Sonic boss believes the series is only halfway to its potential

Sonic boss Takashi Iizuka has said he believes the franchise is only halfway to reaching its full potential, after a Sega licensing exec suggested the company is focusing on appealing to “underserved demographics”.

Since the first Sonic film was released in 2020, it’s become a billion-dollar movie franchise. Sonic also now generates over $1 billion annually through licensing alone, according to Sega – a remarkable feat for a franchise the company allegedly once wanted to cancel.

Speaking in the latest issue of Japanese magazine Continue (transcribed by VGC), Iizuka was asked for his outlook on the future of the Sonic franchise, following this year’s 35th anniversary.

“To be honest, we believe that Sonic is still only halfway to reaching its full potential,” he said. “When we created the first Sonic the Hedgehog, the development team at the time used to say, ‘Let’s aim for Disney.’ When I first joined Sega, I was also told to dream big… things like, ‘Use Sonic to surpass Disney’ and ‘One day, we’ll build a theme park.’

“Thirty-five years have passed, but we haven’t quite gotten there yet. Now that we’ve brought the movie to life, we want to share the appeal of Sonic with even more people who haven’t yet played the Sonic game series.”

In the same article, Sonic creative director Kazuyuki Hoshino (creator of characters such as Amy and Shadow) said he was surprised to discover the franchise’s growing popularity in Asia during a recent tour to promote a book project.

“Until now, we hadn’t really had a concrete understanding of how well-known and established Sonic was in places such as Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia,” he said.

“In Thailand and South Korea, for example, there are noticeably many younger fans who discovered Sonic after the Sonic the Hedgehog movies. In Taiwan, on the other hand, what struck me was how many fans had been there since the Mega Drive era.”

Sega sees female Sonic players as ‘underserved demographic’

Speaking to License Global, Sega’s VP of licensing and partnerships, Alex Gomez, recently claimed that the company was focusing on appealing to “underserved demographics” of fans, including women.

“‘Sonic was once considered a boy’s property, but we’ve branched out so much through games, film, TV and consumer products to reach new audiences,” he said. “Now it is considered a true family brand with something for everyone.

“However, the young adult female audience is an interesting space for us, with potential for creative and compelling programs. Our female fans are among the biggest ‘Sonic’ fans, eager to express their fandom in fun and creative ways.

“Strategically, we want to make sure they know that we are thinking of them and their likes and preferences, specifically as we create consumer product programs for the future. And we know from past programs, such as fashion and makeup collabs, jewelry and more, that there is certainly an appetite in this space.”