In a surprising turn of events, SEGA actually decided to push back one of their premiere titles and instead of rushing it out the door will delay and polish a bit more. Sonic 4, Episode 1 has been pushed back from its previous "Summer 2010" release to "Fall 2010" to implement fan suggestions and time enough to create an iPhone and iPad version, as well.

"The additional time will allow the development team to focus on ensuring overall high-quality throughout the game by continuing to tune, balance, and maintain the kind of polish that an important title like this demands," the release reads via 1up, "and ultimately providing fans with an unrivalled classic Sonic feel."

Now, I was hoping that I'd be playing a new 2D Sonic to coincide with Xbox Live's excellent "Summer of Arcade" program that features worthy downloadable titles (i.e. Braid, Shadow Complex). But all is well, that just means Microsoft will need to dig up another triple-A title to fill Sonic's shoes this year. Shadow Complex 2, maybe? No, as a matter of fact, I don't think it's too soon!