Despite Sega's Aaron Webber pouring a bucket of cold water over reports that Sumo Digital is working on a new Sonic & All-Stars racer, the rumours persist. We're now hearing that Sumo is indeed beavering away on a Sonic-themed speed-fest, but this time around it won't be pulling in characters from the wider Sega universe and will instead focus on Sonic and his pals - just like Sonic R and Sonic Drift, racing titles of old.
The evidence is a member on The Sonic Stadium forum who previously predicted that Sonic Forces would have a character editor - whether or not that's convincing enough for you is all down to personal preference.
If this is true, and Sumo is indeed creating a Sonic racer which ignores Sega's other games, it could be seen as something of a step down from the brilliance of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, which really celebrated the company's proud heritage by featuring properties such as Shinobi, Golden Axe, Alex Kidd, Afterburner, Skies of Arcadia and many others. However, as long as the game is of a high enough quality, the world of Sonic should be more than enough to ensure it reaches a wide audience - and let's face it, Sumo's work in this genre is excellent.
Let us know if you buy this particular rumour - and if you think Sumo really is working on something - by posting a comment below.
Comments 98
Well, as long as it's not Sonic Team at the helm this game has a shot at being good.
I was never a fan of the previous Sonic racing game. I'd much prefer to just load up Mario Kart 8 Deluxe if I want a kart racing fix.
Isn't that kind of a regressive step? The more characters the better, it's not like Sonic has a huge roster to choose from on its own either.
The same goes for Mario Kart. Metal Mario, Baby Mario, Dry Bowser, Pink Gold Peach and others. I don't know if Nintendo should just expand Mario Kart into like Smah Bros. with all different Nintendo characters and courses. Sure it started as Mario Kart but had Smash been around on the SNES it could have been different and maybe known as Super Mario Smash Bros. Putting more variety in Mario Kart 8 with more Nintendo characters and courses from their respective worlds made it better, well it definitely didn't make it worse.
But the sonic character are really not that great...
Boo this man!
IMO this idea would sell great on the Switch. With Mario Kart Deluxe being a huge success, why not feed the gamers some more cart racing action?
@JHDK Sonic Team never made a Sonic racing game..
So this is basically going to be just Sonic Drift 3 then but with mechanics from the Sega All-Stars Racing series. Hopefully Sumo won't regret this, the best part about the Sega All-Stars Racing series was that there are variety in the characters, tracks, and vehicles. Having to restrict that to just Sonic characters and Sonic game elements would probably turn down fans of the Sega All-Stars Racing series especially those who were fans of the Sega characters from the first two games. Also Sonic Drift and Sonic R games doesn't really had that big of a fanbase so going back to those will not do well with the Sega fans. Also why do I have a feeling that Green Hill Zone will show its face again, Sega do realize that everyone is getting tired of that place already.
Very disappointing, SEGA!!!
I want Alex Kidd, Ulala, AiAi and Ryo Hazuki
It should have been a Sega all star racers, a way to include more characters. Or they have done the olympics, why not Mario vs Sonic tag team racers, or just racers. keeping to just Sonic keeps it limited and a little dull.
Maybe a new Sonic Riders game? Haven't had a new one in a while, and with Sumo I would actually think it could be good. Just an idea.
Im ok with this
If this is true, Sega can blame themselves for poor sales. The Sonic characters are far too similar to be interesting for more than a few hours. I hope they have a change of heart and direction if true.
The past two games in the All Stars series were pretty great, so even if it’s not quite the same, it could be really fun.
While I’d prefer some other old Sega IP’s get some love, Sonic is honestly the most important of those to me anyway, so I could deal with that, especially if they go all out with old and new characters. I want to race Chaos against Fang for example.
Sonic’s supporting cast deserves some love. This kind of thing does wonders for seldom used characters like Cream, Big the Cat and Sticks. Plus Sumo Digital is a fine developer. It would be cool if they had a story mode like Diddy Kong racing.
@SLIGEACH_EIRE - Why not make Smash everything? Smash Kart, Smash Tennis Aces, Smash Odyssey?
This will be pretty disappointing for me, one of the things I loved about the other games is that they felt like a celebration of their heritage of IPs, it felt designed for fans of Sega in general rather than just Sonic fans like this seems to be, it could still be good fun though.
