Sega is making a sequel to Sonic Boom. I feel like this is the moment that led to the downfall of humanity and the rise of the Planet of the Apes.
Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric for Wii U and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal are two of the worst reviewed (and selling) games from 2014, but that’s not stopping Sega from promising (threatening?) to release a follow-up, Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice, for the 3DS later this year. Developer Sanzaru Games is back to make this game after working on Shattered Crytsal, and Sega claims that this new release will deliver “more adventure, speed, exploration, and all-new fire and ice gameplay.” I’ll point out that the publisher did not say that it’ll have better adventure or speed, so this is probably not violating any Federal Communication Commission standards.
In a statement, Sega of America president and chief operating officer John Cheng said that the company wants “this game to surprise and delight Sonic fans both new and old.” I don’t think the evidence supports this claim. More likely, this is some sort of The Producers-style scheme.
Joking aside, Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice is not necessarily evidence that demand for a sequel to the original two games was high. Instead, Sega is meeting the demand for content tied to the Sonic Boom television series on Cartoon Network, which is extremely popular.
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Sega notes that Sonic Boom, which focuses on the adventures of a redesigned Sonic and friends, is the No. 1 program for boys ages 6 to 11 as well as 9 to 14 on all of television in its time slot. Beloved shows like that have produced even worse games than Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, if you can believe it.
So Sega is going to squeeze some more cash from a character that has appeal despite its inability to turn that into a quality video game. Fans should probably just hope that Sanzaru, with the benefit of experience, can deliver something a bit more fun this time around.
