Sonic Team not making Sonic 4

By Oli Welsh Published 17 February, 2010

Sonic Rush studio Dimps at the wheel.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is not being made Sonic Team or any internal SEGA studio, it's been revealed. The downloadable return to the series' 2D roots is instead being developed by Dimps, which made the Sonic Advance and Sonic Rush games.

The news was spotted by Kotaku on the game's Xbox Live Marketplace listing.

Dimps has plenty of experience with 2D Hedgehog games, having made the three-strong Sonic Advance series for the Game Boy Advance and Sonic Rush and Sonic Rush Adventure for the DS. It also co-developed Street Fighter IV with Capcom and has made a ton of Dragon Ball Z games.

It's a logical choice, if still a little surprising to see an external developer take on a banner entry in the main Sonic series. But it's not the only unusual tack taken by Sonic 4 - the game will be released as downloadable episodes on PSN, Xbox Live and WiiWare starting with Episode 1 this summer.

Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (33) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • originaljohn #1 2 years ago

    can't wait

  • menage #2 2 years ago

    thank god

  • RobTheBuilder #3 2 years ago

    In one way i am sad that this wont be sonic team's chance at redeeming themselves for the last decade. But equally i am looking forward to it a little more now.

  • Antaios #4 2 years ago

    This is great news.

  • Malek86 #5 2 years ago

    Best news ever.

  • WinterSnowblind #6 2 years ago

    I don't see this as a good thing. People claim the first Sonic Advance was pretty good, and in all honesty I don't remember much of it.. But 2 and 3 were terrible, along with Rush. Poor level design, and bad gameplay that involved nothing beyond holding right, hitting boost pads and moving as fast as possible. The old games had platforming, not just speed.

    They were also responsible for Sonic Unleashed.
    That beign said, aside from a few technicaly glitches that were likely due to the alpha footage, the gameplay here semed to be on the right track.

  • BBIAJ #7 2 years ago

    @ WinterSnowblind:

    Dimps only did the day time level design for the Wii and PStwo versions of Sonic Unleashed, all the rest was Sonic Team's fault... ;o)

  • lavalant #8 2 years ago

    They should go back to the animated 16 bit graphics.

  • RobotRocker #9 2 years ago

    They were also responsible for Sonic Unleashed.

    Just the Wii and PS2 versions. They had better 2D level design but the Werehog levels were worse than the 360/PS3 versions.

    As long as they can knock off the "Hold right to go fas-WATCH FOR THE INSTANT DEATH PIT OUT OF NOWHERE" level design of Sonic Advance/Sonic Rush. Its in good hands.

  • wellzy4eva #10 2 years ago

    I hate to focus on bad news, but I hope that just because this is being sold as episodic gaming they don't make it too short, there's nothing worse than a game where it's just starting to get challenging and you get a 'to be continued' like message (Especially something with a learning/difficulty curve like Sonic).

  • jonsaan #11 2 years ago

    There's one born every minute. Reel 'em in SEGA. There's a little piece of all of us that wants a return to greatness. But in truth you know it will never come, you just cough up your 30 quid a year and scratch that little blue itch.
    Edited by 1 at 17/02/10 @ 09:57

  • WinterSnowblind #12 2 years ago

    Well from that video you could see four stages, with three acts and a boss each.. which isn't too bad.
    Was expecting six stages with two acts each.

  • Mono_X #13 2 years ago

    Episodic!
    Does this this mean that we get a achievement/trophy for completing the 1st episode in under 29 seconds!

  • Moz #14 2 years ago

    Glad i'm not the only one releved by this news. Sonic Rush was amazing, though better get practicing with Dimps behind the wheels the games likely to be hard as hell!!

  • Darren #15 2 years ago

    If the Sonic Team aren't making the new Sonic game then it might actually be good for a change! That's made me go from 'not interested at all' to 'mildly curious'.

  • Shakey_Jake33 #16 2 years ago

    I don't quite share the love that some have for Sonic Rush. The Rush and Advance games seemed to be founded in the misconception that Sonic was all about holding right and running through the level at top speed - this was never the case in the old 16-bit games. What the old games did have was excellent setpieces where you would run downhill as fast as you could, these bits were excellent and reaffirmed the fact that Sonic was super-fast. The rest of a level was actually quite non-linear, far moreso than Mario. This is why people actually began to learn the level layouts, and became so attached to them. This didn't really happen with Rush because you ran past most of the level at top speed.

    That said, the leaked video footage gives the impression that Dimp have gotten the point, displaying a pace much closer to the 16-bit games. The jump animation looks floaty, but it's obviously not complete.

  • photoboy #17 2 years ago

    Suddenly I'm much more excited about this game.

  • Sunyavadin #18 2 years ago

    Sonic Rush was the first Sonic game that felt like a Sonic game in years. My hopes have been raised again.

    Now as long as they don't make the mistake of making the game all about holding right....
    Edited by 1 at 17/02/10 @ 10:53

  • FooAtari #19 2 years ago

    As others have said, I hope the game has a little more depth than Rush and isn't just about holding right until the end of the level.

