“We’d Like to Wish him Well,” Says Statement
TSSZ News was the first on the Web to bring you concrete news of Yoshihisa Hashimoto’s departure from the Sonic Team. The source of the information was a public LinkedIn account.
While we treated it as fact, many other sources who cited us treated it as rumor…enough that further comment was sought to lay to rest, once and for all, whether one of the principal brains behind Sonic Unleashed really did jump ship.
Sega has responded. It’s all true.
A statement given to TSSZ News by a Sega employee confirms that Hashimoto is now working at Square Enix, just as we reported Monday:
….Yoshihisa Hashimoto has left SEGA to pursue another opportunity and we’d like to wish him well in his future endeavors.
The departure has brought about much discussion in all facets of the Sonic community as to what the future now holds for the Hedgehog Engine, which he was principally behind, and the blue hedgehog himself. We welcome you to continue this discussion in the comments section.
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Well, this really sucks!
Well, no matter. I just hope that they keep making levels in the next Sonic game a lot like the daytime stages in Sonic Unleashed, because as it may seem, many seem to like those levels!
But even then, it is sad to hear that Hashimoto, who some said to be the “savior of the Sonic series”, has departed from Sonic Team.
I can’t belive this! This is just… crazy! I can’t understand! And why did he do it!? Didn’t he love that blue hedgehog? Didn’t he!? I can’t trust that man anymore… I’m not so sad anymore! More angry! Can’t belive this!
@Werehog: Chill the fuck out. I don’t see SEGA or Sonic Team disbanding anywhere, and even then, it wouldn’t really matter to me. There’s thousands if not millions of fans who most likely won’t let this franchise die, among others.
His depature isn’t a big deal to me.
Everything he had going for Sonic Unleashed is finished. He wasn’t the only person on the project.
SEGA owns all rights to the Engine, and it wasn’t Hashimoto he designed the graphics.
He didn’t program the game, he didn’t desgin the stages (both day and night), he didn’t compose anything. All he did was direct the game.
Odds are that Iizuka-san will direct the 20th anniversary game. And no one can deny this, he did an outstanding just on Sonic’s 10th An.
That`s messed up he left just like that ? But if the artist for sonic characters on sonic channel quit I would lose it …
not a real big deal. Unleashed is over. thats all he really worked on.
I’m gonna be honest here.
I jumped for joy.
Good riddance.
@ MaikuBano
More than one person works on a game?
SINCE WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN!?!?!!
I’m not saying he didn’t do a good job, but I’d rather have a director that doesn’t change the Sonic gameplay so drastically…
Sonic Unleashed was still an extremely good game, and I hope the Hedgehog Engine will be used in the future.
Although… WHERE’S MAH SPIN DASH!????
@Mike:
I don’t know, since last night >.>
Putting the sarcasm aside, people act as if he was the only person developing Unleashed.
>Odds are that Iizuka-san will direct the 20th anniversary game. And no one can deny this, he did an outstanding just on Sonic’s 10th An.
>Sonic Adventure 2
>Outstanding
>laughingelfman.jpg.
Sonic: … What will happen to me now?
Iizuka: I spoke with Sonic Team, they said I can teach you… you will be a Jedi– I MEAN great again… I promise.
@ Sonikku Master
Where was the spindash in the original Sonic game?
He doesn’t need it to be rolling around AT THE SPEED OF SOUND GOT PLACES TO GO GOT TO FOLLOW MY RAINBOW to be Sonic.
Fuck, they just lost the Second Yuji Naka. I fear the next Sonic game won’t be as good as Unleashed. ( Hashimoto didn’t work on Sonic and the Black Knight)
Mike : No the spin dash didn`t appear in Sonic 1 but in the re-release of it in 2006 on GBA
Good riddance indeed.
All i can say is that its time for Naka and SEGA to combine forces and make a real Sonic game. Unleashed was awesome, but no where near the quality of Sonic Adventure 1 and 2.
Unleashed is a great step forward, but something is still missing, i believe is Naka, and this time SEGA should give him full control of the game.
Sonic Forever!!!
This is just so sad…
@MaikuBano: Iizuka lost all right to be assumed capable of doing a good job when he directed Heroes and Shadow back to back. He can rot.
Hashimoto was the first guy who actually had some sort of vision for the franchise in a while, and that’s what made the difference. Naka lost his while huffing fumes from his Lotus or something. Iizuka just sold the franchise out for his precious baby Shadow. Hashimoto made a huge inroad towards making Sonic respected again, and I bet if SEGA hadn’t made him shoehorn in that stupid Werehog, he would’ve succeeded.
