Sonic the Hedgehog boss Takashi Iizuka has claimed that the IP has apparently only reached half of its potential. This comes via a new interview with Japanese magazine Continue (thanks, VGC) in which he explains that Sonic hasn’t yet reached the heights the development team wanted from the very beginning.

In fact, it seems Sega was gunning for Disney from the start, and with the success of the Sonic movies recently, such a lofty goal may yet be in sight.

“To be honest, we believe that Sonic is still only halfway to reaching its full potential. When we created the first Sonic the Hedgehog, the development team at the time used to say, ‘Let’s aim for Disney.’ When I first joined Sega, I was also told to dream big… things like, ‘Use Sonic to surpass Disney’ and ‘One day, we’ll build a theme park.’

“Thirty-five years have passed, but we haven’t quite gotten there yet. Now that we’ve brought the movie to life, we want to share the appeal of Sonic with even more people who haven’t yet played the Sonic game series.”

He also states that while Sonic was once considered a property that appealed primarily to boys, it has since resonated with a lot more different audiences.

“Sonic was once considered a boy’s property, but we’ve branched out so much through games, film, TV and consumer products to reach new audiences. Now it is considered a true family brand with something for everyone.

“However, the young adult female audience is an interesting space for us, with potential for creative and compelling programs. Our female fans are among the biggest ‘Sonic’ fans, eager to express their fandom in fun and creative ways.

“Strategically, we want to make sure they know that we are thinking of them and their likes and preferences, specifically as we create consumer product programs for the future. And we know from past programs, such as fashion and makeup collabs, jewelry and more, that there is certainly an appetite in this space.”

It’s interesting to hear Iizuka say all of this, especially in light of his recent claim that Sega had once pushed for the entire franchise to be cancelled. It makes us wonder whether Sega would have actually gone through with this had it not been for the success of the first movie.

Either way, it’s nice to see Sonic in a healthy spot, even if the IP’s games are still a little hit and miss. A new entry is also on the way, with Iizuka stating that the team is looking to create “a whole new kind of gameplay experience”.