Riding high on the success of the Phantasy Star Online games and Sonic sequels, Sonic Team waited over two years before introducing their newest hero in 2003. The original idea was just to make a four-player battle game where the players use eggs as weapons, but the team experimented with the mechanics and soon a complete story-driven single-player mode evolved. This became the core of the new game, Giant Egg ~Billy Hatcher no Dai Bouken~ (Billy Hatcher's great adventure, aka "Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg").

   Possibly because of the shift in focus midway through the development cycle, Giant Egg fell behind schedule. It was finally released in the US in September 2003, with the Japanese version following in October. The game was greeted with mixed reactions from critics and fans alike, and the poor reception was not aided by abysmal sales. With low sales and not much fanbase to speak of, Billy Hatcher and his egg-rolling antics seem destined to disappear into the annals of Sega history.

Written by Jared "Green Gibbon!" Matte. Hosting provided by Emulation Zone and Emulation World.