Latest news with #CrossWorlds
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds mirrors Mario Kart World's move away from traditional 3-lap races with tracks that put you in a whole "different universe"
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Mario Kart World is courting controversy with a new update that makes it even harder to play traditional three-lap races, but Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds has been planning to make a very similar change since the beginning. Speaking to GamesRadar+, veteran Sonic producer Takashi Iizuka said that early in the development process on Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, Sega was trying to come up with a fresh new idea for the new iteration. In that brainstorming session, he says, "we had this idea that we've had this three-lap course up until now - it's always once, twice, three times around. What if that's the thing that we change?" That idea brought the CrossWorlds team to the concept of its 'travel rings'. These portals allow the racer in first place to select which world the second lap will take place in, before the racers all return to the original track for the final lap. The aim, Iizuka says, is that "instead of racing the same lap around the same course, you're going to a different world, a different universe, a whole different racecourse." It's an interesting way to change things up, and it's also felt across CrossWorlds' approach to its Grand Prix format. The travel ring means that "we can warp around to different places, we don't need to stay on the same course," so the final race in each Grand Prix will be an amalgamation of the previous races. It's an interesting new spin on the traditional one-two-three that kart racers have largely relied on for years. It's also part of why Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds can get around introducing characters like Hatsune Miku, and courses based on Minecraft. It might, however, prove to be more controversial than Sega expects - Mario Kart World has just pushed an update that means you're no longer guaranteed to get a regular three-lap race and it seems to be going down quite badly. Granted, that seems to be because Mario Kart is moving firmly away from the traditional three-lap formula, which CrossWorlds isn't doing - you'll just run a different second lap, rather than a whole new race. Still, it makes for a more interesting run-up to launch, especially as Sonic's biggest competition stumbles during its headstart. Veteran Sonic producer says Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds team completely removed items from the game if they were too "stressful" or let players "win all the time"
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is getting Minecraft characters and Hatsune Miku to make sure people are "not just playing it when it comes out, having fun, and that being it"
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is getting its suite of crossover characters partly to ensure that players don't think of it as a one-and-done title. Speaking to GamesRadar+ at Summer Game Fest, veteran Sonic series producer Takashi Iizuka explains that the Minecraft and Yakuza crossovers that appeared in the game's most recent trailer (alongside Hatsune Miku and Persona 5's Joker) are there partly to provide a 'Hall of Fame' feel; "we wanted to make this title something that pulled from the best of our previous racing games." CrossWorlds, he says, borrows from All-Star Racing's broad selection of Sega characters, "so it's not just a Sonic universe game." But more than just providing a wide roster for the sake of it, Iizuka says that they've also been included "to make sure people are playing this game for a long time – not just playing it when it comes out, having fun, and that being it." "Really, we need to support [it] and make sure people are having fun and getting a fresh experience for as long as possible." To help with that, he drops a reminder about the Season Pass, which will help provide new content "for one year after the game launches," adding new things to the game "continually." Minecraft will be the first of those big drops, but Iizuka says that "as the year progresses, we'll have new characters coming into the race, new courses that the team is developing that will make it into the game, to make sure we have that long-time experience, and a lot of fun for players that want to continue playing." It shouldn't come as a surprise that the devs want their game to be played for as long as possible, but it's the kind of thing that isn't often said as loudly as this. New characters and courses – even those being added through a paid pass – are a pretty innocent way of expanding on a racing game, and unless you can shift a Mario Kart-esque number of copies, they're probably a good way of making sure that players do stick around for the longer haul. Whether Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds can do that with Mario Kart World lurking in the background remains to be seen, but given Iizuka's recent comments about Nintendo's new racer, he does seem to be feeling pretty confident. Check out our list of the best racing games - does Hatsune Miku deserve a spot?
