WTF?! Not for the primary time, one thing that began as an April Fools’ joke has gone on to develop into an sudden success. On this event, it was Sega’s The Homicide of Sonic the Hedgehog, a free visible novel wherein the speedy blue mascot has been killed (or has he?). Not solely has it develop into Sega’s best-performing PC title but additionally the 62nd highest-rated sport on Steam.
On April 1, Sega joined the numerous different corporations world wide in doing one thing jokey for April Fools’ Day, and so The Homicide of Sonic the Hedgehog was launched. Whereas this visible novel is actually no Return of the Obra Dinn, it is an satisfying option to spend a few hours with out spending any cash.
Whereas these kinds of April Fools’ jokes are normally finished to garner a little bit of publicity, Sega’s sport has been extra profitable than the corporate doubtless imagined. Since its launch six days in the past, The Homicide of Sonic the Hedgehog has been downloaded over a million instances. It is presently the 62nd best-reviewed sport on Steam, sitting one above Undertale, and had been within the 61st place, due to 98% of its 11,000 Steam consumer evaluations being optimistic.
Over 1,000,000 of you have got grabbed The Homicide of Sonic the Hedgehog and it is presently the #61 highest rated sport on Steam of ALL TIME.
Completely unreal. Thanks all so, a lot. �’� pic.twitter.com/Cy2cIo2AHl
— Katie – MiniKitty (@KatieChrz) April 5, 2023
The recognition means the sport is now Sega’s best-reviewed title on Steam, edging forward of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Remodeled Assortment and Sonic Mania, each of which have 94% optimistic scores.
We have seen actual and profitable merchandise originate from April Fools’ pranks earlier than. Razer’s Undertaking Breadwinner, which started as an April Fools’ joke in 2016, ended up turning into an actual kitchen toaster full with Razer Chroma lighting.
Then there was the Stack Overflow keyboard referred to as The Key which consists of solely three keys: Ctrl, C, and V. It happened when Stack Overflow saved displaying a tongue-in-cheek pop-up notifying customers that they have been nearly out of free copies each time they used a keyboard command to repeat characters from the positioning. The $29 actual product was so profitable that an up to date model that includes RGB and hot-swappable switches was created.
Extra just lately, the Asus ROG Ally gaming handheld initially introduced as an April Fools’ joke can also be turning into an actual product, one smaller, lighter, and extra highly effective than the Steam Deck, based on Asus.