Sonic creator 'enjoying freedom' from hedgehog franchise

Sonic creator Yuji Naka has said he's quite pleased he doesn't have to make Sonic games any more, and expressed a wish that other creatives - like Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto - could liberate themselves, too.

"One of the reasons I left Sega was, if I stayed there, I would have had to just make Sonic games. Right now I don't have to make Sonic anymore, so I'm enjoying that freedom a lot," Naka told Polygon.

Naka said he greatly enjoys the freedom to produce small mobile games without answering to a publisher, and said that many Japanese luminaries could stand to be liberated from their employers the same way he cut ties with sega.

"Like with Nintendo: Miyamoto has been making Mario games. He's under that too. He has to keep on making Mario games," he said.

"[Nintendo's Eiji] Aonuma has to keep making Zelda games. [Konami's Hideo] Kojima has to make Metal Gear games.

"I wish he could take that off of everyone's shoulders so they could create other stuff, like new stuff. Because that's healthier for the industry. Movie directors create all sorts of movies, and the movie industry is healthy. I wish the game industry was like that as well."

Naka's last known project was 3DS and Wii title Rodea and the Sky Soldier, but since the Wii U's announce it has gone into limbo and may not release.

Prope is responsible for Flick Pig, which is one of the primary reasons I'm considering buying an iPad.