Speaking during an interview with Famitsu magazine, Sonic Team producer Takashi Iizuka confirmed that the developer is currently working on an all-new Sonic the Hedgehog title as the Blue Blur approaches his 25th anniversary next month.
“We at Sonic Team – are developing a completely new game, as well as developing a full movie, actively done by Sony Pictures, and animation on Sonic Boom. We are also ready to improve sponsor ties. The most important thing is not the fact the series survived for 25 years, but how many games was developed. Our goal – add something new and overcome any potential hardships.”
Can Sonic Team recapture this iconic character’s glory days?
The original Sonic the Hedgehog first launched on the Sega Genesis (aka Mega Drive) on June 23, 1991, with SEGA set to host the series’ 25th anniversary festivities on July 22.
SEGA’s spiky mascot quickly propelled the company to market dominance during the 16-bit era, with both Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 achieving critical and commercial success through the mid-early 90s.
Sonic’s success began to falter during the Sega Saturn era however, with canceled projects and underwhelming franchise entries failing to recapture the Blue Blur’s early platforming years. The launch of the Dreamcast in 1998 saw Sonic enter the 3D gaming landscape, and became easily the biggest title for the series in years.
Sonic Adventure 2 cemented the move, although the following years saw Sonic’s popularity and critical success fall precipitously. SEGA began to experiment with the brand, leading to disastrous efforts such as Sonic and the Black Knight, Sonic Unleashed, Sonic Boom, and the franchise lowpoint, 2006’s Sonic the Hedgehog.
There have been a few highlights, though. Sonic the Hedgehog 4 attempted to recapture the spiky speedster’s 16-bit glory days by returning to his platforming roots, and Sonic Generations is often cited as the series’ best entry in over a decade.
Can Sonic Team hope to recapture Sonic’s glory days? Right now it’s anyone’s guess, although if ever there was a time to get back to what made Sonic so great, the 25th anniversary is definitely the right time to do it.