Theory Time: The Mario And Sonic Series Is Donzo.

Looks like some interesting developments have happened in the last week, let's get into it. 

On Sonic's birthday, a new trademark popped up, with the title "Sonic and Friends". That's definitely not something we've heard or seen before. 

What could this be? A new TV series? Spinoffs focusing on Sonic's ever-growing supporting cast? A return to his days in education? 

While those are all good guesses, nah, I don't think it's any of those. 

Allow me to put on my tinfoil hat, if you would...

I believe that the Mario and Sonic series, for now, is over.  I think this is Nintendo and SEGA parting ways, for now. 

My theory is that this is going to be a revival of SEGA's Superstars/All Stars series, this time in the form of the Olympic games. 

Sonic "at the" doesn't sound grand enough, so this is the way to go. "Sonic and Friends" doesn't sound far off from the from and Sonic "and All-Stars", now, does it? 

There's actually some solid evidence to support this too:

https://hrmos.co/pages/sega/jobs/217

Remember this job recruitment from earlier this year? 

It made sure to note that this recruitment was for "The Sonic Series", not the realistic version that SEGA also does, so we can rule that out as well. 

It also lists multiple systems, meaning that this is a multiplatform affair. 

There's also another version of that listening on LinkedIn, that directly says applicants will be working on "The Sonic Series", so that's as good as it gets, when it comes to confirmation.

Why is this happening?

Here's a few possible reasons.

Series Burnout: 

They've done this series for 15 years, and they've effectively done pretty much all they can do. It's been run into the ground, and the sales aren't exactly lighting up the world anymore.

The series has been dropping in sales with almost every entry. The Wii U editions couldn't even crack a million, despite having Mario on the cover. Making this multiplatform is going to be a huge boost for them.  

Sonic Is Having A Renaissance:

Due to the hit movies, Sonic Frontiers, Sonic Prime, the mobile games, and the ever thriving community of fan games, Sonic is having a giant surge of popularity, with old and new people jumping in. This is the perfect time to pull away. Yes, Mario is leagues more popular than Sonic is, but the blue blur is absolutely pulling his own right now. This is a powerful brand, and they don't need another mascot to help with that. 

Giving Other SEGA franchises Focus: 

 

Lastly, and this is the best one. SEGA in general is a big time of revival. Many old franchises that we thought were long dead have been revived. Seeing characters like Aiai, Beat, Kiryu, Axel, Gillius, Vyse, and Atlus characters like Joker, Morgana, Teddy, Jack Frost getting all athletic and sportsy (Is that a word?) just makes perfect sense and I'm all about it. Bring on the wacky shit.

The Paris Olympics is only a mere 12 months away. So it probably won't be too long before we find out what this is all about. 

Big, big credit goes to Kewl0210 for the first image in the article. They did that just as I was thinking it. Hilarious.