Summary
Sonic Adventure 2may have come out in 2001, but that hasn’t stopped players from flocking to it after the premiere ofSonic the Hedgehog3. The live-action film franchise was something of a surprise hit, seeing a decent amount of success despite a long history of video game movies struggling to live up to their source material. Publicity around the latestSonicmovie was enough to drive fans back to a 20-year-old title.
Video game movie adaptations may be breaking their years-old curse thanks to entries like theSonicfranchise andThe Super Mario Bros. Movie. The former has performed so well thatParamount confirmedSonic the Hedgehog 4before the third film even debuted. That wasn’t the only effect the movie had, though, as fans are also turning to the games as the nostalgia wave reaches new heights.
Asreported by TheGamer,Sonic Adventure 2broke its concurrent player count record on Steam in December 2024, with 1,061 players. While just over 1,000 players may not be much by today’s standards, it’s worth considering that the game was initially released more than 20 years ago and has been on Steam for 12 years. These figures also come afterSonic Adventure 2was delisted on Steamin Germany and Italy, leaving it with a smaller audience.
Sonic Movies Have Been Good News for the Games
The movie franchise has been beneficial for theSonicgames outside ofSonic Adventure 2’s player count, too. Segareleased a movie tie-in DLC forSonic X Shadow Generations, and the mobileSonic Dream Teamadded Shadow as a playable character to celebrate the third film installment. In an era whereSonicgames have often fallen flat compared to their beloved predecessors, the extra promotion has helped the series climb back into the mainstream.
Paramount Plus' spin-off show,Knuckles, has also been good news for the brand. The show wasone of just four Game Awards nominations forSonicin the franchise’s history. The second movie accounts for another one of those four, meaning half the nominations thatSonichas ever received have come not from the games that started the series but its film and TV adaptations.
How longSonic Adventure 2’s player count will remain high and if a fourth movie will have a similar impact on the games is yet to be seen. For now, though, it’s a good time to be aSonicfan and an even better time to be Sega.
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog is a prolific game franchise that started life on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. Covering both 2D and 3D iterations through the generations, Sonic is known for speedy movements and interesting platforming mechanics.
