Speaking to GameDaily, Sega of America VP of marketing Sean Ratcliffe admitted that criticism towards recent Sonic the Hedgehog titles was not without met.

“Some of that criticism is probably warranted,” he said. “We definitely recognize that a franchise that has been going as long as Sonic, you really have to put a huge amount of effort in to make sure that you maintain that quality, and arguably a disproportionate amount of effort.”

He noted that the company is taking steps to ensure quality installments in the franchise, citing the upcoming DS RPG Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood as an example.

“We can’t just stand still with Sonic; we’ve got to be looking at different ways to develop the character, different genres, and so on… If you’re going to put Sonic in his first RPG experience, who do you go to? Bioware, the world leader in making RPGs,” Ratcliffe said.

He also talks about Sonic Unleashed, the upcoming game in the franchise, saying that they’ve got a new engine and a “nice innovative” twist. That game is due out later this year.