“Sonic Boom was created to harness the power of the brand across its many pillars, so that the franchise can continue to grow and thrive in an increasingly competitive marketplace,” said Marcella Churchill, senior director of marketing for Sega of America. Sega’s Team Sonic in Japan, which has developed past games in the franchise, is working with the U.S.-based studios. The Wii U game from Los Angeles-based Big Red Button, Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, and the Nintendo 3DS game from San Francisco-based Sanzaru Games, Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal, mark the first time that a Sonic game is being developed in the West. Sonic Boom is a cross-platform initiative from Sega that features Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and some brand new characters like the jungle badger Sticks and the villain Lyric. The Sonic franchise could add to this strength and be a serious factor in getting the Wii U back in the game in the West, where Sonic is most popular.” “The fact remains that Nintendo’s game devices still have more kids and family appeal than Xbox and PlayStation. “Arguably, Nintendo is making a bit of a comeback lately,” said Peter Warman, CEO of video game research firm Newzoo.

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