The head of the Sonic Team, Takashi Iizuka, has spoken again about revisiting past Sonic the Hedgehog titles but says that the team currently has a strong desire to create “new games” in the franchise and therefore “deliver new surprises” to the fans. Mr. Iizuka also emphasised how much work actually goes into a remaster or a remake and he genuinely believes that the time would be better spent delivering new Sonic titles.
Back in the Wii era, there were some pretty adventurous takes on the series, such as Sonic and the Black Knight, where Sonic went on an adventure wielding a sword. It seems like there are many games like that which could be interesting to revisit through a remaster or more substantial remake.
Iizuka: We hear all sorts of requests from the fan community for remakes and remasters, such as people asking us to port Sonic Unleashed. But our resources are limited… Rather than using those limited resources to make remakes and remasters, we have a stronger desire to provide fans with new games and deliver new surprises.
With remakes and remasters, you’re essentially providing the same experience again. But these days, remaking an old game requires about as many resources as creating a new title. You have to remake all the graphics, and you can’t simply release the gameplay as it was back then because many things are deemed rough by modern standards.
I understand. Even changing the screen from 4:3 to 16:9 isn’t as simple as many might believe.
Iizuka: Exactly (laughs). So for now, I have a stronger desire to focus on new titles. That said, we do hear players’ concerns about certain games being unplayable, so I’d like to ask you to please wait a little longer.
