Sega: It was Mario's fault Sonic Superstars underperformed

"The timing of the launch coincided with competing titles in the same genre"

Sonic Superstars launched back in October a mere three days ahead of Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Despite being a good game that almost unanimously got positive reviews, it hasn't sold as well as Sega had expected, while Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a beast reaching almost 12 million sold copies (according to Nintendo's latest quarterly report).

In the last round of quarterly Q&A with investors, Sega mentioned the lack of Sonic Superstars sales, and it turns out they are blaming their old rival Mario, whom Sonic fought so hard against in the 90s:

"Although Sonic Superstars has generally been well received by those who have played it, the timing of the launch coincided with competing titles in the same genre, and it has been short of the initial forecast. The strategic expansion of Sonic IP is progressing well, and we will continue to work to increase repeat sales of this title."

There is no doubt they are specifically talking about Super Mario Bros. Wonder here, but we're not sure they are entirely correct. While Mario definitely stole the media's and gamer's attention, it's worth mentioning that Mario's game was frankly better and considered one of the best of 2023 - which certainly helped the sales numbers.

We still think anyone who loves classic platforming action should get Sonic Superstars as it's a great title for both kids and older Sonic-fans, but if you have to choose between them, you should absolutely go with Wonder - which most people incidentally did.