Fast hedgehog, slow loading

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Jan 2nd 2007 at 1:30PM }

Like rusty scaffolding glimpsed behind a tarp flapping in the wind, the numerous technical issues in Sonic the Hedgehog are a reminder of the blatantly unfinished work that permeates the platformer. Consider this video a "Men at Work" sign, warning you of loading times that pile up so high, the slightest wobble will send them crashing down on you.

It's uncertain as to which possibility is more offensive -- that Sega could release this game convinced it was finished, or that they could release it knowing it wasn't.

[Thanks Mark!]

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Flash @ Jan 2nd 2007 1:35PM

Sega needs to stop making Sonic games, there giving him a bad name.

nick @ Jan 2nd 2007 1:40PM

man... that is disgraceful. Not only is the game a bore (oooo let's guess the number of boxes how fun...) but the loading makes the boredom cruel and painful.

They should take the product managers that let this go to market in this condition...and force them all to sit in a room and play the game all the way through 5 times.

Todd @ Jan 2nd 2007 1:49PM

I invented a new game while playing this one... Nap Time!

Fel @ Jan 2nd 2007 1:49PM

if you were making that game, and beta testing it and whatnot, how would you not realize that its that horrible?

Inspired @ Jan 2nd 2007 1:51PM

Please tell me this is a joke and it really isn't this bad?!?!?

It was painful watching the first minute. If Sonic loads like this, whoever QA'd this game should be tarred and feathered for putting a stamp of approval on it.

And what's with a human being in the Sonic 'Verse?

Mark Korsak @ Jan 2nd 2007 1:57PM

If I were beta testing that game... I would think I was on some sort of hidden camera show... Surprise! It's not a real game! The real game has no load times at all! If only that was the case...

(Thanks Joystiq for posting my vid!)

nick @ Jan 2nd 2007 1:56PM

Yeah that human thing was really out of place.

Fail.

pe @ Jan 2nd 2007 1:58PM

No wonder Yuji Naka left Sega. Hell if I were him I'd distance myself as far away from the recent Sonic games as I possibly could.

Nick @ Jan 2nd 2007 1:59PM

"hey"

Thomas Crymes @ Jan 2nd 2007 2:04PM

Can't blame the QA. It is obvious to anyone that has played this that there is a huge problem.

The more likely scenario is that the QA people identified this problem. Then the programmers were notified and developed a time estimate for a fix.

Then the people involved in shipping the product took a look at the bottom line and maybe even the ship date being moved and decided to ship the game with the bug intact.

Just an educated guess, but I think the right one. Don't blame shoddy QA or bad programming when it is more likely someone else's fault.

1up_clock @ Jan 2nd 2007 2:01PM

It takes THAT long just to load ONE line of dialogue without any voiceovers?

God, if you can hear me, please burn down Sega's QA. And burn down Sonic Team as well.

Ludwig Kietzmann @ Jan 2nd 2007 2:01PM

Well, there's some consolation in that doing town quests are mostly optional... though "optional" in the sense that the loading times are so horrible you want to avoid them at all costs.

Another point: There have always been humans in the Sonic series. Dr. Robotnik / Dr. Eggman is a human. That's why he's evil! :)

ElCapitanAmerica @ Jan 2nd 2007 2:02PM

Wow ... this is incredible ...

It even loads just to show the guy "talking" and uttering one single line of text!

These are the worst load times I have ever seen!

Not to mention that the game seems boring as hell, it has no consistent visual style, the sounds are annoying (that Hey, the human seems to utter) ... this is just horrible!!!

iceatcs @ Jan 2nd 2007 2:07PM

it is typical 360 thing.

nick @ Jan 2nd 2007 2:16PM

"Another point: There have always been humans in the Sonic series. Dr. Robotnik / Dr. Eggman is a human. That's why he's evil! :)"

Are you always this dense or just trying hard?

