
When it comes to mods and fan-made creations, Sega takes a slightly more relaxed approach. Rather than issuing cease and desist notices at the drop of a hat, it allows fans to let their creativity run wild with its blue boy.
In fact, Christian Whitehead - the Australian video game programmer who went on to direct and develop Sonic Mania, first started out on Sonic fan games, before porting Sonic CD to mobile devices and going onto much greater things.
It's no wonder then Sega is open-minded about community-made projects featuring the blue blur. As a reminder of this, Sega of America's associate social media and influencer manager, Katie Chrzanowski, recently put out a notice on Twitter - explaining how Sega doesn't have an issue with fan-made Sonic games (in most cases), as long as these projects aren't monetized.
She further notes how Sega's goal isn't to "stifle everything" like certain other companies, but obviously for "legal reasons" she can't necessarily promise everything is acceptable.
So, there you go - if you're a creative type and wanted to hone your art or development skills with the help of Sonic the Hedgehog - go for it! Just don't try and profit from these works, or you might get the wrong kind of attention from Sega.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 83
Yeah it's been well known that Sega is leniant with fan stuff.
I think it's worked in their favor too. I don't think it's fair for anyone to compare them to Nintendo though. Completely different ecosystems.
Sega is not Nintendo
I know people will point fingers at Nintendo for doing this, but plenty of other companies have shut down fan games and projects (Sega even did this to a Streets of Rage fan remake). And let's not forget the many times parody vids on YouTube based off copyrighted material get taken down despite falling under fair use.
Copyright, in general, is a big joke now.
@Kalmaro Indeed, I don't want Nintendo to become the next Sega. I like their consoles way too much for that.
And that's just it. Nintendo has a whole system with many game IPs to take care of. Allowing any piracy is just going to hurt that.
Now if only other companies would be this way...
Although plenty of people out there like to do stuff like remakes/HD ports and stuff instead...of course that stuff is going to be taken down. lol
Yeah they want fans to make games because Sega sure as hell can't.
I would like it if nintendo would take note's on fan games tho, I mean the only reason we have sonic mainia is bc of a fan game, mad by fans. (And this is not to say nintendo should change, I kinda like the way they are now, and they don't have to be all on fan games like sega does, but you can't say that nintendo has not treated there fans like crap at time's)
If SEGA could make a decent Sonic game themselves, they might not be so lenient hahah
(/s)
@Snatcher Nintendo is very good in working with Indie developers. But these developers all make their own games and IPs. So if you want to create a fan game, then just replace Mario / Link / etc with your own characters, give it a new story and name. And if it's any good, Nintendo will be happy to allow it onto the eShop.
This will blow up in their face. With so many being made freely there's a chance an impressive Sonic fangame or fangame(s) overshadows Sega's.
If there's 10 free games that the entire fanbase think is atleast as good as SEGA's Sonic if not better. Certainly it'd just make people see no point in ever actually buying a Sonic game.
And they can't just hire on every fangame creator.
Sega does what Nintendon’t
@Rika_Yoshitake OUCH! Somebody call the fire department. I can feel that burn all the way from here! good one and I agree with you.
Let's get some Vectorman fan games out there then! (I'm sure there are and some geek is about to rip me apart for not knowing about them already). Also General Chaos, that game was pretty fun.
@Rika_Yoshitake I hate to be cynical, but I feel like you're on the money.
Fan content (including the memes) have been what's helped carry the brand/IP through some of the darker moments. Until Sega themselves can provide a proper comeback for Sonic in the gaming space (he's doing fine enough on other fronts), they'd be crazy to give up this good will and free real estate.
Translation: Our Sonic Team sucks and thanks to the free labour provided by fans there are some good Sonic games out there. This tricks people into thinking fondly of our once great mascot without us having to lift a finger.
When are people going to stop using 'y'all' if they're not southern? It just makes it sound uppity or like you're talking down to everyone.
I feel the fans are keeping Sonic relevant more than Sega
In other words Sonic fan stuff is free advertising for us and plays well with the increasingly strange fan base which is allowing sega to sell sub par sonic games with sales figures their games don't deserve. (Aside from mania a decent sonic game is back on gamecube or wii )
Sega shuts down anyone touching any other of their franchises.
