<s>
was	O
a	O
2015	O
endless	B-Application
runner	I-Application
game	I-Application
in	O
the	O
Sonic	B-Application
the	I-Application
Hedgehog	I-Application
franchise	O
for	O
Android	B-Application
and	O
iOS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
developed	O
by	O
Sonic	B-Application
Team	O
as	O
its	O
first	B-Application
Sonic	I-Application
game	I-Application
exclusive	O
to	O
smartphones	B-Application
and	O
published	O
by	O
Sega	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Sonic	B-Application
Runners	I-Application
,	O
the	O
player-character	O
constantly	O
ran	O
forward	O
,	O
and	O
players	O
controlled	O
their	O
jumping	O
from	O
a	O
side-scrolling	O
perspective	O
using	O
the	O
touchscreen	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
free-to-play	O
,	O
featured	O
a	O
wide	O
variety	O
of	O
playable	O
characters	O
from	O
the	O
Sonic	B-Application
series	I-Application
,	O
and	O
received	O
periodic	O
updates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sonic	B-Application
Team	O
sought	O
to	O
take	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
uses	O
of	O
smartphones	B-Application
and	O
built	O
the	O
game	O
using	O
the	O
Unity	B-Application
game	I-Application
engine	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
designed	O
Sonic	B-Application
Runners	I-Application
to	O
have	O
more	O
replay	O
value	O
than	O
other	O
endless	B-Application
running	I-Application
games	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gameloft	O
released	O
a	O
replacement	O
game	O
,	O
Sonic	B-Language
Runners	I-Language
Adventure	I-Language
,	O
in	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
came	O
a	O
few	O
days	O
after	O
the	O
franchise	B-Application
's	I-Application
24th	O
anniversary	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sonic	B-Application
Runners	I-Application
was	O
a	O
free-to-play	O
side-scrolling	O
video	O
game	O
in	O
which	O
the	O
player-character	O
was	O
constantly	B-Application
running	I-Application
forward	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
avoid	O
obstacles	O
and	O
defeat	O
enemies	O
,	O
the	O
character	O
jumped	O
when	O
the	O
player	O
tapped	O
the	O
touchscreen	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
featured	O
a	O
wide	O
variety	O
of	O
playable	O
characters	O
from	O
the	O
cast	O
of	O
the	O
Sonic	B-Application
franchise	I-Application
with	O
unique	O
abilities	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Sonic	B-Application
the	I-Application
Hedgehog	I-Application
,	O
Miles	O
"	O
Tails	O
"	O
Prower	O
,	O
and	O
Knuckles	O
the	O
Echidna	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
started	O
as	O
Sonic	B-Application
and	O
would	O
unlock	O
more	O
characters	O
as	O
they	O
progressed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sonic	B-Application
Runners	I-Application
received	O
periodic	O
updates	O
,	O
which	O
often	O
included	O
new	O
characters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
Classic	O
Sonic	B-Application
from	O
Sonic	B-Application
Generations	I-Application
was	O
added	O
on	O
June	O
26	O
,	O
2015	O
to	O
celebrate	O
the	O
24th	O
anniversary	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
Sonic	B-Application
the	I-Application
Hedgehog	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	B-Application
ended	I-Application
when	O
the	O
player	O
was	O
hit	O
without	O
any	O
rings	O
or	O
fell	O
in	O
a	O
bottomless	O
pit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sonic	B-Application
Runners	I-Application
featured	O
two	O
types	O
of	O
in-game	O
currency	O
:	O
Red	O
Rings	O
and	O
regular	O
rings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Longtime	O
Sonic	B-Application
series	I-Application
developer	O
Sonic	B-Application
Team	O
created	O
Sonic	B-Application
Runners	I-Application
for	O
Android	B-Application
and	O
iOS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
Sonic	B-Application
Team	O
's	O
first	B-Application
Sonic	I-Application
game	I-Application
exclusive	O
to	O
smartphones	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
developed	O
over	O
the	O
course	O
of	O
a	O
year	O
and	O
a	O
half	O
using	O
the	O
Unity	B-Application
game	I-Application
engine	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Series	O
veteran	O
Takashi	O
Iizuka	O
,	O
who	O
designed	O
and	O
directed	O
previous	O
Sonic	B-Application
games	O
,	O
served	O
as	O
producer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Runners	O
was	O
conceived	O
after	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Sonic	B-Application
the	I-Application
Hedgehog	I-Application
4	I-Application
:	I-Application
Episode	I-Application
II	I-Application
(	O
2012	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sonic	B-Application
4	O
had	O
been	O
designed	O
with	O
home	B-Device
consoles	I-Device
in	O
mind	O
,	O
and	O
Sonic	B-Application
Team	O
wanted	O
to	O
take	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
unique	O
experiences	O
and	O
uses	O
smartphones	B-Application
provided	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sonic	B-Application
Runners	I-Application
was	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
easy	O
to	O
pick	O
up	O
and	O
to	O
resemble	O
the	O
Sega	B-Operating_System
Genesis	I-Operating_System
Sonic	B-Application
games	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
focus	O
on	O
action	B-Application
and	O
jumping	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
also	O
designed	O
to	O
have	O
replay	O
value	O
—	O
with	O
its	O
story	O
mode	O
,	O
missions	O
,	O
alternate	O
paths	O
,	O
and	O
power-ups	O
—	O
which	O
Sonic	B-Application
Team	O
felt	O
was	O
something	O
most	O
