Our good friend Iizuka, apparently, so I'm gonna have to go through all those interviews to see if I can find the actual quote.
It sounds like nobody actually has a source for this. This doesn't sound like something that would ever come up in a professional interview. Are we sure this wasn't someone bothering him on Facebook and then it becoming a game of telephone?
I've actually been looking for this as well. Every reference I can find always mentions that Sega said so but no one ever provides a source. I even thought that maybe it was something that ArchangelUK might've said but the closest thing I can find is that Shadow The Hedgehog is a canon game. I even found some posts from 2011 mentioning that the Hero path "seems to be most obvious one to be canon" without mentioning Sega. I'm also on the side that we're so used to people saying that "Sega said so" that no one has really asked for a source and it might be a lie.
5:49 - Would there be any possibility of connecting Bean to the Battle Birds since theyre both classic? He looks awful similar to Speedy, and shares an affinity for bombs with the Great Battle Kukku [Ian doesn't know.] 6:57 - Is Sonic Runners (story mode) canon? It's made by Sonic Team and it's the only game explaining why are the wisps on Sonic's world [It's not.] 11:43 - is there any chance the IDW comics will connect itself to any future games? [He answered a very suspicious 'maybe']
Here's a full explanation of Runners: This is a good example of why I hope Sonic Team's canon timeline is never made publically available (outside of leaks from Ian). There's just no consistent logic to their decisions.
Currently the criteria is: - Does it have characters from other franchises? Non canon. - Does it belong to another universe and has not been incorporated into the main universe? Non canon. - Does it have some legal issues? Non canon. - Is it exclusively a mobile phone game? Non canon. - None of the above? Canon.
It may be that, after so many twists and turns regarding canon and continuity, anything that SEGA now deems canon or not will end up being scrutinized. It's just hard for fans to respect their decisions and accept whatever they dump straight at us.
I think Runners being relegated to non-canon status makes sense from a certain standpoint. It’s unique to other titles in that it was a f2p live service game with everything that entails. Even if there aren’t any legal ways to buy SegaSonic or Chaotix nowadays, they could, in theory, be released as part of a collection. Runners is a different beast entirely. So in that way I can understand that they don’t want to be beholden to a story that fans can’t experience.
It doesn't really make a difference whether or not Sonic Runners is canon, it didn't add anything new to the Sonic universe. There's not much of anything future games could use or call back to.
It was also made almost entirely of recycled assets and ideas. The only notable things from the story are Knuckles saying that he hides the master emerald in temples when he leaves the island and the explanation for wisps still being there, both of which are probably still canon. The latter certainly is, since the Sonic Channel story last year mentioned it.
Theoretically, Runners is probably easier to port than SegaSonic/Chaotix, as Runners uses modern code written in Unity. (And I could be wrong, but I think the Unity engine was built to be cross-platform friendly). It's not like Sega Sonic/Chaotix where you have to emulate some decades old code (or rewrite it for modern systems), both of which seem to continually thwart Sega's attempts to re-release Sega Sonic/Chaotix. The online aspect of Runners was only for rankings and to prevent cheating, both of which could be easily eliminated (just like they did for Runners Adventures). Likewise, the F2P aspect could also be nixed. In many ways, the canon/non-canon status doesn't really matter. I doubt future games are going to reference much of the events in games like Runners. And if we want an explanation for things like the Wisps/Deadly Six are around or why Knuckles doesn't spend all his time at the ME, then Runners explanations are still worth considering, even if the game is non-canon. Because these explanations come from a Sonic Team game. Whereas the alternative is either head-canon or having no explanation. Edit: Pengi and Hitlersarurus posted while I was typing and already said somewhat similar statements.
Here are the big differences between Knuckles' Chaotix and Sonic Runners Knuckles' Chaotix introduced the Chaotix trio to the game universe. Espio the Chameleon was created for this video game. He would later go on to appear in Sonic the Fighters, another canon game. And now because of Sonic Heroes everyone loves these three characters. Look up any wiki page or YouTube video talking about them however and it will start with talking about Knuckles' Chaotix before going into the Sonic Heroes reinvention. It is a historically impactful game within the history of Sonic the Hedgehog. And fast-forward to 2017 and this new game called Sonic Mania is filled with loads of Knuckles' Chaotix references. Like the blue ring power-up or an entire mode in the DLC. And Mighty the Armadillo probably would not have been a playable character in Sonic Mania if it wasn't for Knuckles' Chaotix. Yes he was created for SegaSonic but it's because of Knuckles' Chaotix that 90s kids knew who Mighty was. Christian Whitehead has said in an interview with Sonic Revolution that he wasn't a fan of Ray the Flying Squirrel at first. He was only included in the DLC because SEGA said Mighty and Ray were a duo. Now with all of that out of the way, what new does Sonic Runners bring to the table? I thought it was a fun game when it was available. But I didn't play it too much. And then I blinked and it was gone. I also payed no attention to the story of the game. I skipped all the dialogue. Come to find out years after it was pulled from stores that some Sonic fans actually liked the story of Runners. It is honestly a little surprising. The presentation of the cutscenes was so bland and uninteresting I didn't think anything of it. And I can only speak for myself but if I didn't pay any attention to it I can't imagine the core age demographic did either.
Oh, did Runners run on Unity? I figured it was some proprietary engine. That makes sense though, Unity is probably the most mobile-friendly engine out there at the moment. They certainly could go back in there and change the gacha elements, timed events, etc, but that’s still more time and effort than just emulating a ROM. But even if they were willing to put that extra effort in, I personally don’t think there’s any demand for it. Runners Adventure is still available and people would much rather play most of their other old games anyway. Runners was fun for what it was (it’s probably the most fun I’ve had with an endless runner), but it was a fun time waster more than anything.
That “maybe” from Ian is giving me life. All aboard the unified strands/supplementary canon train! God, this is what I’ve wanted since the IDW book started, I seriously hope this is where things are indeed headed.
Good, mobile games that could only be played for a limited time shouldn't be canon Comparing Runners to Chaotix sounds pretty ridiculous to me TBH. One is a console game that can still be played and is close to the core Sonic gameplay. The other is a throwaway mobile game that was shut down years ago.
Now we need Tails Tube to repeat what Runners told about the wisps so the canon can move on peacefully.
You say while I'm here with my war on Sonic Origins and the Classic Continuity changes. No peace here
