Andy Garcia visits Sonic Team

OSM · Jan 28, 2010

Up until his death, Michael Jackson was long considered the most famous Sonic fan in the world. But as it turns out, Sonic has other friends in high places…like well known actor Andy Garcia. As the picture you see here suggests, he visited Sonic Team offices in Japan recently.
Sonic Team staffers touted the appearance on the Japanese Sonic Channel blog–giant limousine arrival and all. The translation is a bit rough, but it turns out Garcia's been a long time fan of the hedgehog.
It's a good thing, too–since the actor's kind of a big deal. Andy Garcia's more notable appearances include The Godfather: Part III, Smokin’ Aces and last decade's the revival of the Ocean's series.
So, Garcia got to see how the team works, and in return, Sonic Team staff got a few pictures with the star and a few autographs signed, including a few expressing his thanks for the tour.
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http://www.tssznews.com/2010/01/27/andy-ga...its-sonic-team/

I never would have suspected Garcia of all people being a Sonic fan. Wow.

Oh, hey look! It's our good friend Iizuka too!

Chimpo · Jan 28, 2010

They're showing him Needlemouse.

As you can see, he isn't pleased.

OSM · Jan 28, 2010

Chimpo said:

They're showing him Needlemouse.

As you can see, he isn't pleased.
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Is it weird I was thinking the same thing?

Jesus, he looks upset.

Blue Emerald · Jan 28, 2010

Chimpo said:

They're showing him Needlemouse.

As you can see, he isn't pleased.
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Why do you suppose that is? I mean, look at Iizuka over there; he seems pretty happy with the--

........

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

OSM · Jan 28, 2010

Blue Emerald said:

Why do you suppose that is? I mean, look at Iizuka over there; he seems pretty happy with the--

........

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
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Eeeeeexactly. Needlemouse is officially fucked.

Scarred Sun · Jan 28, 2010

Oh lord. Iizuka is the only person happy in these pictures.

Hell, the fact that Iizuka is IN these pictures makes me cringe.

Chimpo · Jan 28, 2010

When the first bad review comes in, I am posting this image.

OSM said:

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RevFirst · Jan 28, 2010

I'm already in love with this topic.

Ritz · Jan 28, 2010

This is it. This is going to be the meme to end them all.

Blue Emerald · Jan 28, 2010

OSM said:

Blue Emerald said:

Why do you suppose that is? I mean, look at Iizuka over there; he seems pretty happy with the--

........

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
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Eeeeeexactly. Needlemouse is officially fucked.
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I'm not finished!

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF--

NO! Bad Sonic Team! Bad!

'Kay, now I'm finished, but I'm not happy about it. And on a related note, I hope Iizuka wakes up tomorrow with a horse's head in his bed.

Dehry · Jan 28, 2010

I used my csi tools and got a good shot at the reflection in his glasses.

They could be showing him Sonic Unleashed 2

Ritz · Jan 28, 2010

This seems as good a time as any to put down the myth that Iizuka is responsible for every ill plaguing the series, same as we all used Yuji Naka as a scapegoat before he jumped ship. Remember Ben Andac, y'know, the QA head who publically confirmed that Sonic Team is completely without passion and doesn't give a shit about the series? He had nothing but praise for the man. I think that's as good of an absolution as any.

Just had to get this out there.

OSM · Jan 28, 2010

Probably because he's one of the only people there with incredible optimism and thinks his shitty ideas are actual sure fire hits.

Ross-Irving · Jan 28, 2010

<div align='center'>IIZUKA'S IN THE PICTURE EVERYONE PANIC</div>
<div align='center'></div>

Because they're going to show someone what they're working on even though they've kept everything quiet for nearly half a year rather than have it leak "by accident" to the Internet.

Scarred Sun · Jan 28, 2010

Ritz said:

This seems as good a time as any to put down the myth that Iizuka is responsible for every ill plaguing the series, same as we all used Yuji Naka as a scapegoat before he jumped ship. Remember Ben Andac, y'know, the QA head who publically confirmed that Sonic Team is completely without passion and doesn't give a shit about the series? He had nothing but praise for the man. I think that's as good of an absolution as any.

Just had to get this out there.
Click to expand...

OK, I have some contention with this. Do I think Iizuka runs around and single-handedly destroys Sonic games? No. Let's not be silly or overly dramatic. Here's what I do think.

