1-Up.com recently conducted an interview with Takashi Iizuka. Those expecting details about the new Sonic games will be heartily disappointed as most of Iizukia's comments are fairly vague. He does, however, confirm that the new Shadow the Hedgehog game is not trying to redefine the Sonic series but aims to expand it to a new audience. Echoing Naka’s comments at E3 2004, Iizuka also mentions that Sonic Team still places an importance on 2D side scrolling games.
Following the recent unveiling of the newest game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, Shadow the Hedgehog, at the recent Walk of Game press event, Game Design Section Manager at Sega Studio USA Takashi Iizuka and Sega Public Relations representative Ethan Einhorn sat down with 1UP to talk about the future of the Sonic franchise.
1UP: What was it like to finally unveil a new game [such as Shadow the Hedgehog]?
TI: It was very important for us to expand the Sonic franchise with the introduction of Shadow the Hedgehog, and moving forward we want to bring both the old users and the new users [together] to enhance the Sonic franchise.
1UP: Sonic the Hedgehog when it first started out seemed to be about being cool and it was edgy, at least compared to all the platformers on the market at the time. It seems like this new game is trying to capture that for a new audience now. The recent games have been a little bit more tame compared to some of the other offerings in the platform genre; is [Shadow the Hedgehog] trying to bring the Sonic franchise back to what is used to be?
TI: In order to enlarge the Sonic franchise, we've created this new game. It's not really a reaction to what we've seen. Basically, we're trying to capture a new type of audience, but we're not trying to throw away Sonic. We're trying to expand his world to a more broad user audience.
EE: What we can say is that this new title is one of a number of Sonic titles that you can anticipate in 2005.
1UP: What defines a Sonic game to you? What makes a Sonic game a Sonic game?
TI: For the past 14 years, Sonic's been based on a really cool, fast-paced type of character. Moving forward for the future, we don't want to throw that away. We want to keep that, but within keeping that we want to add additional features that will help bring in a new type of audience.
1UP: What platforms are you interested in [bringing Sonic to]?
EE: We know that everyone loves Sonic.
TI: The current philosophy behind what we're building in our games is for the current game systems.
1UP: Sonic in the past defined Sega. If Sega's attempting to make a big play in the next generation, are you already thinking along those lines with Sonic?
TI: We understand that there are new platforms coming out, and as a challenge to that, we're hopeful to at least show you part of our progress at E3.
1UP: In terms of game development, is there any interest in moving Sonic online?
TI: In order to kind of expand the Sonic franchise, we're offering Shadow and moving in a new direction, but we're also considering other options -- maybe online, maybe other venues to expand the Sonic franchise. We're looking into that. That's one of the probable areas that we may investigate moving forward.
1UP: Are you talking about other genres as well?
EE: Sonic has not just been a platformer in the past, and he will continue to do interesting things this year.
1UP: You had mentioned there were more Sonic things to look forward to. Are those things we can look forward to at E3?
EE: Yeah, this is going to be a banner year for Sonic at E3.
1UP: Will we see a return with Sonic to a more straightforward Sonic? One character -- Sonic himself -- but not necessarily a handheld game? For a console experience, will we ever see something more basic -- maybe 2D or maybe a bit more of a return to the more simplistic gameplay of the past? Is there a general interest in that?
TI: Sonic Team has found that the 2D scrolling linear experience is very enjoyable. That's why they've released Sonic Advance 1, 2 and 3. Within the team itself, there is still a love for that style of game. Everybody realizes that's what made Sonic popular, so that's really close to their heart.
1UP: Will we ever see Sonic CD or Knuckles Chaotix on a compilation at some point?
EE: We recognize the popularity of titles that have not yet been released -- especially Sonic CD -- and we're always interested in satisfying our fan base.
TI: For the past 14 years, Sonic's been based on a really cool, fast-paced type of character. Moving forward for the future, we don't want to throw that away. We want to keep that, but within keeping that we want to add additional features that will help bring in a new type of audience.
Too bad most of the "features" added in recent games have been superfluous, and sometimes even damaging to the whole setup. There's one thing Iizuka confirms here, though - the "simple and clean" days of Sonic are over for good.
EE: What we can say is that this new title is one of a number of Sonic titles that you can anticipate in 2005.
I don't think "anticipate" is the word...
EE: Yeah, this is going to be a banner year for Sonic at E3.
It won't be if the rest is anything like this Shadow game.
They're going around this in entirely the wrong way. The 16 bit Sonic games were fantastic games that appealed to everyone. So why are Sonic Team now insistant on pushing mediocre Sonic games that appeal to kids and mediocre Sonic games that appeal to teens/adults?
Kishi wrote:<i>Sonic Team has found that the 2D scrolling linear experience is very enjoyable. That's why they've released Sonic Advance 1, 2 and 3.</i>
Yeah, except they didn't make any of those games.
And the 3D games have been much more linear than the 16 bit games.
New Iizuka interview
