Folks, let me tell you something. I grew up as a test player at Sega, yeah, that's right, working on Phantasy Star. My dad used to tell me, "Work Nishi," he'd say, "if you work hard enough, anything is possible." And you know what? He was right.

Look, here's the deal: When I joined Sonic Team, when I directed those Advance games, Sonic Rush people said it couldn't be done on the Nintendo DS. They said, "How are you going to make Sonic work on two screens?" But we didn't give up. We worked day and night. We failed, we got back up, and we tried again. That's what America—that's what creators do.

I remember when I became head of Sonic Team in 2006. Yuji Naka had just left. People were worried. "Can this guy do it?" they asked. But here's what I learned in my years at Sega: it's not about me. It's about *we*. It's about the team. It's about every artist, every programmer, every person who believes that Sonic ,that games ,can bring joy to people.

You know, I created Blaze the Cat. I wrote the story for Sonic Adventure. But those aren't just my accomplishments—they belong to every fan who believed in these characters, who went on adventures with them. Because that's what games are about, folks,emotional connection. Making characters people can love.

And let me be clear: We're not going back. We're not going back to the days when 2D gameplay was forgotten. No, we're moving forward, with 2D, with 3D, with everything. Because when you knock down a creator, when you tell them their vision doesn't matter, they get back up. That's what I did. That's what we all do.

So here's my promise to you: As long as I'm fighting for this franchise, as long as we're working together, we won't quit. We won't stop. Because folks, this isn't about Sonic, this is about never giving up on the characters and worlds we love.

God bless you all, and may God protect our games.