Thread 11970087

Besides America, was there anywhere on Earth where Sonic was actually an icon?

A few European countries, Bresil

Russia had a Sonic-branded TV game show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMXtWyRtCmg

>>11970087 (OP)
The UK

>>11970135
rather joyless innit

>>11970087 (OP)
Tons of South American countries.

>>11970087 (OP)
When you get down to it Sonic is a pretty shitty mascot platformer but one hell of a brand icon. Sonic is still culturally relevant but it has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of his videogames. Mario became a mascot because he was a popular title for his respective company and always relied on his games' quality to keep him relevant. Hell even though Crash Bandicoot disappeared into the Zeitgeist his popularity and seat as defacto mascot of the PS1 came entirely from his games' polish and shine. Sonic only exists because he's a corporate gimmick. He doesn't get by on good titles. It's been literal decades since Sonic has starred in a videogame produced by his own company that was universally lauded. A fucking glorified fan game was necessary to even revitalize some love for the character in the gaming space with Mania. Sonic is a pathetic excuse for a platform mascot despite being an amazingly successful IP.

>>11970152
People still did not know how to behave on TV. Early episodes of the Soviet unlicensed copy of Wheel of Fortune (Pole Chudes) from 1990 are fascinating to watch because everybody involved, both the host and contestants, are visibly uncomfortable during filming.

Europe, more than America even

>>11970163
>pretty shitty mascot platformer
why and how?
if you're good for your brand, and the game is part of the brand, then what's the disconnect and who exactly was doing it better for what reasons?
>Sonic only exists because he's a corporate gimmick. He doesn't get by on good titles.
but Mario hasn't been the best or most acclaimed offering in its company since the 1980s
Master Chief will never have the Bungie Halo's taken away from him; it doesn't matter what's been tarnished really so long as the foundation of past glory is still in place

sonic autism is the REAL 'thin blue line'

>>11970090
>>11970186
besides this guy >>11970135 you haven't even attempted to substantiate it
Taxman is Australian for Pete's sake

It seems like it's popular literally anywhere that is at least somewhat Americanized except for Japan. I was teaching in South Korea when the second Sonic movie came out and like half of my students went to go see it. It's so funny that Sonic could be popular in a place that is literally a ferry ride away from its home country where it was unpopular for the longest time.

>>11970246
I think saying that Sonic was unpopular in Japan is an exaggeration. Just because Japanese Sonic did not get anything resembling a giant balloon in a New York City parade broadcasted on national TV does not mean people did not play his games. There were still dozens of games released in Japan and the people who were into Sega's consoles certainly knew him.

>>11970205
A brand alone is going to have diminishing returns unless that brand is built around specifically itself. Hell look at your example of Master Cheif. Without quality games Halo has become a hollow franchise that does not sell the merchandise it once did. The games don't sell well, the toys don't sell well, and the TV series got canceled. That's because Master Chief's success as a mascot was entwined with the quality of his games, very similarly to Crash Bandicoot. Mario's is successful because he's become a brand outside his games while also being the star of polished quality titles. Mario games that are poorly made and glitchy are few and far between even less than stellar titles still show a polish that make them worthwhile purchases that keep his brand strong. Sonic on the other was designed entirely on the brand first and foremost. Sonic wasn't about quality games. There's a reason Sega pumped sonic games out fast and without quality control. It's actually amazing Sonic 2 and CD came out good at all and 3 and Knuckles was an obvious cash grab. Then there are the spinoff games and 3d titles that are all low to average quality. Sonic still sold games despite the poor quality because his brand was strong. It's why he's been in three movies but that poor sense of quality is why a Mario movie was able to gross as much in one release as three seperate Sonic movies. Sonic is a brand mascot, Mario, Crash, and Master Cheif are game mascots.

>>11970271
any notoreity has faded away and japanese zoomers largely don't know the brand or even who he is

>>11970087 (OP)
The real question is why Japan didn't like Sonic

>>11971703
Because Sega had better offerings than Sanic.

>>11970152
such is the zigger existence

>>11970087 (OP)
SEAsia? his memes and merch still sells. even though i don't know anyone who plays the new games.

>>11971731
why isn't Daytona and their Lightgun arcade games more popular?

>>11970163
>>11970275
Is this a copypasta? Sonic was conceptualized and made by specific developers at SEGA who originally wanted to make games about a dream world, and the main Sonic games all reflect their concepts in some way. These games weren't conceptualized as a brand, and something like Sonic 3 wasn't a cashgrab at all (the developers chose to split the game and try to polish the first half as much as possible within an incredibly short time period just to realize the new concepts they wanted). SEGA might have licensed Sonic out to everyone ever since the beginning, but the first few games were never an afterthought to their developers.