    But I have to say, I'm a little relieved Sonic Team isn't working on the game based on their past efforts.

  • Stomp224 #20 2 years ago

    /is no longer interested. :(

    Both Sonic Rush games are the poorest examples of 2D sonic imaginable. Just hold the boost button, no need to even hold Right. The Advance series weren't much better either.

    Also: Physics look awful in the leaked vid, which is the make-or-break feature of a good Sonic game.
    Edited by 1 at 18/02/10 @ 01:02

  • Quak #21 2 years ago

    While I can't really comment on the stuff these guys have done, I know for sure that taking it out of Sonic Team's hands was a great decision. Those guys are clearly incompetent these days.

    On a different note, has anyone checked out the website? It's shit. Technically, graphically and content-wise. It looks and reads like something a dyslexic 14-year old put together.

  • Slipstream #22 2 years ago

    That's fine, they've done an excellent job on the previous Sonic titles, no doubt about it. My only gripe would be that the game could get too fast.
    This was my problem with the previous Dimps titles, the levels didn't really stick or have as much character as say, the Megadrive ones.
    Edited by 1 at 17/02/10 @ 14:27

  • uiruki #23 2 years ago

    Earl - it isn't so much that they're retired, so much as they work for three different companies now, with strong links to alternately Sony, Sega and Microsoft :p

  • FenderMaster #24 2 years ago

    AfrooDoomAnother knock against the game. Dimps' Sonic games are all about mindless speed rather than momentum based gameplay. Also grind rails, "tricks" and bottomless pits.

    Expect to be holding right a lot.

    this has been my biggest fear since the game was announced... that it would turn into another mindless speedfest like Sonic Advance 2 or Sonic Rush 1/2

    This was my problem with the previous Dimps titles, the levels didn't really stick or have as much character as say, the Megadrive ones.

    another important point, Dimps make the blandest levels, even after a hundred playthroughs, I still couldn't remember their boring series of rails, loop de loops, swinging gizmos, or bungee chords

    I honestly don't know if I want Sonic team making this either, but I know that if this is more Sonic Rush 3 than Sonic the Hedgehog 4, then it'll just be another in a long line of games trying to brink Sonic back to his roots, without ever understanding what Sonic's roots were...

    luckily Dimps also developed Sonic Advance 1 and 3, both of which were pretty mediocre, but at least played somewhat like the maegadrive classics... i guess we'll see which route they take, but i hope to god it's not the hold right to go faster one of late
    Edited by 1 at 17/02/10 @ 16:08

  • gelf #25 2 years ago

    Another vote against Sonic Rush here too, I really hope Sonic 4 isn't like that hold rightathon.

  • Hexagon #26 2 years ago

    I still want to see Nintendo take a shot at making a Sonic game. This is good news nevertheless, though.

  • FenderMaster #27 2 years ago

    actually, having seen this new leaked video [link url=http://www.examiner.com/x-3809-Reverside-Gaming-Lifest yle-Examiner~y2010m2d16-Sonic-the-Hedgehog-4-Video-Leaked-to -1UP
    ]http://ww w.examiner.com/x-3809-Reverside...[/link]

    it looks like Dimps actually knows what its doing, looks very much like a classic Sonic title, although imo, there appears to be a few too many speed boost strips

  • Invisible_Cow #28 2 years ago

    All I want is an HD version of Sonic 2. If this fits the bill, I will be a happy man.

  • toy_brain #29 2 years ago

    Rush 2 was a 'rightathon', with the games challenge coming from anywhere but the main levels (jetski races and super-short levels were the main challenge I think). Rush 1 I remember more fondly though.
    Getting to the end of each level was fairly easy, but the real goal in the game was getting to the secret stages, which demanded a bit more exploration. And getting those secret stages was more mandatory than in a normal sonic game.

    I liked them. Completed them both with no regrets.
    Music was awesome too.
    Faith in Sonic 4 slightly restored.

  • Ryze #30 2 years ago

    WONDERFUL.

    Today's Sonic team are awful.

  • Incarta #31 2 years ago

    The advance and rush games weren't exactly fabulous...

  • Shakey_Jake33 #32 2 years ago

    It was never going to be the original team, simply because the original team doesn't exist - they've mostly moved on with their lives, Naka included. Not to mention that the most original and experimental members of the team (i.e the ones who did Sonic CD and Nights) formed Artoon.

    But the leaked footage looks promising. The pace of the whole thing is noticably different from the Advance/Rush games, and quite closely matches Sonic 1, in fact. The animation is looking a bit weird, but then again, it's leaked footage. It looks like a massive improvement on their previous games. Those who think Sonic was all about running as fast as you could should perhaps revisit the original games - he did very little of this outside of the setpieces. It's no mystery why the stages in Rush, as fun as they were, were ultimately forgettable.

  • Ryze #33 2 years ago

    It was also a mobile DS game called Sonic Rush.

    I'm more intersted to see what this team come up with now.