I’d say it’s because Sega needs the ideas but they don’t even take them when fan-developers give them great ideas 😂
@Dr_Lugae The thing is it won't blow up in their face, since Sonic games are best played on (handheld) consoles. No fan game can be made available on consoles. So you are stuck playing it on PC or "hacked"/homebrew consoles and those gamers play illegal hacked games any way. Which you can't stop. Not even Nintendo can stop Homebrew.
And frankly, Sonic as franchise is really running on it's last threads. When was the last successful Sonic game? The only one that was remotely accepted well by the fanbase was Sonic Mania.
The last movie was also surprisingly good, but sadly when it comes to the games... it has been quite lackluster the last 20 years.
So it's actually the fanbase that keeps the Sonic franchise alive and SEGA knows this and why they are more lenient to fan projects.
They definitely are not with their franchises that are still successful and popular.
see Nintendo that how you should treat your fans regarding to fan project, not doing lawsuit every given time.
I think it’s a very different case with Sega and Nintendo. The fan made Sonic game’s aren’t really in direct competition to the Sega published ones. If anything, as others have said, the fans are doing a large part of the work for keeping Sonic relevant for Sega. Nintendo don’t need that, they’re super on it! And the fan projects clash with what they’re doing. Things like remaking old titles, Nintendo does that sporadically anyway. Making new Pokémon games is something Game Freak is constantly doing so any fan game is in competition. Etc.
Fan translations of games Nintendo refuses to publish in the West, they’re left be.
And yeah I know Sonic Mania was amazing and came from a fan developer but that really is the exception. And Christian Whitehead did actually have a history with Sega and Sonic prior.
Nintendo's argument will be that if people are playing fan made games, they're not playing the real games and therefore, not giving their money to Nintendo. It's a business decision. Are they right? Debatable.
Well it's not like Sega is particularly successful with Sonic at the moment, even Sonic Mania was made by fans.
At this point the fans are the only reason why this franchise is still alive. Who saved the movie? A fan! Who creates the excellent IDW comics? A fan! Who created the best Sonic game in history? A fan! Fan projects are the bread and butter of this series.
If I had the skills I would make Sega an over 18 game which includes all stereotypical issues, add a sprinkling of racism, body shaming, make all the woman do menial jobs etc.
Doing what nintendont!
Fan games would mostly be advantageous for SEGA since any attention to Sega would help them right now... Nintendo on the other hand is already really popular, and one mistake could damage their brand badly. They have to be careful with what they tolerate
Now, excuse me while I make a Sonic Boom style game
Difference between Nintendo and Sega is Nintendo has never had an issue making good Mario games so don't need help.
"You do what you want, if it's successful we'll pick it up and it's free labour to clear Sonic's name of the shame we've put on it and can't seem to clear ourselves."
No, really, I do appreciate this approach somewhat, despite my silly "joke" feeling a bit too real... With "fan-made" being an actual selling point and all.
@sanderev The question, though, is this: is an original fan-made game considered piracy, especially if no profit is involved? I would say no, because even if it is based on an established IP, it is still an original idea that the fan developer came up with.
Now I would argue that taking the ROM for an officially released game and distributing it, either for free or for money, would constitute piracy, and rightfully so (of course, the lines for that get blurry when it comes to older software that the publisher no longer has any interest in distributing themselves, i.e., abandonware).
But making your own game based on an established franchise should not be considered piracy. That's why I think it would be prudent for game companies like Nintendo to adopt fan-licensing programs, allowing these games to exist (and maybe even offer support in development, including distribution of the games through a web portal), provided that the game company is credited as the owner of the IP and no money goes to the fan developer unless stated otherwise by the IP holder.
And if the games are of exceptional quality, have the game companies hire the fan developers to make official games. All of this and more would really help improve relations between the game companies and the fans who support them by playing their games.
@AstroTheGamosian IP theft = piracy. So even a completely new game with new graphics named "The Legend of Zelda" is still piracy.
Even without profit. And profit doesn't always mean money. Websites talking about your fangame is also profit. Ads on a youtube video is also profit. Ads on a website is also profit. So if you create a fan game and don't share it with anyone, yes then Nintendo shouldn't go after you. In ANY other case, they should.
To this day I still haven't played Mania, so as to not give SEGA the wrong idea. Fan games can be really interesting but when they "invade" the official games spectrum I am somewhat cautious, I don't want SEGA thinking they need to shift gears toward more official fan games because their main game sucked in comparison.
If I had any say I'd definitely put a stop to the Sonic 06 PC port, seeing all the interest that garnered there and just sell an official port already, do the same for Unleashed, SEGA misses too many easy ways to make money and please the fans.
