Sega Wants Super Monkey Ball to Become the Company's Next Sonic the Hedgehog
Sega has ambitions to grow the popularity of the series through manga, anime, and more.
The Super Monkey Ball franchise has existed for more than two decades now, and has seen a number of critically-acclaimed games released in that time. The series has a passionate fan base in North America, but as far as Japan goes, it has never reached the same popularity and level of success of Sega's big three: Sonic the Hedgehog, Persona, and Yakuza/Like a Dragon. However, the company seems to have big ambitions for the series. In a recent interview with Famitsu (translated by Nintendo Everything), Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble producer Nobuhiro Suzuki talked about potential ways of expanding the series, and introducing it to more people.
"First of all to increase the level of recognition, we are considering areas outside of game development. If we can express the appeal of the characters' charm with manga, anime, and the release of promotional items too, then the sales of the game will begin to increase. However, because the budget is not large, I feel like we are steadily continuing to lay the groundwork and seeds," said Suzuki.
Banana Rumble certainly did lay the seeds for Super Monkey Ball outside the games. The game's single player campaign put a bigger focus on narrative than past titles, further developing the world, and introducing fun new supporting characters. Following the release of the Nintendo Switch exclusive, it's much easier to see the world of Super Monkey Ball being translated to a manga or anime, and that could get a lot more people to check out the games. In that way, Suzuki's goal is to elevate the series to a level similar to Sonic the Hedgehog.
"It may seem like that as for SEGA games, it is one of the few titles intended for kids and families. Given the fact it has sold in America and is similar in direction to the Sonic series, we hope it will become like Sonic in the future," Suzuki continued.
It remains to be seen whether Super Monkey Ball will ever grow beyond its current level of popularity, but these ambitions bode well for the future. Could we see a day where Super Monkey Ball movies, cartoons, manga, and merchandise are a common sight, just as they are for Sonic? Time will tell.
Have you picked up Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble yet? Do you think the series can grow in popularity? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!
