Today,Segamade its first announcement of 2021, which is that newPuyo Puyo Tetris 2content is being added today and includes company mascot Sonic the Hedgehog as a new playable character. While by no means a bad announcement, it’s ultimately not as major as what else the company likely has in store for its fans this year.
After all, two ofSega’s most profitable and notable properties are celebrating anniversaries this year. The first being the30th anniversary ofSonic the Hedgehog.Sega spent all of last year teasing its celebration plans, though very little was actually confirmed. Naturally, fans are expecting a new game, especially since it’s been three years since the last main entry,Sonic Forces,though there have been rumors of an anniversary collection bundle, similarly to what Nintendo did withSuper Mario 3D All-Stars, or a remake of Dreamcast titleSonic Adventure.
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Aside from the games, it’s also believed thata new 3D animatedSoniccartoonis being developed in conjunction with Netflix. Back in December, Netflix itself tweeted an announcement, though it was later deleted. Still, a new cartoon makes sense, especially with how popular and successful theSonicmovie was, which is getting a sequel. According to the deleted tweet, the show will debut in 2022, but it would make sense for it to be formally announced this year. The question is whether it will have a strong focus on story live the belovedSatAMcartoon from the 90s or be a comedy series similar toSonic Boom.
This year is also thePersonaseries' 25th anniversary and Atlus has already been teasing its plans for that celebration. Nothing’s been confirmed so far but previous anniversary celebrations have featured live events, concerts, and partnerships, though fans can likely expect at least one new game announcement too. Whether that game will bePersona 6or another spin-off is another question entirely. Aside from that,Persona 5 Strikersis due to launch this February, with twoShin Megami Tenseigames scheduled for later in the year.
Fans are also expecting big things for theYakuzaseries. Its success and popularity have only grown over the years, even more so after the recent release ofYakuza: Like a Dragon, which is the series' first foray into the RPG genre. No new games have been announced yet, though there are some hopes that, with more of the mainline games now coming to PC and Xbox Game Pass, Sega is considering more re-releases. For example, theYakuza: KenzanandYakuza: Ishinspin-offs have been Japan-only for years and have been heavily requested to be localized.
It’s still early days, of course, but hopefully Sega will be able to deliver announcements like these in a timely fashion and not leave fans wanting for too long.
