SEGA: Sonic x Fortnite was years in the making

Fans had been asking for Sonic the Hedgehog to appear in Fortnite for years and eventually it finally happened. However, it wasn’t a simple process as the planning process took years as SEGA wanted to nail Sonic’s look and characteristics in the free-to-play game. One of the bones of contention was Sonic’s proportions in Fortnite and the developers spent a lot of time getting it right as they felt the fans deserved the very best they could offer. Here’s what was said via machine translation:

Could you tell us about the preparation period? Sonic is a large IP, so I imagine it took a lot of time?

Kawasaki: It’s difficult to discuss the exact development period, but the concept for Chapter 7 Season 4 is “Epic Games’ love letter to game culture,” and it features not only Sonic but also Mega Man and many other popular IPs from various game companies.

Since we are entrusted with characters that each company has carefully nurtured, we worked diligently to ensure that we could deliver the highest quality possible. When collaborating, we always approach development with caution because we are borrowing IP, but this time, with so many IPs involved, we felt an even greater sense of responsibility. It wasn’t just a matter of preparing on a monthly basis, but rather on a yearly basis.

Utsumi: Regarding Sonic, there was an issue with his physique, or rather, his “body proportions.” I thought the concept was very good, but there was a discussion within the company about whether it was okay to just put Sonic in Fortnite as he was. It wasn’t like, “We included Sonic because there was a request to collaborate with him,” but rather, if he was going to appear, we were conscious of carefully aligning him with the worldview. We didn’t want to disappoint Fortnite fans, and we also wanted to properly meet the expectations of Sonic fans. That’s one of the reasons why it took so long. It wasn’t just about making Sonic look better in the game; there was a lot of work outside of the game as well. We thought about the background of why Sonic exists in this world in the way he does, and we carefully prepared a story that everyone would be able to accept, and then drew it into a comic book. We went to great lengths to make these preparations.

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