Game Theory: Sonic's Rings Are A SCAM!? (Sonic The Hedgehog) 

I’m convinced MatPat will never run out of theories to make Edit: I wish I were wrong but this is the end of a legendary era

I miss these old school Game Theory videos. It goes back to what they were intended to be, teaching math and science by explaining video games. It's how I learned so much about science, and understood how game companies abuse addiction, loot boxes, and pretty colors. It's also how I learned about color theory and my love for understand more about them

Matpat doesn’t need an Oscar, he needs his sanity

I’m convinced that matpat has an ever expanding, infinite pocket dimension in which he keeps all of his theories

funfact: the reasons gas station registers have the sonic ring sound because SEGA had sold some aspects of their IP to Sammy Holdings, who make ‘Pachinko’ machines in Japan. In turn, Sammy have been licensing out these to the Chinese manufacturers who make these registers.

I’m happy to see the theorists delving back into science-based theories - when I was younger my favorite episodes were the lore theories, but as the brand expanded I felt that the science theories got kind of phased out, and all I ever saw were lore theories - but this episode and the last seem like a nice return to form :)

I’d just like to point out that, even if the size of the rings get smaller, the weight cannot decrease, due to matter not being able to be destroyed. Sonics rings would still weigh the same and have the same amount of metal, they just appear to be smaller.

8:50 8-BIT MATPAT IS BACK😮

Did MatPat just pronounce Hydro City as hydrocity? Who is he, Megamind? Actually, that makes a lot of sense...

I have a feeling Matpat excluded the rings properties in the movies (and the huge ones that can teleport you in the games) because their basically a portable, wireless, oddly telepathic teleporting rings. That has near impossible logic as of today.

In Sonic Dash there is also an in game shop where you can buy rings from real money. You could also use this game for your calculations.

This is the type of theory I used to love from back in the day. This feels like a _classic_ theory. Thanks. Love the throwback :')

What little lore we get for the gold rings throws a big wrench into the theory no matter what kind of metal you want to go with, as rings are the solidified run off energy from the chaos emeralds. So its likely the rings aren't a metal to begin with, they just look like one.

and then you realize that recent SEGA confirmed that the rings aren't even currency in the first place like in the IDW comics (the best source for modern Sonic world information) the characters can just get a chili dog from a stand, no payment required or join a Chao race tournament, no cash price for the winners

6:21 thats when i stopped watching and took both of the surveys

This theory feels so classic, and I honestly love that.

No matter how much they’re worth, considering it’s been canonically stated in Tails tube (the official sonic the hedgehog RU-vid series where they answer lore questions) that Sonic most likely doesn’t own a house since he’s the kind of guy who is too busy adventuring to ever have a personal residence. As such, Sonic either find the grassy field to nap at or he crashes at Tails’s workshop. What does in mind, his expenses would be significantly lower than the average person since he doesn’t have a house payment or electric bills to deal with. And considering the only clothes he wears, are sneakers, socks, and gloves, I imagine his spendings for closes also relatively low. So really the only thing he has to worry about financially is food. (Which considering chili dogs aren’t that expensive, I think 999 rings every zone or two should more than cover it.)

Ironically, there is a lore quote (from rogue I think?) That mentions how rings are basically worthless because they are so abundant. Which in turn makes the low conversion cost pretty accurate to the lore.

I’ve been watching game theory since I was child…being a teen now I love seeing the progression in this show makes me so happy. Matpat has made me laugh and cry. I can’t wait to see what he creates next.

I love that we're coming back to OG math theories and pixel measurements! Who else has flashbacks to the similar Mario episode 😂

Finally a real game theory that isn't an ARG or mascot horror... again... Thank you Matpat.

So are we treating the whole ring as if it's neodymium or as if it's 18 karats gold with the remaining 6 karats being neodymium? Because then the prices would probably change drastically. I mean, if Gold retains its magnetism till 18 karats and neodymium is super magnetic, then it would stand to reason that the Neo-Gold rings would be fairly magnetic and still worth a pretty decent settlement irl.

Anytime I see a game theory video that isn’t just explaining the story of current mascot horror game, I regain a tiny bit of faith in humanity

For those interested, that image of brown sonic was from the Fleetway Publications "Sonic the Comic", which was a Sega comic produced in the UK, and not under Sega of America's aegis. It was thier attempt of Sonic's "Origin Story", and the gentleman with him is Dr Ovi Kintobor, the Jeckyll to Eggman's Hyde. I always assumed that the Sonic rings acted as a Petrodollar equivalent, in that they're not accually a currency, but a form of energy-matter that functions as a currency.

It's funny how this is all negated by sega's mandate of rings not actually being in lore currency and they only recently allowed money to exist in the sonic world, but they wont allow writers to elaborate on exactly what that is. but matpat doesnt know that

Actually, in Sonic Frontiers You can hold up to 999 rings if you maximise the ring count, he can get 10,983$ in total

0:55 blue rings, dark rings, dash rings, red star rings, crime rings sonic has ALL the rings

Pretty sure that Sonic Rings are by products of the Chaos Emeralds meaning they’d contain chaos energy and be valued by their usability and rarity. So they might not be any kind of metal just like how the emeralds might not be any kind of gem. And their true value is what you could possibly do with them.

