Given the story here, I can sympathize with Big Red Button. Most studios on this show dig their own grave, but Sega gave BRB a no-win situation.

Once again proving that Sonic's greatest enemy is Sega itself.

Sega: "I HAVE ALTERED THE DEAL."

How to fix the sonic franchise, here's the answer: Just take it away from SEGA

So basically, BigRedButton was an actually competent development studio that Sega just shafted with all their usual idiotic shenanigans. It sounded like they had everything under control until Sega started instructing them to make changes that went against what they were initially asked to do in the first place. People always want to argue that Sonic Team is incompetent and that Sonic was never good, but this is just further proof of what I've been trying to tell people. Sonic Team has made amazing games post-genesis era and have made several other franchises that Sega refuses to dip back into outside of cameos. The problem is, and always has been, Sega as a company. This is the same Sega that released a game console before any games were available for it (Sega Saturn). Each new Sonic title is rushed to meet a deadline and is apparently micromanaged by one of the most incompetent publishers I've ever seen in this industry. Next time we end up with a bad Sonic game, remember that the developers aren't entirely at fault. Sega literally has no clue what they're doing with this franchise most of the time and the upcoming Sonic movie is just more evidence that Sega needs new people to take the reigns or Sonic needs to be given away to company that cares so Sonic Team can be allowed to make a good game.

The initial ideas for Sonic Boom sounded super promising and the developers at Big Red Button had a lot of potential. The problem is, they were working with SEGA.

So let me get this straight, SEGA hired a studio comprised of people who made some of the best new IPs in gaming during the 2000s with the Goal of reinventing sonic, and then wouldn’t let them use any of the creativity that got them so much success with other franchises?

Gotta love the "you can't do sonic's origin, we were totally gonna do that later" 8 years later and we got nothing on Sonic's "origin" They definitely pulled a "ahhhh duuude! I was just gonna start on my homework until you walked in!"

>ruined their own consoles >devalues their own IPs >seemingly still go against their western branches despite having origins in a joint partnership between Japanese and American businessmen >let themselves bought out after the Dreamcast's retail run to Sammy Corp. a PACHINKO MAKER "That's So SEGA!" ;~;

A heartbreaking tale, really. That darned 'exclusivity contract' forcing 'Big Red Button' to change plattform, engine, etc...

The most disappointing thing about Sonic Boom was it’s world. Despite being a completely different universe, Sega decided to cut out most of the lore and relied on the redesigns as a selling point. It’s why the Boom universe feels so incomplete and small even compared to the Classic universe.

It doesn't sound like this was BigRedButton's fault at all. You can't just change the engine like that, that late into development. As Matt said, it's a miracle that what they were able to make largely from scratch in that time frame could run at all. I'm glad they aren't closed down, that would have been so unfair.

I don't think there's been a single one of these where I've been more sympathetic to the developer. Ye gods, SEGA doomed this one. ... like it's the smallest part of the thing but... dying when you hit water? That's a *feature?* A *feature* Sonic Team *asked for*?!!

You can just imagine the stress the team was under when they were told “you are changing platforms!”. You almost want to scream at SEGA - “YOU WANTED THEM TO FAIL!”

I’m convinced that losing the Console Wars made all of the higher-ups at Sega go insane

Basically... SEGA: OH GOD, THEY'RE MAKING A BETTER GAME THEN WE EVER COULD, MUST RUIN!

What if you wanted to make a good reinvention of Sonic, but God said, S E G A

I’m sick of people sending hate towards the devs. This story clearly shows that Sega and Sonic team need to be cut out of the Sonic series if it ever wants to be anything other than a trainwreck.

Ah, Sonic the Hedgehog, the only video game franchise on the planet where the best games available are free to download fan projects. Because if Sega gets to have anything to do with it, they'll inevitably fuck it up.

"We focused on too many features." "Also we should've added more features." - An actual Sega executive So basically Sega had no idea what they were doing and ruined a perfectly good company because of their ill-fated decisions and brain dead marketing department.

