Sonic Team’s Yuji Naka is certainly best known for Sonic the Hedgehog, but his team is also responsible for games such as Phantasy Star Online, Nights and the cult favorite, Burning Rangers. Naka-san recently spoke to Weekly Famitsu, where these games and the subject of sequels came up.

Famitsu: According to a recent survey, Nights was ranked in the top ten of Sega's best games ever. Will there be a sequel?

Naka-san: Whenever I meet players or attend game shows, inevitably this question comes up. [laughs..] I'm glad everyone has fond memories of Nights, but in some ways, that makes a sequel much harder for us.

Famitsu: How's that?

Naka-san: The Nights world exists in memories and imagination, and creating a sequel might destroy our original vision. Taking the players expectations into consideration makes it even harder to create a sequel. The same could be said for Burning Rangers.

Famitsu: Does that mean there's no possibility of a sequel?

Naka-san: I wouldn't say that. [smiles..] We plan to discuss the possibility of sequels again soon, when we can focus our attention on them. In reality, we had a sequel to Nights planned already.

Famitsu: For the Dreamcast?

Naka-san: No, for the Sega Saturn. We began working on it about a year after Nights was released. The game was going to utilize a controller motion-sensor system. Thereby, when the player tilts the controller the character responds accordingly. We tentatively planned to call the game 'Aero Nights.'

Famitsu: So there's still a possibility for sequels to Nights or Burning Rangers?

Naka-san: Absolutely. We may decide to develop a new game entirely that will serve as a sequel to Nights or Burning Rangers.

Famitsu: What about a sequel to Phantasy Star Online?

Naka-san: I think expansion versions or updates are more appropriate for a game like PSO. That's why we created Version 2. To create a real sequel would require 2-3 years and we don't have that kind of time. So even if we don't release a 'real' sequel, we'll keep releasing expansion versions.