The slogan, from the 1990s, is one of the most famous in video game history. It was a time when the bitter rivalry between the two Japanese game companies was at its fiercest. Today, that relationship has softened. You can play Sonic games on Nintendo consoles and the characters have even appeared in games together. But is Sega trying to restart the beef?

Mayu Iizuka sheds her soft-spoken personality and starts cackling, screaming and waving wildly in a makeshift studio in Tokyo as her avatar appears on a livestream before hundreds of fans. Virtual YouTubers like Iizuka, who voices and animates a character called Yume Kotobuki, have transformed a niche Japanese subculture into a thriving industry where top accounts can rake in more than a million dollars (¥130 million) a year. The videos are designed to make fans feel as if they are interacting directly with their favorite animated idols -- with some viewers paying hundreds of dollars to have a single comment highlighted during a livestream. "When I'm playing video games on my channel and succeed at something, my fans congratulate me" and pay tips "as a way to show their support and appreciation," Iizuka told AFP. The 26-year-old uses a laptop, webcam and a motion sensor worn around her neck to appear on screen as Yume, whose facial expressions are controlled by a producer. With her squeaky voice, short skirt and huge purple eyes, Iizuka's avatar follows a popular model for "VTuber" characters, which often resemble the hyperfeminine heroines of Japanese anime.

Sega has revealed that a new title in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise is in development for release in 2017. The news was confirmed by Sonic Team executive Takashi Iizuka during a 25th anniversary event in Tokyo, according to Gematsu. It was also revealed that more information on the mysterious new game will be shown at San Diego Comic Con next month, all of which will be livestreamed online. "We at Sonic Team are developing a completely new game," Iizuka said. "The most important thing is not the fact that the series survived for 25 years, but how many games [were] developed. Our goal [is to] add something new and overcome any potential hardships."