Friday, December 30, 2011

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 Not Coming to WiiWare


Just a quick follow up to Don's article about the teaser trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2, Sega representative Ken Balough confirmed in a recent interview that Episode 2 would not be hitting the WiiWare. I figured I'd share this as we here are pretty diehard Nintendo fanboys and chances are you are too if you're reading this. Here's what Balough had to say;

But no - the reason Episode I was on the Wii was because we wanted to bring the Sonic 4 saga to the widest possible audience. Episode II unfortunately will not be coming to the Wii - for reasons most people have probably guessed, but that doesn't mean the SEGA isn't supporting Nintendo platforms, we have a very strong partnership and will continue to do so.

While he never specifically mentions the reasoning behind this, it is quite obvious why. The WiiWare limitations are simply too strict. Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 had to be dumbed down graphically and in terms of the music in order for it to even run on Wii. While most critics said the game still played almost the same, it was likely still pushing the WiiWare's limits. Since Episode 2 will likely feature more content and better graphics, it's unlikely the Wii would be able to handle it with it's given limitations. They could dumb it down but they probably don't want to have to do that and want to make an equal product all around. I don't really blame them but I do have to wonder why they would just shrug the Wii off. According to Sega's very own sales reports, Episode 1 sold the best on Wii. So again, I understand why they went this route but that doesn't mean it's necessarily a good idea business wise.

Regardless, I picked up Episode 1 on the PS3 so I'll do the same here. Also and don't quote me on this but I'm sure once the Sonic the Hedgehog 4 saga is complete, Sega will package them all together for a retail release. Maybe then the Wii will see the missing episode.

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