Roger Craig Smith

Roger Craig Smith RETURNS – Sonic the Hedgehog Voice Actor Reassumes Role

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Back in January, we shared the sad news that Roger Craig Smith was leaving the role of Sonic the Hedgehog. Today, on May 26th, Roger Craig Smith announced that he will be returning to the role. Something seemed up when yesterday’s Unstoppable trailer featured the familiar voice of Roger, without the Sonic inflection, as the narrator. Said Roger in a Tweet: “I can’t fully express my gratitude for the @sonic_hedgehog
crew and community. I hope to honor your support and passion as I’m officially back voicing #SonicTheHedgehog in games. Can’t wait for ya to see what we have planned! THANK YOU…from the bottom of my blue heart.”

While the fanbase will no doubt debate why Roger left and returned, this is great news for fans of his portrayal and a great decision by SEGA and Sonic Team as we enter the 30th anniversary. Welcome back, Roger!

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SEGA News Bits: Roger Craig Smith Will No Longer Voice Sonic The Hedgehog

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We learned the sad news today that Roger Craig Smith will no longer be voicing Sonic The Hedgehog, after over ten years in the role. On this SEGA News Bits, Barry and George share their thoughts on his departure and what the future might hold for Sonic.

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Roger Craig Smith Will No Longer Voice Sonic The Hedgehog

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Sad news today for Sonic fans, as longtime Sonic The Hedgehog voice actor Roger Craig Smith announced via Twitter that he would be stepping down from the role. Roger said “Welp, 10 years was an amazing run. Onward to new zones! Much love to the fans who’ve been so kind. It’s been an honor.”

Roger began his career as Sonic not in games, but as the voice of a Sonic themed hotel room in the UK Alton Towers resort. Roger made his video game debut as Sonic in the Xbox 360 Kinect exclusive Sonic Free Riders and appeared soon after in Sonic Colors. From there, Roger voiced Sonic in a variety of roles, from video games to the multi-media project Sonic Boom to both Wreck-It Ralph films to LEGO Dimensions. Between all his Sonic work, Roger was and is undoubtably the most prolific Sonic voice actor to date who has portrayed more versions of the character than any other actor before. His work will be fondly remembered by generations of fans and his work as Sonic, alongside his nemesis Eggman voiced by Mike Pollock, will be sorely missed.

It is unknown at this time if Roger is stepping down on his own, or if he has been replaced. It is also unknown who that replacement is. We also do not know at this time if other voice actors from the series are leaving. More news as we hear it. In the meantime, we wish Roger all the best and thank him for his excellent work. After the break, check out our classic Swinin’ Report Show interview with Roger.

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SEGA in the Media: Sonic makes a cameo in the upcoming sequel to Wreck-It Ralph

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The embarrassingly titled sequel to Wreck-It Ralph, Ralph Breaks the Internet, releases next month. While the follow-up to the arcade and video game reference packed original is trading nostalgia for hip and trendy internet references, at least we will get some video game cameos. SEGA mascot Sonic the Hedgehog appeared a few times in the first movie, and he returns here with dialogue once again provided by Roger Craig Smith.

Footage of the cameo had been floating around the past few days, but it was a truncated and cropped version of the above video. Fans online have noted how great the animation on Sonic is, and I totally agree. He looks and sounds great! Such a shame a year from now we have that Sonic movie releasing where he will be in the real world and voiced by a different actor. Oh well, enough negativity from Old Man Barry… enjoy the clip!

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

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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?

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SEGA News Bits: Sonic 25th Anniversary SXSW Panel Discussion

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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.

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Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary SXSW Panel

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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?

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

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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.

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Swingin’ Report Show #66: Interview with Roger Craig Smith, voice of Batman, Sonic the Hedgehog, and many more!

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This week on the Swingin’ Report Show, hosts Barry and George welcome a guest who has helped shape the sound of SEGA’s speedy mascot – Roger Craig Smith, voice actor of Sonic the Hedgehog! Roger is also well known for voicing Batman, Captain America, Chris Redfield, Ezio Auditore, and more. Recent projects include Batman: Arkham Origins which features the recently released “Cold, Cold Heart” DLC pack and SEGA’s Sonic Boom which spans video games and a television show which release later this year.

Join us as we talk with Roger about voicing Gotham’s Dark Knight and Green Hill’s Blue Blur. Roger also provides details on how he got into the business, and has some great advice for aspiring voice actors. Yes, we even asked him about his work on Valkyria Chronicles and his earliest work as Sonic at Alton Towers.

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Sonic Spinball Ride and Sonic’s new voice!

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As you may know a well know theme park in the UK, Alton Towers has a new ride based around Sonic the Hedgehog! The ride is called Sonic Spinball, no relation to the video game of the same name. The ride is similar to a roller coaster but the seats actually spin in a round-a-bout style motion as it goes around for maximum vomit inducing fun.

Sonic himself can often be seen walking around the grounds of Alton Park and having pictures taken with fans. There is also a Sonic UFO catcher on the video with Sonic toys inside.

But most interesting of all, when they go into the Sonic branded room (that is now open to the public) when you open the door Sonic says a few phrases… With Sonic’s new Voice Actor Roger Craig Smith. Give it a listen at the 01:33 mark on this video.

I’m afraid I don’t know who took this video but it’s very interesting so well done who ever it was!

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Big Sonic news is new Sonic voice cast

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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]

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