Jesus, is it too late to get Hirokazu back?
I just want Yoshihisa back!
Wii Motion Plus!
Or maybe Reggie.. hehe… that would be fun…
right so is these things gonna happen now?
1. is the Engine (hedgehog) going to be used again?
2. Is this a big deal for SonicTeam?!?
3. IS SONIC FUCKED? (Yes, if they use Werehog again!)
SEGA should keep atleast this from now on.
Sonic, Tails, and knuckles… ONE BIG GAME! Sonic levels like SU daytime…. other two… up too SEGA…
who agrees? Also whos that guy who directed Sonics 10th? He sounds awsome! ^_^
Well lets just say, somebody here also too said this…, Sonic the Hedgehog is NOT screwed!!!!! (hopefully)
Personally, I’d like the director of Black Knight to lead the next “canon” game. His work on Black Knight makes me feel that he’s the right bloke for the job and knows exactly what Sonic is all about.
Seriously, Black Knight was a perfect Sonic game. The only thing that sucked in that was the half-assed gameplay.
@ Kits’Okami
So Sonic and the Black Knight is a perfect sonic game but the game itself sucked…….
riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight
i know but sonic games are cool but why they stop using chao man they should make sonic unleashed 2 i worte a litter for sega but thier is a movie coming soon called incredibile hog thats a sonic movie if you want to find it it called sonic the hedgehog hoax
and why.
Well, directors don’t program. They set the tone, create ideas…they direct. If you believe Black Knight was good as far as story, concept, music direction etc…but the programming was weak…then it’s not absurd to say what kits said.
I disagree, Unleashed’s direction was fine to me. But really…this is a franchise that needs new blood. No Naka comeback, no iizuka.
@ Kits’Okami: Na, what I didn’t like with the game was the extremely short story! The rest was almost perfect. But I would just ike some more freedom in it!
But I woldn’t mind if the black Knight guy wil be in the lead… He did a great job with Black Knight. It wasn’t perfect but that he managed to make Sonic fast and has a sword at the same time isn’t what anyone do! So it looks like he knows whats Sonics all about! Just…. the platforming? Where is it? But I don’t like that part so much so I don’t really care..
I just hope to GOD they don’t slap another “theme” on Sonic, eg.. Pirate, Medievil, Arabian – how about letting Sonic loose in his own world with ZONES again. >_> huh.
^You know, unless it’s another storybook setting. That’s the exception no one seems to know that it is an exception.
Also, I wouldn’t mind also if Katano continued leading the franchise. Despite giving Sonic a sword and putting the game in a Medieval setting (Not saying that was necessarily a bad thing, mind you), he certainly knew how to please the fanbase by providing a heaping amount of fan service. It even made Sonic Stadium, some of the smarter Sonic fans who initially HATED the idea from the start, eventually learned to accept Black Knight for what it was (a spinoff), and was pleased with what it did give us (fan service) despite the questionable gameplay.
Also, I MIGHT not actually mind Iizuka being head. I mean, like a bunch of us had said after the first bit of information about Hashimoto leaving, that it never really revolved around the one guy leading a team than it did the whole team doing a good job. Iizuka, when he made Shadow, actually DID have a number of good ideas, including the fact that Shadow was almost the closest the franchise has come to making a full-fledged Sole 3D Sonic game. But, of course, it didn’t do AS well as they would have hoped (although admittingly, I still liked it).
Again, it’s not really the head of the team than it is the team itself, and seeing Unleashed’s Sonic, we can hope for a brighter future for him. Just hope the team can provide.
Okay, I’m on Katanos side here. So… yeah! Black Knight!
@Malady: Yeah, if you just mean main games I agree with you. Spin offs can go there own way. It doesn’t matter there. I like the Unleashed world. I think thats a good world for Sonic. I just hope Green hill zone exist somewhere on that planet!
Yoshihisa Hashimoto’s ok, know! SEGA games… eyes quite!
Well, now that I know he’s departed from Sonic Team, I’m a little disappointed. He seemed to have a very clear picture as to what to do with Sonic’s possible future, and his direction helped the team tremendously.
But remember, he only DIRECTED the team. Sonic Team’s game developers, designers, and creative team are the ones usually responsible for creating the game. The director’s mostly in charge of keeping the team in line and to offer insight into the game.
Also, Hashimoto left, but the TEAM didn’t. The people who developed Sonic Team are very likely still there, and they’ll likely take whatever problems Unleashed had and improve on them. They have the skill and the talent to develop a very interesting Sonic game, and they’ll likely do whatever it takes to keep the games fresh to the overall audience.
With that said, I wish Hashimoto the best of luck.