"Old-school Sonic fans have long asked to see Sonic return to a more 2D style of gameplay," Ballough said.
Furthermore, Ballough explained that while many enjoyed the daytime levels in Sonic Unleashed, fans have truly desired a title that plays like the original Genesis Sonic games.
"Project Needlemouse is that critical first step that brings Sonic back to his 2D roots," Ballough said.
In addition, Ballough stated that, "you can definitely expect HD graphics," in Sonic's new 2D adventure. This statement makes the likelihood of a Wii release lower.
While Sonic has been on a number of 2D excursions over the past decade, the majority of these titles were created outside of Sega by the developer Dimps. The last 2D Sonic platformer developed by Sonic Team was Sonic & Knuckles, which debuted on the Sega Genesis in the second half of 1994.
Interestingly, Sonic designer Naoto Oshima's original name for the famous hedgehog was Mr. Needlemouse.
No official title or release platform is currently known.
Check out the teaser trailer over at Gamespot.