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Sonic and Sonic 2 are already well-established iPhone games, but the appearance of the latest in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise on the iPhone cements Sega’s commitment to the iPhone as a platform to develop for.

Instead of re-inventing the game with 3D environments, new characters or other pointless gimmicks, Sega seem to have left Sonic alone, with the gameplay footage coming from E3 making it look almost identical to Sonic games of old.  That said, the game will use the accelerometer for tilt control – although a regular virtual d-pad will also be available – and early word has it that the game runs more smoothly than the existing games, even though we’re still a while away from release.

Sonic 4: Episode One is the first in a new Sonic saga and will feature four zones each with their own bonus levels, two of which will be exclusive to the iPhone. The iPhone version is currently penciled in for a late 2010 release.

If you’re interested to see Sonic 4 in action, here are two E3 videos which show exactly that!