"There had been good times, and there had been bad times…"

I like Sonic. He charms me! But that doesn't mean I'm a fool. I know there are very few of his games that could actually be called "good," whatever that word might mean, I just don't care. Except making not good games, and having a reputation for doing so, will obviously result in waning returns financially. So it isn't a surprise to hear from Sonic boss Takashi Iizuka that, once upon a time, the entire series was at risk of cancellation. Which is where those of you that like the games but hate the movies need to say some thank yous.

Speaking in an interview with One More Game, Iizuka was quite frank about the blue hog: "There had been good times, and there had been bad times… 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." Do you think the worst times were when they did those storybook games and only made two of them, promptly never doing so ever again?

In any case, it's actually thanks to the first movie that the games are really around anymore. "The biggest milestone for me was the first movie… that had been a great hit and definitely changed the course of this franchise," Iizuka said of the first film, which was released back in 2020. Given the initial reaction to that very first trailer which featured a very un-Sonic-like Sonic was so negative it forced a bunch of likely underpaid animators to scrap and redo a bunch of work, I'm sure Sega are quite happy to benefit from such a flagrant example of commodity fetishism.

If you're wondering what's next for Mr. T. Hedgehog, well, obviously Iizuka didn't drop an announcement for a whole new game or anything, but he did share that they'll be "releasing some sort of media almost every year from here on out. Whether that be anime, video games, or movies." The fourth film, which is set to feature Amy for the first time, is due out next year. As for the games, Iizuka did say that because of how much emphasis on story there is in projects like the movies he wants to "create some games that have more emphasis on story." As long as I can go fast and Sonic says something wonderfully (un)cool, I'll be fine.