Yes Dr. Robotnick is perhaps human in some strange sense of the word. But... he is extremely stylized to fit in with the sonic universe, as have all other characters in every sonic game to date.

It's extremely bizzare to have these super anime stylized characters like sonic, and then suddenly they are standing next to a 100% accurate unstylized representation of a human. I mean, what game are we playing? Sonic or Tiger Woods Golf?

idioteraser @ Jan 2nd 2007 2:16PM

Anyone checked out the PS3 version to see if the load times are worse?

Btw the Wii Sonic game appears to not such loading things or the crappiness that infests Sonic the Hedgehog for the Ps3 or Xbox 360.

Mr. Khan @ Jan 2nd 2007 2:16PM

(Prays that Secret of the Rings for Wii is better than this)

I still say the Adventure games were the pinnacle of 3D Sonic, Heroes was all right, Shadow was bad

My guess is that if Sega was still a market contender, they would have the luxury of delaying such games until they felt they were complete, just like Nintendo

(watches video and cringes)

sheppy @ Jan 2nd 2007 2:26PM

I can't help but wonder if this is related, at all, to why PS3's version is not during the end of January? After all, it went from being two weeks late for PS3 compared to 360 but then all these complaints started showing up and now, BAM, it kept getting delayed by weeks. Could Sega be fixing a broken Sonic? Well, as much as this piece can be fixed.

tyler @ Jan 2nd 2007 2:18PM

I bet when Sega reads the comments on the board, they translate to:

"Sonic is the best game ever. Please make more than I can count"

"I'll buy a Sonic game even if Sega punched me in the face."

or

"Sega, thank you so much for bringing us action faster than buying car insurance over the phone using only binary code."

Ludwig Kietzmann @ Jan 2nd 2007 2:23PM

nick,

Calling me "dense" and then agreeing with me might not be the best strategy here. Whether or not the doctor is "stylized" is a different matter, though we still recognize him as a human. Sonic is stylized (hint: he's bipedal and blue) and he's still considered ... a hedgehog.

Now that I think of it, there were loads of people in Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 as well. :) And if you think the humans in this game are "100% accurate" representations, you must live in one bizarre neighborhood. ;)

(Discussing a Sonic the Hedgehog character. The internets are doomed.)

Dave Smith @ Jan 2nd 2007 2:37PM

Sonic's load times on the 360 are a huge PITA. Hey Sega... how 'bout less "Adventure" and more "Sonic" next time out?

Xuse @ Jan 2nd 2007 4:47PM

Just so everyone who isn't in the industry can understand, QA found and bugged all of these issues. It is the fault of the developer and Sega CEO's for pushing this POS out in time for the holidays.

99% of the time QA will find every single issue you may come across in a game. QA has no control over the release date of the game. Some executives decided to push this game out and hope the Sonic name sells enough copies so they can make a profit.

Fact: Sega wanted to make some easy money and couldn't care less about producing a quality game.

Burnt Meatloaf @ Jan 2nd 2007 2:46PM

So *this* is why the game is getting reviews in the sub-30's.

Ben Friesen @ Jan 2nd 2007 3:14PM

Oh God, I just watched a video of a game loading ... I feel ill.

cybereality @ Jan 2nd 2007 3:38PM

Most boring game video *EVAR*. Like of all time. I'm so glad I didnt waste my money on this game. What in the world happened to Sega?

Emceay @ Jan 2nd 2007 3:13PM

Wow, that game was gonna be my sole reason for buying a 360. At first I thought that video was a joke, only to be bewilderingly disappointed to learn otherwise. I too, pray that the secret rings is better.
Man... gallerians had better load time than that...

MewMewtwo45 @ Jan 2nd 2007 3:34PM

Robotnik notwithstanding, to say this is the first Sonic in the human universe is kind of stupid. I believe both Adventure titles and Shadow at minimum had humans and lots of them, and took place on earth.

