The vast majority of Sonic IP sales, as much as 95 % come from overseas markets, Business Manager Osamu Ohashi has revealed in an interview on Sega’s careers website.
Although Sonic’s overseas popularity dwarfs that in Japan, the publisher will continue aiming to work towards making the IP a bigger name in its home country and other similar regions.
Sonic Overseas Sales
“It’s overseas. 95% of Sonic’s sales are overseas, so overseas markets are our main target,” Ohashi noted in the interview, via Google Translate.
“On the other hand, one of the important efforts is to develop regions such as Japan where Sonic is not very popular. Our mission is to strike that balance.
“In countries where Sonic is very popular, there is an image that is close to obsession, ‘This is Sonic’,” he continued, while admitting that “in countries where Sonic is not that popular, the current approach is not well received.”
In his view, the publisher’s efforts need “to take a different approach” that puts it in a position where it’s “required to innovate while preserving our traditional image.”
The interview tackles a few different topics regarding Sega’s 2nd Division, which handles its prized IP.
But although its “role is to expand the possibilities of Sonic while challenging various game genres,” the division is also taking aim at creating what Ohashi calls “the Second Sonic.”
It aims to achieve this by reviving IPs that were successful in the past and “leveraging the know-how that made Sonic a hit around the world.”
Sonic’s popularity remains uncontested, even if, over the years, the video game series has produced titles that launched to a mixed reception from fans.
Its success at the box office, following the release of two movies starring the likes of Ben Schwartz, Jim Carrey, and James Marsden, has further cemented the speedy hedgehog as a recognizable figure in pop culture.
The latest video game to feature him and several of his long-time allies, Sonic Superstars, launched earlier in October. A third movie is scheduled to be released in 2024.
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