Sonic Frontiers' Sales "Greatly Exceeded" Expectations

And now mediocrity shall be encouraged. All well, it's not like I had high exceptions from Sonic anyways. The bar is so low it might as well be underground.

@Vexx234 I do not intend to be rude, but I just want to know your personal thoughts on sonic frontiers and it’s problems. I may purchase it at some point myself.

Well that's good. Frontiers was definitely a step in the right direction but not a 10/10 game, at least for me. It probably didn't help that I got it in the Switch, but the mechanics and story didn't really click with me.

I’m just so glad sonic finally found something they can stick too, it still needs work but it’s there, and I don’t want them to do another 180 like forces was, I really enjoyed my time with the game, and to me, it’s one of the best sonic games we have gotten in recents years, not like there’s much competition.

I hope the new playable characters work out well, then we can have a good template for sonic AD 3.

I can attest. The story and the lore itself going in radical directions and the BOTW open world gameplay sounds like a recipe for disaster. After playing it, while flawed in a few spots it's an 8.5 out of 10 for me. It's a pretty solid time and the Switch port is surprisingly solid. Anyone on the fence, check it out.

I can't wait for the DLC so it can rank at the Top 8 Sonic games and also play as Amy again.

I'm confused. What does "Exceed Expectations" means? Isn't Sega aware that if a game doesn't sell 20 million units in 48 hrs it didn't meet expectations?

Somebody get Ubisoft and Square on a call with Sega to explain how this is supposed to work.

Great to see! Frontiers was my third favorite game last year only behind Plague Tale Requiem and of course Elden Ring. If Frontiers is the starting point for the future of Sonic then I'm absolutely on board.

I played it for like 30 minutes at a friend's place and I was surprised at how much fun I was having just racing around and doing some platforming. Combat wasn't half-bad either and Sonic felt good to control for once O.O

I'm glad Sega wants to build on this success, because my first impression was the same as the reviews from a lot of fans: very fun, if flawed, game that is a great starting point for future Sonic games.

Btw, no I don't have the game myself yet. I'm waiting on all the free DLC to be released so I can 100% it in one go.

Also, the modding community is doing some really neat stuff with the game, even improving physics and momentum and stuff, so I've got plenty of things to try out when that time comes ^_^

Game is good and deserves to be recognized for it.
Hopefully we will get a sequel building on it in a few years.

It's a great foundation that I'm sure Sonic Team will take their time to build upon and impro-pffffffft! Lololol.
Man. I almost got that out without spitting out my drink.
Nah I'm just kidding Sonic fans will buy anything.

@TheBigBlue Too keep from writing a blog here I'll just some it up as:
-Technical issues
-Camera sucks
-For a next gen game it looks aweful and bland.
-Story is bad
-Rather than take all it's influences , expand and improve them, it feels like it stitched every cool idea from the last decade into a janky package.

Is it the worse Sonic ever? No, but it's far from everything it could have been. It's like a proof of concept stuck in alpha.

Great. It's a good Sonic game.

@LikelySatan Considering Sonic Team laid out a road map of free future updates and content for Frontiers, it at least shows a sign of good faith on their part.

Happy to hear this for the Sonic fans and happy for the Sega. 3 million that is incredible!!!

@DTFaux Yeah, I hope they do well by fans but...I'VE BEEN HURT TOO MANY TIMES!

Every Sonic game has exceeded sales expectations because no one expects them to sell anything.

Anyway, I know what it is to get some entertainment out of a mediocre game; I've enjoyed many a Dynasty Warriors and DBZ Budokai Tenkaichi/Xenoverse - so I'm not criticising anyone for liking Frontiers. It's just sad that this is the way you have to approach Sonic. Though as much as I was a Sega kid, maybe Sonic was never that good outside of the graphics and music. Classic Sonics are one-button games that you could complete in an hour. Is it that strange the series has struggled to develop meaningfully in the way Mario has?

Sega has a parent company named Sega Sammy? Never heard of it. Is it run by SammyClassicSonicFan?

I didn't find that it ran well on Switch at all and had buyers remorse. Couldn't really get into it anyway.

@Vexx234 Plus, instead of new levels, the cyberspace portions are once again Sonic's greatest hits.

Hope Sega does the bold idea to actually make a sequel to improve on it instead of getting distracted by a new shiny idea yet again.

I contributed. Best Sonic game in generations. I hope they build on this and the next one is of an even higher quality. Also, bring back the Chao.

@NotoriousWhiz "Best Sonic game in generations." This legit made me chuckle. Oh man, I don't if that's a good sign or worse for things to come.

Loved the game, excited for the new direction and innovation in the series.

@Vexx234 You are certainly in the minority on that, especially regarding the story. While I can't speak on the technical aspects as I played on the Series X, the gameplay and story was some of the best Sonic has ever had.

