In the latest interview from Gamasutra, it is revealed that Simon doesn’t believe the old version of Sonic is ‘cool’; of course, here’s a better approximation, in his own words.

“…I think the Japanese side, at Sonic Team, have realized that old Sonic doesn’t really gel with today’s consumer and today’s kids especially. We needed to do something to make something more appealing.”

This stands to be a sort of blow to his reputation amongst those who like the old-school Sonic, especially since Sonic Unleashed looked to be a sort of acknowledgment of the old Sonic with its 2D sections. He further went on to say…

“…I would love for Sega to not be thought of as the Sonic company. I think we probably will be for a little while, but the more content that we bring out that’s successful in other areas, the better. ”

Of course, this brings up the question: What else does Sega have to replace Sonic? Some fans have remarked that, of recent, SEGA has not had a good track record with regards to creating proper sequels of their other franchises. The review mentions how Nintendo has many such successful franchises; but without such on SEGA’s side, how are they to move beyond their current affiliation with Sonic alone?

Of course, it’s not all bad. Old sonic may be out of the playbook for him, but he apparently has no problem with the gameplay style of that same character–quite puzzling.

“…But then a large part of the gameplay [in Sonic Unleashed] is absolutely traditional Sonic — 2D speed, and nothing else. We think that’s really why it works quite nicely.”

Who knows what else Simon will say? We’ll be watching…

Poor Simon Jeffrey just can’t seem to get cool.

The current president of Sega of America has had a mixed reception with the press and fans alike. After stating in a BusinessWeek article that Sonic loses his cool factor with anyone above 12, Jeffrey’s been busy worrying about other, more important things.

However, in Forbes’ “Sega’s Quest for Cool,” Jeffrey lays out his plan to get Sega back on track as a major video game publisher:

“Sega used to be synonymous with cool,” Sega of America President Simon Jeffrey told Forbes.com. “It’s something Rockstar [maker of "Grand Theft Auto IV"] has. There’s no reason Sega can’t be cool.”

[...] Jeffrey also wants Sega to become a must-have content provider for Microsoft  and Sony consoles, appeal to everyone from hardcore gamers to families, and still remain distinctive. “Sega has always done stuff a little differently from everyone else,” he says. “We want to maintain that difference. We don’t want someone to look at Sega and say, ‘What’s the difference between Sega and THQ?’ We want people to go, ‘It’s Sega!’”

You heard it here first: Sega is trying to be cooler than THQ. Way to aim high.