Sega has plans to “catch up to and surpass” Mario

Sega has published a new corporate interview with Osamu Ohashi, a historical figure of the company who has been linked to it since Sonic 3 on Mega Drive and who currently holds the position of Senior Executive and Director of Sega’s Second Business Unit, of which the Sonic Team is a part of. Under the name “Creating a Second Sonic: What Is The Vision of SEGA’s 2nd Division?”, the executive, accompanied by deputy director Yukiko Kawamura, has spoken about the company’s strategy both with regards to Sonic itself and the rest of their properties..

One of the aspects that has attracted attention are the statements about the future of the hedgehog and the company’s objectives around it, as has been translated by Noisy Pixel: “”Simply put, I want to surpass Mario. Sonic was a game originally developed to compete with Mario, and we have yet to achieve that. Because we respect Mario, my goal is to catch up to and surpass him. We want Sonic to be played all over the world, including Japan, just like Mario, and we want the movie to be a bigger hit than Mario. We also want to build a Sonic attraction in Universal Studios Japan. That is my goal as a Sonic lover.”

The interview also addresses some of the challenges in that regard, such as the fact that Sonic has always been more popular outside of Japan than within, even in the past. There is also talk of the will to build what is called a “second Sonic”, a franchise that experiences the kind of notoriety that the mascot has had thanks to the success of its films and better judgment when it comes to executing the latest games. What franchise would be likely to experience that international recognition? Has the time come for a Vectorman revival? Streets of Rage?

In any case, beyond that second Sonic, the company has a good challenge ahead of it to reach and surpass Mario, given the difference in sales that the franchises have had in recent times - even the great success of the Sonic movies has been eclipsed by the record figures of Mario’s movie—. But the truth is that it is true that Sonic was born to compete with the plumber, and that rivalry will always be present for those who have experienced it firsthand.