SEGA sez: New Sonic to be ‘inspired by how it played in its heyday’

That smoke’ll make you choke!

Earlier this year, SEGA issued a bold apology. The company apologized for accidentally naming its Halloween character “Boob” instead of “Boo.”

Even earlier in the year, SEGA made another apology for how shit Sonic games have been recently and that company has “partially betrayed” fans. Sega Games CEO Haruki Satomi offered the following statement to Destructoid: “Seeing our fans across the world respond to our recent interview with Famitsu, lets us know we’ve made the right first step in acknowledging who we are and where we want to be. Sega is dedicated to bringing you quality gaming experiences and becoming a brand you love and trust again.”

Continuing that that vein, a recent comment by SEGA Europe Marketing Director Jon Rooke, noted by GoNintendo, points to future Sonic going back to the series’ roots.

“Sega has publicly apologised to the fans as the quality of console games in the Sonic franchise hasn’t been acceptable over recent years. It’s been tough translating that iconic side scrolling 2D experience from the 90s into 3D but Sonic is still huge for us so the new games will be more inspired by how it played in its heyday.”

And yet, that official Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter account just spews memes irreverently, instead of offering kids advice about sexual harassment and cigarette smoking. “Over the next few years, we want to use engaging content and marketing to remind the public why they fell in love with Sega in the first place.” Oh.

Sega Europe’s marketing director on the transition from Sonic to smartphones [Marketing Week]