endless	B-Application
running	I-Application
games	I-Application
lacked	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Originally	O
,	O
Chao	O
was	O
the	O
only	O
character	O
who	O
assisted	O
the	O
player	O
,	O
but	O
Sonic	B-Application
Team	O
decided	O
to	O
add	O
characters	O
like	O
Chip	B-Application
from	O
Sonic	B-Application
Unleashed	I-Application
because	O
they	O
wanted	O
to	O
surprise	O
players	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
biggest	O
challenges	O
Sonic	B-Application
Team	O
faced	O
during	O
development	O
was	O
making	O
sure	O
the	O
visual	O
quality	O
was	O
consistent	O
across	O
all	O
platforms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Veteran	O
Sonic	B-Application
sound	O
director	O
Tomoya	O
Ohtani	O
composed	O
the	O
Sonic	B-Application
Runners	I-Application
soundtrack	O
,	O
which	O
consists	O
of	O
themes	O
from	O
past	O
games	O
alongside	O
new	O
material	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ohtani	O
made	O
the	O
music	O
using	O
the	O
same	O
methods	O
he	O
used	O
for	O
scoring	O
previous	O
Sonic	B-Application
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
two-volume	O
soundtrack	O
,	O
Sonic	B-Application
Runners	I-Application
Original	O
Soundtrack	O
,	O
was	O
released	O
digitally	O
via	O
iTunes	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sonic	B-Application
Runners	I-Application
existence	O
came	O
to	O
light	O
in	O
July	O
2014	O
after	O
publisher	O
Sega	O
registered	O
the	O
domain	O
name	O
sonicrunners.com	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sega	O
soft	O
launched	O
Sonic	B-Application
Runners	I-Application
in	O
Canada	O
and	O
Japan	O
on	O
February	O
26	O
,	O
2015	O
for	O
testing	O
purposes	O
and	O
released	O
the	O
final	O
version	O
worldwide	O
on	O
June	O
25	O
,	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
Sonic	B-Application
Runners	I-Application
was	O
announced	O
,	O
Nintendo	O
Life	O
uttered	O
disapproval	O
that	O
it	O
would	O
not	O
be	O
released	O
on	O
Wii	B-Device
U	I-Device
.	O
Destructoid	O
opined	O
that	O
while	O
"	O
it	O
's	O
tough	O
to	O
imagine	O
Sonic	B-Application
fans	O
getting	O
too	O
excited	O
about	O
Runners	O
"	O
,	O
its	O
future	O
augured	O
well	O
after	O
the	O
critical	O
panning	O
of	O
Sonic	B-Application
Boom	I-Application
:	I-Application
Rise	I-Application
of	I-Application
Lyric	I-Application
and	O
Sonic	B-Application
Boom	I-Application
:	I-Application
Shattered	I-Application
Crystal	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reviewing	O
the	O
soft	O
launched	O
version	O
,	O
Hardcore	O
Gamer	O
believed	O
it	O
was	O
the	O
best	O
Sonic	B-Application
game	O
in	O
years	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
critical	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
excessive	O
amount	O
of	O
pop-up	O
ads	O
,	O
they	O
felt	O
it	O
was	O
focused	O
,	O
exhilarating	O
,	O
and	O
corrected	O
many	O
problems	O
present	O
in	O
prior	O
games	O
,	O
and	O
described	O
it	O
as	O
"	O
everything	O
Sonic	B-Application
should	O
be	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
final	O
version	O
received	O
"	O
mixed	O
or	O
average	O
reviews	O
"	O
,	O
according	O
to	O
the	O
review	B-Application
aggregator	I-Application
Metacritic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
TouchArcade	O
considered	O
it	O
better	O
than	O
Sonic	B-Application
Dash	I-Application
and	O
praised	O
its	O
fan	O
service	O
and	O
content	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Destructoid	O
and	O
Jim	O
Sterling	O
felt	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
well-designed	O
;	O
Destructoid	O
said	O
it	O
had	O
depth	O
and	O
succeeded	O
as	O
both	O
a	O
platformer	O
and	O
a	O
Sonic	B-Application
game	O
,	O
and	O
Sterling	O
wrote	O
that	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
gameplay	O
it	O
was	O
better	O
than	O
most	O
endless	B-Application
runners	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
TouchArcade	O
wrote	O
that	O
"	O
any	O
free-to-play	O
monetization	O
gimmick	O
you	O
can	O
think	O
of	O
it	O
,	O
Sonic	B-Application
Runners	I-Application
has	O
it.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Technical	O
problems	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
crashes	B-General_Concept
and	O
lengthy	O
load	O
times	O
,	O
were	O
also	O
criticized	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
it	O
was	O
downloaded	O
over	O
five	O
million	O
times	O
,	O
Sonic	B-Application
Runners	I-Application
was	O
a	O
commercial	O
failure	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
presentation	O
highlighting	O
Sega	O
's	O
strongest	O
performing	O
games	O
designated	O
Sonic	B-Application
Runners	I-Application
a	O
"	O
stalling	O
title	O
"	O
because	O
it	O
only	O
made	O
between	O
¥30	O
—	O
50	O
million	O
a	O
month	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2016	O
,	O
Sega	O
announced	O
it	O
would	O
discontinue	O
Sonic	B-Application
Runners	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2017	O
,	O
Gameloft	O
released	O
an	O
FAQ	O
webpage	O
that	O
indicated	O
a	O
sequel	O
to	O
Sonic	B-Application
Runners	I-Application
was	O
in	O
development	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gameloft	O
released	O
the	O
sequel	O
,	O
Sonic	B-Language
Runners	I-Language
Adventure	I-Language
,	O
for	O
Android	B-Application
in	O
Russia	O
and	O
the	O
United	O
Kingdom	O
in	O
June	O
2017	O
,	O
and	O
worldwide	O
for	O
Android	B-Application
and	O
iOS	B-Application
in	O
December	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
the	O
original	O
,	O
Sonic	B-Language
Runners	I-Language
Adventure	I-Language
is	O
sold	O
at	O
a	O
fixed	O
price	O
.	O
</s>
