So Sega announced Sonic the Hedgehog 4.
For a 50 second teaser that only shows 4 seconds of gameplay tops, it speaks volumes about what could be going on behind the scenes with the game. Like what?
The Game Is Already "Done"
Before Sega took them down, there were images on the site ( Sonicthehedgehog4.com) that declared that the game would be released July, 2010. They have been since replaced with images that say "Summer 2010" (a period of time which includes July). That's actually not to far off, especially if you consider how the act of creating and releasing a game works. It means that the developers of Sonic 4 have about 3-4 months until the game has to be submitted for Xbox Live Arcade certification. That means that, right now, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is "content complete". All the levels are in and can be finished from beginning to end. Everything in the game is already set in stone and cannot be changed. Going by traditional development and release schedules, the remaining three months will be spent on polish and bug testing. Making sure the game doesn't crash, smoothing out any rough spots in the game's progression, etc. Depending on how far apart these episodes are going to be spaced, "Episode 1" may already be 100% finished, bug tested, and ready for release, intentionally being held back in order to give the developers a head start on "Episode 2".Walk Before You Run
What's really special about this teaser is that never once do you see Sonic running. That's not to say Sonic can't run, or won't run - it's about how you perceive Sonic as a character. For a long time, Sonic the Hedgehog games have been obsessed with making you go too fast - so fast that you can't see or react to oncoming obstacles. Now, don't get me wrong, Sonic the Hedgehog is most definitely "about" Speed. Speed is his defining character trait. Some of the first advertisements ever seen on American soil for the original Sega Genesis Sonic the Hedgehog dared you to "think fast". But if what Sonic Team said about Sonic Unleashed was true, Sonic runs so fast in that game, it would be like like going from the northern edge of Cyrodill in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion to the southern edge in only a couple of minutes - an act that would otherwise take more than ten times that length of time. That's a little too fast. By showing Sonic walking as the first footage of Sonic the Hedgehog 4, they are (hopefully) saying "We get it. Sonic's going to slow down a little bit." It's okay to walk. A Taste of What's to Come
So many teasers nowadays hide special somethings within them, only visible to those obsessive enough to watch the video multiple times, frame-by-frame. 
Pause the video at the right times, and you can see images super-imposed on Sonic himself, giving a glimpse of an as-of-yet unseen level. Sonic is seen running straight up a vertical slope, grabbing on to a zip-line pulley, and there's even a glimpse of what appears to be a level tile with yellow and black caution tape on it. Now, where have we seen yellow and black caution tape like that before?
Ah, yes. And that's not all, either. Keep your eyes fixated on the text during this scene:
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