For the record, Sonic has basically now made his debut in Fortnite. But wait a second; it’s, to say the least, absolutely the antipode of the expectation. The famous blue blur does not get the luxury of just running free as a PS in this game. Entertaining in its way, Epic Games decided to introduce Sonic via vehicle decals for cars.
The reveal came in the form of a twitpic by well-known leaker HYPEX. A Porsche 918 was splattered with Sonic’s tired face, draped with red-and-white shoes-on which the rims were basically just that of his cool kicks. That probably would have gotten a chuckle from a few people, but the reaction of the community ranged from chaos emeralds to pure salt.
Let’s stop and analyze it all for a while. The ultimate crossover platform, it seems Fortnite has gone from Marvel superheroes to Star Wars villains and even Family Guy, all welcomed. The word went out that Sega’s mascot was joining up; gamers were hyped. Just imagine Sonic building a fortress or doing the griddy after a victory royale. Instead, they have automotive accessories.
The immediate social media backlash was quite passionate: Edikan Essien erupted in a 14-line all caps rage, “NO SONIC THE HEDGEHOG,NO SONIC THE HEDGEHOG,NO SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡” which basically sums up the general sentiment. Minty Man declared it to be “piss taking without skins,” while another user said, “This shit fucking sucks.” You could feel the disappointment.
But not all people hate it. A slew of players are excited by the Porsche 918 addition; RTRC tweeted, “well I’m just here for the fact that it’s a Porsche 918 so this is a huge win.” Viewing it from a more practical perspective, David With Pizza said, “Am I really wasting V bucks on a car decal of my favorite video game character? Of course I am!” Because, at the end of the day, we’re probably just going to go ahead and buy it anyway.
Weirdly enough? Rendering is allegedly using older assets. Ash commented, “These renders are older than most people playing the game,” which makes you wonder how long this collaboration has been underway behind closed doors. Maybe they’ve had this Sonic content for ages, trying to figure out how to get it out.
The speculation is very intriguing. ShovelTrigger speculated that maybe Shadow will have his own event later on: “I’m actually starting to speculate that Haunted Hallows is gonna be Shadow themed, a crazy theory I know but it makes no sense to exclude him from the initial wave of Sonic stuff.” That would be awesome if they really are gonna save the character skins for a bigger Halloween event.
Missed opportunities are an open conversation. Lots pointed out how Tails got totally cast off when he was clearly the number one choice to be a vehicle-based character. Cheddar said, “They could do something with tails like having him in a lil mech like they did for morty,” and that honestly sounds amazing. Why haven’t they thought of that?
Vehicle customization looks pretty good. Those Sonic-themed wheels are exceptionally clever, according to kesterfray. It’s just that… well, it is not what anyone wanted. Asking for chocolate cake and being made to eat the picture of one. Technically related, but the satisfaction could not be farther away.
Now the timing is confusing. Having just dropped a new Rocket Pass season, Bossman_023 commented, “I mean I kinda figured new rocket league pass showed sonic stuff.” So the vehicle side of the game is really being pushed now. Maybe it’s their way of testing the waters before character models?
From a business perspective, there is weird justification for how this came about. Vehicle decals probably have a much simpler licensing procedure and are way easier to implement than full character skins with their own animations and abilities. But come on Epic – you gave us Goku and Ariana Grande. You can’t figure out how to make a blue hedgehog run around your island?
The hope is still there that it is only phase one. TheAccelSpeed stated, “I will say this looks amazing but its not the same without having a sacrifice putting sonic in himself nor his friends 😔,” summing up the remaining hope that maybe, just maybe, proper skins will come later.
How could CVideo71045 so brutally dismiss it? “Allat hype for some decals with a png on it,” which is…fair. After all these months of hype and leaks, static images for cars feels like the biggest letdown. It’s like standing in line for a rollercoaster and then being told, Sure, here’s where the ride is.
But Fortnite likes to do things in stages. Remember when those Marvel bits came about? That started with basic cosmetics and it was kind of a roadmap to full superhero skins and a game mode. So maybe this lousy Sonic car stuff is still the baby step of a wider Sega collaboration that will crash and burn in a manner we will appreciate.
The vehicle customization system in Fortnite really could use some love anyway; tallbttmmd argues, “make decals universal, we shouldn’t need to buy a new car every week.” If this Sonic collab means better vehicle customization long term, then hey, that’s at least something.
The entire thing is just yet another wacky chapter in the never-ending crossover saga of Fortnite. They’ve made everyone from John Wick to Witcher’s Geralt work their way into the universe. Sonic seems like such an easy fit that it’s strange they went with car decals over the real thing. But maybe they’re just testing the waters before they go all-in. Or maybe Sega is a little weird about licensing. Not a single soul knows anymore.
But, one thing is clear: the Fortnite community is not going to stop asking for what they truly want. They want a blue hedgehog running around the island right now, not just his face plastered on a sports car.
