Sega counting down Project Needlemouse's character lineup

Sega is either having a bit of fun with everyone's perception of the Sonic franchise ... or acting in line with it. The publisher posted the above image featuring a bunch of potential playable characters in the secretive downloadable Project Needlemouse, with the intention of crossing off one per day through Friday. In addition, Sega promises to cross more off in response to correct answers to Sonic trivia questions.

The fact that Sega is prepared to cross off more than five characters suggests that very few of the characters will be left at the end, and many of the characters are inconsequential NPCs in other games anyway. Our guess? The publisher is playfully referring to the near-universal hatred of the extended Sonic cast, to contrast the surprise reveal that Needlemouse has only one playable character.

And that character will be Froggy, the frog Big the Cat attempted to catch with a fishing pole in Sonic Adventure. Another guess can be seen after the break.