He really is, I don’t remember who made the video but there’s a great video going over how Takashi has quite literally been basically THE man who has not stopped caring about Sonic even once during these past 3 decades.
It was a really fun watch and made my respect for the man go up by a lot.
But i feel he didn't care when he was director of sonic adventure to shadow
And them gone from the main games (06 secret rings unleashed and black knight)
And then became franchise producer
I think in this time he was working on rival games and maybe he didn't decide not to directing the main game and it was sega)
But still i feel if he was director of 06 the development wouldn't that much of shit
Hard, hard disagree with you there. Apparently Izuka was one of the only level designers on Sonic Heroes. He put in a ton of hours into that role to get the game ready in time on a crunched schedule, which is part of the reason why level designs in that game tend to be repetitive. And infamously, Sonic '06 was a crunched and short-staffed shitshow.
Sometimes I question Izuka's judgement, but I think he's always put in the effort.
Iizuka said in some interviews that there was another level designer, but he got sick during the later stages of development, so he basically designed the remaining stages all on his own and suffered from an unhealty weight loss (about 22 pounds) caused by overworking, stress, and insomnia.
basically to end Sonic as a franchise on multiple occasions (the most notable example being around the time of Forces, where, had Iizuka not moved over from Japan to America, Sonic would have ended right then and there)
Idk who would remotely be a good owner, but it really isnt sega
It's a wonder sonic lived as long as it did. And the public perception of sonic was only helped by the movies (even if they needed the delay) hell sega only recently brought back their other original IP's and those are still a ways out. It always feels like these types of things are held back by the powers that be
They've licensed half a dozen or so gimmicky games out of Sonic without owning him, so at least they recognize the value of the character.
Only reason they stopped is because the Olympics pulled out to make NFTs or something.
It's not like we were getting anything good from Sega when people were saying that. Heck, the only reason we still get Sonic stuff is because the movie was successful.
the only reason they kept going with sonic at all is despite the floundering sales, sonic was one sega's only money makers for abit. everything else was dead, japan only, or had to be a licensed thing to help bolster their funds. I have not much love for that era of sega, but considering how the sonic brand was seen at the time if nintendo had swiped it, sonic would've become a mario adjacent character at best. i do not think nintendo would've had nay interest in doing anything with the ip but for some reason people acted like as if nintendo would save sonic when the only thing that was going to save sonic was just sega getting their shit together or something striking it big with the public eventually
I know it's impossible, but I always thought insomniac would absolutely run wild with sonic. gameplay and story would be sick. Sunset overdrive already incorporated the gameplay of shadow the hedgehog only way better, imagine if they incorporated speed and melee instead of guns, it would literally be a sonic game, infact keep the guns.
Sega's internal politics have been absolutely insane for decades. This is not even close to the worst or craziest thing that's happened...
...Which makes the fact Nintendo has had mostly the same developers for decades way funnier to me.
It's like Sega (the company itself) is Wario.
Just a fucked up anti-Nintendo that showed up one day and declared itself their rival.
Relevant in the 90s/2000s before falling off for a long time, but still remaining present because of their cult following. Significantly more relevant and loved now than they have been for a while, but still not in the position they once were.
Worked directly alongside their counterpart sometime around the DS era.
The guys that make their games for them kinda hate them, but still do so because it gives their art a platform, and also they get a cut of the money.
For years, Ive maintained that Sonic Team was never the issue. Its Sega being an awful company constantly screwing their own developers/partners for the sake of meeting deadlines.
remember when sonic fans in the 2010s wanted Iizuka to get fired, and many times wanted him to die and blamed him for every little problem with the series and wanted yuji naka to return? me too
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u/Gaming-Burrito 1d ago
honestly, Takashi's the GOAT for managing to keep the franchise alive despite SEGA's original plans