Talk about a big year for Sonic Team! Not only are Shadow the Hedgehog, Phantasy Star Universe, and Sonic Rush all in the pipeline, but we've also seen an onslaught of other new announcements from them: Where do Babies Come From, Puyo Puyo Fever Chu, Sonic Riders, and an all-new, next-gen Sonic game. We were able to sit down with the head of Sonic Team and Sega Global Entertainment Software R&D, Yuji Naka, to discuss both the future and the past of Sonic Team -- and were treated with several surprises!



GameSpy: All three of the major consoles were shown in some form at E3 and TGS this year. Can you tell us your thoughts on each one?
Naka You want me to say something about each one, eh? Well, the X360 is pretty nice hardware. I like that they're really emphasizing the network aspect of it. It's kind of like what we wanted to do with the Dreamcast originally.

The PS3 ... hmm, how to say ... well, it's going to have some very high-end specs, it seems. It can supposedly render up to D5 Hi-Def. But really, what's the point of that? There's no consumer TV out there that can display in D5 yet! I suppose it's just Sony wanting to set their sights as high as possible. Still, it's very difficult for us as developers to do dual-platform development at the moment. We do have lots of plans for those two, however.

As for the Revolution ... well, Nintendo simply hasn't announced very much for it. We know it'll be small and stylish with a unique controller, but that's about it. It's pretty different from what we tend to think of as "typical Nintendo." I hear the console itself might actually get even smaller, if you can believe that.
GameSpy: The controller for the Revolution was revealed around the time of TGS, and reaction on the Internet has been mixed. Can you give us your thoughts on the controller and how it might be used in the future?
Naka It's still pretty hard to say anything concrete in regards to it, but I can say that I find it to be very interesting. I like that fact that its use won't be restricted to just traditional-style games. It provides you with the materials you could use to make something very unique and special.

GameSpy: Besides the looming next-generation battle, the competition between the PSP and the DS is really starting to heat up. What are your thoughts on these two platforms?
Naka Obviously, they both have their own distinct strengths. The PSP is very stylishly designed, while the DS has some very interesting means by which to play games. But you know, I don't get the feeling that they're battling each other. You tend to design a game specifically for one or the other platform in mind.

What really surprises me, though, is how well the PSP's UMD movies are currently doing in the West. I don't get it. How can you watch those big, spectacular Hollywood movies on such a tiny little screen? I thought everybody wanted BIGGER screens and BIGGER TVs. I suppose it is nice to have your favorite flicks with you on the go, but ... it's a Western mystery to me. *laugh*
GameSpy: Out of all the characters currently in the Sonic story, why did you choose to focus on Shadow for a new game?
Naka When we took a look at which Sonic characters were popular among fans, Shadow was ranked right behind Sonic. We've also wanted to do a "gun action" game for a while now, and he seemed to be the best fit for that idea. He and Sonic have a very different identity, after all. Finally, as we've been building the Sonic brand, we've had ideas of doing a spin-off series, so perhaps that's what Shadow will lead to.
GameSpy: Shadow's always been portrayed as a character who can't be defined as wholly good or wholly evil. We've seen that during the game the player can do actions which affect which alignment he leans towards. How does this affect the progression of the story and gameplay?
Naka In all the stages, Shadow can complete missions for either the dark or the light side. So depending on the player's actions, the story will change and new stages will open up. We've seen before that Shadow is looking for a reason for his existence, so Shadow the Hedgehog is all about giving you the opportunity to find that reason for him.
GameSpy: Many people were initially surprised to see Shadow with a weapon, which is unusual for the Sonic series. Why did you decide to give Shadow the ability to bear arms?
Naka Well, there have been some shooting sequences in the Sonic Adventure games before, but they've been more "stand-and-shoot" style bits. We really wanted to challenge ourselves and do a high-speed gun action game. We decided that Shadow would be the perfect venue by which to try our hand at this genre.
GameSpy: Like Knuckles, it seems like over the course of the Sonic games that Shadow has gone from being Sonic's antagonist to being somewhat of a friendly rival to him. We can see that they work together several times during the course of the game. Do you think we'll be seeing them together more often?
Naka We did see them together briefly in Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Heroes. The thing about Shadow is that he has his own methods and ideas of doing things. It's very different from Sonic's mindset. There's animosity between the two that stems from them not really understanding each other.