As another financial quarter comes to an end, SEGA of Japan executives answered some questions from investors regarding the next mainline Sonic game, Sonic Frontiers.
When asked about the financial prospects of Sonic Frontiers, it was answered that the game is expected to sell well over the “long term”, like previous Sonic games; and that the Nintendo Switch is a particularly relevant platform for the Sonic brand.
As we are planning to launch [Sonic Frontiers] in the second half of 2022, and because it is expected to be sold over the long term, we don’t plan to relay immediatly the significant numbers to a big extent within this fiscal year. SONIC FRONTIERS will be launched in multi-platform and simultaneously worldwide, and Nintendo Switch is continuing to perform well worldwide.
SEGA of Japan
SEGASammy’s executive director Haruki Satomi and senior executive vice-president Koichi Fuzakawa, who answered the questions, also believed that the successful Sonic movie sequel will increase sales of Sonic games, with hopes of Frontiers being greatly impacted by it.
In addition, Sonic’s second feature film has been a major hit and it’s helping to rise the status of the Sonic IP, so we think we’ll be able to aim for even greater sales volumes in the future, from the next fiscal year onward.
SEGA of Japan
When asked by investors if SEGA takes notes in relation to critics’ scores of Sonic games, especially from aggregators such as Metacritic, it was answered that there is a correlation between sales and scores that will be kept in mind when Frontiers is released.
We have set internal targets, as the correlation between the scores of critics’ organizations and sales is high in Europe and North America. If the game gets a high score, it can become a must-buy game, and possibly generate a synergy with sales, so we are currently working hard to improve the quality of the game toward its’ release for the holiday season.
SEGA of Japan
Sonic Frontiers is expected to be released Holiday 2022, on all PlayStation and Xbox consoles, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store.
