Hopefully not a long delay for the blue one

Nobody likes being made to wait, especially Sonic himself, but Sega has just announced its upcoming return to the hog's 2D roots, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1, is going to miss its Summer release slot and will now be available in "late 2010."

SEGA has decided to extend the development of the game, and will now release Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Episode I in the latter half of 2010. The additional time will allow the Development Team to focus on ensuring overall high-quality throughout the game by continuing to tune, balance, and maintain the kind of polish that an important title like this demands, and ultimately providing fans with an unrivalled classic Sonic feel.

Although this is disappointing, how many times in the past have you wished Sega would have spent a little longer working on a Sonic title before releasing it? Particularly with a title as important to the character as this one, it's perhaps not a terrible thing that it's getting some extra development time.

There's currently no confirmed release date but Sega will be making another announcement later today, possibly including an official date. Until then, keep shining your super sneakers and dreaming about those lovely golden rings.

[source blogs.sega.com]