Sonic Mania Sells 1 Million Units

Today in “byte-sized news,” which will not be a thing if I can help it, Sega just announced over Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu that Sonic Mania, their critically-acclaimed love-song to classic Sonic titles, has just sold over one million copies. Not bad at all, for such a quaint little title.

Sonic Mania first drew eyes not just because it promised a return to form for a hedgehog that many fear has lost his way: what really drew people’s attention was the fact that it was developed by a “licensed” team of well-known fan-creators who Sega trusted with their intellectual property. With Sega’s blessing, they made new stages and remixed old ones to create a Sonic game that did more than pay tribute to the past (that’s what Sonic Generations was for, after all), but also showed how even an old hedgehog using an old formula could still learn new tricks. It did so well that Sega even decided to directly tie the game to Sonic Forces, their own attempt at revitalizing the Blue Blur.

It went significantly less good, showcasing how Sonic Team really is the worst at making Sonic games.

Regardless, with a killer premise with adorable marketing, I’m mostly just surprised it took this long to hit a million. I bet Sega’s already working on the sequel as we speak. Hopefully with the same talent: otherwise it’ll go… predictably.

Still. Grats to all involved.