Remakes and remasters and re-ups are all the rage right now, but Sonic Team boss Takashi Iizuka has said the developer isn’t too interested in returning to the Blue Blur’s early 3D adventures, like the beloved Sonic Adventure games, because the team could just, you know, make a brand new game with the same resources.
Speaking to the BBC about newly-released kart racer Sonic Racing: Crossworlds, Iizuka said the team is more interested in creating “richer, more complex, more interesting worlds” with new tech rather than using it to go back to older ideas. Plus, there’s the small issue of time – developers only have so much of it to make what they want.
“Instead of using all that time and energy to remake a game that people have already experienced, we could make a brand new game instead,” Iizuka added. “I think the team is really interested in taking that same amount of time and energy and effort to really bring a new experience to the players.”
The Sonic head’s stance isn’t all too different from publisher Sega’s, which is currently making new entries in some old cult series – including Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, and Shinobi – instead of remaking the originals.
Still, remakes like Persona 3 Reload were still published under Sega’s watch. And, heck, just last year Sonic x Shadow Generations returned to a fan favorite with new content, so maybe the door’s not completely closed for Sonic Adventure.
Right now, at least you can still buy and play Sonic Adventure on Steam and Xbox Series X|S.