Team Sonic Racing

Team Sonic Racing (チームソニックレーシング) is an upcoming spin-off kart racing video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series developed by Sumo Digital and published by Sega, which is scheduled for a release during the fourth quarter of 2018. It will receive both a physical and digital release for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, and a digital-only release on Steam for the PC. Unlike Sumo Digital's previous Sonic racing games, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, Team Sonic Racing only features characters from the Sonic universe. The team has aimed to make the game stand out compared to other racing games; Sonic Heroes was used as a reference for the cooperative gameplay.

Said to combine the best elements of arcade and fast-paced competitive style racing, Team Sonic Racing has the player face-off with friends in intense multiplayer racing. In the game, players take control of one of several characters from the cast of the Sonic series and compete in races using sports cars. Gameplay is viewed from a third-person perspective, with players driving performing tricks, drifting, and collecting power-ups. Team Sonic Racing differs from traditional kart racers because of its focus on cooperative gameplay; the player is part of a team of racers, and races are won by efficiency rather than speed.

History
Team Sonic Racing is being developed by Sumo Digital and will be published by Sega for the PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The majority of the staff, however, did not work on the previous games. It will be the studio's third racing game featuring the Sonic intellectual property (IP), following Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (2010) and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (2012). Unlike the All-Stars games, which featured various Sega franchises, Team Sonic Racing focuses solely on the Sonic franchise. Sega's community manager Aaron Webber said that Team Sonic Racing is not a sequel to Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed and is "very, very different" from previous Sonic racers. One of Sonic Team's intentions from the get-to was, according Takashi Iizuka, to "bring to the Sonic fans a pure, Sonic universe racing game", which is why this title did not become an entry in the All-Stars series. According to Aaron Webber, the developers also wanted to dive deeper into the world of Sonic and expand upon the character roster and levels in the Sonic series. Sumo Digital was chosen to develop Team Sonic Racing because of their experience in making other Sonic games. According to lead designer Richard Acherki, the game is being programmed with a modified version of the in-house game engine used to develop the Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing games.

Sumo Digital wanted to create a racing game that stood out compared to others. Iizuka suggested that they design it so it was easy for beginners, as he wanted his children to enjoy it. Observing other games, they found that team gameplay was very popular; noting that racing games were largely single-player experiences, they decided to combine the concepts to create a unique and exciting experience. Iizuka echoed these sentiments, saying the development team was not inspired by other kart racing games like Mario Kart 8 because they wanted to make a game that emphasized teamwork instead of a "network game". He cited Splatoon and Overwatch as examples of the cooperative gameplay Team Sonic Racing was designed to resemble. Sumo Digital has since said that Sonic Heroes, which features team-based gameplay, was used as a point of reference. The game does not support cross-platform multiplayer; Iizuka stated this is because of technical constraints. The game also features several new versions of the Wisp power-ups from previous Sonic games. Sumo Digital worked with Sonic Team to get approval for their concepts.

The soundtrack will be composed by Jun Senoue, his first major work in the Sonic series since Sonic Generations. It was revealed that the majority of the team working on the game are new and have not worked on any of the previous titles. However, they do have contact to the teams behind Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing and Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed for reference.

Promotion
Rumors of a new Sonic-themed racing game arose in January 2018 when an internal Sumo Digital memo leaked, containing information on an "unannounced karting game" for an "established global IP". Their history with Sonic caused speculation that they were developing a new entry in the Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing series. This was rejected by Sega's community manager Aaron Webber, who stated he "saw rumors floating today about another SART game. Just wanted to confirm it's not a thing!" Despite his response, multiple toy production companies alluded to a future Sonic kart racing game in February 2018. In early February, a representative from Zappies reported at the Spielwarenmesse toy fair in Nuremberg that a third Sonic kart racing game was in development and that the company was planning on making toy figures for the game. Similarly, later in the month, a separate toy company, Diamond Select Toys, also alluded to 2018 toys based off of a Sonic racing video game entry. Multiple journalists noted that Webber's comments may have just alluded to the Sega All-Stars name and that he did not discount the premise of a new Sonic racing game, and further rumors of a game without any other Sega IPs involved arose in the same month.

A Sonic related announcement was scheduled for 16 March 2018 at the SXSW convention. The game was not announced at that time, but a trailer on the Sonic social media accounts teased a new racing game on that same day. In May 2018, Webber stated that Sega would announce more information on the game being teased in the trailer "soon".

On 29 May 2018, the name Team Sonic Racing was leaked by an online retail listing from Walmart. Shortly after the leak, Sega confirmed the game was real and announced it would release on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in the fourth quarter of 2018. A demo version was playable at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2018. This demo featured Team Sonic and Team Dark racing on the Wisp Circuit circuit. Later, on 11 June 2018, the E3 trailer for the game was released, featuring the theme song and an in-depth look at the gameplay while also confirming the return of Crush 40 to the game's soundtrack. Team Sonic Racing was nominated for Hardcore Gamer's Best Racing Game of E3 2018. Another demo was playable at Gamescom in August 2018. More details were revealed, including the new character Dodonpa, aspects of the story, and racetracks based on levels in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic Unleashed. At the 2018 Gamescom Awards, Team Sonic Racing won the award for "Best Casual Game".

