Sonic Team lead Takashi Iizuka hears your requests for more remakes, remasters, and ports, but he feels like focusing on new games is the priority.
Despite the world loving a good remake and remaster in the modern era, of all the biggest gaming franchises, Sonic has been surprisingly lacking them. Sonic Colors Remastered was a bit of a mess, and then the Sonic Generations remaster did its own version of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury by including a whole new game as part of it. But other than those and more ways to sell you the Mega Drive games again, the obvious ones have never been redone.
Speaking to Automaton, Iizuka acknowledges this, saying, “We hear all sorts of requests from the fan community for remakes and remasters,” with the Sonic Team lead singling out Sonic Unleashed as one he hears about a lot. He explains, “Our resources are limited… Rather than using those limited resources to make remakes and remasters, we have a stronger desire to provide fans with new games and deliver new surprises.
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“With remakes and remasters, you’re essentially providing the same experience again,” Iizuka notes, but adds that it’s not quite as simple: “Remaking an old game requires about as many resources as creating a new title.”
He explains, “You have to remake all the graphics, and you can’t simply release the gameplay as it was back then because many things are deemed rough by modern standards.”
Ultimately, I still think there’s a middle ground, that being ensuring that these games are still playable on modern hardware. Konami announced the remake of Metal Gear Solid 3 at the same time it announced the Master Collection. Having a way to play Sonic Adventure 2 in its native form on Switch 2 or PS5 would go a long way for many.
