SEGA Announces Sonic Boom: New Game, TV Show and Toys

Update: Sonic Boom will not be released in Japan, and the Japanese Sonic Team are working on titles in parallel with the new western developers.

While Sonic Boom and its revamped characters are being designed by Big Red Button and Sanzaru for Wii U and 3DS respectively, veteran Sonic Team member Takashi Iizuka confirmed to Polygon that there were other titles in development.

It's been confirmed that the redesigned characters of Boom are not going to replace the classic images of the characters but will rather exist in parallel, and that the scarves on the characters are because veteran Naughty Dog developers are involved in the project.

Could the upcoming Sonic Team Japan project be the one rumoured for PS4, Xbox One and Wii U? Time will tell.

Original Story: SEGA has announced Sonic Boom, a fresh branch of the Sonic universe that includes a video game, toys and a new CG animated television series.

Sonic Boom will introduce redesigned versions of the popular hedgehog and his companions. To get your first glimpse at their new looks, check out the debut trailer for the Sonic Boom video game below, coming exclusively to Wii U and 3DS.

Starring Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy Rose, the Sonic Boom game will serve as a prequel to the TV series and will focus on collaborative gameplay. The third title in the exclusive Nintendo-Sega partnership following Sonic: Lost World and Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, it'll feature all the speed you'd expect from a Sonic game, alongside elements of exploration, combat and "a new Enerbeam tether mechanic".

The TV series will debut on Cartoon Network during the 2014/2015 season and will be made up of 52 episodes, each 11 minutes long. As you'd expect, a range of accompanying toys and merchandise will be produced featuring the new-look characters.

Hiroyuki Miyazaki, SEGA chief content officer for Sonic, said "SEGA is constantly looking to feed the appetite of Sonic fans, new and existing alike. The various pieces of the Sonic Boom project, such as its unique look, mix of comedy, and action and its focus on the whole ensemble with Sonic as the star, offer another exciting part of that universe for people to explore and enjoy.  It will be at once familiar but also new."

Earlier this week there were mutterings about a next-gen Sonic game headed to Wii U, PS4 and Xbox One in 2015, though SEGA was quick to deny the claims. We now know where our next Sonic fix is coming from... the question is, when?

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Junior Editor. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him and on Twitter.

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