Takashi Iizuka has been given a role as a person of seniority in Sonic Team in the same way that Yuji Naka was. I actually don't doubt either man is good at what they were hired to do—Naka does fantastic programming, and let's not forget Iizuka was the senior game designer for oh, Sonic 3 & Knuckles. The issue that both of these men seem to have is that they have poor leadership qualities. If Iizuka feels so passionately about the games he makes as Andac said, then he needs to fight for those games to get the time and treatment they deserve. If Sonic Team as a whole has no passion, then as a leader, he must inspire the people he works with to become passionate about such things. This is more or less the same issue I had with Simon Jeffery: shit-talking on your employees doesn't exactly inspire good games.

OSM · Jan 28, 2010

I wonder if SEGA made the second community challenge because of this thread. Maybe someone should have told them it was a joke? :v:

TSSZNews · Jan 28, 2010

OSM said:

I wonder if SEGA made the second community challenge because of this thread. Maybe someone should have told them it was a joke? :v:
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Nah, I'm pretty sure they did it because the info SEGAOnline and I had last week is going to pan out.

Mad Echidna · Jan 28, 2010

Scarred Sun said:

Ritz said:

This seems as good a time as any to put down the myth that Iizuka is responsible for every ill plaguing the series, same as we all used Yuji Naka as a scapegoat before he jumped ship. Remember Ben Andac, y'know, the QA head who publically confirmed that Sonic Team is completely without passion and doesn't give a shit about the series? He had nothing but praise for the man. I think that's as good of an absolution as any.

Just had to get this out there.
Click to expand...

OK, I have some contention with this. Do I think Iizuka runs around and single-handedly destroys Sonic games? No. Let's not be silly or overly dramatic. Here's what I do think.

Takashi Iizuka has been given a role as a person of seniority in Sonic Team in the same way that Yuji Naka was. I actually don't doubt either man is good at what they were hired to do—Naka does fantastic programming, and let's not forget Iizuka was the senior game designer for oh, Sonic 3 & Knuckles. The issue that both of these men seem to have is that they have poor leadership qualities. If Iizuka feels so passionately about the games he makes as Andac said, then he needs to fight for those games to get the time and treatment they deserve. If Sonic Team as a whole has no passion, then as a leader, he must inspire the people he works with to become passionate about such things. This is more or less the same issue I had with Simon Jeffery: shit-talking on your employees doesn't exactly inspire good games.
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But wasn't this the guy who insisted that Sonic Lightning be turned into a racing game, Sonic Rivals?

LOst · Jan 29, 2010

This thread made me ROFL.

Scarred Sun said:

OK, I have some contention with this. Do I think Iizuka runs around and single-handedly destroys Sonic games? No. Let's not be silly or overly dramatic. Here's what I do think.

Takashi Iizuka has been given a role as a person of seniority in Sonic Team in the same way that Yuji Naka was. I actually don't doubt either man is good at what they were hired to do—Naka does fantastic programming, and let's not forget Iizuka was the senior game designer for oh, Sonic 3 & Knuckles. The issue that both of these men seem to have is that they have poor leadership qualities. If Iizuka feels so passionately about the games he makes as Andac said, then he needs to fight for those games to get the time and treatment they deserve. If Sonic Team as a whole has no passion, then as a leader, he must inspire the people he works with to become passionate about such things. This is more or less the same issue I had with Simon Jeffery: shit-talking on your employees doesn't exactly inspire good games.
Click to expand...

Both Takashi Iizuka and Yuji Naka have main interests that spawn beyond the limits of the original Sonic games. Once they got in charge, they could develop Sonic in their own direction. I don't know much about Takashi Iizuka, but I don't like his games (Sonic 3 is an exception). Yuji Naka however seems to like Phantasy Star games more than Sonic, which is probably why Sonic Adventure got so interactive and full of dialog.

So what's the deal about the title "Senior Game Designer"?
Does it mean he has more experience than Yasuhara?
Does it mean he is older than Yasuhara?

I have never understood the "Senior" part. But I can say one thing: Some Sonic 3 levels are pure boring, and we got to see some great recoveries in the S&K level design. I am not talking about the graphics, but the layout.
For me, running through Hydro City, Marble Garden, and sometimes Ice Cap Act 1 really seems the same thing over and over again.
And in S&K, the only level that feels a little bit like that is Flying Battery (we all know it is a S3 level). But that doesn't give me the right to call them the work of Iizuka even if I wanted to :P
It just isn't easy making games!

That photo really speaks up about the current situation of Sonic Team and Co. Everyone in it except for Iizuka thinks suicide. ROFLMAO.

trakker · Jan 29, 2010

Andy Garcia visits Sonic Team

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