Editors note:

An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Steven Frost as a current SEGA employee in the headline, and upon first reference. This story and headline have been updated to correctly identify him as a former employee.

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A former SEGA employee has called into question the viability the Sonic franchise following the poor reception of Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric and its 3DS counterpart Shattered Crystal, two Nintendo exclusives which launched last November.Steven Frost was a producer on the titles, and cites over-ambition as the primary culprit."The biggest mistake in Boom was trying to cram too much into the game," he explained on SEGA Nerdcast. "Not only were we trying to make just a really good Sonic game, we were trying to add more to it. We overextended our grasp in some ways. We're trying to add in a bungee mechanic, and we're adding combat, and we're adding puzzles, vehicles, hopefully a more compelling story and a bunch of different environments. And it's just a lot, you know? If there's any lesson for me, it's that being too ambitious can be bad."Frost then went on to discuss the future of Sonic, and how single-player games starring the blue hedgehog just aren't viable anymore. "Solo Sonic games, I don't know how long that can last - there isn't enough variety to sustain it. The future of Sonic games needs to be co-op," he explained. "It worked really well in Sonic Boom, community and online play, that sustains it. In general, you need to do multiplayer and add online multiplayer aspects. That will sustain and keep the franchise alive."In IGN's review of Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric we called it generic and unpolished.

Alex Osborn is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter @alexcosborn