Aden Nak @ Jan 2nd 2007 5:06PM

On the upside, the Wii Sonic game didn't seem to have any of these tragic load times when it was demoed, and looks like it is a completely separate entity. On the downside, if Sega keeps making crap like this, there won't be a Sega too much longer.

nick @ Jan 2nd 2007 3:17PM

Thanks for confirming it Ludwig, you are dense on purpose. It's your little way of trying to annoy people. It works.

Panadero @ Jan 2nd 2007 8:27PM

Wow, it feels like it's the early 90s again when "multimedia" was a buzzword and developers were only just getting used to cds. This is inexcusable.

Shibathedog @ Jan 4th 2007 12:57AM

WTF!!! Omg just watching that pissed me off. I would NOT have the patience to play that game, and i don't know why anyone else would either. That doesn't even look like a main/important mission, WTF. It's like it can only get worse, i couldn't even watch the entire video it was so aggravating. The graphics aren't even that good, theres not even that much to load, theres no voice over dialog, All it has to load is simple text to add on, not really a ton of stuff, its just like theres no goddamn excuse for this.

Sega you died with the Dreamcast. (Which is still my favorite system) Like WTF happened?

Phil @ Jan 2nd 2007 3:38PM

Ludwig, nick is right that you are trying to annoy people, everybody knows what nick is talking about, that human does look wierd, and he just doesnt fit into place there.
"(Discussing a Sonic the Hedgehog character. The internets are doomed.)" Yeah you were discusing a character yourself, and if you dont like it, dont read posts anymore.

Skyler Jermyn @ Jan 2nd 2007 3:57PM

Sadly, this isn't the only reason this game scored that low. I own it, and as a major Sonic the Hedgehog fan I tried my darnedest to like the game. But there's just too many glitches, repetitive gameplay, bad music, voice acting, cut scenes, twitchy controls, jumpy camera angles. If you are thinking "Oh, it might be a good game after all! I just have to deal with loadtimes." No. Everything that everyone has complained about in past 3D Sonic games is WORSE in this game. About the only thing that is improved, in my opinion, are the graphics and physics. But most people say in even in that department this game is lacking, at least for a 360 game.
Sonic the Hedgehog needs a director like Shigeru Miyamoto, someone who cares enough, and has the courage to "upend the tea table" and start all over again when it isn't working. It also needs to be developed under a company that doesn't need to rush its games to stay afloat financially.

AzaMcWazza @ Jan 2nd 2007 4:59PM

And at 0:20 is the word challenge spelt with one l, or is that just the bad compression?

Ludwig Kietzmann @ Jan 2nd 2007 4:02PM

You guys get annoyed by disagreements? You must *loathe* browsing the internet. Gosh, there are real humans here.

(if you'll note, my comment was aimed at Inspired in the first place)
I think you're on to something, Skyler. Farming the next one out to a fresh, technically competent developer might be a very good decision. It worked for Metroid Prime and Tomb Raider.

Moogle @ Jan 2nd 2007 4:11PM

After watching that (ow, my brain hurts), I'm actually convinced that someone came up with this 50 year old spatial reasoning test as a great thing to put in a *Sonic* game, but they decided that since the average american couldn't solve it if it was any harder than a kindergarten level they would just make it really easy and add a lot of load screens to inflate the estimated gameplay time.

I'm gonna go cry and trepan myself with a spoon now.

Sony4ever @ Jan 2nd 2007 4:34PM

WOOT WOOT SONIC ON THE 360 BLOWS!!! WHAT YOU GOTS TO SAY NOW FANBOYS WOOT
1337 L33T PS3 PWNS ALL!!!

BIGGEN @ Jan 2nd 2007 4:39PM

ok, a "typical 360 thing," is to load cut scenes in Gears of War in under 10 seconds. loading new areas is almost seamless. this is GAME SPECIFIC for those who try to blame the 360. and the only reason the one on the ps3 MAY be better is longer production time. i have a ps3 too so don't try to tell me which one has better loading times. so far, that would be the 360.