@Trikeboy
This begs the eternal question; why does Sonic Team exist? What’s the point in keeping that broken studio around? Once we get past Generations 10th anniversary this year we can officially say that they’ve entered the exclusive club of active studios that haven’t put out a quality game in a decade or more. Sonic Team continuing to put out bad games isn’t even the biggest threat they lose it’s the control they put over the rest of the franchise, if we don’t get another game from Whitehead we know who to blame, Team Sonic Racing was sent out to die and wasn’t given any DLC and seemed to go out of its way not to generate any hype which all seems to point towards Sumo having to deal with Sonic Team needing to approve of every little thing.
Are you taking notes Ninte—oh who am I kidding?
So Sega can't make a good Sonic game and would rather the fans do the job for them? The Sonic anniversary this year would suck then. Sega seems to like to talk more and show less for some reason. Last year they say they'll have Sonic news every month, so far only one month had any kind of news and it's a disappointing one.
My trust for Sega to deliver anything of Sonic just isn't there anymore. I still believe that Sonic Colors port is a gag more than a legit release. The fact that all Sega games that are re-release, remake, revisit, or remastered (Streets of Rage 4, Panzer Dragoon, Alex Kidd, Wonder Boy, The House of the Dead, etc.) are done by indies and not Sega themselves is proof that Sega doesn't know how to make good games anymore. Sad to see Sega games no longer bearing their names but man how Sega had fall this much from grace.
@anoyonmus Nintendo sent a cease&desist letter for a Commodore64 Super Mario port (an impressive one, by the way), which of course was made for free for all the C64 community. I can understand if they want the websites with the roms of their games disappear, but I don't understand why they can't allow this kind of fan games...
@AlienX lol...
@sanderev what a bunch of bull....what harm the C64 port of Super Mario was for Nintendo??
Because out of all companies that Nintendo should copy, it’s SEGA. 🙄
Christ you lot are miserable. More fan games means a higher chance of good games that people can play. End of.
@AstroTheGamosian That makes sense until you factor in trademarks. They exist for a reason.
@Whitestrider Well you're copying or using someone else's work and giving it away for free without crediting the original creator. Accepting fan games just because they are free doesn't save them from the c&d, Sonic fans could only do this cause Sega allows it, Nintendo won't allow it cause they knew it's wrong. Allowing fan games to exist is like allowing an IGN editor to copy a YouTuber's review video words for words without crediting the original reviewer and still think he's innocent.
Nintendo on the other hand
So I can use my Sonic Mii in Miitopia. Yay!
@Ghost_of_Hasashi no, that C64 game was re-done from scratch, without using a single original asset or code.
@Bizaster lol, no.
The stance is admirable but lets compare the economic health of Nintendo and Sega. There is a reason Nintendo is doing well and protecting IP is one of them. Everybody wants free crap but someone's work is not free it takes hard work and real developers know this especially if their stuff has been copied.
@sanderev Point to a time that piracy actually, legit hurt the sales of anything Nintendo has made, anywhere since it became widespread due to the rise of the internet. Seriously. I'll wait.
Your entire assertion doesn't match up with reality. It's pure BS.
@Whitestrider Yeah but if they are using the Mario IP it still counts as illegally using the property. Unless the game doesn't use the IP then it'll be acceptable. If it's just a Super Mario game without Mario properties in it then it's okay, they could still use coins, blocks, mushrooms, and even starman though some slight alteration is okay but they can't use Mario, all the baddies, Bowser or even the power-ups.
Also making a game that Nintendo had no trademark to will be just fine, games like Star Tropics, CluClu Land, and Mach Rider had their trademark expires for years so anyone wanting to make a game using those properties are fine to do so, the Mario IP on the otherhand still had its trademark rights by Nintendo so unless the trademark expired and Nintendo doesn't renew it then will it be okay to make that game.
Also remember that even if the fan game is available for free, hackers and repro maker could still use it for profit so even if someone make a game like New Super Mario Land for SNES, it's an impressive game and sure Nintendo shouldn't be taking it down but leaving the rom online means it's also open for Chinese hackers to get the game and then dump it on repros making thousands of money in revenues from the very fans who choose not to profit from it. You could even go to ebay right now and search for a physical copy of that game, now it's not just Nintendo and the fan that lose out, but it's the hackers and repro makers that are making the bucks.