@SLIGEACH_EIRE Good points... I agree. I also think since Mario Kart 8 DX is a port, and at such an early state in this console's lifespan, we could see a new "Kart/Racing Franchise" begin on the Switch. Maybe one that sees Nintendo utilize all of their IP as in Smash. Along with that, a new line of amiibo of their stable of characters in karts. Mario Kart began incorporating some other IP already, but I wonder if it might make more sense to start a new franchise instead.
@crackafreeze there is one. It was released on PlayStation. I never played it so I don’t know if it’s any good. It’s also on that Mega Man X collection for PS2 and GameCube.
Anyways, what was cool about the past Sonic Racing games is that it included other Sega characters. If this rumor turns out to be true then I can kiss the chances if Streets of Rage characters making the cut goodbye.
@nin10doom - Would give people excuses to make Smash wishlists year around.
It'll be the NFL Network of gaming. The only thing that would stop them is when new IPs are just Smash IPs. Then where will we look for new characters?
Shrek and Goku will have the answers!
If this was about just the tracks, maybe I could get behind it. Not to say that the tracks in the last game were terrible - in many cases they were excellent - but as a product it did feel a little bit of a jumble sale of old stuff. Furthermore, there's plenty of interesting material in the Sonic back catalogue to build interesting tracks out of.
But character wise... I'm less sure that I want to be stuck in a game with that lot. And I bet any group of four people gathered around a TV will struggle to find four Sonic characters they particularly feel strongly about.
@jaymacx This could basically be the entire roster of the Sonic Racing game:
Sonic the Hedgehog
Miles Tails Prowler
Knuckles the Echidna
Amy Rose
Metal Sonic
Cream the Rabbit
Silver the Hedgehog
Shadow the Hedgehog
Blaze the Cat
Big the Cat
Fang the Sniper
Bean the Dynamite
Bark the Polar Bear
Mighty the Armadillo
Vector the Crocodile
Charmy the Bee
Tikal the Echidna
Espio the Chameleon
Chaos Zero
Rouge the Bat
Omega
Zavok
Lyric
Dr. Ivo Robotnik Eggman
Princess Elise
Infinite
Maybe your own created avatar character too like in Sonic Forces
@RyanSilberman So that means they also never ruined a Sonic racing game like they do with almost everything else Sonic.
Would def prefer a Sega racing kart game to just a sonic one. Wish in general Sega would remember that they have some of the best past franchises in video games and not just sonic. Fine to stick sonic on the front etc if it will help sell it but let’s have shinobi etc get some love
@crackafreeze no prob. Mega Man Battle and Chase I think it’s called. You might have to unlock it.
I didn't really care for the other Sega characters in the All-Star racing games. Plus I thought it was weird how there was like 5 Sonic characters but only 1 or 2 characters from other franchises. I'll probably enjoy this game more than all-stars racing and transformed. (If it's really being made.)
@jaymacx That's how a lot of Mario characters are, they only really show up in Mario Kart or Mario Party.
@retro_player_22 "Princess Elise" Haha imagine if SEGA actually brought back something from 06 without retconning it. Theres definitely plenty of characters they could go for, but I imagine it will be more compact like Forces (aka no Omega or Nack Bean Bark).
Makes sense to me. The younger side of Sonic's audience will barely recognise a lot of those other Sega characters and barely any of them are getting games
Not much point in making a Sonic game where the overwhelming majority of characters aren't from games that audience are playing.
dafuuuuuuq?!! that DOES sound like a regression. I thoroughly loved the idea of playing various Sega characters with their unique vehicles and specials..i really hope they reconsider... i mean, even Mario Kart expanding out to other Nintendo IPs. Sega has already been doing it and should expand further!!
I hope this is more retro themed with modern graphics. Like a Sonic Drift HD, like a 3D version of the above artwork. And someone decapitate modern Sonic. Please?
Well that's dumb, Sonic only has a couple of good well knows characters and half the fun was teasing the characters
Sega thinks that Sonic is their only IP that gamers actually care about. How ironic it would be for sales of this game to prove otherwise because they decided to omit tracks based on properties that aren't Sonic this time around. I really wish someone competent with a genuine passion for the hobby and Sega's (entire) history would take over that company so we could finally see them return to producing so many titles that fans REALLY care about.
