14 DAY TRIAL // SEGA has announced that it is developing and planning to release a new Sonic the Hedgehog title for the Xbox Live service from Microsoft, the PlayStation Network from Sony and the WiiWare service from Nintendo. The new game, simply named Sonic 4, is set to come in an episodic format and no clear release date has been announced except for a vague summer time frame, although the development process seems to be pretty far along.
Ken Balough, who is an associate brand manager at SEGA, told GameSpot in an interview that “Ever since Sonic & Knuckles, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 has been a game classic Sega fans have always wanted to see,” adding that his company determined that “It was the right people, at the right time, getting together and finally making this game we've all wanted to see.”
The new game is set to take inspiration from the titles launched from the Genesis while also taking into account how fans have wanted to see their favorite running hedgehog portrayed in a new videogame.
Balough stated that the fresh experience would be in 2D and mark a return to the roots for Sonic after his long string of out of character appearances in 3D action titles, racing games with a cast made up of a multitude of characters and even a role playing game. Sonic 4 is set to be very open to the ideas of fans and after each episode is out, SEGA plans to listen closely to the feedback they receive and work on that for the next content delivery. The move back to 2D will prove very interesting to fans but it remains to be seen if SEGA knows how to actually deliver another compelling Sonic title during the summer.