@Korsica_Is_Best_Girl Agreed. Best 3D Sonic game in my opinion. Glad that the game sold as well as it did and looking forward to this being the blueprint that gets iterated on for the next few titles.

@Korsica_Is_Best_Girl Pointing that out doesn't change my feelings on the game. But if you like it that's great. I don't.

I think the story and dialogue is some of Sonic's worse yet.

@Korsica_Is_Best_Girl Why did you have to point out they're the minority? Does that somehow invalidate someones opinion? The game received a divisive reception. It's not like it came out the gate swinging with nothing but 9's and 10's. There even hardcore Sonic fans who think the game sucks.

@Korsica_Is_Best_Girl Boneheaded? Are you a 1940s DC character? Anyway, what's boneheaded is thinking Mario only had 1 button and took an hour to complete. Even early on, there was also much more complexity to navigation and other gameplay elements such as keys and riding Yoshi.

That stuff lends itself to expansion into a 3D setting with adventurous tones to it as you explore, find hidden areas, utilise powerups to navigate and access areas, etc. Sonic's fundamental blueprint was "run right and press your one (1) button if there's gap." The powerups just meant you either ran faster for a bit or took an extra hit. It's why it's hard to develop Sonic further without totally abandoning the core gameplay (like, say, the Knuckles levels in SA).

Trust me, I'm not a particular Mario fan and Sonic 1 was my first videogame, but it's clear how much more advanced, varied and robust Mario was vs Sonic even back then.

@Matroska Agreed. Sonic's transition into 3d was rough when compared to other games.

Without nostalgia glasses, the only way Sega could get around Sonic's simple formula within the 3d sphere was to add terrible game gimmicks.

Sonic Adventures games did this by adding terrible secondary gameplay modes via side characters. As such that did more to hamper his big titles than help it.

The only thing Sega knows what to do without abandoning that core is adding janky game gimmicks that do more harm to Sonic than good.

Expectations can always be exceeded if you set them low enough.

Hope that means they finally give the next Sonic game enough budget and time. He's still a decently big mascot in spite of everything, and Sega should act like it.

@CoastersPaul Better options:

-Put Sonic in a freezer for 10 years
-Fire everyone in charge at Sega now
-Sell Sonic to Nintendo and cut the losses

That or we can just expect Sonic being a bottom of the barrel series forever. His best game within the last 20 years was ironically a 2d remix.

@Vexx234 Yeah, I'd much rather have another Sonic Forces and Sonic Boom

@mariomaster96 Even better! Sonic Boom Forces crossover! Let's call it "Sonic Forces the Boom"

Good news. Frontiers is the best Sonic game since generations and the most inovative for the franchise since Unleashed. from the gameplay to the story, it has its flaws, but it's a great step in the right direction for the series!

Boring game. I just played the demo on Switch and I deleted it in a few minutes. Throwing Sonic character in a realistic world with boring music and uninspired enemies is not very fun, at least for me. I would rather play the old MegaDrive / GBA than this. I don't understand what on earth people find in this game that they really like!

Honestly as long as the characterization keeps heading in the direction Ian Flynn has set it in, I'll be happy. I'd love some IDW characters though

All this tells me is that SEGA had low expectations for the game!!

That and they shifted a lot of units when they slashed the price. So perhaps they did manage to crawl over the line on the Units sold target - not on the money though.

Bought this on the Series X fairly recently as a mate raved about it. Well. First he ranted saying how the start is one of the worst introductions to a game ever and was going to refund it. But went back to it the next day and he was hooked.

It's far, far better than I expected. Once you get out into the world it's great fun bombing around hoovering up stuff and smashing through the levels. Loved the more chill open world vibe too. Music is grand, graphics are fine (albeit with pop in for some things) in performance mode and, most importantly for a sonic game, the controls are tight and customisable for speed, turning etc. Which is a damn cool thing to add.

Story ain't a classic but it's enough to help pull you through the game.

It's defo worth a shot. Even moreso if it's on sale. It's up with some of the best sonic games.

This is the next game in my backlog to play, just need to 100% Lego Skywalker Series (just the map, not going to bother with the level challenges/mini kits)

I guess, as long as it isn't as bad as Sonic 06, a Sonic game can be considered good. At least, this is an argument I hear all the time from the Sonic community.

@RareFan If a Sonic game can muster up even a 7 then it's considered a series highlight. Expectations are so low just even one good aspect one of a Sonic game is worth praising....forever.

I played the demo. It's not awful, but it's still mostly a game for ardent fans.

It's a wonderful game but some Nintendo fans will never admit a Sonic game could be good 🙄 I can't wait for the new character DLC!

Well deserved, it's probably the most fun I've ever had playing a sonic game and such an easy recommendation to anyone, even non sonic fans. I feel like none of the (albeit noticeable) flaws get in the way of how addicting and fun the core mechanics and gameplay loop are.

