(Photo : SEGA / Screenshot taken from official website)
SEGA confirmed that its upcoming Sonic Rumble mobile game will not include gacha mechanics as these are features that are unpopular in the West.
The title will support up to 32 players who will fight against each other in battle royale style. While Sonic Rumble will be free-to-play, SEGA promises that it will not be a pay-to-win game. It will also include a season pass as its main form of monetization.
Sonic Rumble Will not Have Gacha Mechanics
Game director Makoto Tase said that the team is trying to go for a casual system that allows players to simply buy what they want quickly for a small fixed amount. This is instead of a gacha system that gives you a certain probability of getting unique items.
Sonic franchise lead Takashi Iizuka also added to the discussion, saying that in Japanese and Asian markets, it was common to spend tens of thousands of yen in-game before you get the character that you want, according to Eurogamer.
Takashi added that Japanese players typically have no problem spending their hard-earned money for these types of rewards. However, Western audiences have generally been more stubborn when it comes to this type of system.
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He argued that the global market was different, particularly for an action game such as Sonic Rumble. Here players should be able to enjoy the game on equal footing. Takashi said that the starting point of the project was to make it a mobile game that would sell worldwide.
This meant that the developers had to make sure that the monetization model was designed from the beginning based on global standards. Players will be able to spend in-game Rings to buy various cosmetics, which will be updated every day.
Friendly to Free-to-Play Gamers
They also noted that they tried to make Sonic Rumble a little bit more friendly to the Sonic franchise's free-to-play escapades. The developers decided to remove any random gacha encounters or pay-to-win mechanics from the progression, Nintendo Life said.
They instead chose to go with a season pass system that will feature skins and emotes that players can earn. The reveal of new details comes as Sonic Rumble is set to arrive on mobile devices and PC this winter.
The upcoming game does not try to hide its similarities with the highly popular Fall Guys with its various colorful obstacles and environment. On top of this, Sonic Rumble introduces its own twists to the genre.
These include springs and loop-de-loops scattered throughout levels that feel reminiscent of the Sonic series' classic games, according to Game Rant.
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