If you haven't heard about the official Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter account, then you're missing out. It's one of the funniest Twitter accounts active at the moment, chock-full of gags, spoofs and memes.
First and foremost, however, it's an account aimed at providing fans with the latest news concerning Sonic the Hedgehog, and it proved that Monday when it posted what first seemed like an ordinary post.
We solemnly swear we're up to something good. pic.twitter.com/6D3QvIGUOW
— Sonic the Hedgehog (@sonic_hedgehog) May 23, 2016
At first, the tweet seems like the standard affair from the Twitter account, even the picture all the way to the right on the top row, captioned, "What the Internet thinks I do" and which has a picture of Sonic looking through a book called "Guide To Memeing." However, right below it is a picture captioned "What I actually do" and has a picture that reads, "Game Development In Progress."
Now, this is interesting. Did the Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter account just confirm that a new Sonic game is in development? With E3 2016 just around the corner, confirming the game on Twitter comes off as odd. Even more curious is the fact that SEGA is confirmed to be making an appearance at the event. Granted, only SEGA Europe will be attending, and it looks like it will be talking about a strategy game for the PC, but that doesn't necessarily bar it from making a surprise reveal about Sonic the Hedgehog.
So, is the Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter account being serious, or is this just another gag? E3 aside, the timing of the announcement, as well as the source, makes this news quite plausible.
As you might be aware, 2016 marks the 25th anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog (June 23, to be precise), and the only thing SEGA has done to commemorate the occasion was update the logo. Yes, Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice is slated to come out on the 3DS this year, though not only have fans been looking forward to a mainstream Sonic game on a console, but it was actually supposed to come out last year.
Most importantly, SEGA has set a precedent for releasing a strong Sonic title when celebrating the series' anniversary. Back in 2011, SEGA released Sonic Generations, which received tons of praise. With that in mind, fans expected SEGA to do something similar once 2016 came around.
If a new Sonic is indeed coming, what would it be? A compilation-type game similar to Generations seems unlikely, since the only Sonic games that have come out since then have been Lost World on the 3DS and PC and the Boom series for the 3DS. Since that's the case, fans can likely look forward to a whole new adventure for the series. There's plenty of places where it can go wrong, but SEGA Games CEO and President Haruki Satomi has already pledged to regain the trust the company lost from fans for the recent Sonic games that were poorly received.
"Sega in the '90s was known for its 'brand,' but after that, we've lost trust, and we were left with nothing but 'reputation.' For this reason, we'd like to win back the customers' trust, and become a 'brand,' once again," he said at the time.
If the Sonic Twitter account isn't just trolling us and we really are getting a new Sonic game, SEGA should honor that promise.
