CELEBRATING SONIC THE HEDGEHOG’S
As Sega bid farewell to the hardware race, Sonic was able to establish himself as a multi-format superstar, reaching entirely new audiences on Xbox, PlayStation and even Nintendo machines. It was the beginning of a brand new chapter in Sonic’s evolution
BY 2003, Sega had gracefully withdrawn from the hardware market and had successfully reinvented itself as a superstar multi-format software publisher.
Sonic, meanwhile was bigger than ever and had gone from brash upstart to iconic elder statesmen – albeit an elder statesman that could still shift at the speed of light. Sonic Heroestook the brand in a new direction by allowing
players to control one of three main characters at any one time, each with their own special ability – speed, power or flight.
And with Sega’s newly confirmed platform
agnosticism, it would be the first truly multi-format edition in the series, appearing on GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC.
Sonic was 12 years old by now. In gaming IP terms, that’s
middle age. There was, however, no sign of pipe and slippers.
Indeed, in many
ways, Sonic Heroeswas the start of a new lease of life for the brand – the universe was more diverse, as was the audience. Sonic had always moved fast, but usually in straight lines. Now he was everywhere.
MEDIA
Game Stars is broadcast on ITV over the Easter weekend. Future Publishing buys Computec UK.
PEOPLE
European Xbox boss Sandy Duncan announces his retirement.
Gerhard Florin (left) takes the top EA job in Europe.
Martyn Gibbs quits HMV for GameStation.
David Yarnton becomes UK MD at Nintendo.
Mike Hayes quits Codemasters – and will re-
emerge at Sega in January 2004.
56 August 12th 2011
Sonic Heroeswas the eighth game in the Sonic The Hedgehogseries.
It was developed by Sonic Team USA.
Six million units have been sold around the world.
Whilst Sonic Heroeswas released in 2003 in Japan it didn’t hit Europe until 2004.
I REMEMBER IT WELL
The very first thing I saw when I walked into the Sega offices on joining the company in 2003 was a great big Sonic Team logo on a pod and I knew I’d come to work in the right place. The game behind that splash-screen was a landmark for new Sega; Sonic Heroes, which was the first multi-format Sonicgame following the company’s rebirth as a software-only publisher. The game introduced a great ‘team’ mechanic that really resonated well with the audience; this coupled with the fact that we had a fantastic TV advert based around the A- Team theme and a hit TV series in Sonic Xpaved the way for huge success for the game.
Stefan McGarry Then: PR Exec, Sega
Now: Senior PR Manager, Sega
www.mcvuk.com
SONIC HEROES 2003
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