Franchise Sales Sonic Franchise On A High As Series Shifts 1.6 Billion Units as of 2023

[Dreadknux]

The Sonic the Hedgehog IP is on a growth trajectory following the success of Sonic Frontiers and the two Paramount movies, with SEGA Sammy announcing in its annual financial report that the franchise has moved 1.6 billion units as of March 2023.

That humungous figure covers both physical game sales and downloads of full game and free-to-play titles across console, PC and mobile. A report on GamesIndustry notes that this is a 7% increase on last year's performance, meaning that the Sonic franchise is enjoying a particularly positive consumer boost right now.

In a slide dedicated to the Sonic franchise early in the investor report, SEGA Sammy reveals that Sonic Frontiers, which released in November 2022, has racked up 3.2 million copies worldwide as of end of March 2023. In a corporate interview later in the same document, SEGA Sammy CEO Haruki Satomi calls the game's performance "one of the best games in the entire Sonic IP game series, winning over many new Sonic fans."

Elsewhere, the company also points to the two Paramount Sonic the Hedgehog movies as a key factor in the respectable increase in franchise sales;

Quote

Sonic, SEGA’s flagship IP, was introduced in 1991 as a high-speed action game in which players must run frenetically pace through stages of various ups, downs, and loops. Several hit games followed, continuing to attract fans around the world. The Sonic the Hedgehog movie, released in 2020, and its sequel, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, released in 2022, were each global blockbusters. This has helped to accelerate the growth of the Sonic IP.

You can read the full statement from SEGA Sammy CEO, Haruki Satomi, regarding the Sonic franchise below too.

Quote

The Sonic IP, which arose out of our games, has seen steady expansion into movies, anime, and other media. Sonic has now grown into a huge IP, the most successful example of our IP strategy. More than anything else, the secret behind this success lies in our continued pursuit of the sheer fun of the game where it got its start.

For the hugely popular Sonic Frontiers title, the development team tested the game over and over again, even postponing the release date, insisting on raising the quality of the game to the utmost limit. As a result, Sonic Frontiers has become one of the best games in the entire Sonic IP game series, winning over many new Sonic fans.

Success with Sonic IP has equipped the Group with a wealth of knowledge regarding IP development, which we plan to harness in actively pursuing measures to expand other excellent IPs on a global scale as well. SEGA has created many compelling IPs over its long history. To maximize their potential, we will further advance and pursue our IP strategy.

It has certainly been a very busy year for Sonic the Hedgehog, with various DLC updates for Sonic Frontiers being released alongside Sonic Superstars, the announcement of Sonic Dream Team, a symphonic world tour, various social marketing initiatives and even The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog all continuing to generate goodwill in the community - and importantly for SEGA Sammy, converting to sales.

You can read the whole corporate investor report by clicking here.

Let us know what you think of this news in the comments section below, but I think the phrase we're looking for here is, "we eatin', fam".

Sonic News Tips Credit:
sonicclaasic

Original Post Content:
That's a huge achievement and milestone as well for the Sonic franchise.

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[castell-neath]

This is great news. Shows the franchise is in rude health and providing Sega can continue to keep Quality Sonic games coming, people will continue to buy them and continue to invest in the wider aspects if it -IE toys, films, even £80 advent calendars lol.

 

Its a far, far cry from the dark days of early 2007 when it seemed the franchise was on its knees slightly after 06

[SolidSurgeTT]

I contributed by purchasing Sonic Origins Plus and Sonic Superstars three times (twice for myself and once for a random dude on Facebook...don't ask).

I did not contribute by watching Sonic Prime legally.

Edited November 3, 2023 by SolidSurgeTT

[sonicclaasic]

1 hour ago, SolidSurgeTT said:

I contributed by purchasing Sonic Origins Plus and Sonic Superstars three times (twice for myself and once for a random dude on Facebook...don't ask).

I did not contribute by watching Sonic Prime legally.

Since I'm a Sonic Collector myself over the last 8 years I brought load of Sonic merchandise, the games and the IDW Sonic comics which I have around 200 different variant covers of the comics and the official soundtracks on CD & Vinyl.

I could go on forever In my Sonic collection.

[MGA_Gamer]

I contributed by asking my parents for the Tails 30th Anniversary comic last Christmas...

...and then they contributed by getting me a Tails soft toy for Christmas as well!

[Maple Syrup]

Congrats SEGA!

        - Sincerely, a fan

[Rabbitearsblog]

Congrats on Sonic!

I contributed by buying the IDW Collections, buying some Sonic plushies and watching the movies when they hit theaters!

[Maple Syrup]

I contributed by buying IDW books at book stores and book fairs and I like to collect Sonic shirts!

 

[Rabbitearsblog]

On 11/3/2023 at 8:13 AM, castell-neath said:

This is great news. Shows the franchise is in rude health and providing Sega can continue to keep Quality Sonic games coming, people will continue to buy them and continue to invest in the wider aspects if it -IE toys, films, even £80 advent calendars lol.

 

Its a far, far cry from the dark days of early 2007 when it seemed the franchise was on its knees slightly after 06

I just hope that Sonic continues to do well!

[Polkadi~☆]

>Strengthen the global branding of existing IPs
>Transmedia strategy for maximising IP value
>PSO2: New Genesis

 

I wonder what the total sales of Sonic Frontiers has to be, for it to be considered one of the best selling Sonic games. Sure, it'll far exceed many outputs from over the years, but I highly doubt for Sonic game sales to ever reach the highs of Sonic 1 and 2, even if many of those sales came from console pack-ins. Though, by that count, that does make Sonic Frontiers one of the best selling Sonic games, but it'd be nice to have a concrete number.