Sonic Team says Sonic games will run on last-gen systems for as long as possible

Sonic Team producer Takashi Iizuka has chatted with IGN about the recently announced PlayStation 5 Pro console and whether they will be supporting the system. Naturally the upcoming Sonic game Sonic x Shadow Generations isn’t really pushing any visual boundaries, so there’s little they could add from a power perspective over the base PlayStation 5. One interesting thing that came out the interview is that the Sonic Team will continue developing Sonic games on lower spec consoles such as the Nintendo Switch and the PlayStation 4, both of which still have a large audience, plus with Switch 2 being comparable to a portable PlayStation 4 console, that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.

“As a market, we have the high-end machines, high-end consoles. Coming out with those consoles, we feel that we can make newer Sonic games that can express the speed of Sonic and with much better gaming UI as well. However, we want to support the lower spec constants as well. So even though the PS5 Pro is coming out, or new innovations or technology are coming out, we feel that it is important to support with the lower spec consoles and let many of the users keep playing Sonic.”

That includes continuing to support the Nintendo Switch, which is expected to have a next-generation update soon, but in the meantime continues to chug along in its seventh year. Iizuka says that Sonic will continue to pursue a middle path between high-end platforms like the PS5 and lower-end consoles like the Switch, with the series adding enhancements or making compromises where necessary.

“I feel that with the quality that they are providing it’s not that expensive… And yeah, it would be really good for the high-end game users,” Iizuka says.

Tsujimoto is likewise sanguine about the price. “The price isn’t something we feel it’s appropriate for us to comment on, but in terms of the capabilities, we think that it’s definitely worthy of the Pro name. So we’re excited to see what it can do.”

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