Sumo Digital, the studio behind breezy kart racer Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, has engaged with fans on SEGA's forums to decide which characters should be added to the game via downloadable expansions.
"I'll set you a challenge," read the post from executive producer Steve Lycett. "Without any policing from the Sumo or SEGA crew, if you can all agree on three characters by the first of December and prove there is sufficient interest of at least 1000 unique people per character, I will present the result to SEGA," Sumo's Steve Lycett told SEGA forum users. "I can't promise anything will happen as a result, but since you're starting it, let's see if you can organise yourselves in the next few weeks to pull that off."
Fans have already risen to the challenge, organising an online poll and marshalling votes. Among the characters up for vote are retro favourites such as Axel and Blaze from arcade beat-em-up Streets of Rage, to more modern SEGA-published icons like Bayonetta and Welkin from PS3 strategy game Valkyria Chronicles.
Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing Transformed already boasts appearances from real life NASCAR racer Danica Patrick and Disney movie character Wreck-It Ralph. It's out now for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Versions for Wii U, 3DS and PlayStation Vita will be released between now and December 7th.