According to sources:
SEGA published an interview with Division 2 – the department in charge of Sonic the Hedgehog. Speaking to General Manager Osamu Ohashi, the developer responded to the question “How will you develop Sonic in the future?” in a rather bold and ambitious manner, saying (as translated by ResetEra user ‘Dooble’):
“Simply put, I want to surpass Mario. Sonic is a game that was originally developed to compete with Mario, and it still hasn’t achieved that goal. Our goal is to catch up and surpass Mario because we respect Mario.”
Ohashi continued, “I want people to play it all over the world, including Japan, like Mario, and I want the movie to be a bigger hit than Mario. I would like USJ [Universal Studios Japan] to create a ‘Sonic Area’ as well. That’s our goal for those of us who love Sonic.”