of terror. That's the most basic premise of the show. How they incorporate that in a game or what they have these characters do should be up to the game's creators, having read the demands of the Sonic fanbase.

That being said, would you be able to submit a revision with the specifics you mentioned? We just want to keep this somewhat short and have the demands broad enough that they can work with it. I'm just not convinced that an authoritative approach, spelling out details to the letter, will be effective or well received within Sega. Just give me something in quotes to put in and I'll dress it up if need be.

[Petal Upon Raindrops]

My first post here, I hope I don't come off as too negative...

While I applaud the effort and dedication that you have in bringing this back...I don't think you realise just how colossal an undertaking this is. To explain a reason for both your aims at SoA and SoJ;

SoA; Simply put, petitioning to them would be nigh on useless. The developing part of Sonic Team USA was absorbed and rendered non-existant after Shadow the Hedgehog in 2005. I'd even go as far to say that SoE holds more say in Sonic than SoA does. What you see from SoA (Mike Hayes, Ken Balough) is literally just marketing faces, they don't hold sway over the franchise.

SoJ; A little storytelling for this one. Back in June, there was that convention held in London, Summer of Sonic. From what accounts I've seen, quite a good number of fans asked Yuji Naka and Takashi Iizuka about the likes of AoStH and SatAM. Their response; they didn't have the faintest clue what the fans were on about. Naka even apparently went on to say that if he'd had heard of these shows and how they'd deviated from the games back in 1993, he wouldn't have been too happy at all.

Long story short, the whole thing cannot just be "Sonic Team is ignoring these characters, we need to get them to recognise them". They literally haven't heard of these American assets. Its a bit like that Sonic Manga that was only rumoured to wxist for years until someone actually hunted down the pages. We'd never knew of its existance for decades, while over in Japan they lifted Amy Rose and Charmy Bee from them and inserted them into game canon. If you want even a shot, you'd have to really do something special.




Just a few pointers, t'is all.

[Elisto Dragonwings]

From what accounts I've seen, quite a good number of fans asked Yuji Naka and Takashi Iizuka about the likes of AoStH and SatAM. Their response; they didn't have the faintest clue what the fans were on about. Naka even apparently went on to say that if he'd had heard of these shows and how they'd deviated from the games back in 1993, he wouldn't have been too happy at all.

Off topic, but that's can not be true. Sega has all of the animation cels for SatAM in Japan.

When DiC tried to sell some of the cels from their vaults, Sega got really upset because they considered SatAM their property and took them all. The cels and backgrounds that do turn up were all bought from DiC in the short time before Sega made them stop. I was told this by the animation dealer Art-Toons, who was one of the few companies to buy cels before Sega stepped in. Plus, it's my understanding that the episodes had to be approved by Sega in the first place. If they didn't pay much attention to it, well, fine, but they were aware of it. Plus, they were aware of Sally, given how she turns up in both US and Australian merchandise, and they stepped in during Endgame to keep her alive in the comics.

So either Naka's lying, has a bad memory, doesn't have as much power over the Sonic franchise as he acts like he does, or he didn't say that.

[Miko]

SoA were the ones who saved Sally though, not SoJ, Naka or Iizuka. SoA was also probably more in charge of merchandise in America when the FFs were more popular than Sonic Team or SoJ too. With that said, I'd prefer a petition that looks to incorporate western fans' opinions more directly. I've heard SoJ held contests about which of their barely known characters would Japanese fans like to see in games, and people could write in what they wanted (albiet they had to know Japanese).

My question is, why don't American and European fans get access to these sorts of things? Why can't we make petitions, get polls that will matter, etc? I think what I would want above all else, and what would help in the long run, is for SEGA to allow for a more direct dialogue between it's fans and the company. Especially European/American fans who have little to no access to SoJ.

[David Lynch]

From what accounts I've seen, quite a good number of fans asked Yuji Naka and Takashi Iizuka about the likes of AoStH and SatAM. Their response; they didn't have the faintest clue what the fans were on about. Naka even apparently went on to say that if he'd had heard of these shows and how they'd deviated from the games back in 1993, he wouldn't have been too happy at all.

Off topic, but that's can not be true. Sega has all of the animation cels for SatAM in Japan.

When DiC tried to sell some of the cels from their vaults, Sega got really upset because they considered SatAM their property and took them all. The cels and backgrounds that do turn up were all bought from DiC in the short time before Sega made them stop. I was told this by the animation dealer Art-Toons, who was one of the few companies to buy cels before Sega stepped in. Plus, it's my understanding that the episodes had to be approved by Sega in the first place. If they didn't pay much attention to it, well, fine, but they were aware of it. Plus, they were aware of Sally, given how she turns up in both US and Australian merchandise, and they stepped in during Endgame to keep her alive in the comics.

So either Naka's lying, has a bad memory, doesn't have as much power over the Sonic franchise as he acts like he does, or he didn't say that.

Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions, but I'm getting the feeling this is most likely one of those "I'm a SegaSonic-only fan going to pretend to a SatAM fan for one or two posts to be the voice of dissent in the SatAM fan community just in case this actually has an effect" people who we get coming here from time to time whenever someone wants to do something like this.

[Petal Upon Raindrops]

Just because SEGA have the cels and approves the licences, doesn't mean that Naka and Iizuka have personally seen to them. SEGA is a BIG corporation, there are several departments and it's unlikely that Naka and Iizuka personally oversee the copyright and licensing stuff.

[Elisto Dragonwings]

Just because SEGA have the cels and approves the licences, doesn't mean that Naka and Iizuka have personally seen to them. SEGA is a BIG corporation, there are several departments and it's unlikely that Naka and Iizuka personally oversee the copyright and licensing stuff.

True, but it seems odd that the people responsible for essentially all things Sonic in Japan wouldn't know what the rest of SoJ is doing with that same property.