I get it. They don't want to be outshined by Super Smash Kart which is totally a thing that is happening (if we just believe hard enough).
Funny. I get the sense Nintendo is slowly moving to a Nintendo Kart while Sega maybe moving to a more focused Sonic Kart. Personally, I say the more the merrier as having characters from different franchises goes along with having tracks from said franchises and really helps to diversify the experience. It was fun being able to race in Hyrule, Animal Crossing Village and Mute City
@SLIGEACH_EIRE Nintendo Kart. I agree.
I'd buy it either way.
I'd slightly prefer another in the Sega All-Stars vein as I'm 31 and grew up with much Sega.
However if you get to choose cars in a Sonic only game, and they find a way to slip in Hornet, a Ferrari lookalike, or a Toyota Celica/ Lancia Delta lookalike, that'll do ^_^
Heck yes!!!!
Flying through Sky Sanctuary was magical, simply magical, as a Genesis-era Sonic fan. My only concern is that they’ll focus on locations from modern games. That would suck big time.
I said this last article and I'm saying it again, Sonic Boom Racing.
Yes I realize the game was horrific, but the cartoon series isn't that bad, it's still going after 3 years, and most karting games these days not named MK are aimed at kids - Madagascar, Garfield, Hello Kitty. Shrek.
I could be wrong, but I'm sticking to it.
Sonic Boom Racing
The title kind of writes itself. B/c, ya know, sonic boom when you go fast. And you go fast when you race.
http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/video/sonic-boom/
43 comments and nobody mentioned Boom. I think @Dr_Lugae was close though, certainly on the right track.
I'll definitely still buy it, but I was hoping for Atlus characters as well
@SLIGEACH_EIRE Although I also agree that this would be a step down from Sega racing, I think the Sonic series has even MORE characters to choose from than Mario. I can probably name at least 25 that could be playable lol. I used to be a huge Sonic fan as a kid so I sadly know most of them.
@Whopper744 Agreed. They'd have to go into their back catalog of Sonic characters to make this more interesting. I'm talking Chaos, Tikal, Fang, etc.
@SLIGEACH_EIRE I agree, think it would definitely be better if they made it Nintendo Kart and included all different Nintendo characters.
@ieatdragonz You never know with Sumo Digital.They put Big the cat as a racer before Nights,Joe Musashi,Gilius and Vyse.
I suppose to the younger set, none of these kids even know Sega used to make other games....all those franchises are nostalgic trips for us elders old enough to remember pay phones.
OTOH, Sonic Boom Racing sounds more real now than ever. And that makes me unhappy.
The last one was amazing purely for the Panzer Dragoon course and Sega daring hinting and daring to publish anything ever again of one of the best franchises that they no longer have the skills or knowledge to do anything with
So enjoy all your fav SEGA characters being replaced with Big the Cat, Vector, Charmy Bee, Sticks, and all the lesser loved Sonic characters.
So this is basically going to be just Sonic Drift 3 then but with mechanics from the Sega All-Stars Racing series.
Is ok
Oh I really hope this isn't true. I'm sure it'll be a good game with sumo at the helm but sticking to the Sonic universe will mean a pretty dull selection of characters in comparison to Transformed.
Even worse, the selection of tracks could be a lot less exciting.
I'd prefer to have more SEGA characters, but at the end of the day I'm fine with only Sonic characters. As long as Sumo Digital is still the developer and the game and keeps the mechanics similar to the previous entries.
@RyanSilberman You are actually wrong about Sonic Team never making a race game. The Sonic Rider games were made by the Sonic Team.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_Riders
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_Riders:_Zero_Gravity
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_Free_Riders
I don't know, Sonic does have a pretty diverse and charismatic cast. I think most people will be able to find at least a couple of characters they can live with.
Just port Tembo the Bad Ass Elephant to the Switch.
@MajorTom Sonic Free Rider was crap though, that game would had been good had it not been exclusively tie to Kinect. I rent it, play it, and couldn't control the motion at all, then I saw AngryJoe's video on it and I'm glad I never bought it.
