Why wasn't Sonic popular in Japan?

he wasn't?

>>712595635 (OP)

>>712595635 (OP)
He's too "Western" to really catch on in Japan. Sonic is a pastiche of American culture at the time.

>>712595635 (OP)
He's not a big shot like Amy.

Nips have many fetishes but they are not furries for some reason.

>>712596152
Unless it's Pokemon

>Mega Drive failed in Japan
>Saturn didn't have a mainline game
>Dreamcast was overshadowed by PS2
>most Sonic games starting with Heroes onward were bad

>>712595765
That's just rude.

>>712595896
I see people say this but is Mario in comparison not considered "western"?

Do any boomers want to weigh in on to what extent Sonic made the Genesis successful? Would the Genesis/Mega Drive have been a hit regardless of whether Sonic was a thing or did Sonic basically sell the system?

Japanese people don't like cereal-box mascot scrimblo bimblos

>>712597106
Genesis had in your face aggressive marketing and presented itself as the cool console for grown ups, honestly Sonic was big but the Arcade and Sports library was the main draw. Sonic happened to represent that rebellious spirit well rather complimenting it than being the main attraction of the console

>>712597106
>did Sonic basically sell the system?
Sonic definitely helped, considering they started packaging the Genesis with Sonic specifically.

>>712595635 (OP)
Genesis/Mega Drive didn't really have any presence in Japan, and the whole Bart Simpson-esque "cute, marketable, anti-authority mascot" wasn't really a huge thing in that region either like it was in the west.
Also consider that the general "style" of Sonic gameplay isn't really something that attracts Japanese audiences. I think the only times they've ever shown a true interest in the IP was with SA1 (which was presented as more of an adventure game with rpg elements than a strict platformer like previous entries) and Frontiers (which was marketed with its focus on fighting bosses in open environments and Sage). They basically only like Sonic when the IP intentionally moves away from "traditional" Sonic.

>>712597242
Japan makes mascots for all sorts of shit, even stuff like their police force.
It's more like Sonic is just a drop in the bucket for them. He's a company mascot amongst countless others.

>>712595635 (OP)
Japan only likes
>EEEEEEEEEEH SUGOIIIIIIIIII ONICHANNN TASKUTETE DESUUUUU~~~!
Luckily Sonic was too based for that cringe shit.

>>712598771
They absolutely don't like scrimblo bimblo mascots though

They have anime mascots or "cute Hello Kitty type" mascots

Westerners on the other hand LOVED this shit, the anthropomorphic animals, with lots of human features

>>712595896
i find it funny because crash was a bit more popular in japan a bit later with crash 2.
that said
Sonic wasnt popular in japan due to a number of factoids, but recent irrelevance was dashed with the new sonic movies.

>>712599651
You don't know what you're talking about. Japan has had tons of gloved animal mascots, and Sonic (at least in his classic look) fits in right alongside them, which was/is kinda the problem.

>>712599823
>but recent irrelevance was dashed with the new sonic movies
Didn't all three Sonic movies flop in Japan, even the latest one that specifically used Tokyo as a marketing point.

>>712595635 (OP)
Because the Mega Drive flopped, and the Saturn lacked a mainline Sonic title due to Chaotix being moved to the 32X and X-Treme being cancelled. The Western thing is a cope because Oshima said Sonic was designed with both Japan and the West in mind, and any time Sonic was on the arcades, he did well in Japan.

>>712598526
this also everything after the dreamcast sucked

>>712597861
Are you sure Sonic wasn't more successful because it was packaged with the Genesis?

>>712595635 (OP)
Pretty sure being a smart ass will get you caned in the street in Japan so

Is the percentage of autism lower in Japan?

>>712595635 (OP)
They're not autistic enough

>>712600472
Oshima, Sonic's creator, said that Sonic, while having western influences since Oshima loved classic American characters, also has Japanese influences, because he himself is a Japanese person. That ties back to what the other anon said about Japanese people writing what they know.

The thing people miss when discussing Sonic and western influences is that A LOT of Japanese intellectual properties have some western influences. English, for example, is seen as cool over there. The Mickey Mouse design philosophy can be seen in popular Japanese characters like Son Goku from Dragon Ball and Astro Boy. Goku's design is influenced by Astro Boy, who himself is influenced by Mickey, as many early anime designs were directly following in the footsteps of Disney. Dragon Ball also pays homage to stuff like Terminator and Star Wars. The fact is that Sonic's creators are Japanese, so Sonic has many Japanese components in its DNA, which Yamaguchi, Tails' creator, went into recently.
>Sonic's aviation badge intro animations are based on Dr. Slump (as well as the enemies from the Tokyo Toy Show demo)
>Hoshino stated that Amy is based on Oshima's taste in women, and fashion that was popular in Japan at the time, and she wields a Japanese toy as a weapon
>Yamaguchi revealed that Tails is based on 3 characters, all of whom are Japanese (Kitsune from Urusei Yatsura, Myau from Phantasy Star, Son Gohan from DB)
>Sonic 2 has a manga style, according to Yamaguchi
>Eggman is mainly based on Motro from Laputa, while also taking aspects from another Miyazaki character from Lupin III named Professor Lonebach, and the henchmen from Muteking
>Mecha Sonic is based on Mecha Godzilla
>Death Egg Robot is based on the ATM-09-Scopedog from VOTOMS
>the majority of Sonic 3's plot and environments are inspired by Laputa
And that's just a few classic examples. Japanese people mainly write what they know.

>>712595635 (OP)
His rebellious attitude goes against their values of conformity.

Japan is Mario country

>>712595635 (OP)
As much as the weebs in this fanbase refuse to admit it, tapping into the multimedia market is what saved Sonic in the US.
There's a reason they still make Sonic comics and cartoons to this day.
Japan not getting any of this killed the series' momentum over there.

Sonic is too western unironically