Sega recreates video from the the 16-bit console wars of the ’90s to promote Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds.

There’s an argument to be made that right now is the perfect time for Sega to release a new Sonic the Hedgehog racing game. After all, it’s been six years since the release of Team Sonic Racing, which feels like just the right amount of time for technology to advance, new ideas to percolate in the designers’ minds, and demand for a sequel to build up among gamers.

The upcoming release of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds later this month feels less ideally timed, though when you consider the recent arrival of Mario Kart World. Not only is it the first brand-new Mario Kart game in more than a decade, it was also the only Switch 2 exclusive on launch day for Nintendo’s new system back in June. Mario Kart World’s combination of hype and polish earned it over 5 million units sold in its first month alone, and with Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds falling into more or less the same category of lighthearted character-themed racing, the game is now in the very difficult position of having to differentiate itself from Nintendo’s juggernaut.

Of course, Sega has some experience going toe-to-toe with Nintendo, so much so that the Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds marketing team pulled a 30-something-year-old page from the company’s playbook and used it to craft this promotional video.

The choice to juxtapose Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds and Mario Kart World by likening them to a screaming dragster and a sputtering, much less sporty vehicle isn’t just because they’re both racing games. It’s also a direct callback to a commercial from 1993 where Sega took shots at Nintendo’s Super NES for not having the “blast processing” that Sega’s Genesis did.

The Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds video even makes a few snide references to the old commercial’s choice of words, inviting players to “blast through and race on a whole other level,” brining up memories of not only the blast processing claims but also Sega’s ‘90s slogan of “Welcome to the next level.” The editing of the actual car footage is almost an exact match, too, though the new video has an aging motorhome as the Nintendo vehicle instead of a beat-up van, and it’s now accompanied by a turtle, no doubt meant to evoke thoughts of the Super Mario franchise’s Koopa Troopas, and a cow, referencing the breakout bovine racer from Mario Kart World.

The video even ends with the famous “SEGA!” scream that punctuated the company’s ads during the 16-bit era.

That said, there’s less of an edge to the new video, reflecting the fact that there’s much less animosity between Sega and Nintendo these days, seeing as how Nintendo is now such a larger company that the two aren’t really considered rivals anymore. For starters, the Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds video starts off by paying Mario Kart World the compliment “We all know that kart racing game. It’s great” while showing blurred graphics, as opposed to the actual Mario Kart footage used in the ‘90s commercial. Another likely reason Sega is pulling its punches is that it’s no longer in the hardware business, and Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is a multiplatform release that’s coming to all major consoles, including Nintendo’s Switch and Switch 2.

By the way, while the new video is part of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds’ ad campaign in English-speaking territories, it’s not being officially used in Japan. Instead, the most recent Sega of Japan videos promoting the game highlight the cast of in-game characters, including the new friendship between Sonic and Pac-Man, who’s on loan as a guest racer from Bandai Namco. The aggressive advertising attitude Sega displayed overseas in the late ‘80s and ‘90s wasn’t really present in Japan, where ads directly disparaging other companies or products are seen as poor form and generally don’t go over well with customers.

▼ While we’re on the subject, the Genesis never any special or unique computing function called “blast processing.” That was just a term made up by Sega’s North American marketing team since the Genesis had a faster processer than the SNES.

However, the new video does still contain what could be seen as a legitimate swipe at Nintendo, though something that really couldn’t be avoided if Sega wanted to highlight a major point of appeal in their game, as the narrator mentions it features crossplay, allowing gamers to “compete head-to-head on different platforms.” In other words, if you’re playing Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, you can play with friends and opponents who have either the Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series or PC. Mario Kart World, on the other hand, isn’t just a Nintendo exclusive, but exclusive to the Switch 2.

There’s also the release wrinkle that players who pre-order the digital deluxe version of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds can start playing the game before its official release date through Early Unlock…unless they bought the Switch version, which has no such privileges. Sega is also encouraging players to “leave the open road behind,” which brings to minds complaints from some gamers about the open-world driving segments they have to complete between circuit races in Mario Kart World.

▼ Some habits just die hard, apparently.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds comes out September 25.

Source: YouTube/Sonic the Hedgehog
Mega Drive photo ©SoraNews24
All other images: YouTube/Sonic the Hedgehog
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