How long each All-Star move lasts depends on the character's current position. Like Sumo's previous Sega game, Sega Superstars Tennis, each character has a special ability (called an "All-Star Move") unique to them that they may use to their advantage (such as Sonic transforming into Super Sonic and AiAi riding in his monkey ball), which they can obtain if they are running behind in the race. Additional boost can be earned by successfully executing drifts (with longer drifts earning more boost), or performing tricks while in midair. Also, on occasions when players get three of one item, they can choose to fire/activate them at the same time. The items have a rock-paper-scissors effect, in which certain items can be used to defend against others. Characters race through various race circuits themed on different Sega franchises and collect power-ups to boost their speed or hamper their opponents. The game is a mascot kart racing game, very similar to other games in its genre like Mario Kart, Konami Krazy Racers and Crash Team Racing.
A sequel, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, was released in 2012. It is currently the third installment in the Sega Superstars series, and was developed by Sumo Digital. On April 4 2013, the game was released by Feral Interactive on the Mac as a Mac App Store exclusive.
For the Mac, All-Stars Racing will feature online multiplayer by using Game Center which the Windows version lacked, which will be added in the next version of Mac OS X, Mountain Lion. In 2012, Sega and Feral Interactive announced that the game will be available for the Mac on its following Summer along with Sega Superstars Tennis. It is for the Wii, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, PS3, iPod Touch, Android, Mac OS X, PC, and Blackberry 10 Devices along with the Blackberry Playbook, as well as Java-based mobile phones and later became an arcade game.
Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing (known as Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing with Banjo-Kazooie on the Xbox 360) is a racing game that features characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog series and other Sega franchises, such as Sonic, Tails, Amy, Shadow, Aiai, Amigo, Beat, etc. " Racing just turned the corner!" - Tagline