http://411mania.com/games/sega-announces-two-new-sonic-the-hedgehog-games-for-2017/

Coming Soon reports that SEGA held a 25th anniversary celebration at the San Diego Comic Con last night for Sonic the Hedgehog. They followed that up today with the reveal of two new games.

The first is Sonic Mania, which is a new 2D platform game with “nostalgic pixel-style art” and “core classic gameplay”. It will reimagine classic Zones and Acts from Sonic The Hedgehog, Sonic The Hedgehog 2, Sonic CD and Sonic The Hedgehog 3 and Knuckles. It will also feature all-new Acts, Zones and bosses. The game was developed by SEGA of America with PagodaWest Games, Christian Whitehead and Simon Thomley. It will be released digitally on the Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC in Spring 2017.

Sonic Team Head Takashi Iizuka said: “Sonic Mania was born out of our fans’ love of the classic Sonic 2D platform games. This type of collaboration is a first for SEGA and we hope everyone will be both surprised and delighted by this title. Sonic Mania has been a passion project for the entire team and we look forward to sharing more details about it later this year. Having the game actually playable at the event itself tonight was testament to the dedication of the team behind it.”

The other game is a currently untitled creation from Sonic Team, who also developed Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations. It will be released in retail and digital stores for Playstation 4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo NX at Holiday 2017.

Sonic Pillar Chief Brand Officer and SVP of Sega of America Ivo Gerscovich said: “Today brought thousands of fans together from all over the world to get a look at all the facets of our beloved Sonic the Hedgehog from his foundation in video games to music, TV, mobile, toys, fashion and beyond. This is only the beginning for Sonic and we’re happy our fans were here to celebrate this exciting new direction.”

But wait, there’s more! SEGA also revealed that the mobile game Sonic Dash has been downloaded over 200 million times. There will be new in-game event that includes the Green Hill Zone and Classic Sonic as a playable character. It will last for a week, but once the classic content is unlocked, players can continue to use it after the event is over. The game is free to play with optional in-app purchases. It’s available on the App Store, Google Play, Amazon Underground, and Windows Phones.

Finally, SEGA announced that Sonic Boom, the animated series that airs in over 100 countries, was renewed for a second season. The next game in that franchise, Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice, will arrive on September 27 in the US and September 30 in Europe for the Nintendo 3DS.

The rollercoaster begins again.