Before hearing the full story, it's easy to laugh at Big Red Button and treat them as a gang of idiots. But the full story is surprisingly sad, where they genuinely had good intentions and some ideas that sounded interesting, but... boy howdy nobody ruins Sonic quite like Sonic Team. At least the cartoon is good.

"People were saying Sonic was too fast." I think what they should have taken away from the focus tests, but didn't, was that Sonic's speed was often uncontrollable and clunky in Sonic games. Its not that people craved slowness, but stuff like constantly running into walls or running out of world is frustrating.

Honestly I REALLY want to see what the original "Sonic Synergy" would have looked like as Big Red Button had initially planned it. By the sounds of it BRB had some really cool ideas and then Sega came along and brought a sledgehammer to it all.

I feel bad for BigRedButton, honestly. They really seem like they wanted to make a good game... and then Sega and Sonic Team mismanaged the shit out of them. There should be a way for developers to fine bad publishers that do this. Edit: "The future of Sonic games have to be multiplayer" is such an incredible load of wank. Wow.

I kinda feel bad for making fun of BigRedButton now for this game. Good job on your research Matt!

Devs: "Let's make a great game for all platforms with an amazing narrative and origin story for the Sonic franchise! :D" "And God said, let there be SEGA"

"only Tails and Eggman can be inventors" Wave has entered the chat

"Only Tails and Eggman can be inventors." Wave: "Am I a joke to you?"

I think everyone can agree that the only good thing to come out of Sonic Boom is the cartoon. Oh and the memes. Can't forget about those.

Considering what SEGA does to its own games, should I feel relieved it seems to leave the Yakuza and Atlus branches alone?

SEGA: “The Sonic Bible says that only Tails and Eggman can be inventors.” Me: “What about Gerald Robotnik?” SEGA: “Oh yeah......

I’m glad to hear BigRedButton didn’t go down because of boom. While I have no idea what they are making I am happy to hear that a group of game developers are still around and hope they do well

"Sonic was never good" More like "Sega was and will still make stupid business decisions"

*SEGA cut entire levels, world building, gameplay, multiplayer, and story because they wanted it on the WII U* "Well......they've done worse things befo-" 10:47 *Cut Chao Collecting* "THEY WENT TOO FAR THIS TIME, AAAGGGHHHHHHHH!!"

Oh my god...I did NOT know Sega had interfered that much.....This is actually making me angry because I was excited to experience the new Sonic universe. This could have been THE game. This could have breathed new life into the franchise.....Wow.....Well, at least we got Mania.

This whole debacle reminds me of an interview I saw with Clive Barker where he received a phone call from a producer complaining he'd sent them a horror script. When he pointed out that's what they hired him for they said 'Well... Yes... But we've promised our investors a rock musical.'

Wait...so...so this was ALL SEGA's fault? XD I knew SEGA's hands weren't clean of this mistake, but just...this is beyond self-destructive. This is hooking up a nail bomb to your car engine and calling it fixed.

Damn near every issue I have with the Sonic franchise ends up coming from Team Sonic. . .

SEGA: we want to make a spinoff of the Sonic universe that appeals more to the western audience for next gen. Big Red: we can do that. SEGA: okay, we like what you've done, but the whole "origin" thing is something we want to tackle ourselves. Big Red: but... okay. fine. SEGA: we've entered an exclusivity deal with Nintendo, so the game's coming out on the Wii U. Big Red: ... wut? SEGA: oh, btw it better be finished before the holidays. Big Red: do you... want us to go bankrupt or something?

"Online Multiplayer is the only way to keep a franchise alive." ....God of War is still kept alive despite being a single player...and it even won Best Game of 2018 despite the fact that Red Dead Redemption 2 won almost every other category. Also.. I guess Sega does what Nintendon't... ruin their own franchise.

