A free eShop demo of the Nintendo Switch version ofSonic Frontiersisslated to be released globally, according to a tweet from game director Morio Kishimoto. Inthe tweetposted earlier today, Kishimoto confirmed that the demo - which is currently exclusive to the Japanese Nintendo eShop - will soon be made available in all regions, although this worldwide release is set to be sequential rather than simultaneous.
“Although it’s later than intended, we now have a demo version available, but only for the Switch version. We are planning to distribute it to each region in order, so if you are still on the fence about purchasing the game, please give it a try. You will notice that it is different from past Sonic games and other open world games. There is still opportunity to make up your minds after you get a hands-on experience with the demo and see the game for yourselves.”
While more details are yet to come, it’s expected that the demo will be more or less identical to the one currently downloadable from the Japanese eShop, featuring the first 15 minutes of gameplay. At this stage, the demo will only be available for the Nintendo Switch version of the game, with neither Kishimoto nor SEGA having yet discussed the possibility of bringing the demo to other platforms. Considering that Sonic Frontiers launched on most current- and next-gen consoles, it would admittedly be a little unusual if the demo were to remain a Nintendo Switch exclusive.
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Since game demos tend to launch a few weeks or months ahead of a game’s release as a way of giving fans and newcomers alike a glimpse of what is to come, it seems fairly unorthodox for the Sonic Frontiers demo to surface now, in the weeks following the release of the game itself. Inan interviewconducted at Gamescom earlier this year, head of Sonic Team Takashi Iizuka stated that there were no plans to release a demo publicly. However Kishimoto’s tweet seems to indicate this may have been the result of time constraints. Whatever the cause for the late release may be, fans can start expecting the demo to appear on the Nintendo eShop in their region shortly.
Having soldover 2.5 million units globallyin just over a month after its launch, Sonic Frontiers has proven to be a huge financial success for SEGA, not to mention one of the most financially successful Sonic titles of recent years. Whether the impending demo actively helps boost sales even further will remain to be seen, but it will at the very least give anyone curious about the game a better idea of what to expect from it.