Man, Can't believe how long I've watching you guys and seeing how your channels have grown, always a pleasure to be apart of this ride. Keep it up guys!

8:17 I believe neodymium is used for industrial magnets, but it would be less commonly used, given that it's used, well, industrially.

We'll mis you...

12:09 Matpat forgot Gold’s price is due to its rarity And if we see them basicly everywhere that means they arent rare

This video also works on the assumption that each ring is a solid metal ring, whereas it'd be worth less if it were any kind of hollow. I'm sure you could calculate how solid the rings are based off of how fast they fall vs the gravity of the game you're using them in

“The biggest problem in the Sonic universe isn’t Robotnik, CLEARLY, it’s rampant price inflation.”

4:54 You guys are out there paying a whole DOLLAR for a single APPLE?! For like $2 you can buy a whole BAG of apples.

It doesn't necessarily have to be an alloy, it might be gold with a small amount of iron in it. Gold's non-magnetic stuff means that it wouldn't interfere too much with the iron's magnetic properties. (Gold actually repels magnets a little bit, not nearly as strong as iron attracts them.)

Honestly, Dorkly having Eggman call these rings "lead rings i spray painted gold" makes the first calculation seem really fitting

Here's a question I don't got answered: MatPat first calculated for the giant rings, but then states that the rings *shrink* to be a small size when Sonic touches it. Where does that extra mass go? Would the rings just like, condense and still retain some of their much larger value or does it just, poof, ignoring the rules of mass conservation?

Honestly the strength to carry the rings jesus, is impressive for the large ones

3:02 this is gonna end up in an out of context video for sure

12:03 There’s got to be a mistake here. 1kg is roughly 2lbs so it should be less expensive per pound than kilogram. Were the numbers accidentally swapped?

We need more scientific real world theories for these imaginary characters please. Old MatPat may be back?

Rings weren't really a currency until later games. They are a power source.

Matpat I don’t think roblox was trying to make these rings look cheap compared to real money. Depending on the game in roblox, their value in game can be way higher or lower. For example some games in roblox make you spend like 15 robux for 25 gems, while others give you 7000 for the same amount of robux.

AAAAAH the science based videos are back! Even MatPat's tone in this video feels like the old days. Oh I missed these so much!

Lol, I'm so glad you talked about the size issue. I was all ready to post "Um... Actually, the visual size of the rings in the games is probably just a gameplay feature for the player's benefit, otherwise Sonic wouldn't be able to carry so many of them..." but you actually covered it. Of course, the real explanation is that they're magic.

The amount of times you use Sonic Unleashed as evidence for this theory just made my respect for you skyrocket.

I'll have you know they are, in fact, NOT worthless... they taste amazing with some chili sauce.

6:55 Shield drawing in rings could have been diamagnetic. Especially since it’s literally brimming with energy. The rings could have been attracted without any ferrous material required.

@MatPat: Just a heads-up, neodymium is used in the MOTOR of EVs; **NOT** the battery. The “rare-earth” metal that’s used in batteries is cobalt, and that’s being phased out really quickly. Other than that, a fairly entertaining theory.

So this is what it took for MatPat to finally be on Sonics side

12:34 "Probably explains how hes able to hold so many in his um, in his pockets, i guess" 💀💀💀

I'm not a math doctor or anything but, what's the value of the rings if you calculate the amount of energy they r able to produce? They sustain super sonic, can apparently be used as building materials (shadow the hedgehog)and a bunch of other stuff

Thank you Matt for everything ❤

In the end, Sonic still makes more money from collecting a few rings than our average day job.

2:43 So basically, one Ring is worth the same as an Argentinian Peso.

As fun as this was, I hope MatPat will do more interesting theories with Sonic. This is a franchise that has a world under a constant threat of a machine apocalypse and has the title character slaying gods, eldritch horrors, and pulling off insane feats every other month. Not to mention the colorful cast of characters deserving of more love and the fact that there IS a continuity and clear progression that really isn't confusing or nonsensical if you were to actually pay attention to the games you're playing/watching, cause more often than not MatPat brings up non canon material like Archie, Fleetway, the Movies, spinoffs like Olympic Games and Speed Simulator, or even the shows to find answers to questions that only really apply to the Game/IDW universe. Again, these aren't bad theories by any means but Sonic ones only show up every now and then so I think they could do a lot more with the material presented in the canon with just a little research. (Funniest part about this theory is that collectable rings aren't a physical existence in the current canon, they're just a game mechanic to represent health and sometimes the unknown currency system, which is why you don't see rings in cutscenes or the IDW comics. This also means Super forms aren't actually reliant on rings and run on the unlimited power of the Chaos Emeralds. Big Rings do exist though, they're portals!)

So glad to see Unleashed getting some love these days! Super underrated game, that one

I went through the survey and was super tempted to check off "I stuff kids into animatronic suits." for the memes.

11:15 I knew it! The ring is evil!

Say MatPat, I’ve got a request theory about Bugsnax. What on the surface is a cute game about catching animals made from food is actually a dark and twisted web of history surrounding a worship of these creatures spanning eons. I’d love to see your take on this!

