 Sonic is missing. While fans have been used to getting new Sonic games every year, the blue blur has been notably absent from Sega's game lineup in 2020. This has naturally led to discussion of a Sonic game drought, and questions about when his next game might actually come. We don't want to speculate wildly on this subject, but it is interesting to note a few of the big changes that have been going on at Sega recently. The company is in a period of transition, and while we don't want to jump to conclusions, these do go some way to explaining why Sega isn't rushing a new Sonic game out of the door. First off, Takashi Azuka, overseer of all Sonic games, has explicitly stated that his team is focusing on a Sonic game in 2021. He said, 2017 was a big year for Sonic. The next big year for Sonic is 2021. That's the 30 year anniversary for Sonic. We are now preparing. When asked by an interviewer if we'd see a Sonic Generations-style anniversary title in 2021, he laughed and said, maybe. So there's definitely a big year for Sonic on the horizon, but why haven't we had a quick filler game to bridge the gap? Former Sonic social media manager Aaron Weber has said plainly, Sega doesn't want to do quick, unpolished, annual Sonic releases anymore. Back in the day it used to be every year was a new Sonic game, and as a result of that, there were a number of times that because of that rushed production schedule, the quality of the games wasn't where it really needed to be. So a couple of years ago, we said that's actually going to change going forward. We're going to put more time into things. That's going to mean that you need to wait longer between trailers and announcements and stuff like that. We're excited for what's to come, but we can't really show it right now. Aaron, by the way, is part of a big shake-up within Sega. He's recently been promoted from working specifically with the Sonic brand to become Sega of Japan's new director of strategy, studio and community relations. Indeed, Sega has been trying out a lot of new business strategies lately. Earlier this year, Persona 4 was published on Steam, a move which, unsurprisingly, made Sega and Atlas all the money. When asked about Persona 4 in an investor meeting, a Sega representative said, Because of the game's critical acclaim and its low selling price, sales were much stronger than expected. We will continue to actively promote porting previously released titles to Steam and new platforms. We are also negotiating with platform holders for new games in the future, and we're considering ways to sell under favorable conditions for each title. Among them are measures such as preparing PC versions of the titles from the beginning, with multi-platform releases in mind. This new focus on PC publishing is but one of the big shake-ups within Sega, as the company has finally released the popular MMO, Fantasy Star Online, in the West. This too, it seems, has been generating Sega a lot of money. So, Sega is eager to experiment and try new things at the moment. But what of Sonic? Well, despite not having had a new Sonic dedicated game this year, the company mascot was still Sega's fourth best-selling franchise in the first quarter of this financial year. Sonic sold 800,000 units, a mixture of Sonic Mania, Sonic Forces, Sonic and Mario at the Tokyo Olympic Games, and Team Sonic Racing. This, then, is the state of Sonic and Sega as of mid-2020. New announcements could be just around the corner, or we might need to wait a little longer. At least one Sonic game is likely in development, but it isn't quite ready to be shown off yet. The moral of the story, converse to everything Sonic has ever said, is that sometimes you've got to go slow. It's better to make one thing you can really be proud of than many things you've rushed to complete. At a time when the world is chaotic and stressful, it's okay to take your time, rest, and make sure you're not pushing yourself too hard. While waiting can be frustrating, if you're patient, it'll be worth it in the long run.