The Sonic the hedgehog fandom is one of the most divided fandoms out there. And the biggest divide is between western fans and eastern fans. Reason for this being back in the early days there were two versions of Sonic, the Japanese one and the American one. At first the American Sonic became VERY popular, but a few years later Sega of Japan clamped down redid everything, essentially shoving the eastern version down everyone’s throat. It did okay at first but then quickly declined. This rapid decline, as well as other mismanagement problems that have had a meat-cleaver effect on the fan base, is what caused to the infighting that still goes on to this very day.

But what if the fans, on a person by person basis, were given the ability to choose which version of Sonic they wanted? What if both sides don’t have to feel conflicted by the other ever again? What if BOTH sides could get what they want? What if one version could become more successful without the other being less?

This strategy has been inspired by how there used to be TWO shows based upon Sonic. One was campier and had slapstick humor known as “Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog”. The other was far more serious by focusing on character development and complex plot lines simply known as “Sonic the Hedgehog” or more commonly referred to by the fans as “SatAM”. The logic behind this was to appeal to different audiences in order to INCREASE support.

This strategy has been used elsewhere before. “Command and Conquer” right now has three different universes. And yet their fans do not fight each other. WHY? That is because all the different universes in the same franchise receive EQUAL support.

That is what this petition calls for. Equal support for both the American based and Japanese based universes for Sonic. Sega of Japan would have more control over the Japanese version, and Sega of America would have more control over the American version. There would be games, shows, films, comics, and whatever for both, and the fans worldwide would be given the ability to choose which one they want, maybe even both. With any luck the end result will be MORE fans, MORE sources of revenue for BOTH branches, and LESS factional strife. But in order for this to work, the fans must be allowed to choose which one they want, and just because the fans lean more to one side does not mean more and more should be taken away from the other. There needs to be EQUAL support. And on occasion both universes could borrow a few elements from each other.

The fan wars have gone on long. It’s time we put our differences aside and work together to obtain what we BOTH want. It’s time we focus on our common foe, poor quality. But if we don’t start working together we BOTH could lose everything.