Sonic Superstars launched for PC and consoles in October in the midst of a particularly busy period of the year, and was met with mixed responses from critics and audiences. Similarly, it seems the game’s initial sales have also failed to match expectations.
During Sega’s recent quarterly earnings call, CEO Haruki Satomi revealed that in terms of sales, Sonic Superstars had a “slightly weaker start” than the company had anticipated.
However, Satomi explained that the company expects the 2D platformer’s sales to pick up in the months of November and December, which is typically the period where Sonic titles enjoy the strongest sales. In fact, as per Satomi, 90% of the title’s marketing budget is set to be spent over the course of the Holiday period, following which Sega is expecting sales on par with last year’s Sonic Frontiers (which had sold 3.5 million units as of May).
“Sonic Superstars was released in October, which is a slightly weaker start than we had anticipated,” Satomi said (transcription via VGC). “But in reality, when Sonic IP sells the most is mainly November to December, and more than 90% of this title’s marketing cost will be spent in the Thanksgiving and holiday season from November onwards.
“Although in the financial results announced today, we are forecasting this title’s sales slightly weaker with the view of the status of start mentioned above, we plan to continue our marketing efforts to sell on the same level as Sonic Frontiers.”
When asked about what had impacted Sonic Superstars’ sales, Satomi explained that the busy period in which the game launched had been a factor. The likes of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Alan Wake 2, and many others were released in close proximity to the 2D platformer.
“We believe that the impact of other companies’ major title[s] released at the same time is significant, but we plan to expand the promotion towards the Holiday season, especially in the overseas market,” he said. “Both the Metacritic score and user score are higher than Sonic Frontiers, and we would like to continue to sell firmly.”
Upon its release in the UK, physical launch sales for Sonic Superstars in the region were 63% lower compared to what Sonic Frontiers managed upon its launch last year.
Sonic Superstars is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Read our review of the game through here.
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