<s>
Sonic	B-Device
Rivals	I-Device
is	O
a	O
2006	O
action-racing	O
video	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
Backbone	O
Entertainment	O
and	O
Sega	O
Studio	O
USA	O
,	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Sega	O
for	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
Portable	I-Operating_System
(	O
PSP	B-Operating_System
)	O
;	O
it	O
is	O
a	O
game	O
in	O
the	O
Sonic	B-Application
the	I-Application
Hedgehog	I-Application
series	I-Application
,	O
and	O
follows	O
the	O
heroes	O
needing	O
to	O
stop	O
Doctor	O
Eggman	O
Nega	O
from	O
turning	O
everyone	O
and	O
the	O
world	O
into	O
cards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Development	O
on	O
Sonic	B-Device
Rivals	I-Device
originated	O
from	O
a	O
traditional	O
platform	O
game	O
Backbone	O
was	O
developing	O
,	O
before	O
Sonic	B-Application
series	I-Application
producer	O
Takashi	O
Iizuka	O
stepped	O
in	O
and	O
changed	O
its	O
direction	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
deciding	O
on	O
the	O
PSP	B-Operating_System
as	O
the	O
system	O
it	O
would	O
release	O
on	O
due	O
to	O
having	O
greater	O
processing	O
power	O
than	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DS	I-Device
;	O
the	O
developers	O
also	O
took	O
inspiration	O
from	O
the	O
Sega	B-Operating_System
Genesis	I-Operating_System
games	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
other	O
games	O
up	O
to	O
Sonic	B-Application
Rush	I-Application
(	O
2005	O
)	O
due	O
to	O
wanting	O
to	O
return	O
to	O
the	O
2D	O
gameplay	O
style	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sonic	B-Device
Rivals	I-Device
released	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
in	O
November	O
2006	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
territories	O
in	O
December	O
;	O
it	O
is	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
few	O
games	O
in	O
the	O
franchise	O
not	O
to	O
see	O
a	O
release	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
sequel	O
titled	O
Sonic	B-Application
Rivals	I-Application
2	I-Application
was	O
released	O
in	O
2007	O
for	O
the	O
same	O
system	O
,	O
and	O
handled	O
by	O
the	O
same	O
developers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sonic	B-Device
Rivals	I-Device
is	O
a	O
side-scrolling	O
video	O
game	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
original	O
Sonic	B-Application
the	I-Application
Hedgehog	I-Application
games	O
for	O
the	O
Sega	B-Operating_System
Genesis	I-Operating_System
,	O
but	O
with	O
a	O
2.5D	O
perspective	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Five	O
different	O
characters	O
are	O
playable	O
;	O
Sonic	B-Application
the	I-Application
Hedgehog	I-Application
,	O
Knuckles	O
the	O
Echidna	O
,	O
Shadow	B-Application
the	I-Application
Hedgehog	I-Application
,	O
Silver	O
the	O
Hedgehog	O
,	O
and	O
Metal	O
Sonic	B-Application
,	O
but	O
gameplay	O
is	O
identical	O
for	O
all	O
characters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sonic	B-Device
Rivals	I-Device
features	O
several	O
different	O
modes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
cards	O
themselves	O
feature	O
pictures	O
of	O
characters	O
and	O
boxart	O
from	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
past	O
games	O
in	O
the	O
Sonic	B-Application
series	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
the	O
mysterious	O
Onyx	O
Island	O
appears	O
out	O
of	O
nowhere	O
,	O
Sonic	B-Application
and	O
Tails	O
fly	O
there	O
to	O
investigate	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Eggman	O
announces	O
his	O
plan	O
to	O
conquer	O
the	O
world	O
by	O
turning	O
everything	O
to	O
cards	O
,	O
challenging	O
Sonic	B-Application
and	O
Knuckles	O
to	O
stop	O
him	O
as	O
he	O
flees	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Elsewhere	O
,	O
Shadow	B-Application
receives	O
a	O
distress	O
signal	O
from	O
Eggman	O
,	O
but	O
upon	O
finding	O
him	O
,	O
the	O
doctor	O
denies	O
sending	O
one	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Suddenly	O
,	O
Silver	O
appears	O
from	O
the	O
future	O
,	O
and	O
tells	O
Shadow	B-Application
he	O
needs	O
to	O
get	O
to	O
Eggman	O
first	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nega	O
is	O
revealed	O
to	O
have	O
traveled	O
back	O
from	O
the	O
future	O
,	O
plotting	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
camera	O
to	O
remove	O
Eggman	O
's	O
failed	O
schemes	O
from	O
existence	O
and	O
rewrite	O
their	O
family	O
history	O
,	O
with	O
Onyx	O
Island	O
being	O
a	O
future	O
version	O
of	O
Angel	B-Application
Island	I-Application
he	O
brought	O
back	O
to	O
further	O
his	O
plan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sonic	B-Device
Rivals	I-Device
was	O
developed	O
as	O
a	O
collaborative	O
effort	O
between	O
Sega	O
and	O
Backbone	O
Entertainment	O
for	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
Portable	I-Operating_System
(	O
PSP	B-Operating_System
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
developers	O
chose	O
to	O
create	O
the	O
game	O
on	O
the	O
PSP	B-Operating_System
over	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DS	I-Device
,	O
due	O
to	O
its	O
stronger	O
processing	O
power	O
and	O
higher	O
graphical	O
quality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
producer	O
Taylor	O
Miller	O
,	O
the	O
goal	O
of	O
the	O
developers	O
was	O
to	O
return	O
to	O
the	O
gameplay	O
style	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
Sega	B-Operating_System
Genesis	I-Operating_System
Sonic	B-Application
games	O
,	O
but	O
with	O
new	O
elements	O
such	O
as	O
competition	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
designing	O
the	O
stages	O
,	O
Sega	O
provided	O
Backbone	O
with	O
level	O
design	O
maps	O
from	O
all	O
the	O
2D	O
games	O
as	O
a	O
reference	O
,	O
and	O
Backbone	O
looked	O
to	O
all	O
games	O
up	O
to	O
Sonic	B-Application
Rush	I-Application
for	O
inspiration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
choosing	O
playable	O
characters	O
,	O
Backbone	O
focused	O
on	O
characters	O
who	O
maintained	O
the	O
biggest	O
rivalries	O
in	O
the	O
Sonic	B-Application
franchise	I-Application
,	O
such	O
as	O
Sonic	B-Application
and	O
Shadow	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
challenge	O
was	O
coming	O
up	O
with	O
the	O
art	O
direction	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
;	O
Backbone	O
sought	O
to	O
maintain	O
the	O
look	O
and	O
feel	O
of	O
Sonic	B-Application
while	O
still	O
stylizing	O
the	O
game	O
to	O
stand	O
out	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sonic	B-Device
Rivals	I-Device
was	O
announced	O
on	O
May	O
6	O
,	O
2006	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sonic	B-Device
Rivals	I-Device
received	O
"	O
mixed	O
or	O
average	O
"	O
reviews	O
from	O
critics	O
,	O
scoring	O
a	O
64/100	O
on	O
Metacritic	O
,	O
and	O
66.17	O
%	O
on	O
GameRankings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
it	O
and	O
Rivals	O
2	O
were	O
later	O
re-released	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
and	O
Europe	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
Greatest	B-Device
Hits	I-Device
and	O
Essentials	O
lines	O
respectively	O
,	O
indicating	O
over	O
250,000	O
units	O
were	O
sold	O
by	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
2007	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
Double	O
Rivals	O
Attack	O
Pack	O
!	O
</s>