@Ghost_of_Hasashi Who cares if chinese "hackers" sell the cartridge of a fan game?
Sega doesn't care, Sony doesn't care, Capcom doesn't care (anymore), Konami I think doesn't care, Nintendo shouldn't care too much too. The only thing these companies should care is to make good new games and make available their older ones (like N64, GBA, Game Cube games..).
Amazing. More companies should practice such a healthy approach.
@AlienX
Dude your missing out.
Easily the best sonic game since 3 and knuckles.
@nessisonett But less original ideas. I respect Freedom Planet for putting its own spin on Sonic far more than any Sonic fangame.
In some ways I dislike when a lot of these fangames tend to get disproportionately more attention than a more original property.
i think for segas case they definitely need it. sonic mania is pretty much whats helped sega stay in a spotlight recently, and solid fan support is a big benefit when your games arent the best.
as much as i hate how strict and disconnected nintendo can be from fans, they can afford to do it when theyre back on top.
The irony and hypocrisy is, the same Nintendo fan(boys)s who defend Nintendo every time they go after a non-profit fan game are the EXACT same people who bought Sonic Mania - a game which wouldn't have existed if it weren't for the exposure and feedback Christian got from the fan game scene.
@Dr_Lugae That’s just not how it works though. Name a single fan game that’s received more attention than a well-reviewed original property. It doesn’t happen. If anything, there are loads of devs who started off making fan games and then moved onto their own things, like Toby Fox. It helps devs improve their coding skills without having to dream up their own characters and universes. Which again is a good thing because a lot of technically-minded devs have to employ artists, animators, writers etc because they just aren’t creatively-minded at all.
I agree with Nintendo's stance. The Sonic fan community has a lot of unsavory content that's wildly different from official materials. Despite that it's become associated with the brand. Sega likely just knows it's too late to do anything about that.
Nintendo wants to avoid that with their IP. It's no different from an artist asking fans not to make certain types of fanart of their work. Only Nintendo actually has the resources to enforce it.
@GrailUK Sonic Lost World have entered the chat
@Trikeboy So... you know that a good part of the Sonic Team has helped in the Mania """Fans""" Proyect? (Without mention that SEGA has putted there the all bunch).
And BTW, Sonic doesn't have an "Completely bad reputation" (Unleahed, Colors, Generations, All very good games) you are literally talking about the Sonic Franchise like IGN in 2006.
@RareFan A fan created Sonic Adventure 2? Ehhhhh... No
@NinChocolate Yeah, no. SEGA literally NEVER stoled an "Fan idea" for a Sonic Game. In Sonic Mania, the fans literally taked all the credit, even if they never would been capable of finish the game without the help or the bunch of the Sonic Team.
@Euro-B Hey look, a Sonic Team Stan has appeared. Not sure why you quoted "Completely bad reputation" in your reply to me because I never said that. Also, you listed 3 good games. Lets see how many bad/disappointing games we can list: Sonic Forces, Sonic and the Secret Rings, Sonic and the Black Knight, Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic 06, Sonic 4 part 1 and 2, Sonic Unleased (you liked it, I didn't), Sonic Lost World. 8 vs 3.
In the last 10 years Sonic Team have mostly produced mediocre to bad Sonic games and a bunch of Puyo Puyo games. It is time to archive the team.
@Euro-B
I'm talking about Sonic Mania.
@RareFan Yeah, and that isn't the "Best sonic game ever made" that was SA2 or S3&K in 2D
This is mostly because Sega's Sonic Team has no idea what to do with Sonic games any more, and Sonic Mania proved that if a good enough fan game takes off, they can adopt it and make bank on it once it's "official."
There's no pressure to deliver on a major Sonic game success when Sega has owns many other great brands and they're not in the console business anymore (where each new console would make or break on the backs of a killer Sonic game to lead the charge for the system).
@Trikeboy Yeah, in first place, you talked like "Sega can't make good sonic games anymore and his franchise it would be dead if the fans don't make fangame proyects anymore"
And in second place, because you dislike a game, that doesn't mean that the game is bad. Sonic and the Black Knight was good actually, nothing "Super special" but have an grear history, good characters, great music, a "pretty ok" level design and a decent control.
Unleashed was objectively the better boosting formula game, with a good history, soundtrack, and an almost perfect level design (at day), that was a success for the S.T.
And Lost World isn't a "Bad Game" actually, pretty mediocre, like Forces, but nothing like 06 or Boom.