I think for something the size of a silver dollar that can easily be found anywhere 11$ isn't too bad Pick up 2 rings per hour and you got around minimum wage (technically more than minimum wage but if we take the minimum wage from like 50 years ago when it was actually a reasonable living wage and account for inflation the minimum wage was worth closer to 20 an hour)

TO MATPAT: note that if you ever dive into red star rings, they look more like plastic than anything else so don’t go thinking that there some sort of smooth ruby

1:50 And SEGA's sister company is a major slot machine producer (and SEGA originally produced these themselves).

12:06 Wait, why is it more expensive per pound if a pound is less than half a kilogram? Shouldn't it be the other way around? If it is $127 per KG, and a pound (LB) is 0.45 KG, then it should be $57.6 per LB.

Sonic : *exists* MatPat : who let this happen

When the question says parents but you live with one parent.

13:39 POV you live in 3059: That’s not that much money?

10:05 WHAT.. THEYRE MADE OF!!! 🎸🎶🎶🎸

Sonic Generations has a ring shop that allows you to buy stuff like extra lives and shields for rings.

I'm just happy to be a part of the survey to help out :D Team Theorists for the win!

Dorkly already joked about how the rings are probably made of lead and gold paint

in 11:40 you mention the price of the rings if they were made of gold. The only issue is that you're using 76kg to find that price, which is incorrect since the rings weight 76kg if they were made of neodymium, not gold. The actual weight of the rings if they were made of gold would be about 211 kilograms (multiplying density of gold 19.32g/cm3 by volume of ring), leading to each ring costing about 12,431.11 dollars, using 58,900 dollars per kilo of gold as the conversion, which is the latest one I found.

FINALLY HES GONE BACK TO HIS ROOTS...THANK YOU

1:44 matpat is a Xbox player confirmed

Do the rings shrink from the bigger size to the smaller size when Sonic gets them? If so, what kind of issues would arise from their increased density?

2:56 The ring price is not canon, as the rings are priced that way due to being extremely abundant in the game.

One of sonic's original designs was eggman wearing pajamas, but the design was shifted into becoming the antagonists design. Since this would have meant that the scrapped design was going to be the main protagonist, it raises the theory that everything in the sonic franchise was actually just a bunch of dreams that eggman from the real world keeps on having.

Gold may be hard to comeby in earth but in sonic it may be more abundant in sonics world.

3:05 Blames America; shows a UK product. Yeah, one of our early drafts said he started off brown and the UK adopted it before we changed drafts but it was still the UK that ran with the idea.

I did the survey, and I am so amped to see where this goes! Congratulations on your social growth, Team Theorists!

One major problem with the theory they they are made of that. They would attract each other....majorly.

Sonic: “shut up and pay your life savings for another life and the ability to teleport.”

This is in my top 10 game theory videos, very entertaining and I love when they use actual science

The editing is on point with this episode 👀 Such smooth color transitions!

After stating that the rings are heavier than water and are magnetic- when do we include that they float in water and air until collected? :D

If the rings are neodymium, and the shops are mostly black markets, this could imply that the black markets are double dealing by selling them back to Eggman to use for batteries

Even if the world ends matpat will still make videos 😂

6:11 We get a new secret Channel : It's Fnaf Theory

Something that’s perfect is that I went to the movies and I saw a advertisement for game theory and a couple minutes later I saw a ad for the FNaF movie

This was awesome! Felt like a proper OG episode - top tier work MatPat & Theorist Crew 🔥

9:52 In fact, the rings don't keep Sonic as Super Sonic, at the end of Sonic 3 & Knuckles, we see Sonic descending with the Master Emerald as Super/Hyper Sonic, then he distransforms, and after the credits (which should last for a few 3 minutes, taking into account how long the credits music is), he transforms again and jumps in front of the screen, and he doesn't collect any rings in the credits, so he doesn't need them to transform, he just needs them in the gameplay.

I love the more science based theories. They are a major callback to the OG days and I like learning cool facts and knowlage

Btw sonic jump fever also has a shop in it👀 you can buy chaos using the rings

man it is nice to have a sonic theory after so long!

Wouldn’t the weight of the rings increase since a larger mass is being collapsed into a smaller form, thus making the small ones more expensive since price is based on weight? Unless MatPat is now claiming that the rings lose mass when they shrink, thus breaking physics laws since matter can’t be created or destroyed…

I'm not usually one to point out mistakes, but at 12:03, Mat says that a kg of neodymium is around $127, and a couple seconds later, he says that a pound of neodymium is $270. A pound is a bit less than half of a kilogram, meaning that if it is $127/kg of neodymium, then it should be about $57/pound.

Finally, the gold rings have been converted to $.

Wouldn't a better way to determine value besides pixel measurements(love classic GT calculation methods), to instead average the price within the games itself and then average them across the board? Because I think the value is somewhere between the roblox value and Matpat's estimated value.

1:31 you know, I decided to check if you were pulling my leg, given I played that game and I didn't remember it being made by the developers of sonic. ... Apparently it is. _The more you know._