@Matroska
Outside of maybe green hill zone (and maybe emerald hill) there were very few zones in the classic games where you could just hold right and press 1 button, there was often a good amount of verticality to the stages, alongside different routes and the like, i would say the main exception to this in the mega drive era would be sonic CD which felt more experimental (and is part of the reason its one of the more divisive ones)

Sonic's gameplay overall was very unique, the physics and momentum of how sonic handled was very intricate, with the way he built up momentum and how the terrain would influence the trajectory of his jumps.

The stages themselves were also extremely creative with theming and design, with each zone bringing its own music, visuals and unique obstacles which all worked together to give the levels their own strong sense of identity.

It was a lot of these aspects which made the sonic games special and why a lot of the "sonic clones" of that era fall short since they often would focus on the "speed" aspect.

Picked it up on sale and its actually good fun to dip into every so often. I can see me finishing the game but not anytime soon.

I'm glad this one exceeded expectations. I hope that means a sequel that has been given time to breathe a bit (and hopefully Flynn gets the nod as writer again, so he can get a meatier game to work with).

@Not_Soos lol, nothing as cool at that probably, but yeah! They merged with Sammy Corp., a company that mostly makes pachinko machines. They did also make some games in the 90s like VICE: Project Doom (which is on NES Online!) and Ninja Crusaders.

The game is a mess as far as I’m concerned. I think we’re so ready to expect the lowest lows from Sonic that we’re now conflating a not outright disaster with top quality. But if Frontiers’ success means Sega is prepared to actually pump some time and money in Sonic development than I’m a happy boy.

I personnaly liked it but I really miss the ''city'' styles of Adventure 2 for example. I felt like after a little while, the whole world felt a bit drab ... generic and empty. The controls were not quite tight as well expecially in the cyberspace levels. Otherwise a great game. Great sound track!

What in the world happened to this comment section while I was gone?

Well deserved! Go, Sonic, go!

I wonder how this compares to other Sega Ips that have had re-issues over the past few years…..
HOTD
Panzer
Monkey ball
Streets of rage 4

Well deserved, it's a very good game and a large step in the right direction.

I'm not a huge sonic fan, but I absolutely loved this game. There were flaws, no doubt, but it was just plain FUN. The fact that sales were more than anticipated is great news for the direction of the franchise. Another Frontiers sure seems likely now. Same formula, iron out the kinks, and you've got a winner.

@TheBigBlue In short: if you enjoy open world games, get it. Even if you're not the biggest Sonic fan. It had great new ideas and while the execution wasn't always there, it hit way WAY more than it missed. Insta buy.

@Jamessmooth Thanks for the answer! Obviously, there’s been some, well, mixed responses, but I appreciate them all regardless!

@Vexx234 I’d say stuck in beta. It needs a much larger budget and variety, and speed (in the zone levels) but the 3D control is the best it has ever been and the freedom of exploration is a complete breeze.

The desert area on PS5 is also beautiful

Gotta love how toxic people are towards Sonic games. /s

I personally enjoyed the game 8/10 for me. Glad it sold well. Only gripe I had was the forced 2D segments were hard to get around on Chaos Island. Otherwise was a fun experience, definitely enjoyed the exploration and boss battles in particular.

Step one: Stop listening to Sonic fans about what they want; you give it to them every time and they hate it. They are your worst enemy.

Step two: Limit Sonic's in-game speed instead of allowing him to outrun the camera or force the player on rails. You can incorporate speed into special attacks and specific traversal/platforming gimmicks over full speed all the time mode.

Step three: For a character with speed, open world is the best format. Frontiers is the closest thing to an actual good Sonic game yet, and no, the original trilogy was garbage too because of speed.

Frontiers exceeding expectations after all the "fans" talked ***** about it is fantastic, it's the same with all the fake Pokémon "fans" who call each new iteration garbage as it outsells the previous one.

Great to hear! It's a really fun game, and I'm glad that's been rewarded.

@TheBigBlue I think you would enjoy it, I did. Although the game isn't perfect, there is still a good time to be had.

@JohnnyMind
My thoughts exactly! There's a difference between giving honest praises and criticisms of games vs just being spiteful/hateful just because you don't like certain kinds of games or just to be obnoxious. I always try to be completely candid and not biased and give my honest two bob about what I think about games.

Thank you! I love Yunaka with her whole juxtaposition of supposedly being happy go lucky, whilst actually being a stone cold assassin, but trying to change her ways. Fire Emblem Engage is my favorite game released this year so far, absolutely love it. Beat it twice already, planning on doing another playthrough when all DLC is released.

It was the first 3D Sonic game that I’ve ever liked. I loved the Genesis games but I thought Sonic Adventure was a disaster and this was the first time they really moved on from that game’s deeply flawed DNA.