'Sonic Mania' news 2016: Two new titles announced for launch next year

The world's most famous hedgehog just turned 25 and two new games are currently under development in his honor. This should be wonderful news to a generation of fans who grew up with Sonic.

Sega's renowned blue-colored mascot became an instant hit when the first Sonic game launched back in 1991 at supersonic speeds. Since then, Sonic has created a cult following among diehard fans. As a fitting tribute to the '90s cult classic, the Japanese developer made an announcement regarding two new "Sonic The Hedgehog" titles that are slated for a 2017 release at this year's Comic-Con.

As per Sega's news release, "Sonic Mania" will be the first of the two title launches planned for next year on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. The modern iteration retains the classic nostalgic two-dimensional feel of the games that retro-fans are familiar with but with new twists. Like in the older games, Sonic will cruise through the 2D gaming environment where players can navigate all-new Acts and Zones. Moreover, a new Drop Dash Mode is added to enable Sonic to dash charge even after a jump.

"Sonic Mania was born out of our fans' love of the classic Sonic 2D platform games. This type of collaboration is a first for SEGA and we hope everyone will be both surprised and delighted by this title. Sonic Mania has been a passion project for the entire team and we look forward to sharing more details about it later this year," Sonic Team chief Takashi Iizuka said as mentioned in the same news release cited above.

A second epic title is also underway, and it will be due for a 2017 holiday season release. Details remain scant regarding the unnamed title. Sega did say, however, that the next game will be developed by the team behind other successful Sonic games like "Sonic Colors" and "Sonic Generations" titles. The second game will be released on all console platforms, including Nintendo NX as well as PC.

Meanwhile, according to IP Watchdog, Sega reportedly has 283 active U.S. patents based on the data from patent analysis firm Innography. The report indicates a number of patents directly connected to the development of Sonic games such as the US Patent No. 8834269 — "Program, Game Device and Method of Controlling the Same" — which is designed to keep players who play cooperatively within the same field view despite differences in skills.

In other related news, Sega also made another announcement apart from the two planned title launches. At the San Diego Comic-Con last month, the company revealed that its mobile game "Sonic Dash" has already reached more than 200 million downloads.