Sonic 4 to Repair the Reputation of the Franchise

Ken Balough, SEGA's brand manager, has recently declared that Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is meant to repair the series' reputation. The Sonic games from the last years have not been up to scratch in terms of quality and have been heavily criticized by the games press. SEGA aims to bring Sonic back to his old form with this latest installment.

Apparently, this lack of quality was also the reason for the long delay for the creation of such a title, according to Balough. The game would not have been developed if there wasn't a right team at the right place and time, he told Destructoid in an interview. The developers are said to be great fans of Sonic and want to bring the series back to the standards of quality it was known for in the SEGA Genesis era.

Furthermore, Balough declared that, “Sonic’s a lot of different things to a lot of different people. We’re gonna try and hit the broadest audience possible with this game, but at the same time we know who we’re really making the game for, and that’s people who love digital stuff, loved Sonic in the classic days on the Megadrive and Genesis. We want to make you feel like you’re a kid again, in your parent’s living room, playing that hardware.”

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is a platfomer developed for the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3, the Nintendo Wii and the iPhone. It will be released in episodic installments, with the first episode being set for launch sometime until the end of the year. The title means to bring the Sonic series back to it roots, with 2D graphics and the classic gameplay that made the old games great. Sonic will be the only playable character in Episode 1, with more to be added later on. The title will also have an online component that will allow players to compare high scores and level-completion times with others in leaderboards and other such activities.