Crossovers in video games are hardly new. In fact, they’ve been going on since the earliest days in gaming, if you paid attention. In modern times, they’re a way to get more eyes on the project, while also having fun with certain rosters. In the case of Sonic Racing CrossWorlds, the SEGA team brought in a bunch of fan-favorite characters across numerous publishers and brands, including Joker from the Persona franchise, Mega Man will soon debut from Capcom, and then, there was Ichiban Kasuga from the Like A Dragon/Yakuza franchise.
Ichiban is a fan-favorite because of his spinoff games, where he acts all wild and crazy, but even despite that, in an interview with Famitsu, Sonic Racing CrossWorlds Creative Director Masaru Kobayakawa noted that there were some worries from a certain dev team around bringing him into the game:
“Sonic is popular with kids globally, and I remember very well that when we first went to the Yakuza team with the proposal, they confirmed, ‘Is this (referring to subject matter of the game) really okay?’ (laughs). We just said, ‘It’s fine because people will definitely be happy!’ and reassured them without any real basis, so when the collaboration was announced and fans were pleased, we felt more relieved than happy (laughs).”
It does make sense that the team would’ve been a little worried about bringing this “serious character” into a racing game, but the community has embraced it, and that’s what matters. Sometimes, you need to take a risk to bring the most out of your game!
Source: Famitsu
