Sonic Team Studio Head Takashi Iizuka’s Bid to Appeal to Japanese and Global Audiences Through Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds

As the latest exciting addition to sound games Franchise,,,,, Sonic Racing: Crossworlds Surprised fans all over the world are included Miku Hatsune,,,,, Like a dragonIchiban Kasuga, Role 5Joker, and MinecraftSteve, Alex and Creeper. At startup, a total of 23 playable characters will be available in total, and a larger roster may be added in post-release updates. External attribute characters will be provided through DLC, so there may be more interesting interactions and collaboration.

During the hands-on preview of the summer game festival, I had the opportunity to explore the depth of custom choices from horns, decals, and even the aura of the vehicle. The game is still under development and is scheduled to be released on September 25, 2025. As a fanatical player of the kart game, Crossworlds The ability to select other tracks through a mechanic called a “travel ring.” Despite being ranked No. 1, I noticed that the power has not been balanced yet, as my character has been raised the same as everyone else. There is still plenty of time to adjust this, combined with other feedback from the playback tester. The graphics are amazing, the game is easy to pick up, and the music matches the energy when I crash, drift and receive taunts from other characters.

During the days of playing games, I talked to the studio head Goshi iizuka Receive Sonic as a Franchise In Japan, his favorite roles and the difficulties he presents Crossworlds Give to different intellectual property holders. Although Sonic movies have received a warm welcome around the world, the series has performed poorly in Japan. According to the magic of the box office, Sonic Hedgehog 3 During its operation in its country of origin, box office revenue alone was approximately $1.5 million.

“For a long time, we’ve seen Sonic very popular in Japan and within Japan, outside of Japan,” Iizuka said. “For the sake of Crossworlds Specifically, we are targeting Japanese players and making sure there is something in them. The guest characters and partners we are working with, such as Miku, Kasuga and Joker, are all very popular characters within Japan. ” Iizuka wants Japanese players to enjoy Sonic characters with other characters they like.

Surprisingly, or no surprise –Minecraft The IP that the development team is catching up with is IP. “Minecraft The reason is the biggest because this is the IP we go straight out and want. It is big in the West, but also in Japan. Here are some things we can showcase to attract Japanese audiences to watch our games and be excited about buying. ”

Crossworlds Development started sometime about two to three years ago Sonic Team I want to focus on building the basic game first. “We didn’t really talk to anyone until we believe we have a reliable game. Once we get to this step, we are confident to introduce and explain how to integrate their characters into the content.”

Once approved, the character will be added to the game. However, there are some third-party partners who feel that their roles and franchise are not suitable for Crossworlds. Iizuka did not elaborate on who or which characters were, but he showed that not everyone they introduced came to the ship.

Turn Crossworlds‘The position afterward Sonic x Shadow GenerationI’d love to know about iizuka and Sonic Team Want to keep moving forward. Sonic x Shadow Generation Comprehensive mechanics and story elements of past sound games, while at the same time in the release Sonic Hedgehog 3. The development team is in Generations Consistent with the movie version, but his design Crossworlds Will be consistent with his game version.

“Because last year Sonic x Shadow Generation When the movie “Three” was released, we wanted to do some interesting collaborations. However, since we don’t have a movie released this year, we keep the shadow as how he is usually portrayed. ”

Whether it’s comics, movies, TV shows or games, Iizuka reiterated Sonic TeamDedicated to entertaining fans through various media.

“The movie number has indeed been announced and we want to continue to expand on other forms of media and entertainment that people can enjoy the characters. We have several genres: Sonic x Shadow Generation Will be our 3D action platform game, Sound superstar It is a 2D scrolling action game, and Crossworlds In racing type. We are taking a character and integrating the best features of that character and applying it to the game genre’s advancement. ”

To end the conversation, I asked Iizuka who he likes to be like Crossworlds. “In all the characters, I’m a shadow oshi. I put in a lot of effort in the design of Shadow’s Car to make it as cool as a shadow. Crossworlds It’s a character conversation. When you race or have competitors, you get a lot of character communication, but Shadow won’t say much. ”

Conveniently, I did choose shadows during game testing, and I tried to hit and attack characters as many as possible to get them to react. I noticed how he would call other characters with his name, but he would only refer to Sonic as the “Blue Hedgehog”.

“Many other characters have some good lines. Even if you don’t choose shadows, you get richer representations through their communications, depending on the identity of the person you choose.”