Sega Rekindles Classic Rivalry with Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds on Nintendo Switch 2

Sega Rekindles Classic Rivalry with Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds on Nintendo Switch 2 Since the early days of home console gaming, few rivalries have been as storied as that between Sega and Nintendo.

In the early 1990s, the two Japanese gaming giants battled fiercely for dominance in North American living rooms, with Sega’s Genesis carving out significant market share from Nintendo’s NES.

While the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) eventually helped Nintendo reclaim ground, the era marked a pivotal shift in the industry and forever changed the competitive landscape. In an unprecedented turn, recent years have seen Sega and Nintendo working together on high-profile releases, a partnership that was virtually unthinkable during the height of their contention.

Titles like Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games have reflected this new camaraderie.

However, Sega is now playfully reigniting that classic competitive spirit with its latest project: Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. A Nostalgic Throwback to Sega’s Marketing Prowess Sega’s new campaign harkens back to one of its most iconic advertising moments: the "Blast Processing" era.

Originally popularized by Sega of America's marketing team, the term was coined to highlight the Sega Genesis’s technical strengths over its main competitor, the SNES.

The phrase itself was an invention of Scott Bayless, a former Sega of America staffer.

In an interview for Retro Gamer magazine, Bayless reflected on the origins of the term: he acknowledged that the phrase arose from a real, albeit niche, technical advantage.

The marketing team, inspired by Bayless's description of "blasting data into the DACs," ran with the term, and thus, "Blast Processing" was born—capturing the imagination of a whole generation of gamers.

Bayless candidly explained, "I took responsibility for coining the term.

The concept sprung from the discovery that triggering a scan line interrupt and firing off a direct memory access at just the right moment allowed engineers to push graphics data onto the chip while a scan line was still being rendered.

It wasn’t consistently applicable across every Genesis system iteration, but when it worked, it was exciting and visually impressive." Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Aims for the Pole Position Fast forward to 2025, Sega’s upcoming title Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is set to launch on all major consoles, including both the Nintendo Switch and the anticipated Switch 2.

The marketing for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds offers a cheeky nod to the company’s competitive legacy, even going so far as to directly challenge Mario Kart World, which will be a major launch title for Switch 2.

Sega’s promotional material doesn’t shy away from bold claims, positioning its own open-world racer as more dynamic and exciting compared to its Nintendo counterpart. With Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, Sega is set to capitalize on both nostalgia and next-generation gaming power.

The game’s release across platforms, particularly its presence in the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 libraries, underscores Sega’s commitment to broad accessibility and its willingness to celebrate—and revisit—its iconic history.

As the rivalry between Sonic and Mario enters a new chapter, fans can look forward to innovative gameplay and a spirited competition that pays homage to one of gaming’s greatest eras.

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