Takashi Iizuka says Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds was planned around keeping players active for the long term, but the need to fund frequent new content ultimately left the team relying on the Season Pass for additional development money.
Takashi Iizuka says modern Sonic projects can take three to five years to develop, forcing SEGA to maintain multiple development lines at once if it wants to continue releasing new Sonic games regularly.
SEGA president Shuji Utsumi says Sonic is particularly popular among American and European tourists visiting Tokyo, while customer data is helping SEGA tailor permanent stores to different regional audiences.
Takashi Iizuka has divided Sonic’s 35-year history into three major eras, with the Classic period ending in 1997, Sonic Adventure beginning a second generation in 1998, and the success of the movies kicking off a new generation in 2020.
Takashi Iizuka says Sonic’s movie success is bringing more people into the games, increasing sales and giving SEGA more resources to invest in future titles, while stressing that movies and anime do not take developers away from the games.
Developers behind Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds say the game draws on SEGA’s racing legacy, mixing the DNA of SEGA Rally and OutRun with the precision of Initial D.
CrossWorlds creative director Masaru Kohayakawa says SEGA designed the game to reward strategy and skill over luck, drawing clear contrast to the Mario Kart formula.
