I believe that has been to the benefit of the game over that time. There have been times when we’ve had suggestions to change that core and evolve the game into something else, we’ve resisted those and built around that experience rather than stomping all over it. You can hand the game over to pretty much anyone and they instinctively know what to do. I think retaining the fun and simple gameplay that the original release had. What would you consider Sonic Dash’s biggest achievement in its seven-year lifespan? Obviously, this has a very positive effect on all KPIs down the line! Using a famous IP really helps and through the years we have been able to see how Sonic has been a perfect driver for organic downloads. To what do you attribute Sonic Dash consistently impressive grossing performance, and how do you sustain it? This is important for the platform holders to demonstrate that you are regularly updating your app and contributes to getting numerous feature spots that mean we’re being seen by lots of new players consistently, and a sizable portion like the look of the game and install it. I touched on that above with the new content that includes characters from the Sonic universe and occasionally some crossovers from other IP, and new features such as the Zone Builder have meant that the game stays relevant. What steps have you taken to ensure that Sonic Dash maintains a sizeable and active player base all this time after its launch? To coincide with the launch of the Sonic movie, users can play as Baby Sonic from the film in Sonic Dash Good customer support is essential and us reacting to issues that players encounter shows that we’re listening and paying attention to the game. Updates with new content and features keep the game fresh for players and interesting to the platform holders. How important do you consider customer support and updates to be? What has been your approach to this? The wider SEGA business then has further live operation’s team members predominantly on the comms and customer service side. Internally at Hardlight, we have a team of around half a dozen who work on the live operations side which is integrated closely with the development team for Sonic Dash. How big is the team currently handling live ops on SEGA? We’re really happy that we can support the wider Sonic brand and will look to continue to do so. It’s fair to say that at the moment, the interest in the Sonic movie is driving more players into the game - especially with the exclusive content. I think one of the biggest challenges for the team over that period of time has been to keep it relevant, and they’ve done a fantastic job in that area. The game was originally conceived as a paid app on iPhone only, with no plans for long term support and here we are nearly seven years later. Neall Jones: We’ve all been surprised at the longevity and success of the title. : With Sonic Dash now more than 7 years old, how do you reflect on its performance - from launch to the mature title it is now? In this entry of our Live and Kicking series, we spoke to SEGA Hardlight studio director Neall Jones ahead of the seven-year anniversary of Sonic Dash, while also tying in quite nicely with the big screen adaption of the Blue Blur. Here at we want to take the opportunity to highlight games that have bucked the trend and found an audience that has kept them thriving long after launch. Long gone are the days of developing and publishing a game without the need to tweak, adjust and patch it after launch, with new titles requiring constant operation and updates to keep them at the forefront of consumer thought. It is often said that nothing is truly finished and it's a saying the games industry has taken to heart in recent times.
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