By SEGA has released the English translation of a Q&A session in the wake of its earnings results for the last quarter of last year.
According to VGC, SEGA states that its October 2023 title “Sonic Superstars” sold fewer copies than had been forecast with the blame being put on the competition – most likely referring to Nintendo’s “Super Mario Bros. Wonder”.
Sega Sammy Holdings executive vice president Makoto Takahashi and IR/SR department director Nobuaki Yoshii spoke about the game’s performance, saying:
“Although Sonic Superstars has generally been well received by those who have played it, the timing of the launch coincided with competing titles in the same genre, and it has been short of the initial forecast. The strategic expansion of Sonic IP is progressing well, and we will continue to work to increase repeat sales of this title.”
The “competing titles in the same genre” is seen as a direct reference to “Super Mario Bros. Wonder” which released three days later.
Back in November, Sega Sammy Holdings president and group CEO Haruki Satomi indicated sales were weaker than anticipated but cited the overall number of games in the last quarter of last year as being to blame with “Sonic” games selling best in November and December.
Both titles marked a return to the side-scrolling style gameplay of their original releases. The difference is ‘Superstars’ scored decidedly mixed reviews with a 73/100 on Metacritic.
‘Wonder’ on the other hand was seen as one of the Mario franchise’s best entries in years, landed a 92/100 on Metacritic, and was a nominee for the Game of the Year award.
More Sonic is on the way though, especially in other media with a “Knuckles” TV series coming in a few weeks and a third film due later this year.
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