'Sonic Advance' in Development for Game Boy Advance

Sega has announced that it is currently working on three games for Nintendo's Game Boy Advance handheld. If you've been paying attention to rumours lately, the existence of a 'Sonic the Hedgehog Advance' won't really surprise you at all. But knowing that such a project is now official makes Sega's third-party status feel all the more real.

This 'Sonic Advance' is apparently going to take a cue from the original Sonic the Hedgehog games on Sega Mega Drive, with 2D side-scrolling gameplay. The graphics will take advantage of the 32-bit portable, though, and will feature brand new levels.

Sonic has featured on a major third-party console before - the Neo Geo Pocket Color, in Sonic Pocket Adventure - so it makes sense that the hedgehog's first real outing under a re-branded Sega will also be on a handheld. We imagine that, given the power of the GBA, this new title will look a lot better than the 1999 Sonic 2 homage.

IGN is reporting that Sega is gunning for a worldwide release of 'Sonic Advance' in July, coinciding with the US launch of the Game Boy Advance. As well as Sonic, GBA versions of ChuChu Rocket! and Puyo Puyo are also in development.