Dr. Eggman Actor Mike Pollock to Continue Voicing Character

Despite the recent shakeups in the Sonic the Hedgehog voice cast, including the departure of Sonic voice actor Roger Craig Smith, and the previously unreported by us departures of Colleen O’Shaughnessey as Tails and Cindy Robinson as Amy Rose, one cast member has confirmed they are staying. Mike Pollock announced via Twitter that he will remain in the role of Doctor Eggman, a role he has held since 2003. Said Mike:

“You know what they say: the more the merrier! You’ve not yet heard the last of me as Dr. Eggman in Sonic the Hedgehog video games! Kindly prepare your ears accordingly. If you guessed otherwise, SURPRISE!!!! Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to stock up on lozenges.”

Mike is the longest serving Sonic franchise voice actor, who also has the distinction of voicing the most versions of the character between the games, tv shows and spin-offs. It is also worth noting that Mike specifically mentions video games, with no mention of Sonic Prime. Given how far out the upcoming Netflix animated series is, it is possible they have not cast for it yet, or Mike knows something we don’t. But we don’t want to assume, because you know what they say about people who assume.

SXSW 2017 Gotta Go Fast panel to show new Sonic Mania and Sonic Project 2017 content

Gotta Go Fast panel at SXSW 2017Those of you waiting for new Sonic Mania or Sonic Project 2017 news won’t have to wait long. Next month at SXSW 2017, there will be a Gotta Go Fast panel featuring Aaron Webber, Mike Pollock, Roger Craig Smith, and Takashi Iizuka. This follows last year’s fairly divisive panel with the same set of speakers.

At this year’s panel, they’ve promised some new Sonic Mania and Sonic Project 2017 content will be revealed for the first time, in addition to answering questions about both games.

This year’s panel will happen at 5-6PM CT on March 16th, 2017. That’s just over a month from now, folks! With new game content promised, I’m sure the reception to this one will be a lot better this time.

Are you looking forward to seeing what the panel reveals? Do you plan on attending it like the hardcore Sonic fan you are? Let us know in a comment below!

The full panel description is below:

Dive into the world of Sonic the Hedgehog in this exclusive behind-the-scenes look at both Sonic Mania and the upcoming Sonic 2017! With presenters from SEGA and Sonic Team’s Takashi Iizuka, this panel will answer questions about both games, showcase a new reveal for each title, and will discuss Sonic’s resurgence in the world of gaming since the reveal of both games. Of course, with Sonic involved, who knows what other surprises might be in store?

Celebrating Sonic the Hedgehog’s 25th anniversary with 25 great underrated moments

sonic 25 headerSEGA’s Sonic the Hedgehog franchise turns 25 today, and while we’ve celebrated franchise milestone years in the past, there is something really special about this one. A quarter of a century is a long time, and it is a testament to SEGA’s perseverance and the devotion of the Sonic fanbase that the franchise is still going strong. Sonic Lost World and the Sonic Boom franchise – particularly the games – are often pinpointed as the franchise’s recent weak points and signs that the franchise as a whole needs to be put down or at the very least take a long break. While I am not here to debate the merits of Sonic Lost World and Sonic Boom, I will say that to end a series or take a long break because of either is both incredibly shortsighted and far too extreme a reaction. I would also argue that Sonic is about much more than just the main series games, as fans like to label the major titles, and that there has always been great Sonic things happening even during the franchise’s darkest years.

In celebration of 25 years of Sonic the Hedgehog, join me in looking back year-by-year as I shine the light on great moments in Sonic history that more people need to be talking about.

SEGA News Bits: Sonic 25th Anniversary SXSW Panel Discussion

Come get nerdy with me and Barry as we talk about the Sonic 25th Anniversary SXSW Panel and our thoughts on the secret announcement. The panel was moderated by Aaron Webber (Sonic community manager), featured the ex-Sonic Team developer Yuji Naka, current head of Sonic Team Takashi Iizuka, current voice actors Roger Craig Smith (Sonic the Hedgehog), and Mike Pollock (Dr. Eggman). This will be one of the many Sonic 25th Anniversary events SEGA has plan for this year, so expect more coverage on the site!

If you want to see the panel yourself, we have it up here. What did you think of the Sonic 25th Anniversary panel? Tell us in the comments below.

Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary SXSW Panel

The Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary SXSW Panel took place on Saturday and was live streamed on Twitch.TV. Now you can watch the panel at your own leisure on YouTube. The panel had Yuji Naka (ex-head of Sonic Team), Takashi Iizuka (head of Sonic Team), Roger Craig Smith (voice of Sonic) and Mike Pollock (voice of Eggman).

Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary SXSW Panel is a little under 40 minutes long and goes through the history of the franchise. The biggest announcement was the Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary party that we posted about.

So what are your thoughts on the Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary SXSW Panel?

SEGAbits boosts to New York City for Sonic Boom 2014 – videos, photos, & impressions

SEGA’s Sonic Boom event took place this past Saturday in New York, and SEGAbits was there! Before I run through the day’s events, I want to thank SEGA, all the special guests, and the attendees for making the whole event a memorable experience. I know it was a big deal when SEGA chose to host last year’s event in St. Louis, but I can only imagine that planning this year’s event in America’s most populated city from the other side of the country was a lot of hard work on the part of SEGA. Thankfully, the hard work paid off. Within the span of five hours, SEGA treated guests to gift bags, autograph signings, game demos, live music, and both scripted and unscripted entertainment – and despite a large turnout, there was room to walk about and enjoy just about everything the event had to offer.

Sonic Talk #25 “We’re gonna need more sports tape.”

[ MP3 Download ] [ iTunes ]

Now with 100% more Mike Pollock! Yes, we got Dr. Eggman himself in an interview later in the show. In the meantime, we got five, count’em FIVE folks on the podcast with the clearest audio we’ve ever had. (Goodbye Skype recorder and good riddance.) Our main focus of this episode is the very recent announcement of Sonic Boom. Me, Alex, and Ben of SEGAbits, along with GX Echidna and Tanner Bates delve deep into our personal feelings on this new redesign of our favorite hedgehog and pals.

WARNING! After the Mike Pollock interview, I accidentally lost the last 20 minutes of my voice from the podcast, but I edited it so you can still hear the others (just expect some jarring changes in subject.)

Big Sonic news is new Sonic voice cast


The rumor is correct, the big Sonic news that SEGA has just announced is that Roger Craig Smith will be taking the role of Sonic the Hedgehog. You might remember his voice talent as Chris Redfield (Resident Evil 5), Ezio Auditore da Firenze (Assassin’s Creed 2) and Siegfried Schtauffen (Soulcalibur IV).

He was also the voice for Ted Ustinov, Vyse Inglebard, Johann Oswald Wisen and others in Valkyria Chronicles. That game had good voices, no? Just to make the announcement bigger, they also announced the new voice actors for Tails. Kate Higgins will play tails, she did voices for Naomi and RinRin in MadWorld. Also a ton of voices in Valkyria Chronicles.

It has been confirmed that Mike Pollock will stay as Eggman. Mike Pollock has been voicing Eggman since 2005, after the death of Deem Bristow. Almost every voice actor for the game characters has changed, but we have only seen Sonic and Tails as of yet.

[Source: SEGA]