Sega veteran says Sonic creator wanted to rename Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg to ‘Giant Cock’

A recent interview has raised quite a few eyebrows regarding Sega’s early video game marketing history. Former Sega of America executive Mike Fischer sat down with Sega-16 and shared some unusual ideas from Sonic co-creator Yuji Naka for the 2003 GameCube title Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg during its localization for Western audiences.

Mike Fischer handled marketing for Billy Hatcher during his second stint at Sega, and he explained that Naka originally wanted to name the game Giant Eggs. The U.S. team wasn’t fond of this idea, and they told Naka that “to lay a big egg” is American slang for a spectacular failure.

Another member of Fischer’s team suggested that the game should be called Billy Hatcher, since it was about a cute character in a rooster suit. However, Naka, the co-creator of Sonic, disliked that idea as well.

Despite Naka’s reservations, the team settled on Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg. During a tour of the U.S., with Fischer sometimes acting as an intermediary translator, Naka offered one last idea: “Well, I know another name for the boy wearing a rooster suit. Another name for rooster is cock. Can we call the game Giant Cock in English?”

Fischer emphasized that this actually happened and said in the interview, “I promise you, I am not making up this story. I have two witnesses.” He also noted that Naka seemed to have a curious “obsession with eggs” in his projects.

Despite the odd localization-naming debate, Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg was an unusual platforming game by Sonic Team. Players step into the shoes of Billy, who obtains a magical rooster suit and gains the ability to befriend giant eggs, which later hatch into creatures that help him clear levels.

The game featured vibrant, hand-drawn visuals, a catchy, eccentric soundtrack, and local four-player co-op, which was typical of the GameCube era. Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg still has a small cult following.

Still, we will never know whether Billy the Giant Cock would have helped or hurt the game’s popularity when it was released in September 2003.