SEGA talks about the goal behind Sonic Mania and Sonic Forces, new gameplays and more. (video)

Recently GamesBeat has conducted a new interview with Takashi Lizuka, a member of the SEGA team, who has discussed one of the company's most important IPs, Sonic, coming to touch on topics such as the direction of the franchise, the motivation behind Of decisions made and more.

GamesBeat: What are you trying to achieve with these two new Sonic games? What are they trying to do differently?

Takashi Iizuka: There are two big things we are trying to do. With Sonic Mania, we are making a game that touches the nostalgia of when you grew up playing the 16-bit Sonic games. We wanted to make a classic game that kept true to that design and classic look that fans always enjoyed the Genesis version of Sonic the Hedgehog. But it's not just a classic game. It's something new and exciting that fits into this classic pack.

For Sonic Forces, we realized that many people have played many different games in the history of Sonic. Sonic Mania would be a game for people like me who grew up with the Genesis version, but at the same time many people enjoyed playing modern Sonic games in 3D. Sonic Forces is the answer to what people are looking for: a modern Sonic game with fast and exciting gameplay like Colors and Generations. This is a game for them. For the first time we will include a customizable character, which players can design and bring to the world. They can take that character they did and go on an adventure with Sonic.

GamesBeat: There seems to be a split between that previous generation of Sonic fans and a younger one.

Iizuka: We realize that some of the older fans really appreciate that style more than the little kids who came to the series with 3D video games and that more modern 3D aesthetic. It does not mean that younger children do not play classic titles, or even that some of our older fans do not enjoy Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations.

GamesBeat: How do you feel about where Sonic's popularity is today and where it's going?

Iizuka: Over the last few years we have been exclusively on Nintendo platforms. They make great hardware, but we realized that for the games we are doing now, doing multiplatform is what we have to do to make as many people play as many Sonic titles as possible. We are looking forward to being on all platforms, including PC, and maybe even looking for new fans and new audiences who have not had Nintendo hardware and now they can play Sonic again. We are excited to look into the future and look forward to finding a new audience of gamers who enjoy Sonic games.

You can enjoy a series of new gameplays of these projects below:

Sonic Forces: