The origin story of Sonic the Hedgehog is a bit of a strange one, with Sega looking for a game with a distinctive character that could serve as their mascot, a contemporary and rival to Mario of Nintendo‘s Super Mario Bros. fame. Sega’s Sonic Team came up with a blue hedgehog that was lightning-fast, with spiky blue hair who could roll into a ball to attack enemies and traverse obstacles. In a way, it worked, because Sonic the Hedgehog did become synonymous with Sega, but it would never really reach the level of cultural relevance of a Mario, Luigi, Yoshi or even Wario. Nintendo had that market on lock.
Sega has been out of the home console business since the demise of the critically-acclaimed, commercial dud that was the Sega Dreamcast, which has left Sonic as a character without a definitive home. The last entries into the Sonic franchise was Sonic Generations, a celebration of 20 years of Sonic with both traditional-inspired gameplay and levels with a modern twist, and Sonic Lost World, which didn’t quite enamor Sonic fans to the same degree.
The Sonic Team is looking to bring Sonic right back into the limelight with the still-untitled Sonic project due out holiday 2017, which according to Destructoid, they claim isn’t Sonic Generations 2. That’s not all, either. If fans were looking for more of a retro-style Sonic then they should be happy with Sonic Mania, says The Verge. Sonic Mania is due out in the Spring for PS4, Xbox One and PC.
Both games have Sonic fans once again wondering if the delightful hedgehog with a rabid (?) fan base can return to relevancy and mainstream success.
(Via The Verge/Destructoid)