10 Video Game Cash Cows The Industry Can’t Stop Milking
8. Sonic The Hedgehog
The little blue hedgehog is one of the most recognisable figures in gaming, but even hardcore fans struggle to defend many of the more recent releases. The original games, starting with the very first Sonic the Hedgehog back in 1991, were groundbreaking at the time, offering lightning-fast platforming action and giving Sega a genuine mascot and rival for Nintendo's Mario.
Over time, however, the Sonic games began to struggle and have never quite managed to hit the same heights as the early releases. Many fans point to 1999's Sonic Adventure and its 2001 sequel as the moment where the franchise began to fall apart.
Marketed as an incredible new Sonic experience, Sonic Adventure was hotly anticipated and had some fun set-pieces, but was a bit of a mess, especially when compared to what Nintendo was doing with Mario.
The Dreamcast then crashed and burned, with Sega and Sonic Team going on to release additional games on other consoles, most of which have been majorly criticised. Sonic has also appeared in over a dozen racing games, as well as all sorts of spin-offs including sports titles, pinball games, and lots of handheld releases, with more games scheduled for this year and beyond.