In the past sixteen years many things have happened inside the Sonic universe, none of which included a true sequel to Sonic 3 (Sonic and Knuckles). Sonic has competed in the olympics, raced around go-kart tracks, and even ventured out into the 3D world - and yet nothing has continued canon. Thankfully with Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 we get to pick up right where Sonic and Knuckles left off. That’s right folks, our favorite blue hedgehog is back, and ready to kick some Eggman butt.

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We’ve all been burned before in the past by Sonic the Hedghehog, and so many of you may be reluctant to try out Sonic Colors in November. The new gameplay trailer however shows a different side of Sonic that we haven’t seen since the days of the Sega Genesis. 2D meets 3D in Sonic Colors, where the game seems to be making a beeline towards its roots at lightning speed. Even if the game play trailer isn’t enough to make you at least want to try the game, the pre-order bonus may offer the right amount of incentive.

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Sega had a massive presence this year at E3, with a lofty sum of the Seganian Army dedicated to five upcoming Sonic releases that have been, should be, and will be receiving some props and attention for putting Sonic back on the fast track that he had strayed ever so far from in the past few years. The Sonic games present at Sega’s E3 booth this year were Sonic Colors - one for the Wii and one for the DS, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1, the Kinect title Sonic Free Riders, and also a port of the Dreamcast favorite Sonic Adventure for XBLA and PSN. I was able to get some hands-on time with Sonic Colors for the Wii and Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1.

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To celebrate Sonic’s 19^th birthday SEGA is having a sale on Sonic downloadable titles available on PSN, XBLA and the iPhone/iPod devices. The 66% off sale will run from June 23-July 7 on the PlayStation Network, June 23-July 30 on the Apple App Store and on the XBLA you only have one day, June 24, to take advantage of the sale. Some of the games you can expect to see on-sale are the classic Sonic games (1, 2 &3), Super Monkey Ball, Golden Axe, Sonic Rivals on the PSP and various add-on content.

You can head over the SEGA homepage for more details about the sale including the prices for each title. Not only are they offering a sale for the celebration, SEGA is also holding a birthday contest where gamers can enter for a chance to win a trip to Tokyo. To enter you must create a video showing off your love for Sonic. Once all submissions are received the top 10 will be live on the SEGA website and fans will vote for the winners. Check out the contest page for more info.

In an interview with GameSpot, Sega associate brand manager Ken Ballough discusses the history of Sonic franchise and the possible reasons for its successes. The last part of the interview gives us a few details on Project Needlemouse, a codename given to the new Sonic title in development at Sega. Ballough explained that this new title will be a return to the classic 2D gameplay and it will be released on next-gen consoles sometime next year with HD graphics, although he didn’t specify the exact consoles.

There is a teaser trailer along with this game announcement, although there is no gameplay footage. It does spark a little bit of nostalgia with its sound effects from the original Sonic titles. We’ve embedded GameSpot’s trailer after the jump, and you can check out GameSpot’s full interview here.

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