Sonic fans are in a frenzy over a new trademark application from Sega for “Sonic & Friends,” with theories ranging from a kid’s show to a YouTube miniseries or even a sequel to the game Sonic Shuffle. Whatever the new Sonic project is, it’s sure to leave fans of the character in a tizzy.
The Logo
The trademark filing includes a logo, but the nature of the project remains a mystery. The design is pretty simple, with a classic Sonic silhouette and a star behind it. The similarity to this character design from a Sonic theme on the 3DS (specifically, Sonic and Friends) gives us some idea of what the other characters in Sonic & Friends might look like.
Of course, it’s possible that the other characters don’t resemble the one in the theme, but it’s a good jumping off point. The resemblance to the Disney Junior series “Spidey and His Amazing Friends” suggests a kid’s show.
However, it’s unlikely that it’s a traditional streaming or television show, and instead might be something similar to TikTok shorts or even a series of mobile games.
Sega hinted at this type of initiative during a previous Sonic Station Live event, so it’s certainly possible that it’s building a portfolio of short videos for a TikTok series.
The artwork for the speculated TikTok series resembles the logo, with a chibi-style Sonic character. This aligns with Sega’s effort to capitalize on the popularity of TikTok (and the potential for Sonic content) and its potential for Sonic content.
Sonic Prime, another Sonic project, is already targeted towards children, so a TikTok series would make sense. We’ll just have to wait and see what Sega announces.
The trademark filing also includes other assets like the following logo:
Again, there’s really nothing to go on here, but the blue and yellow color scheme is reminiscent of the classic Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog series. Whether or not this is intentional remains to be seen, but it’s certainly fun to think about.
Again, we have no official announcement from Sega regarding Sonic & Friends and will have to wait for further details. In the meantime, we can only speculate based on the trademark filing and other promotional material.
I would personally love a sequel or successor to Sonic Shuffle, a party game released for the Dreamcast in 2000. Sonic Shuffle was similar to Mario Party and featured competitive minigames.
However, the evidence suggests the new project isn’t a sequel or successor to Sonic Shuffle. Still, I won’t let go of the hope for a new Sonic party game, especially with the return to 2D with the upcoming game Superstars.