I mean, the level desing wasn't bad, the music is like the mayority of cases in sonic games (good, at least) the controls was very good and his story was pretty good, i mean, literally, you are using your own subjective vision to basically "doom" an entire videogame team.
And everyone knows that Sonic 4 Ep II was actually good.
@TheRedComet I've seen plenty of gameplay so I don't think I am. The retread of old levels doesn't appeal to me and the newer levels have a labyrinthine quality to them, it just doesn't do it for me.
Mania came out at the right time though, I admit. It's almost as if SEGA knew Forces would be terrible so they pulled Mania as a failsafe.
@nessisonett Pokemon Uranium got posted just about everywhere and ended up with 1.5million downloads in a matter of days. That's more than many of Pokemons closest competitors like Digimon get, letalone indie devs.
@Dr_Lugae Digimon Cyber Sleuth and its sequel (often bundled together) have sold more than 1.5 million copies. So it’s not like their sales were negatively impacted by Pokemon Uranium.
They dont want to even more piss of the fanbase more than it already is
@nessisonett Collectively they've sold 1.5 million across 4 different system releases across 5 years.
What's it say that a fangame on one platform gets the same level of attention for a single release in a few days? That series that had been managed by Bandai Namco for 20+ years can only achieve in 5 years, 4 platforms?
It's an unfair edge in recognition that the fangane creators did nothing to earn.
They can make fangames if they want but fans should be secretive and not share it. If they want a learning experience/exercise they should leave it at that. Nothing justifies a full game release.
@Dr_Lugae They aren’t selling those fan games though. So Namco have made millions off Digimon and the creators of the fan games have made.. what? Donations? Ad revenue?
@nessisonett In a way, they do with Patreon, in which people pay the people who make those "fan games". That is not a big secret anymore.
By encouraging fan made games, SEGA is losing Sonic as a property.
TL;DR Sega don’t actively hunt for fan projects, but if it’s brought to their attention they’re forced to take legal action.
The title of this article is rather a bit misleading and doesn’t seem to fully understand what the person said in the tweet. With all companies, they’re actually fine with fan games but if it’s brought to their attention they have no choice but to take legal action. In the case where this person mentions monitization cause that brings bigger attention this forcing the company to take stricter legal actions. I know people always bring up Nintendo being very strict but here’s the thing, Nintendo fan projects get way more press compared to any other video game IP out there. So Nintendo has no choice if they wanna keep the rights to their IPs. Also Sega isn’t very different as they have taken down fan projects in the past and it was due to the attention they were receiving at the time.
SEGA respect their fans - unlike Nintendo.
@Euro-B You don't know how to use quotation marks when typing. Only use them when you are actually quoting what someone actually said, not what you interpret. Also, I said the games are "Bad/disappointing" and "mediocre to bad".
Your opinion on the games, in your words:
Black Knight - "Nothing 'Super Special'"
Lost Word - "mediocre"
Forces - "mediocre like Forces"
Sonic 06 - "nothing like 06 or Boom" with the context they are worse than mediocre, which means bad.
You said nothing to defend Secret Rings so I will assume that means you didn't like it. I didn't include Boom because that wasn't made by Sonic Team. Even with Unleased you said "an almost perfect level design (at day)," Which means you think the night levels aren't as good, or as I put it "disappointing", and the night levels are the whole purpose for that game existing. Oh, and I'm not using my own personal opinion. Look up the critical reception of the games. Sonic 4 part 2 got mediocre reviews. 5/10s or 6/10s across the board from critics and fans. Sonic games haven't been great for a very long time. Probably the Sonic Advance games or Sonic Colours was the last time Sonic was great.
Doesn't Sonic Omens have a patreon?
@Trikeboy Sonic 4 Episode II is a pretty fine game though. It receiving lower scores than the first one is a joke considering it's a wide improvement in every margin, so I wouldn't care about looking at critical reviews in that case.
Sonic is the only franchise SEGA is cool with fan-games though, because it’s the one they can’t get right.
Sonic romhacks from SonicRetro.com are better than the Sonic sequels and really show what can be done on the classic Genesis. I doubt SEGA has the talent or money to hire the talent it would take to make another great Sonic game. They should just compile the 50 best hacks and sell them as a digital download 😄
Take note Nintendo!
Cool, but I want to play sonic adventure optimized for my Nintendo Switch, provided Sega takes my money.
I'm tired of the crappy emulated version Sony sold me on the PS3.
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