Suigi @ Jan 2nd 2007 5:37PM

Makes me pine for the catridge era: no loading times.

BIGGEN @ Jan 2nd 2007 4:44PM

@Sony4ever
so you're judging which system is better by the loading times for the shittiest game released yet on BOTH consoles? fucking idiot.

droptop GP @ Jan 2nd 2007 4:47PM

@32 "PS3 PWNS ALL!!!"

what...with the one half decent game?

rom @ Jan 2nd 2007 4:47PM

Halfway through the video.. I actually forgot what I was watching and what he was trying to prove. My mind went blank. Thats never happened to me with loading screens. I can only hope they fix it for the PS3. Nobody deserves that kind of torture.

Kyouryuu @ Jan 2nd 2007 4:59PM

That's unbelievable. And I thought Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis was terrible.

You know, the irony is that it's hard to see what the rush is in developing a Sonic game. The same fanbase will be there twelve months from now. Why the hurry to get this crap out the door before it's finished?

I would say that, yes, perhaps it is a publishing or marketing issue. But the last several Sonic platforms have sucked. Horribly. So, even if the pressure is coming from above, the development team should have figured out how to compensate.

Unless they just don't care and honestly believe the game is perfect. Given their history, I wouldn't rule out that conclusion.

The only other series I can think of that went along a similar track was Mega Man X. The fifth, sixth, and seventh iterations of that were horrible. Mega Man X6 was clearly developed during amateur hour at Capcom headquarters. X7 was overambitious tripe that aimed to bring the series into 3D (much like Sonic). X8 finally got things back on track by getting back to the basic 2D gameplay, paying some fanservice by resurrecting old foes, and being somewhat conservative. It wasn't a perfect game by any definition, but it's an example of how you have to change the course when things aren't working.

Sonic hasn't and may never reach that point, which is a shame.

Sonicandtails @ Jan 2nd 2007 5:21PM

I have had the internet handle Sonicandtails since 1998, and it almost feels embarrassing with all the Sonic games since 2002 that have blown terribly. I cannot understand why they couldn't just make one good game... Makes me wish I was in charge of their games...

They could take Sonic 3 and Knuckles, make it 3D, and release it! They don't need to make a new storyline, they don't need to make any new levels, no new characters, it's all right there! I would buy it, Sonic 3 in 3D (Or any of the other old ones) would be a big hit with veterans like myself and newcomers to the franchise! Who can agree with me on that?

beefalo @ Jan 2nd 2007 5:16PM

this whole sequence of painful loading looks very familiar....ps2 anyone?

ok...this is well beyond the load times on ps2...i think sega should stick to cartidge based consoles....i guess its ds lite ftw for sega...

AlloyNES @ Jan 2nd 2007 6:13PM

On the bright side, the Wii "Sonic and the Secret Rings" will be awesome. No lame cameras. No lame loading times. No pointless 3D-play in Sonic. Just straight-forward Sonic like it should be.

JasonSuave @ Jan 2nd 2007 6:15PM

Couldn't have said it better myself, Sonicandtails. I have no clue why Sega is trying to merge an inherent platformer with soapbox-style gameplay. It's like making the sequel of gears of war into RPG. Who would want that??

...Jan... @ Jan 2nd 2007 6:23PM

Yeesh, it's almost as if they placed those loading times in there so you have a bigger urge to win...and not mess up and sit through the loads again.
Anyway, why is it that the Sonic games developed for Nintendo seem way better. Hereos, which came on GCN first, was good. Adventures 1 and 2 were great. The Sonic games for GBA were good. Why is it that Shadow, Riders, and the new one horrible? Sonic Rush for DS was good, and Sonic and the Secret Rings looks promising.
Remember the Sonic Wild Fire preview video? Sonic said, "Finally, something interesting" or something like that while holding the Wiimote. It's almost as if there's a conspiracy...