You couldn't possibly be more wrong about why it is that people don't like Sonic. Allow me to explain:
See, the first problem is that Sonic Team has never quite figured out how to properly translate the series' trademark speed into 3-D, and each successive attempt to do so has been worse than the last for some reason. 3-D Sonic controls have always been very jerky, stiff, unresponsive, lacking in fluidity, and poorly applied to levels that are similarly not well-designed for 3-D. The gameplay often comes to jarring starts and stops in the most annoying ways possible, unlike the 16-bit originals, in which the sense of speed was only diminished by player error. All of this only got worse with 2006's Sonic game, which added myriad technical issues to the growing list of problems, the kinds of things that really should not be issues for a top-tier developer.
This, along with uninspired gimmicks like those found in Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic Unleashed, Sonic and the Black Knight, etc., lead many gamers (myself included) to believe that Sonic Team just plain isn't trying anymore. They're really just pumping out this shit because they know that naive little children (e.g. you) will command mommy to buy them anything with an "x-treme" anthropomorphic talking animal on the box...
...Which leads me to the second problem, this time a cultural one. The fact of the matter is that everything about Sonic, from the " 'tude" (actually, especially the " 'tude" now that I think of it) to the archaic game design to the shitty faux-metal background music, is a relic of the '90s. Maybe it worked then, but it certainly doesn't work now, and Sonic Team has failed to adapt to the changing times. In fact, pretty much all they've done in their miserable attempt to adapt is to add to an ever-increasing stable of bland, forgettable supporting characters.
The fact of the matter is that Sonic's shtick, which was "cool" and "badass" when we (by which I mean everyone on this forum who adheres to basic rules of spelling and grammar) were stupid, sugar-high, ADD-addled kids is now nothing more than groan-inducing and annoying. The character just lacks the timeless, universal appeal of a Mickey Mouse or a Mario because instead of existing as a result of the imaginations of creative minds, he exists as a result of the market research Sega conducted when they needed a new mascot to rival Nintendo way back when. As such, Sonic is literally a product of his times, and because of Sonic Team's general shittiness, he's hopelessly stuck there.
Gamers, real gamers, don't demand every game we play to be a hyper-realistic, ultra-gory fragfest. What we do demand is a base minimum of quality control and at least some level of passion on the part of the developer.