If you look at everything that they were up against, the fact that Rise of Lyric is a functional piece of software that actually boots and can be completed is actually quite an achievement. And I'm really happy to hear that Big Red Button is still out there making new and successful games

SEGA: hey "westies", make us a Sanic game and make it different. BRB: Alrite... How does this look ? SEGA: Huh... it looks too different, here, put this bag of smoldering shit into it. BRB: ...ookay... i guess we can make this work. SEGA: Also, we're making a cartoon too, make it fit with the cartoon BRB: But- SEGA: Oh, also, we're signing a deal with Nintendo, make it a Wii-U exclusive. BRB: But the Wii-U doesn't support the eng- SEGA: Deal with it. ===Some time later=== SEGA: WHADOYOUMEAN IT DIDN'T SELL WELL? **Surprised Sonichu face**

i think the "sonic should be slow" focus test was them not understanding what the people were complaining about,because sonic ISENT about speed, its about momentum, but rather then hearing "give us momentum based movement that feels good rather then 3000 boost pads that make it uncontrollable" they heard" we want sonic to be a snail"

I suddenly feel immense guilt for every time I ripped into BigRedButton without knowing the story, but only just because their only name in the Sonic games was this one. I sincerely take back everything, and I really do hope they get better jobs in the future

So basically what I get out of this is, it's Sega fault mostly for the game turning out like this due to the overhaul changes of stuffs.

At least we got buff Knuckles flying in space out of this whole disaster!

The Game: Sucks The Show: Surprisingly self aware and pretty good

Man we all thought Big Red Button just sucked at making Sonic Boom, but nope they were actually doing a damn good job and Sega fucked it up. Good to see BRB still making games that are actually successful.

"Y'know? The Wii U, one of Nintendo's biggest failures?" Future episode, maybe?

The only thing that Sonic Boom did well was introduce the hottest male in the entire history of Sega: Chunky Knuckles.

Having an origin on Sonic and Eggman becoming who they are in their roles as hero and villain would`ve intresting to see done. And the fact of them being friends obviously is a nod to the Sonic tie in comic and Fleet way continuity.

It's honestly infuriating, knowing how good Sonic Boom COULD have been if only Sega had gotten their heads out of their own backsides for once.

I always assumed this game was shit out quickly to tie-in with the cartoon. Turns out it's way worse than that.

Honestly after hearing about all the work the dev team put into this game before SEGA pulled the rug out from under them for no reason, I'm glad to hear they're doing well these days since that huge failure was by no fault of their own. Good on you, Big Red Button!

So this game turned out to be total shit because Sega couldn't stop putting their hands in the development. Almost like with Sonic '06.

SEGA had too much creative control on the Sonic Boom game. I didn’t know that they crippled Big Red Button with so many demands and sudden development shifts. Poor devs. This had so much promise. Unlike the game, the Boom cartoon series was quite good and it seems that Sega was hands off it.

I wonder what the game would've looked like if Big Red Button were allowed to see their vision to completion, and on the correct platforms. It certainly would've been a much better built game, potentially better designs than the current Boom crew, but I have trouble believing the game would've been any fun.

A Publisher ruining a game for greed and literally stupidity/lack of basic understanding that making games takes time? Imagine my shock. Also, sick of speed? In a Sonic game? What is next? "People" sick of cars in Need For speed? Or players of FIFA complaining that there is only football?

Ok, Sega really threw BigRedButton under the BigRedBus on this one.

I've always thought that the media was overstating Sega's ineptitude when it comes to producing Sonic games, but after watching this video, I'm starting to think that Sega needs help. No, I don't mean help developing games - I'm talking about psychiatric help!

You know what boggles my mind here, that the villain's name is "Lyric", and is theme has nothing to do with music or sound... Alright... (At least the show exist because of it, even though it doesn't get the best airtime on Cartoon Network.)

The Wha Happun we didn’t deserve but the one we need

I just have to applaud you , a good friend of mine Worked at Big Red Button on this game and you basically read from the script of experiences he encountered himself . He told me that Prototype / vertical slice level they designed for Sega? It costs over 20 million dollars and a ton of time to build,, he mention how Cri-engine was a pin in the ass to work with with questionable support, and he mentioned how excited the team was to " refresh" Sonic and how crushed they were when Sega was like " I want you to refresh it but.... the old way". I don't know where you get your info but this is as good as me having drinks with an employee that worked at Big Red Button at the time, you should be proud .

