Episodic Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is Confirmed

It’s official. Project Needlemouse (like predicted) turned out to be Sonic the Hedgehog 4. Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 to be specific was revealed by GameSpot early this morning along with its first real trailer. Hit the jump for more details and of course the trailer.

While only revealing five seconds from the hedgehogs latest adventure, the franchise is sure to return to its roots. What makes this announcement even more interesting is the fact that the Sonic is going episodic, with the first episode hitting PSN, WiiWare & XBLA this summer. Picking up where the Mega Drive/Genesis series left off and taking place right after Sonic & Knuckles, the game will feature traditional game mechanics like Power Sneakers and an all new “powerful” Homing Attack.

Online leaderboards will be incorporated into the title and motion controls thrown into the PlayStation 3 and Wii versions. How? I’m not exactly sure, but I guess we’ll see how it all works soon enough.

On a side note, scanning through the trailer revealed a locked image next to the downloadable platforms, similar locked images appear throughout the games official site hiding hidden content. An iPhone release? A Sega comeback? Dreamcast 2 *fingers crossed*? I’m sure they said that ship had sailed and I’m probably thinking way too hard here. In the meantime we’ll keep you up to date with all the news on Project Needlemouse Sonic the Hedgehog 4.

It’s also worth noting that some more concept art was revealed yesterday (gallery below), as well as some possible intro music to accompany it. More news is planned to surface in the coming days.

UPDATE: Apparently the hidden platform was indeed the iPhone, also what’s up with the Ashlee Simpson connection?