Would not mess with an successful franchise like that. So I hope this is wrong and their working on sonic allstars 2
@JasmineDragon But what if you're not a furry, tho?
What if you want to play as a human, a reptile or a robot?
That's the problem of limiting the roster to just furry characters. You limit the appeal.
I lowkey called it. I honestly feel like, when compared to Mario Kart, All-Stars Racing/SART was too loose-feeling. I dunno, maybe that's just me.
@rjejr That idea actually has some legs. To me, Sonic Boom (the show) to the Sonic franchise is what Teen Titans Go! is to DC Comics: a lighthearted, 4th-wall breaking celebration of a universe with random, genuinely funny & witty children's comedy and some original characters. That's a compliment of the highest regard, in my humble opinion.
Get the show's writers to write some character dialogue or winning/losing, and bam. I find the show's characters more memorable than other Sonic characters. That could work. That could really work. Good idea!
If it has Storm the Albatross I’ll buy it
Transformed was good fun, I'd buy it for a fair price on eShop. I'd love a sequel. The characters were second-rate, but the tracks and transforming were great. And the tracks had a decent length too. I feel really ripped off with the length of many Mario Kart tracks.
@crackafreeze - As long as Mega Man doesn't squeal like a little girl every time he hits something, I think a Mega Man kart game is a great idea.
For me :
Any Mario Karts games >>>>>> Any SEGA Racing games
I am not as into the characters, obviously the more the better but having less isn't that big a deal to me. If it is as good as racing transformed i will buy it though, still would like the ability to create and share tracks though.
@SLIGEACH_EIRE I agree. While we don't exactly need Mario Kart to include characters from other Nintendo franchises, it would be better than having all the redundant characters.
As much as I love Mario Kart 8, 16 of the 41 playable characters are babies, koopalings, or character clones such as Toonki Mario and Pink Gold Peach. I know I'm just one person, but I can't imagine most people caring about these characters. To put things into perspective, Mario Kart Wii had only 24 playable characters and that roster was received much better.
If Nintendo cut out the majority of character clones and incorporated characters from other franchises, I think that would be a terrific roster. Even though I want characters like Petey Piranha and Wiggler to return, creating a "Mario Kart: All-Stars" type game would lead to a more established roster, more recognizable tracks, and an overall larger incentive for consumers to pick up another Mario Kart on Switch.
If Nintendo is going to make another Mario Kart for the Switch, I'd fully expect an "All-Stars" type game or Double Dash 2. It needs to stand out from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
EDIT: Funny how this is an article for a Sonic Racing game and I just talked about Mario Kart for the entirety of my comment. Sorry fam haha.
@MajorTom oh right. Forgot about those
@dres I want Kiryu and Majima from Yakuza
@SLIGEACH_EIRE Nintendo flirted with the idea of expanding MARIO Kart in 8 by adding DLC with Zelda, Animal Crossing and .Splatoon so maybe the next title will move beyond the Marioverse.
Yes
Yes
YES!
Seriously this is nice. We need a new, decent Sonic only racing game
@roboshort - Notice all said characters are within Nintendo's internal development. Only ones missing franchise wise is ARMS and Pikmin. Outside that it comes with quite a bit of red tape, regardless if Nintendo owns the companies or not.
I get why this would not be great for Sega fans. But personally, I have zero history with Sega franchises that aren't Sonic. So for me, this would actually be better. Blaze could be playable!
...Although Racing Transformed was also a really really really good game, so... we'll see how this turns out.
@MH4 Well I don't know if it's a good idea, have you played any of those licensed kart racing games, they're all pretty horrible, but I can see it selling at the holiday as a "family friendly" kart game, meaning everybody who loved Transformed would probably hate it for being "kiddie". 😛
But I do think it could happen. I'd buy a Teen Titans Go kart game, that could be epic, like Wacky Racers. Loved that show as a kid. Guess we'll see.
If that is true no buy for me, sadly.
It's really is a shame. Sumo Digital actually made a good game with a unique casts unlike other pasts Karting games. It's basically alot of the characters from the Sega franchises. I don't play many Sega games and not really a huge Sega fan but it would be nice to see human like characters racing against deformed animals like the past game. I don't think I'll buy it
@rjejr I have played my share of crappy licensed games, the only karting one I can remember being Madagascar Kartz. 😂
I don't feel like it would be one of those. Transformed on 3DS was actually pretty good, so a game like that, but Sonic Boom, is what I was implying. However, I think Sega is pretty much done with Boom now, and although a Boom racer would be fun, it would be a bad business move.
