Average Sonics pulled from retail

Having too many from the back catalogue can cause "cannibalisation," and hurt future releases. Three Sonic games are due by the end of this year.

“Any Sonic game with an average Metacritic has been de-listed,” revealed SEGA's Jurgen Post, senior VP of EMEA. Dropping the 'dead weight' helps increase the value of the brand overall they believe. SEGA launch 3 Sonic titles this year.

They are Sonic Colours and Sonic Free Riders releasing in the shops, and Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 via Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and WiiWare.

“We have to do this and increase the value of the brand. This will be very important when more big Sonic releases arrive in the future," pointed out Post.

“We could make a lot of money on back-catalogue Sonic titles, but let’s keep the number of Sonic games available under control. Otherwise you can have cannibalisation. If there are ten Sonic games on the shelves, with people seeing Sonic Rush DS or Sonic Rush Adventure, this may not help our overall strategy.”

SEGA hopes they'll attract their wide fanbase with the offerings arriving this holiday, from the younger crowd to the more core gamer group from the 90's. "Colours will play well to our younger Sonic fanbase, but should also appeal to the older fans once they realise there are no unwanted surprises,” said brand director David Corless.

"It’s the first console title for a while that’s clearly influenced by Sonic’s platform past but also keeps the series moving forward with new ideas and innovations that complement that legacy."

"Sonic 4 on the other hand is old school and primarily for those core fans who remember the originals. But there are also a number of younger gamers who’ve recently discovered the classics on the iPhone or XBLA, PSN and WiiWare so it’ll appeal to them as well.”

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 releases next week on October 13th. Are you happy to see SEGA do some much needed spring cleaning in the Sonic household?