Sonic Team boss Takashi Iizuka is reflecting on the franchise as it reaches 35 years old, saying Sonic himself is like a child to him.
Speaking to One More Game, Iizuka says that the franchise's journey has been a very personal one for him, having been a part of it since 1992's Sonic 2, which he did debugging work on before becoming an integral part of the franchise from then onwards.
"It has been 35 years," Iizuka begins, acknowledging that means Sonic has been around longer than even his own children. As such, he adds that "I look upon this franchise" like you might a child – "sort of like my own son."
Iizuka also recalls the times the series was under threat of cancellation by Sega, noting that the release of 2020's Sonic The Hedgehog film was a major turning point. "That had been a great hit and definitely changed the course of this franchise," he says.
The lead singles out Sonic Adventure as the game that changed the series the most, saying, "I believe the Sonic franchise now wouldn't have been the same if it wasn't for Sonic Adventure," with it being the first game to bring the character into 3D and introduce "Sonic's voice. He was able to speak. From there on, that had been pretty much the foundation of the new modern Sonic."
As of right now, there isn't much news as to what Sonic's future will be in games. While the character has a new Netflix show and film coming in the near future, there's been no word on a follow-up to Sonic Frontiers. Iizuka has teased there is more to come for the character's anniversary however, so we may find out soon.
