In 1997, Sega announced "Project Sonic", a promotional campaign aimed at increasing market awareness of and renewing excitement for the "Sonic" brand. The first Project Sonic release was "Sonic Jam", a compilation of the main Genesis "Sonic" games which included a 3D overworld Sonic Team used to experiment with 3D "Sonic" gameplay. Sonic Team and Traveller's Tales collaborated again on the second Project Sonic game, "Sonic R", a 3D racing game and the only original "Sonic" game for the Saturn. "Sonic Jam" was well received, while "Sonic R" reviews were more divided. The cancellation of "Sonic X-treme", as well as the Saturn's general lack of "Sonic" games, are considered important factors in the Saturn's commercial failure. According to Nick Thorpe of "Retro Gamer", "by mid-1997 Sonic had essentially been shuffled into the background... it was astonishing to see that just six years after his debut, Sonic was already retro."