This game was intended to be a celebration of Sonic's 15th anniversary.

Only 4Kids-era Sonic game to use Hollywood talent (in this case, Lacey Chabert), and the only Sonic game at all to have a celebrity voice actor. She is a fan of the Sonic games and was excited to be part of them.

Since "Sonic the Hedgehog" is also the name of a TV show, the original 1991 Sonic game, and Sonic himself, this game is commonly called "Sonic 2006" or "Sonic Next-Gen" among fans.