And I would straight up buy a TTG kart racer. If we're making licensed wish lists now, I'd prefer a Smash-style fighter. I feel like that would be a better match for TTG's wacky personality. (But not like that bad "Punchtime Explosion!" game that was a literal Smash bootleg, but with old CN characters.)
(If we're being honest, I'm just glad someone didn't virtually assault me for uttering "TTG is a good show" in a public webspace. 😂)
This game is so stupid, Sonic can run faster why would he drive a car? It's like Superman flying an airplane.
@Hikingguy you do know Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed was a sequel already right? If they made another it would make more sense to number it 3.
@MH4 ""TTG is a good show""
A few years ago I would have banned you from the site, but then I saw the first "Night Begins to Shine" episode and it all made perfect sense. The follow-up isn't as good, but I do watch the show now if I'm channel surfing and it's on. Though I just canceled my cable TV yesterday so no more channeling surfing for me, but TTG is legit good. It's just more Fineas & Ferb than TT, which was good in it's own right, so I can see why people hate TTG, it's kind of blasphemous, but it's awesome too. Marvel Super Hero Squad, w/ the surfer dude Surfer and stupid villains is legit though one of the worst shows of all time, completely ruined my childhood, it's the Jar Jar Binks of superhero cartoons. I should ban myself from this site just for bringing it up.
As for Sonic Boom Racing, you're probably right, but if they are going to make a Sonic kart game w/o the rest of Sega they might as well. How much worse can it be received than Sonic Forces? (Which we own on Switch.)
Wouldn't it be great if they got rid of the carts and just let them run
I hope they let Sonic actually run on the ground this time, like a good version of "Sonic R" (although, while still quite mediocre, wasn't as bad as most people make it out to be).
@rjejr Allow me to see myself out. I enjoyed Super Hero Squad as a kid.
Looking back on it, I see how bad it was, but nostalgia refuses to let me forget part of the theme song. Little me thought it was the funniest thing. And little me also thought the Wii game of it was spectacular. (Key phrase: little me)
I guess I've always had a soft spot for cartoons that cartoon aficionados/the general public dislike. I dunno.
I'm also amazed that we have kept up a conversation about cartoons in a thread about Sonic kart rumors. Kudos to you!! 😂
On one hand, it makes sense to make it a Sonic game, since Sonic characters were so prevalent in past SAR games, however SEGA usually ignores their legacy, and SAR has always been an exception, bringing back memorable characters from SEGA's history, like NiGHTS, AiAi, Billy Hatcher, Ulala, Ryu, Vyse, and characters from games I've never played... and Dannica Patrick. It just kinda sucks SEGA only cares about forcing out one Sonic game after another. I kinda wish the blue blur could take an 8-year hiatus like Mega Man did, during which SEGA could produce ports/remakes/reboots of other franchises, then bring Sonic back with an amazing new game.
Would be a bit of a shame since I enjoy the fact there are so many references to other Sega properties.
Well that means I'll just stick to Mario Kart as there are only about 5 characters in Sonic I'm bothered about. Anything from big purple cats to Black, Silver, light blue or whatever other coloured variations of Sonic there is mean nothing to me.
Surely Mario Kart and Smash Bros has shown the benefit of adding characters from other franchises
Cool, because Sonic has three, maybe four interesting characters. Great call, Sega.
That's cool with me. I only care about the Sonic characters anyways.
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is, along with Diddy Kong Racing, the best karting game if you ask me. If Sega/Sumo Digital focuses on Sonic and his universe this time is fine as long as the game is as good. It could be more coherent (Danica Patrick was the weirdest thing). I'm very excited about this rumoured new game.
@BlueOcean same here. 16 tracks or more from the sonic universe and an all sonic cast would be great. Lets face it, Sega has abandoned most of the characters that were in the previous game with little to no intention of bringing them back, so there's no appeal to them being in future rosters. Don't get me wrong, Beat was my main in all-stars, but most people coming up today have no idea who he is.
