Sonic the Hedgehog has quite an interesting history. He was the poster boy for the Sega Genesis for years, and he was that console's version of Nintendo's Mario, who was the biggest competitor at the time. Sega then had its own share of financial problems so they are no longer a major player, and the rights to Sonic were ironically bought by Nintendo. Now there is going to be some new Sonic Game, and this is everything we know about this game and its release date and preview at San Diego Comic Con 2016.
According to iDigitalTimes, the Sonic Team Boss Takashi Iizuka announced at a Sonic 25th anniversary event in Tokyo that there will be a new Sonic game will be coming in 2017 More information about the game will be coming at a Sonic party on July 22 at San Diego Comic Con. There was also a post on Sonic's Twitter showing the blue hedgehog and his arch nemesis Dr. Eggman, but they were quite discreet about it.
The issue with Sonic the Hedgehog is that it was once a powerhouse franchise, and the video games industry knows that by putting his image on a game, you will have sales. They may not be good sales, but it is at least worth the investment for a new Sonic game.
Some of the more recent games such as Sonic 06 and Sonic Boom have not been well received. Also, there were complaints that the games were buggy and glitchy, and there really needs to be a decent Sonic game, or at least a finished one.
The issue with Sonic the Hedgehog is that his fanbase is huge. Part of it is that when the game was first released, it was many kids' first game. So there is a lot of nostalgia associated with it, and the game was so successful that it has had a few animated series. There is even hope from the fans that there will be a decent Sonic the Hedgehog movie, as there are constant rumors of one for years.
So, as you can see, the expectation for a new Sonic game is big. I'm talking about how Nintendo is banking a lot on the new Zelda game, Sega is banking its reputation on this blue hedgehog and what will hopefully be a game-changing game.
The problem with this new Sonic game, or innovating anything with its reputation, is that changing it will result in fans who say "I like the old way better". Also, if the new Sonic game is too much like its predecessors, even like the good ones, the fans will say "this is just like the old games". Yeah, its going to be difficult for Sega to find that balance here, but we'll see how it does when the game is previewed a month from now.
