The medical definition of Sunshine Syndrome goes thusly: "A condition in which a quality game is poorly received because it fails to live up to the expectations given by the franchise to which it is tied."
It is named for Super Mario Sunshine, an excellent game which was widely considered disappointing for not being the sequel to Super Mario 64 people wanted. Sunshine Syndrome is a condition which tends to strike more often in older game franchises, and the more beloved the more at risk they are. The higher fans' expectations of a franchise are, the more likely it will be hit with Sunshine Syndrome. To give you a better idea of this condition, let's review a few cases.
Super Mario Sunshine. The game for which the condition is named and one of the more famous cases. Super Mario Sunshine was a wonderful game, beloved by critics but still falling short of fans' high expectations. The game's water-spraying mechanics were fun, but felt out of place in a Mario game. After all, Mario games are about the jumping and platforming, and while this game had both of those, they didn't feel like the center of the game. The release of Super Mario Galaxy marked the last nail in this odd duck's coffin. One wonders how an original IP might have fared with this game's watery antics, but the world will never know.
Ah, Starfox Adventures. Now, while Super Mario Sunshine may be a more famous case, this one is particularly tragic. This game was, at the start of its development, never intended to be a Starfox game. It had the Starfox characters and mythos added very late in development in an effort to help the game sell, despite the fact that the game had nothing to do with flying around and shooting stuff like a normal Starfox title. Instead, the entire game centered around Fox going planetside and hitting dinosaurs with a stick. Understandably, this game left fans and critics alike absolutely mystified as to what Rare and Nintendo were getting at, and it was heavily panned. The fact that this was never intended to be a Starfox game in the first place makes this a somewhat more clear-cut instance of Sunshine Syndrome than most, and should be considered as a case study for academic analysis of the condition.
Before we move on, I warn you, this final example is an extreme sufferer and may be difficult to look at. Those of more squeamish constitutions may wish to look away.
Now this...this is just sad. In many cases, franchises suffering from Sunshine Syndrome are able to make a recovery, making a slow return to producing the type and quality of games their fans expect. Sonic Adventure however, should be viewed as a cautionary tale on how heavily Sunshine Syndrome can cripple a franchise. Sonic the Hedgehog, once a beloved video game icon, was never the same after his move to three-dimensions. The complaints about Adventure, his first 3D outing, were rampant. It "didn't feel like Sonic," it was either "too fast" or "not fast enough" and so on. But, unfortunately, it didn't end there. Sonic Adventure 2 came out, attempting to fix the problems but receiving roughly the same criticism. Then Sonic Heroes, then Shadow the Hedgehog, and for game after game after game after that Sonic Team attempted to recapture the magic of the franchise's glory days to no avail, and nostalgia only made the old games look better and the new games more inferior by comparison as the years wore on. It reached a point where no one even knew what they wanted out of the franchise anymore, gamer or developer alike. In the most severe stages...well...viewer discretion is advised. While the final chapter has yet to be written on the blue hedgehog, his will be remembered as one of the most protracted bouts of Sunshine Syndrome on record.
So now that you've seen the problem up-close, it is time to step back and look at the problem as a whole. Before we discuss prevention, let's first review the ways you can check a game for Sunshine Syndrome at home. Nothing invasive is required, just a few simple questions answered honestly. Here's a questionnaire:
1. If this game were an original IP with original characters, not tied to any sort of franchise, would this game have been better-received?
2. Do the majority of reviews from fans contain the words "It doesn't feel like (Franchise Name)"?
3. Name what you consider the core gameplay mechanic of this franchise. Do you feel this mechanic is poorly-represented in this game?
4. Did this game have a large discrepancy between review scores from professional game reviewers and reviews from fans? Specifically, were review scores from fans lower on the whole?
If you can answer yes to at least two of these questions with regards to a game you know, it may be a sufferer of Sunshine Syndrome. Do not panic. There is absolutely no need to despair. Many games with Sunshine Syndrome go on to lead happy, productive lives as part of peoples' game libraries in spite of their condition. Treat them as you would any other game and try not to let your preconceptions cloud your view. Remember that every game is some developer's pride and joy.
And speaking of developers, it is time to discuss ways to prevent Sunshine Syndrome before it starts. As always, prevention begins in the home, and a video game's home is the game studio. The most common cause of Sunshine Syndrome is a feeling by game developers (and their bosses) that games in a popular franchise will automatically garner more interest than new properties. This is often true. People will get excited for sequels to awesome games because they expect more awesomeness. This is, however, precisely the problem with heavy franchising and the reason Sunshine Syndrome exists.
If you're going to release a game as part of a beloved franchise, you need to seriously consider the expectations that will result from such a move, and whether or not you can deliver on those expectations. If you can't, you're putting not only your game but, as we've seen, your entire franchise at risk. Just one instance of Sunshine Syndrome can drive away fans and you may be hurting yourself for games upon games down the line. If you want to make a more modest or experimental game, do the responsible thing and make it a new property.
I know it's frightening, and it will require your marketing team to do actual work outside of shutting down independent documentaries you don't consider "on message," but in reality the risks of disappointing the fanbase one has built around a franchise cannot be ignored or overstated. People will always, always be more open to new IPs than you think they are.
Sunshine Syndrome can strike any franchise at any time, and it's still a threat. The upcoming X-COM game, for example, looks like an especially at-risk case with its move away from turn-based strategy and towards first-person...and blob-fighting...and also the 1950s for some reason. Spread awareness of this condition however you can, for everyone's sake. Let's work together so that there will be no more grieving investors.
Thank you for your time. I'm sorry if this topic was troublesome, but it had to be addressed. I am Dr. Lex...and...yeah, I really didn't think I was going to keep this doctor gimmick up through the entire post.
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