Sega still adamant that Sonic can “surpass” Mario

The conflict between Sega and Nintendo isn’t quite over yet, as at least one executive believes that Sonic the Hedgehog can surpass Mario in popularity worldwide.

There was a time when Mario and Sonic were considered rivals, in the era when Sega was in the console market and was directly competing with Nintendo for the cash of the fans. This struggle ended when Sega left the console market and moved on solely to make games.

Since then, there has been peace between the Mario and Sonic franchises. Nowadays, they will often collaborate, with Sonic appearing in Super Smash Bros. and the two taking part in Olympic crossovers every couple of years.

Things have been looking up for Sonic over the past few years, especially following the success of the Sonic the Hedgehog movie franchise. The time may have come for the old rivalry to be rekindled and for Sonic to take his shot at the king again.

Sega

Sega executive wants Sonic to surpass Mario in popularity

In a recent interview on the official Sega website, Division Manager Osamu Ohashi of the 2nd Division (the one managing Sonic content) talked about what it’s like working for the company. His comments (via. machine translation) also concern his future ambitions for the Sonic franchise

“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.” Ohashi continued, “I want people to play it all over the world, including Japan, like Mario, and I want the movie to be a bigger hit than Mario. I would like USJ to create a ‘Sonic Area’ as well. That’s our goal for those of us who love Sonic.”

These are certainly lofty goals, though recent events suggest that Sonic is nowhere near beating Mario. 2023 was the year when the Super Mario Bros. Movie made over a billion dollars worldwide, while Super Mario Bros. Wonder was one of the most highly acclaimed titles, competing with the likes of Baldur’s Gate 3, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Things have been looking up for Sonic these past few years, with the movies introducing new fans to the blue blur while the games have seen a steady uptick in quality. Whether this can lead to Sonic surpassing Mario is another matter, as Mario is one of the most successful video game properties of all time, and the Sonic franchise is still carrying the baggage of a few bad decades, which it will need to shed if it wants to be number one.