Summary
Sega’s goal is forSonic the Hedgehogto catch up to Mario and eventually surpass Nintendo’s iconic plumber. TheSonic the Hedgehogfranchise was initially conceived as a direct competitor to Nintendo’sSuper Mario Bros.series. Sonic himself became Sega’s mascot in the same way that Mario represents Nintendo, and the two characters were at the center of a heated rivalry between the gaming mega brands in the 90s.
Some poor decisions on Sega’s part led to the company dipping out of the home console market completely. This move saw thelongtime rivalry between Sega and Nintendocome to an end, as Sega started releasing its games on Nintendo consoles, including titles from its flagshipSonic the Hedgehogfranchise. Eventually, there were even some crossover games released featuring both Sonic and Mario.
While Sega and Nintendo may be on better terms nowadays, it seems there is still a desire for Sonic the Hedgehog to eventually surpass Mario. In an interview published by Sega andreported on by My Nintendo News, Division Manager Osamu Ohashi was asked how he plans on growing theSonic the Hedgehogbrand in the future. “To put it simply, I want to surpass Mario. Sonic was originally developed to compete with Mario, and we have yet to achieve that. Because we respect Mario, our 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. That is our goal as Sonic lovers.”
To put it simply, I want to surpass Mario.
It’s entirely possible that Sega could one day achieve its goal ofSonic the HedgehogsurpassingSuper Mario, but it will be an extremely uphill battle. WhereasSuper Mariohas consistently released one hit game after another, the same can’t be said forSonic the Hedgehog. In fact, the majority ofSonic the Hedgehoggames released sinceSonic Adventure 2have been met with middling if not outright negative reception. Whereas Mario has thrived in both 2D and 3D, Sonic has not had the same luck.
Sonic Frontiersearned mixed reviews, but it was otherwise better-received than many other recent 3DSonicgames. Perhaps it can serve as the foundation for a higher qualitySonic the Hedgehoggame down the line that could give Mario a run for his money. Sega may have more luck competing with Mario in the 2D space, though, as the 2DSonic Maniagame is one of the highest-ratedSonicgames in years.
As far as competing withThe Super Mario Bros. Movie, that’s another goal that’s not impossible, though seems unlikely.The Super Mario Bros. Movieis the highest-grossing video game movie of all time, sailing past $1 billion and standing tall as the second-highest grossing movie of 2023 to date. TheSonic the Hedgehogmovies have been box office successes as well, withSonic the Hedgehog 2earning $100 million more than its predecessor, butSonic the Hedgehog 3would have to be a massive leap forward for Sonic to catch up to Mario at the box office.
