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A while back Nintendo aired one of their Nintendo Directs and while they showed some cool stuff, they showed something that I didn't see coming but already expected to happen at some point: Nintendo and SEGA have a 1 year partnership for the Sonic franchise. What does this mean? It means that any and all Sonic games released this year will be exclusive to Nintendo platforms only. They showed a new Mario and Sonic title called Mario and Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics (which yes, is a mouthful but it's in Russia which I don't care for the long title), Sonic: Lost World which better live up to it's name and have dinosaurs, and an unnannounced project.

The unnannounced project is rumored to be a Mario and Sonic kart/racing game or Mario dlc for Transformed on the Wii U, Nintendo is helping Sega develop Lost World which seems to be a sequel/spiritual successor to Colors, and Mario and Sonic in Russia is happening which begs the question on why Nintendo doesn't buy Sega already? 

I know some of you might say that's a terrible idea or a brilliant move, I think it would make sense if Nintendo did buy Sega. Whatever your opinion might be, here are my opinions on why they should just buy Sega already:

Sonic is a system seller:

Believe it or not but Sonic games actually sell consoles. Remember back then during the 90's? The Genesis main selling point was Sonic, that has been since Sonic speeded in consoles. Sonic was a different type of platformer, it was it's own thing which made it seem like something you never seen before in a platformer. Sure Sonic hasn't been the same these past years but the franchise still pushes units. You remember Sonic 06? Of course you don't because you had already forgotten about it or don't want to, but you're reading this which means I just reminded you of it (you're welcome).

That game left bad taste in alot of peoples mouths, it was terrible. But why was it terrible? Alot of people will say that the story sucked, there annoying glitches in the whole game, Silver. But alot of you may not know this but the reason that game sucked so much was because of Microsoft and Sony. You see, when that game was in development, both Sony and Micorsoft pressured Sega into releasing it into their systems. Why, well Sony needed something to sell the PS3 because it wasn't even out yet and Microsoft wanted it because it would of been the first Sonic game in HD and that novelty would make it sell. Because of that, Sega released an unfinished product. Yes the game sucked but it sold alot of copies, which is why it's a Greatest Hits game or whatever. No matter the quality of it, it sold copies and pushed system sales because like I said, Sonic is a system seller.

If Nintendo owned Sega, Sega wont release a Sonic game till it's actually playable and patched up. Nintendo never releases it's games without knowing that the games quality exceeds expectations. That means no more buggy Sonic games like Sonic 06. But you're wondering no more games like Sonic 06 is great and all, but why should any Sega game, or more expecifically, the Sonic franchise be exclusive to Nintendo platforms? Well...

Sonic sells more on a Nintendo platform:

Alot of you may think that's bullshit but it's true. Think about it for a minute, or if you're too lazy, let me think for you: Sonic Generations was the game Sega made for Sonic's 20th anniversary, that game sold 1.6 million copies as of december 2011, that was a multiplatform release and those are worldwide sales figures. Sonic Colors which came before Generations sold 2.18 million copies worldwide as of march 2011, and that games a Wii and DS exclusive. Those are worldwide figures. Now think, Sonic Generations was on the PS3, 360, 3DS, and on PC yet it only managed 1.6 million combined, yet Colors, an exclusive outsold it's appaernt successor.

Sega has made more exclusives for Nintendo platforms this gen than it has for any other systems and they have been some pretty great ones too. I think it has to do with the fact that Nintendo platforms appeal to children, like how Sonic appeals to children. That could be it, whatever it may be, it makes sense if Sega games or Sonic in this case becomes exclusive.

Sega can go from third, to second, and finally first party again:

Sega used to be a first-party company but they went third-party after the Dreamcast. Alot of people called out on Sega for selling out, but I think that's stretching it a bit. Also, Sega is in a financial fix as of late. They along with Gearbox got sued over the Aliens game, Sega lost money they made on the fantastic Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed. It's a miracle that Sega hasn't closed shop just yet since they have been really good this gen with games.

If Sega was to merge with Ninty, Sega could become a second-party developer, heck if they play their cards right they could become a first-party developer. They would have the money they need to make new IP's and revisit some old ones. They could even work on some Nintendo games and make another F-Zero game. And who knows, maybe they'll have imput when Nintendo makes new hardware and then, they'll be technically be making new hardware just like in the old days, just under a new label.

 

Yuji Naka would nod in approval:

Yuji Naka, the creator, or one of the creators of Sonic once said that if someone was to buy Sega, Nintendo would be the ones to do so in his opinion. He said that because Nintendo would be the only ones who would know how to treat the franchise right. I think he's right about that, because who else can do Sonic justice? Rare belongs to Microsoft now, Rare has alot of IP's but yet they don't use any. Sure they used Perfect Dark and the Banjo franchise, but outside of those, what other games have they made?

Sega has a ton of IP's, but if someone was to buy Sega would they actually use them? I'm not sure if Nintendo will use all of them, but you know Sonic will be a key franchise and maybe a couple of others, but a couple is better than none. Sure we don't know how well those IP's will even sell, but you wont know till you try.

They'll finally make that Mario and Sonic platformer crossover I always wanted:

This has been one of my dream games and that is to see Mario and Sonic in a platforming game together. It's one of those things that would never happen back then, but it's quite possible now. I mean we got Mario and Sonic in the Olympics, it's not a platformer but it's a start. And we even had Sonic in Smash Bros, which is technically a fighting/platfoming game. Think about, and you had the Subspace Emissary as proof since that was more side-scrolling platformer than fighting.

I mean how many of you ever thought that Mario and Sonic would ever be in the same game back in the 90's? That was impossible back then, and yes there maybe some fan games floating on the internet, but I want to see it from the source. I want to see what they would do with a game like that. It could be the game of this century, or gen because of having 2 iconic rivals in one game where they do what they do best.

So, what do you think, should Nintendo just get it over with and buy Sega? If not, is there someone more capable than them, or should they just stay as a third-party dev? Thanks for reading and later.