Publisher Sega has lofty plans for its Sonic IP, aiming to develop it in such a way that it will “catch up and surpass Mario” in the future.
Sonic and Mario have always been competitors, but where Nintendo has managed to consistently stick the landing with its titles – even when stepping outside its comfort zone – Sega’s output has often received a mixed reception from both fans and critics.
Does SEGA have a strategy for Sonic to outpace Mario?
“Simply put, I want to surpass Mario,” Business Manager Osamu Ohashi said in an interview on Sega’s careers website, as translated by Google.
“Sonic is a game that was originally developed to compete with Mario, and it still hasn’t achieved that goal. Our goal is to catch up and surpass Mario because we respect Mario.
“I want people to play it all over the world, including Japan, like Mario, and I want the movie to be a bigger hit than Mario. I would like USJ to create a “Sonic Area” as well. That’s our goal for those of us who love Sonic.”
Sega’s ambitions aren’t limited to ensuring that Sonic’s popularity reaches unprecedented heights.
Its 2nd Division, which handles the IP, also has its sights set on creating what Ohashi calls “the Second Sonic,” by tapping into older successful IP and shining the spotlight on it.
The two popular characters clashed again last month, when we saw the release of both Super Mario Wonder and Sonic Superstars.
While Mario might have won the video game battle up until now, both IPs have seen success at the box office.
As a result, Nintendo and Sega aim to release more Mario and Sonic movies in the future. A third movie featuring the speedy blue hedgehog is set to launch next year.
In the same interview, Ohashi revealed that a staggering amount of Sonic sales come from overseas.
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