Sega and Sonic are back in the game

Oops! In an earlier version of this post, we said Sega discontinued its Dreamcast console in 2000. In fact, it cut the cord in January 2001.

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Sega, the publisher of Super Monkey Ball and Sonic the Hedgehog, is making a comeback.

The game company, once the king of the video game hill, dropped into near oblivion after it dropped out of the console business in 2001. Its Dreamcast console suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Sony's PlayStation juggernaut, and it looked as if it was game over for Sonic.

But the blue hedgehog (pictured at right) lives on. Its publisher, Sega of America, has clawed its way back. As of May 31, Sega had snagged 4.6% of the video game software unit sales in the U.S., according to NPD Group, a market research firm. It has risen through the ranks of game publishers, from No. 9 in 2006 to No. 7 last year. Now it's No. 6 and closing in fast on THQ, which has 5.2% of the market, according to NPD.

Sega got a boost this month from Super Monkey Ball (pictured at left), a franchise that landed on the iPhone last week. It quickly became the No. 1 most downloaded application on Apple's App Store for iPhone software.

Up next: Sonic Chronicles, in September. Developed by BioWare, the title will mark the first time Sonic, who mostly confines himself to the action-adventure genre, appears in a role-playing game.

For those who have fond memories of the Dreamcast, Sega will be bringing back Samba De Amigo for the Wii console in September. The rhythm music game won a large and loyal following when it first came out in 1999 for the Dreamcast.

Said Sega's new marketing chief, Sean Ratcliffe: "Sega is going through a renaissance."

-- Alex Pham

Comments

[Mark]

"Sega, the publisher of Super Monkey Ball and Sonic the Hedgehog, is making a comeback. "

Um - Sega didn't go away. When they left the console business in 2001 (not 2000 as you list incorrectly), they became a software publisher. They've been making PS2, XBox, GameCube, Wii, DS and other platform ever since. iPhone isn't their second coming. It's simply a new platform

[ctd]

Samba De Amigo for Wii -- can't wait for that one.