“An iron-clad rule in the Sonic Bible stating that Only Tails and Eggman can be inventors” even though the Sonic Riders trilogy had another inventor in the shape of a purple swallow named Wave. I get that’s a spin-off, but the point still stands.

For anyone who didn’t feel like pausing, here are the thousands of changes requested by Sega and Sonic Team: 1. Too different (which means bad BTW) 2. TOO SLOW!!! 3. Character Designs are stinky 4. Add more speed sections 5. Jumping in the water should murder Sonic Teh Hedgehog. So no swimming 6. Make his arms blue er 7. Characters should say “Glub Glub Glub” when drowning 8. Model a penis for Knuckles, but hide it in the level geometry 9. Make the characters swear just like in Shadow Teh Hedgehog 10. Do something involving Bloom Lighting 11. Change the _feeling_ of the skybox 12. Add Big the Cat 13. Remove Big the Cat once you’ve finished adding him 14. Make the feet MORE STINKY! 15. Pitch up Sonic’s 4th Damage Audio Track up by 25% in the Pal version of the game 16. Model one of the NPC characters with your left hand 17. Read some Sonic Fan Fiction for inspiration 18. Find a way to market Amy towards a more _Urban_ fanbase 19. Can we get more political? 20. Make sure Tails has a more fluent wink animation 21. Dr. Eggman should own an Gamegear 22. Make lyric a Snake so we can reach past the furry audience 23. Characters need to scream every time they collect a ring 24. Sonic should drink Sapporo 25. Can the legs be longer? 26. Give Sonic another 1,000 polygons 27. Whenever Sonic is not on screen, all the other characters should say “Where’s Sonic?” 28. The feet need realistic renders for marketing 29. Hire more staff from Ohio, the game feels _too cultured_ 30. Should we add a harlem shake??? 31. Would it be out of the question to tint Sonic to a slightly darker blue 32. Should the plot involve a miscarage? 33. Characters need to make self aware quips every 10 seconds!

As a long time fan of Sonic (moreso the 90s and Adventure era games), I actually would have liked to see what the original version of this game could have been like. It looked and sounded promising. If the original version of the game had come out and they were able to clearly explain its in its own seperate universe, I feel people would have taken to it a lot better.

Ah Yes, Sonic Origins, That one failure of a collection that was completely screwed over by SEGA themselves, also that name sounds very familiar...

Sega's behavior in this case makes me wonder whether they genuinely were that over-ambitious or if they were intentionally setting these guys up to fail for some reason.

*As Tails tearfully watches from the entrance to a lavish home filled with golden-era Sonic memorabilia, Sonic mournfully pours his soul out on the keys of a grand piano* "What have I become, my sweetest friend? Everything I love, goes away in the end. And you could have it all, my empire of dirt. I will let you down, I will make you hurt." "If I could start all over again, a million miles away, I will keep myself. I would find a way."

I feel like the entire Sonic Boom project can be summarized with a Goofy scream.

Sonic Team is the real villain in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. They are a force far greater than any threat Eggman or any other power could create. A force that lies beyond the knowledge of anyone in Sonic’s universe, looming over like a Lovecraftian god.

Why is SEGA so obsessed with making Sonic appealing to anyone who ISNT a Sonic fan???

Sonic was never a japanese thing. Sega of America made him what he is during development, and the Mega Drive was never big over in Japan. It's the West that loves sonic.

From all the stories I've read and heard over the years, I've begun to realize the Mega Drive/Genesis was a flash in the pan hit even Sega didn't expect, and that they were too incompetent to know how to follow that up with success. It's just been one disaster after another that is directly attributed to their baffling business decisions (hell even Sega of America were screwed over by the headquarters in Japan). Worse still, all the people involved on the technical and creative side have suffered and unfairly gotten the brunt of the criticism.