@BlueOcean I thought the same thing. I am open to the idea as long as Sumo delivers. Hopefully they give each racer differences unique to the character.
@umegames @jaymacx
Hopefully the rumours are true and we can see the game soon.
That's a shame. No Ryo Hazuki in a forklift.
@retro_player_22 I agree that the other SEGA characters made the Sonic Racing series feel excellent.
Having a pure Sonic themed racer can still work if they make it interesting somehow. Story mode? Some kind of new mechanic?
Honestly though, Mario Kart 8 is perfect in so many ways. It is tough for any Kart Racer to top that. I don't how how they will improve with Mario Kart 9.
@MysteryCupofJoe With Sonic characters I think they could do a lot with some character's personality for example Big the Cat use a fishing hook as his character specific power-up, Cream the Rabbit can use her Chao Cheese to help her deflect projectile, Sonic can boost for a set amount of times, Tails can fly over obstacle or even take shortcuts that other racer couldn't, Knuckles could glide with his kart or even ride up walls, Shadow could gun down racer in his way, Silver can use telekinesis to throw oncoming racer out of the track, etc. With a Sonic theme racer though I'm sure they could make use of the monitors from the Sonic series for power-ups, it was kinda stupid how Sonic Drift and even Sonic R never use those.
Powerups in the monitor could be the power sneaker, an instant boost, the power shield, or maybe some kind of projectile that can hom on other racer, etc. The ring system can be use as currency to buy new custom items for your kart or use to take shortcuts like in Sonic R. They should also introduced a twist to the gameplay for example if a character got shot out of their kart, they could run on foot instead and get on their kart later, even better if they could steal another character's kart during the race. That would be cool to see.
I love that idea of having to run on foot for a while.Have you seen the anime move Red Line? If they somehow make it as intense as that then that would be awesome.
I just chuckled at the word beavering. I’m so immature.
Enjoyed the Sonic & All Stars Racing on the Wii, would welcome any Sega kart/racing game on the Switch.
@MH4 "I'm also amazed that we have kept up a conversation about cartoons in a thread about Sonic kart rumors. Kudos to you!!"
You must be new here. Click on my name, click on Comments. This is the most I've been "on topic" in any conversation this week. I mostly just use NL to have conversations w/ people I know.
@rjejr I'm pretty new. I joined last month, but I've been reading news here for a while. So yeah, I'm technically new. I just checked, and this comment is officially my 98th. Almost to 100!
Still, it was cool to have a conversation with someone about a slightly unrelated topic. (I wanted to mention something about your Wacky Races reference, but I felt it was too off-base. I love cartoon, old and new. 😁) Good to talk to you!
@MH4 And you. Welcome.
I'm not sure how many comments I've posted, I think I did the math recently and it was over 30k, but the number in the upper right for replies is 6,051. I'm not nearly as prolific now.
My guess is they’ll do Sonic characters only, and then release the other SEGA characters as DLC. Charging extra for content seems to be how the bulk of the game publishers are going
I'll say the same thing here that I said on the Sonic Stadium message boards:
I love the All-Stars series because it had great gameplay on top of really cool and diverse worlds and characters. When I first started playing these games, I thought it was awesome seeing stuff from Super Monkey Ball and Billy Hatcher get included, and I was introduced to series like NiGHTS and Virtua Fighter. I still want to try out Skies of Arcadia some day should it ever get a re-release, because Vyse seems like a cool character and the Rogue's Landing stage was excellent. (Plus I just love RPGs...) And now that I've played a lot more Sega games, I was really rooting for representation from stuff like Streets of Rage and Comix Zone, or even more modern stuff like Yakuza and Valkyria Chronicles, or even Puyo Puyo. (I know the Tennis game had a Puyo Pop Fever mini-game, but I mean character representation... Someone like Arle or Amitie would be cool to see playable.)
By making it Sonic only, I feel there would be a lot less variety in characters, stages, and music, and the game would just feel kind of bland compared to what came before. It's like if Super Smash Bros. 5 had only Mario characters, stages, and music. I'm sure this supposed Sumo-developed Sonic racing game will be fun and excellent in it's own right, but I'd always be thinking in the back of my mind "man, it sure would be cool if the Sega all-stars got in on this."
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