Latest news with #TakashiIizuka
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?
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
"It looks like Nintendo did a good job" – Sonic boss Takashi Iizuka says Mario Kart World looks more like an action game, whereas Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds "really" focuses on racing and competitive play
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. I'd hate to be the guy who releases a kart racing game months after Mario Kart World, but Sonic the Hedgehog's dad Takashi Iizuka isn't phased, and says Mario's newest game is a different beast from Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. Speaking to GamesRadar+ at Summer Game Fest 2025, Iizuka admits he hasn't yet had a go of the Switch 2 racer, but "from the videos, it looks like Nintendo did a good job of putting in a lot of fun, so it's more of like an action game. I see a lot of that coming through." And to be fair, some of the wild tech that players are pulling off in Mario Kart does have the vibes of an action game. But as for Sonic, the team at Sega is going for a different vibe. "Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds game is different in that it was made by the Sega arcade racing team along with the Sonic Team" Iizuka says, adding "the focus really is on racing and on that competitive play." He also speaks about the central mechanic of CrossWorlds in which you travel between different realms mid-race, "having the travel rings kind of change up the race every time you race. So even if you're playing the same course, you're going to have a different experience." He adds: "And there's something really different in the kart racing genre that we think everyone's going to get really excited about." Iizuka also talked about cross-platform play being important to the team (something that was used as a dig at "another kart racing game" during its Summer Game Fest reveal). "So cross platform play is in there, and you can go ahead and race and have that competitive experience against anyone on any platform. That really makes it exciting." Plus, Sonic Racing has Ichiban Kasuga from Yakuza and is rumored to be getting SpongeBob down the line, so suddenly that Cow isn't looking as cool as before. Mario Kart World players have found the optimal way to unlock every vehicle, and it involves driving slowly behind a pedestrian car for 25 minutes.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Switch 2 sells 3.5 million units in just 4 days to become the "fastest-selling Nintendo hardware ever," and it's already a quarter of a way to the Wii U's lifetime sales
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Nintendo has sold 3.5 million Nintendo Switch 2 consoles in the first four days it was available, making it the fastest-selling Nintendo console ever. The console maker confirmed the news on the Nintendo of America Twitter account. On the leadup to the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo forecast that the console would sell 15 million units over the first year, and has hit over a fifth of that number in just four days, which makes that goal seem pretty likely to happen at this rate. Nintendo hasn't released any other sales numbers, such as the number of sales for Mario Kart World, but you'd have to imagine those were also pretty high given that it's the big launch game for the system. Considering the original Nintendo Switch sold 2.7 million consoles during its first month (thanks, Bloomberg), it really puts into perspective how much momentum Nintendo picked up during the Nintendo Switch era. And by comparison, the PS5 – which Sony dubbed its biggest console launch ever – had sold 4.5 million consoles in the first two months, something Nintendo is sure to surpass if it keeps up this momentum. And because it's customary to dunk on Nintendo's most underrated console, according to Nintendo's numbers, the Nintendo Switch 2 has sold over a quarter of the Wii U's lifetime sales in four days. Although to be fair to the Wii U, it had hit over 3 million sales within the first two months. Plus the Switch 2 doesn't have the best version of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, so who is the real winner here? "It looks like Nintendo did a good job" – Sonic boss Takashi Iizuka says Mario Kart World looks more like an action game, whereas Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds "really" focuses on racing and competitive play.