At the 2018 SDCC panel for the IDW Publishing Sonic the Hedgehog comic series, it was announced that Team Sonic Racing would receive a prequel comic.

Plot
In Team Adventure Mode, Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends receive letters that invites them to participate in a Grand Prix like none other. The invitations come from the mysterious sponsor of said race: Dodonpa, a funny-looking and chubby tanuki riding around in an Egg Mobile-like vehicle. While the gentle and chatty Dodonpa seems only interested in having Sonic and co. as racers in his Grand Prix, his intentions are a complete mystery and might be more sinister in nature.

Gameplay
Team Sonic Racing is a kart racing video game featuring single-player and multiplayer modes. The player selects one of fifteen characters from the cast of the Sonic the Hedgehog series to control and participate in races using sports cars on courses thematically based on locations from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Different characters fall into one of three racing classes: Speed, Technique, and Power. Each type has their own unique abilities and skillsets that give them both advantages and disadvantages:

Gameplay is viewed from a third-person perspective and the player runs over panels to get speed boosts, performs tricks in midair, and drifts to make sharp turns. Racers can also collect power-ups contained in Item Boxes from the tracks to gain temporary offensive and defensive advantages; these powers come in the form of fourteen different kinds of Wisps, which is a recurring power-up in the Sonic series. However, instead of becoming Color Powers when using the Wisps, the users manifest the Color Powers separately. For example, using the Orange or Crimson Wisp will manifest the Orange Rocket or Crimson Eagle and fire them as projectiles against rivals. Similarly, the White Wisps can be used to give the user's racecar a boost of speed, while the Blue and Black Wisps lets the user drop Blue Cubes or Black Bombs on the racetracks. The classic Rings also appear on the racetracks, which the racers can collect to build up to their final score. Taking damage will cause the racer to drop all their Rings however, although some of them can be recollected before they disappear.

The game differs from traditional kart racers because of its focus on cooperative gameplay: the player is part of a team of three racers and they must work together. The three characters for a team can be chosen freely in certain game modes, allowing players to combine any ability types. While they control a single racer, the player must pay attention to how teammates are performing and share power-ups. Sharing power-ups is in particular the only method to obtain some items not normally available to an ability type. By transfer of an Item Box, players can also double or triple the quantity of Wisps to utilize (e.g. when a player collects an Item Box, they will receive one Wisp, but if they obtain a Wisp through a teammate, there is the possibility they will obtain two or three Wisps of the same kind to use instead of one).

Instead of simply winning races by finishing them as fast as possible, teams get points based on their members' positions in the race; the better the position of team members, the greater the reward. The team with the most points are declared the winners. Thus, the most efficient team wins. Four teams of three compete, for a total of twelve racers at a time. Any character can be in a team; the player also has the option for each teammate to be the same character.

Aside from sharing power-ups, teams can also perform various other moves and effects to assist their teammates and knock out opponents. When racing as a team in any game mode alone, however, there will be artificial intelligence (AI) controlling the player's teammates. The teams can also unleash special moves called "Team Ultimates" when their Ultimate Meter energy gauge gets filled up from performing team-appropriate actions; while the move can be used individually at any given time the Ultimate Meter is full, it rewards racers more if all three teammates activate it at the simultaneously. When used, the Team Ultimate gives the user a temporary burst of speed that lets them plow through rival racers, sending them skidding out of control. The meter's duration can be extended by hitting competing racers.

Vehicles will have customization options as well that adjust the performance and appearance of a playable character's vehicle, with new parts for cars unlocked as the player progresses through the game. Each character gets nine parts to choose from, giving a total of 135 parts in the game. The game supports four-player local multiplayer, up to twelve online, and up to three in Team Adventure.

Team Sonic Racing features a wide variety of offline and online game modes including Grand Prix Mode, Time-Trial, and Exhibition Mode. The game also features "Team Adventure" mode, a single-player story-driven tutorial mode that provides an explanation for why the characters are racing and a way for players to familiarize themselves with the game and its wide array of characters. Unlike the main game, the teams in Team Adventure are predetermined. The Team Adventure mode is separated into chapters which the player can advance through by completing Challenge Missions, such as "Survival Race" (a "last man standing" race), "Ring Challenge" (a competition where racers race to collect Rings), Grand Prix and regular Team Races one by one. There are also specific clear conditions for each Challenge Mission. In each stage there are a set number of stars the player can collect by satisfying the conditions of the Challenge Missions. Progressing through the story will also unlock new playable characters and parts for the player's vehicles. The player can also change the difficulty level in Team Adventure mode.

Capsule Items
Similarly to the other racing games, items can be collected from Item Capsules that are placed throughout the track. Some items can also come in a set of three, however this is now only possible by being given an item by a teammate through the new item sharing mechanic. The items in Team Sonic Racing mostly consists of the wisps returning from various games in the series, as well as new wisps Sumo Digital is creating with approval from Sega. If a character is accidentally hit by an ally Item, they will be completely unaffected and receive no damage.

