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The Behind-The-Scenes Story Of How Sonic 2 Became Sega's Ace In The Hole

Shea, Brian. 2017. “The Behind-The-Scenes Story Of How Sonic 2 Became Sega's Ace In The Hole.” Game Informer.

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Game Informer, Sonic 2 behind the scenes
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https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2017/11/21/the-behind-the-scenes-story-of-how-sonic-2-became-sega-ace-in-the-hole.aspx
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https://web.archive.org/web/20171123082328id_/http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2017/11/21/the-behind-the-scenes-story-of-how-sonic-2-became-sega-ace-in-the-hole.aspx
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2026-10-26
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© Game Informer
Credit
Brian Shea, Game Informer, 21 November 2017. Interviews Yuji Naka, Al Nilsen, Tom Kalinske, and Takashi Iizuka.
Notes
25th-anniversary feature. Naka, Nilsen, Kalinske, and Iizuka describe the move to Sega Technical Institute, the sequel's speed and two-player mode, the "Sonic 2sday" promotion, and the game's later reputation.

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Claims (6)

Game Informer's 2017 feature says Sega of America's marketing team, confident early, drafted promotions such as "Sonic 2sday" and a teaser poster reading "Are You Up 2 It?"; Al Nilsen, then its director of marketing, said Sega could have pulled the plug on Sonic 2sday up to May 1992.on the launchAl NilsenWeb
In Game Informer's 2017 feature Yuji Naka said a two-player mode had been tried late in the development of Sonic the Hedgehog, and he was glad the team carried it on and achieved it in the sequel; he also said Sonic 2 lifted the first game's limit on speed.Yuji NakaYuji NakaWeb
Game Informer's 2017 feature says Sega moved development of the sequel to the newly founded Sega Technical Institute in the United States, led by Mark Cerny, and that key members of the first game's team, such as Yuji Naka, moved there to work on it.on developmenton developmentWeb
Game Informer's 2017 feature says the game came to be considered one of the best 2D platform games of the 1990s by fans and critics, and that it lifted Genesis hardware sales until Sega was nearly Nintendo's equal in market share; it names the spin dash and the introduction of Tails among its lasting additions.on the game's receptionon the game's receptionon the game's receptionWeb
Takashi Iizuka, head of Sonic Team in 2017, who hadn't worked on the game, told Game Informer that, though it hurt him as someone who worked on Sonic 3, he felt Sonic 2 was the best of the classic series, and credited its mix of American and Japanese staff.Takashi IizukaTakashi IizukaWeb
Al Nilsen told Game Informer in 2017 that the game could have been three times its size had everything made been left in, and that Naka's team weren't afraid to take out work that wasn't working.Al NilsenAl NilsenWeb