In an interview with GameSpot, Sega's associate brand manager Ken Balough unveiled Project Needlemouse accompanied with a trailer.

Slated for a 2010 release, according to Balough, Project Needlemouse is the "critical first step that brings Sonic back to his 2D roots", in response to Sonic's fans clamoring for the gameplay of old.

While the platforms are currently unknown, Balough has stated that it will be in HD.

The teaser trailer, with the old Sega intro and Sonic sound effects, is available at the source.

Since he debuted just under years ago, Sonic the Hedgehog has been Sega's mainstay mascot. Today, the Japanese publisher revealed that it working on an all-new reinvention of the titular spiny spinner by taking him back to his two dimensional roots.

The new game, code-named Project Needlemouse, will debut sometime next year on as-yet unidentified consoles. So far, the only glimpse of the game has come via a mysterious teaser trailer, which only shows the outline of the new look of the hero at the end.

"Speed returns in an all new 2D adventure built from the ground up" declares the teaser trailer, before showing a blue blur zipping across the screen scooping up golden rings. Accompanying it is a litany of sound effects and visual cues from the first Sonic the Hedgehog, who launched worldwide in the summer of 1991 on the Sega Genesis system.

Akira_EX via gamespot.com »