Highlights
- Sega's goal is for Sonic the Hedgehog to surpass Mario and become as iconic as Nintendo's plumber.
- Sonic has had a tumultuous history in the gaming industry, with many of his games receiving mixed or negative reception, so it will be an uphill battle.
- Additionally, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie's success seems unlikely for Sonic.
Sega's goal is for Sonic the Hedgehog to catch up to Mario and eventually surpass Nintendo's iconic plumber. The Sonic the Hedgehog franchise was initially conceived as a direct competitor to Nintendo's Super 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 the longtime rivalry between Sega and Nintendo come to an end, as Sega started releasing its games on Nintendo consoles, including titles from its flagship Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Eventually, there were even some crossover games released featuring both Sonic and Mario.
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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 and reported on by My Nintendo News, Division Manager Osamu Ohashi was asked how he plans on growing the Sonic the Hedgehog brand 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 of Sonic the Hedgehog surpassing Super Mario, but it will be an extremely uphill battle. Whereas Super Mario has consistently released one hit game after another, the same can't be said for Sonic the Hedgehog. In fact, the majority of Sonic the Hedgehog games released since Sonic Adventure 2 have 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 Frontiers earned mixed reviews, but it was otherwise better-received than many other recent 3D Sonic games. Perhaps it can serve as the foundation for a higher quality Sonic the Hedgehog game 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 2D Sonic Mania game is one of the highest-rated Sonic games in years.
As far as competing with The Super Mario Bros. Movie, that's another goal that's not impossible, though seems unlikely. The Super Mario Bros. Movie is 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. The Sonic the Hedgehog movies have been box office successes as well, with Sonic the Hedgehog 2 earning $100 million more than its predecessor, but Sonic the Hedgehog 3 would have to be a massive leap forward for Sonic to catch up to Mario at the box office.
Source: Sega