If Sonic Boom was JUST a cartoon, it would have been successful without an accompanying video game

AAA video game industry: We NEED multiplayer and ONLINE. Spiderman for the PS4: Am I a joke to you?

Sonic Synergy, now that's a title.

The Sonic Origins joke is even more painful now

This whole project just shows why having a strong vision that you’re confident in from the get-go is such an essential part of any production process.

That guy from Sega NA sounds like he doesn’t actually even *play* video games *at all,* let alone Sonic games. “People don’t want speed in a Sonic game! Focus testing is how we make all of our decisions! Online multiplayer is the future!” Sweaty, Sonic is NOT that kind of game. It baffles me that people like this exist in the games industry.

To be fair, the "Sonic only" mentality has been a detriment to the rest of the games, and bringing back more characters would be an improvement. The only classic games that had "Sonic only" were the two earliest ones (CD may have released after Sonic 2, but started development before it). Sonic 3 nailed it and Sonic Mania + managed to work in two additional characters and make them both fairly unique, despite their clear similarities to existing ones. Multiple playable characters was never the problem in and of itself, it's just that one or two specific games did it badly, most notably 06, where Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Shadow, and Rouge, all characters whom had controlled just fine in prior games, were suddenly made a whole lot worse.

You know whats funny sega said they wanted to do sonic origins later down, but then straight up used it as a name for a sonic classic collection

Honestly, even though the original version of this game wouldn't have been the Sonic we've come to reminisce and want, I would've enjoyed the fresh take on the characters and story. Shameful what Sega did to a very promising game.

It’s sad because the clips I’ve seen from the show are pretty good

The game they wanted to make sounds like would’ve been interesting if Sega would’ve let them do their own thing. As Raul Julia once said, “The road not taken.”

So I mean, this game actually could've been good, or at the very least tolerable. It's just that Sega has a huge problem with letting go of how big Sonic was in the past and can't seem to let a developer that isn't them have a chance. It's pretty sad. They're digging their own grave here on out.

Sega when they see BigRedButton again: Hey how about you work on another Sonic ga- BigRedButton: *N O !*

That’s So Sega, Sega in the House, & Sega’s Home. But seriously, where’s our Virtua Fighter 6?

This series is soo good. Thanks for making them~!

16:00 - who the hell did they ask to come to focus tests? Speed was the last saving grace of past sonic games, people had problem of removal of control in speed section, not the existance of it. Did they exclusively asked for turn-based strategy fans for their focus tests?

I feel like Sonic Boom, as presented in the game, would've made a great serial cartoon. Especially if it was animated in the style of the concept art. The world they created had potential.

Project Apollo was a good code name for the game. You know, because of how we were appalled when it came out?

To be a little bit fair to the Sega of America guy, I distinctly remember a lot of people harshly criticizing classic Sonic games as being "too fast" around that time. This was an opinion that a fair amount of internet critics and personalities were parroting so it makes sense that the focus group they pulled might have been expressing the same opinions. Still though it's amazing to see how many of Sega's mistakes in trying to correct the series all center around the idea of appealing to people who don't even like Sonic to begin with.

There's a reason why they call him the blue blur. Not because he's fast. But because everything between now and then is like a fever dream.

15:50 This... this is proof that sometimes higher ups don't know anything about their fans.

(basic, no-frills old-school side-scrollers are consistently the top-rated games in the franchise since 1991) "THIS IS NOT SUSTAINABLE" (26 years of easily-accessable data shows literally the exact opposite thing) "NO IT NEEDS MULTIPLAYER WHY CAN'T WE FIGURE THIS OUT"

Do Metal Gear Survive.

see, not only are you doing god's work by telling interesting stories from the industry, you're also miraculously painting a lot of these people in a sympathetic light when other people don't bother. this series is really great.

Guess we'll be seeing Sonic Colours Ultimate here soon too

You should do a What Happened on Sonic Chronicles because from what I understand Bio-ware just sort of gave up