Sonic Superstars was released last October, but it’s possible that rival titles released at the same time could have been responsible for the game not selling as well as hoped. Given that Nintendo launched Super Mario Bros. Wonder a few days after the new Sonic title, this could have affected sales.
Timing “coincided with competing titles”
According to a recent English-translated Q&A from Sega (via VGC), Sonic Superstars has been “been well received by those who have played it.” However, the release of “competing titles” around the same time has meant the game has “been short of the initial forecast.”
While Sega doesn’t specifically mention Super Mario Bros. Wonder as being the sole reason behind the lack of expected Sonic Superstars sales, the use of the phrase “titles in the same genre” may lead people to draw their own conclusions on that front.
The new Mario Bros. game was released on October 20, 2023, just three days after Superstars came out. The sheer might of the Mario brand could well have been a factor in the blue blur falling short of expectations. However, there doesn’t appear to be any proof of this.
The VGC report goes on to say that the only other games released around the same time that are of any note include: SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shakedown and DreamWorks Trolls Remix Rescue. It doesn’t seem likely that these would have affected the new Sonic game much.
While Sega insists fans enjoyed Sonic Superstars, current review scores are down as “Mixed” on Steam. Some free DLC, which featured a Shadow the Hedgehog costume, was released for the game a couple of weeks ago.
