Sonic Frontiers has turned out to be a massive success for publisher and developer Sega, and the sequel will receive a bigger budget.
During a Q&A session with investors (via), Sega’s parent company, SEGA Sammy Holdings, noted that Sonic Frontiers sold really well, and that a sequel or new entry is expected to receive a bigger budget.
In response to a question regarding the quality of Sonic Frontiers in light of it being well received by fans despite its Metasore not being as high as expected, Sega stated that it believes that it has found a title that is widely accepted by a lot of people across the world. The company expects to gain more sales via pricing, discounts and the recently announced DLC. Sega plans to further promote the Sonic franchise in future, such as with the release of Sonic Prime, the third Sonic film, as well as merchandising opportunities.
Responding to a question regarding the possibility more large-scale entries in the Sonic series after Frontiers, Sega stated that it expects development costs for new Sonic games to be higher. The publisher is committed to ensuring solid quality in the development of major new titles from its existing franchises, including the Sonic series. However, development costs have risen due to the impact of the global recession, and Sega expect this trend to continue for the foreseeable future. Therefore, the publisher is proceeding with a bigger budget for future titles in the series.
Previously, the director of Sonic Frontiers, Morio Kishimoto, had suggested that, in addition to 3D Sonic games, 2D side-scrolling Sonic games are also in development at Sega. Kishimoto’s statement came in response to a question from a fan, who mentioned that they loved playing Sonic 4 Episode 1 and Episode 2 back when it was released. They wondered if they’d ever see another Sonic game of that kind, possibly in collaboration with developer Dimps.
