SEGA has always wanted its mascot character, Sonic the Hedgehog, to compete with Nintendo’s mascot, Mario. In the early 1990s, Sonic games were just as popular as Mario games, if not more so. However, in recent years, Sonic has fallen behind Mario in terms of both popularity and sales.
SEGA is now looking to change that. In a recent recruiting post by SEGA, SEGA’s 2nd Division Head, Hiroyuki Ohashi, stated that his goal is to “surpass Mario.” He went on to say that Sonic is a game that was originally developed to compete with Mario and that they still haven’t achieved that goal.
Ohashi also stated that he wants to create an environment where each member can create games while leveraging their individuality. To quote him:
“Simply put, I want to surpass Mario. Sonic is a game that was originally developed to compete with Mario, and it still hasn’t achieved that goal. Our goal is to catch up and surpass Mario because we respect Mario.”
I disagree with that because while SEGA of Japan had a ton of trouble competing with Mario, SEGA of America successfully beat Nintendo and Mario in an uphill battle. This is all mapped out in the book Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation by Blake J. Harris. It’s a great read and will show you what things were like on both sides of Nintendo and SEGA during the 90s.
If you’ve never read it, it points out that SEGA of America did very well but kept getting held back because SEGA of Japan didn’t like taking risks. However, because SEGA of America did so well, SEGA of Japan only got to hear about how poorly they were doing in comparison. That lack of risk-taking continued to hurt the company during the SEGA-Nintendo console wars.
I think the statement is coming from a SEGA of Japan viewpoint because Sonic was huge competition for Mario in the United States until the original team that was leading SEGA of America (led by Tom Kalinske) left.
Sonic definitely took a huge hit in popularity after PlayStation came onto the scene and we’ve yet to see it rise again. Based on the interview, they’re doing everything that the original team in SEGA of America was doing. Staff members are encouraged to express themselves creatively, and the team is striving to make Sonic more relevant in the region they are trying to dominate (Japan in this case).
SEGA’s 2nd Division is also focused on developing the international market. Currently, 95% of Sonic’s sales are overseas, and the division is looking to expand Sonic’s popularity in Japan against Mario.