Last year, SEGA released Sonic Superstars, a brand new 2D entry in the long-running Sonic The Hedgehog franchise.

Although generally well-received by fans, it seems that SEGA is not all that impressed with the game’s performance, especially compared to Sonic’s other recent ventures. In an interview with Eurogamer, SEGA President Shuji Utsumi called the game a “disappointment”, saying that Sonic X Shadow Generations on the other hand was “very good”, and that they are working hard to do even better with future titles.

We were trying to do something creative with Sonic Frontiers. With Sonic Superstars it turned out to be a disappointment, in terms of the outcome compared to what we delivered. This time we have Sonic X Shadow Generations and the next Sonic movie, so we’re pushing things in the transmedia direction – movies and games working in harmony to make things bigger. But the core [of the experience] is the game. The game needs to be very good or else there is no transmedia effect.

The Sonic X Shadow Generations game is actually very good, I would say awesome, action-wise. But starting next year, it’s going to be the next level, as you will just see at TGA.

That said, launching at the same time as Super Mario Bros. Wonder was probably a major reason Sonic Superstars did not live up to SEGA’s expectations, something that they indirectly acknowledged in the past. Whether or not SEGA’s future titles can avoid meeting the same fate remains to be seen.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.