SEGA was looking to scrap the entire Sonic the Hedgehog franchise prior to the success of Paramount’s live-action movie.
Sonic Team lead Takashi Iizuka revealed in a recent interview with One More Game that the long-running platform mascot was in talks to be taken out back by SEGA just seven years ago. However, the massive blockbuster success of Paramount’s live-action movie saved the blue blur from destruction.
In the interview, Iizuka explained that they’ve been looking over the Sonic franchise for 35 years, “longer than actually my children, so I look upon this franchise sort of like my own son”. However, it hasn’t been easy, with multiple disasters along the series’ decades-long history.
Prior to the movie’s release, Iizuka recalls that the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise was really on its last legs with SEGA actually planning to scrap the series. After multiple high-profile failures and less-than-ideal sales, there was a call to end Sonic’s tensure.
“There had been good times, and there had been bad times,” they said. “During the worst times, I was told by the higher-ups that we should cancel the entire franchise. I had to fight within the organisation to keep the franchise as long as possible.”
However, with the success of the Sonic the Hedgehog movie in 2020, Iizuka reveals that the franchise was saved. “The biggest milestone for me was the first movie. That had been a great hit and definitely changed the course of this franchise,” he said.
The Sonic Team lead explains that the ongoing movie franchise also helped to keep more characters in the spotlight. “Now the third movie is out, and the popularity of Shadow has been on the rise. Before that, the most popular characters were Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, and it has always been that way. But now, Shadow has been rising up to the same popularity as Sonic,” he said.
In a fun aside, the Sonic Team lead explained that they “were originally intending to just king of [kill] the character [off]” in Sonic Adventure 2, but Shadow was “just so very popular that we decided to revive him in Sonic Heroes”.
For many, SEGA is Sonic the Hedgehog, and ending the franchise would seem crazy for many. However, despite the popularity of the character, there have been some very large slumps for the mascot, and it’s honestly not too surprising that the idea would be floated around at some point.
Nevertheless, Sonic the Hedgehog is probably in the best place its ever been as a brand, although we could really do with a new 3D platformer from the blue blur. (I’m not a Frontiers fan, so anything but that please. A new Unleashed-style game? Sure. But I want something, well, fast!)