Playable characters

 * Dr. Eggman
 * Metal Sonic
 * Team Dark
 * E-123 Omega
 * Rouge the Bat
 * Shadow the Hedgehog
 * Team Rose
 * Amy Rose
 * Big the Cat
 * Chao (Dark Chao, Hero Chao, Neutral Chao and Omochao)
 * Team Sonic
 * Knuckles the Echidna
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Team Vector
 * Blaze the Cat
 * Silver the Hedgehog
 * Vector the Crocodile

Miscellaneous

 * Dodonpa
 * Eggpawn Blue
 * Eggpawn Orange
 * Eggpawn Yellow

Stages
Team Sonic Racing features twenty-one tracks in total, each split across seven Zones and based on locations from main Sonic games.


 * Ice Mountain
 * Market Street
 * Wisp Circuit

Soundtrack
The game's soundtrack is going to be composed by Jun Senoue, the songwriter and lead guitarist for the band Crush 40, which has also contributed to many Sonic games. The game's theme song, "Green Light Ride", features lyrics written and performed by Crush 40, with vocals provided by Johnny Gioeli.

Promotion
At San Diego Comic Con 2018, it was announced that Team Sonic Racing would receive a prequel comic. This comic will be released in October and will be written by Caleb Goellner and penciled by Adam Bryce Thomas. The story will feature Sonic and his teammates as they journey to a new planet and enter a race unlike any other, during which they receive help from familiar faces to prevent an old foe from obtaining a powerful new technology.

Pre-release
The pre-release reception for Team Sonic Racing has been mostly positive, with critics finding the cooperative aspect of the game as a good replacement to the "transforming" car mechanic from its immediate predecessor, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, another racing title developed by Sumo Digital, although many gaming journalists have found its focus solely in the Sonic universe as disappointing, particularly in comparison to Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, and the original Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, both of which featured other Sega characters as well.

Martin Robinson of Eurogamer expressed disappointment that Team Sonic Racing did not include any non-Sonic characters as playable racers, which he believed was one of the best things about the All-Stars series. However, he optimistically believed that Sumo Digital's experience with Sonic would ensure that the game would be a "fundamentally brilliant arcade racer". Kevin Knezevic of Gamespot said that "despite trading many of the elements" from Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, Team Sonic Racing "retains the look and feel of [Sumo Digital's] previous Sonic racers" and that the game's focus on teamwork and cooperative gameplay is a "promising hook". Matt Kamen of Trusted Reviews was more critical, expressing that while the game "has the ingredients to be a solid kart racer", the team mechanics could be "divisive" for players, and compared it unfavourably to Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, expressing that Team Sonic Racing does not have the "spark" that Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed did. Brendan Graeber of IGN expressed that although he felt the power-ups found in Team Sonic Racing are a "bit lackluster" and desired to see more customization options, he remarked that the game has a "good foundation", "even" without the "wacky characters" and "transforming cars" from Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, and expects to see more in the full game when it is released.

At E3 2018, Hardcore Gamer nominated Team Sonic Racing as the show's best racing game, but it lost to Forza Horizon 4. On Gamescom, Team Sonic Racing won their "Best Casual Game" award.

Trivia

 * Several advertising billboards can be seen throughout the tracks:
 * An advertisement for Chao in Space 3D.
 * Billboards advertising Vector's car, the Tailgator.
 * An ad for "Eggman Industries", saying "We're working towards a cleaner, safer world".
 * Billboards for a Sonic air freshener, referencing Sonic's first cameo appearance in Rad Mobile.
 * An advertisement for Green Hill Zone.
 * An advertisement for Silver's car with the tagline "Future Tech TODAY".
 * An advertisement for "Amy's Rose Fertiliser" with the tagline "Gotta Grow Fast!", referencing the Sonic X theme song "Gotta Go Fast".
 * Billboards advertising Big's car, the Frog E.
 * In the logo, there is an R symbol at the beginning of the "Racing" name which resembles the one in the game title for Sonic R.
 * One of Sonic's renders depicts him in a pose very similar to a [[media:Sonic-the-hedgehog-cdv2.png|piece of artwork]] of the character from Sonic the Hedgehog CD.
 * Tails' vehicle bears a resemblance to his kart in the Kart Race mode of Sonic Adventure 2.
 * This is the first Sonic game since 2009 to feature an original song by Crush 40, the last one being Sonic and the Black Knight.
 * This is the first time that Omega, Vector, Silver and Blaze have participated in a racing game involving cars.
 * It is also the first time that Rouge and the Chao have participated in a racing game solely involved with cars, while previously they were involved with the Kart Race mode of Sonic Adventure 2.
 * This is the second game in which Vector has been on a team without Espio or Charmy. The first time was in Sonic Free Riders, where he was a part of Team Rose with Amy and Cream.
 * All of the racetracks in the game revealed up to the moment feature floating ballons based on Sonic and Shadow's heads roaming through the sky.

Videos
Teaser trailer = Reveal trailer = E3 trailer = Team Gameplay Spotlight = TGS 2018 Demo Gameplay =