Footage of rare Sonic skateboarding prototype emerges

Unseen 64 has published a video showcasing prototype footage of a Sonic the Hedgehog skateboarding game that never saw the light of day. 

Dubbed Sonic Extreme, the prototype was developed by Vision Scape Interactive without SEGA's consent using assets the team had acquired through their work on Sonic Heroes' cutscenes. 

The project was built in around a week, and was create using the studio's pre-existing Tech Deck Playset software, as well as the framework from another -- ultimately canceled -- skating effort based on Nickelodeon's Rocket Power cartoon series. 

After polishing off the demo, which included a few different single and multiplayer game modes, Vision Scape presented the project to SEGA and the then head of Sonic Team, Yuji Naka. 

Despite being impressed with the overall concept, it seems the Japanese developer wanted to go in its own direction, and in the end did so with the release of Sonic Riders -- a hoverboard racer that shared a few similarities with Vison Scape's original pitch. 

For the full story, and to hear some thoughts from the Sonic Extreme dev team, be sure to check out the video above.