The official Sonic the Hedgehog Speed Cafe—a family-friendly, immersive restaurant pop-up that debuted in San Diego, California—has finally arrived in Chamblee, Georgia!
I had the chance to attend the grand opening and am excited to share my awesome experience at the popular pop-up restaurant with you all which can be read in the next section of this article.
Are you really into the IDW Sonic the Hedgehog comics or looking for an affordable opportunity to start getting into them? Like the idea of also benefiting a great, noble cause at the same time? Humble Bundle’s just given you your chance with their new Sonic the Hedgehog Comics Bundle.
From now until January 8th, 2025, you can pay whatever price you want for a bunch of digital Sonic comics in DRM-free PDF and ePUB format to read on the device of your choosing. You’ll get several books leading up to the end of the Metal Virus saga, one book from the Scrapnik Island saga, and the 30th Anniversary Deluxe book. Portions of the proceeds from this bundle will also benefit the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals: A series of 170 pediatric hospitals in the USA and Canada that provide special, critical medical treatment to children in need. You even get to decide how much of your payment is split between them, IDW Publishing, and Humble Bundle.
Have a look after the break for a detailed list of the comics on offer and a link to the bundle page.
Update: My Arcade has uploaded teaser images of their upcoming SEGA products. Check out the gallery in next section of the article below.
Today, My Arcade announced that they would be working together with SEGA to launch retro gaming devices featuring of SEGA Classics such as:
The mini arcade devices will be making an appearance at CES 2025, Jan 7–10, My Arcade booth #15146 (Central Hall) in Las Vegas. Check out teaser images below!
During the run of this 2024 season, the Detroit Lions have sparked success in having their best overall regular season start at 8-1 and it is partly thanks to running back’s dual-threat duo: Jahmyr Gibbs (#26) & David Montgomery (#5). But what has added to their fun of winning is their newly dubbed nicknames: Sonic & Knuckles, respectfully. Memes and even fans are starting to get into the names and it isn’t just for show. With Gibbs’ elusive speed combined with Montgomery’s bulldozing tenacity, the RB pair have a combined 15 TDs and over 1200 combined rushing yards as of Week 11.
Today, SEGA announced a new collaborative collection with artist Louis De Guzman in celebration of Sonic the Hedgehog, which will debut this month.
The collection will include a range of apparel and merchandise including t-shirts, a work jacket, fleece sweatshirts, kids tops, a tin lunchbox, and a printed throw pillow. Alongside these goods, the collection will include hyper limited fine art screen prints and collectible sculptures standing at 11.5” tall.
The collaboration will bring an activation to ComplexCon Las Vegas on November 16-17, and will also be included in a retail/gallery pop-up in Chicago from December 10 to 17 where fans can meet the artist, view Sonic the Hedgehog-inspired paintings, take pictures with life size sculptures, and play SEGA’s latest Sonic game, SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS™.
Hit the next section of the article to check out press release and screenshots of the Louis De Guzman x Sonic the Hedgehog collection.
The Sega Channel, a long dormant online games-on-demand service for the Sega Genesis/Mega-Drive, has long been an enigma in the years since its official sunset in 1998. Very little material from the service has been preserved or documented, and there is still so much that only those who subscribed to the service and have vivid memories of it would know for sure. Thankfully, @Ghostsencore and prolific Genesis romhacker Billy Time Games have come across a smorgasbord of archived VHS tapes containing recordings of someone, presumably the person who recorded the footage in the first place, perusing the menus of Sega Channel during a few months where the service was still alive and well.
Login to get through the break and see all the videos.
SEGA & AirAsia has recently announced and officially reveals themed flights featuring Sonic the Hedgehog & Persona 5. This comes as a push from SEGA to develop their brands outside of gaming, and in an interview with President & COO of SEGA Shinji Utsumi, he says: “that the synergy created by the collaboration of travel and gaming, two forms of entertainment, will bring us new discoveries.” The Sonic themed plane is an Airbus 330, while the Persona 5 plane is an Airbus 320 and will fly over 100 destinations all throughout major cities in Southeast & Pacific Coastal Asia, including Tokyo, Seoul, & Shanghai. The Sonic plane is adorned with Uekawa style art on the outside & parts of the inside with a Sonic x Shadow collab on the inside compartments and seat backs, while the Persona 5 plane has it’s awesome Soejima stylized art on the outside.
With Sonic X Shadow Generations just days away, SEGA has gone all out in the lead up to the game with cafes, concerts and touring motorcycles. One such event that should not be missed is the Sonic the Hedgehog meet and greet at Camp stores across the United States!
Taking place in Atlanta, Dallas and Chicago, this limited time event allows young fans and families to meet Sonic himself for a digital and printed photo, take part in a Sonic music dance party, put on some Sonic and friends temporary tattoos, color Sonic coloring sheets and decorate your own frame to hold your photo with Sonic. Thanks to our friends at SEGA, we were able to attend the local Camp store and experience the meet and greet for ourselves!
Today, SEGA announced an exciting collaboration between Sonic the Hedgehog and leading streetwear jewelry brand, King Ice. The new collection, priced at $150 USD per piece, includes iconic characters Blaze, Metal Sonic, Silver and Super Silver!
Read more information on the collaboration and view screenshots of the products in the next section of the article.
The comparisons between Sonic the Hedgehog and Dragon Ball aren’t new; the two series share a lot of similar aspects in terms of tropes between their characters and power-ups. At this year’s Gamescom 2024, Catherine Lewis from GameRadar asked Shadow the Hedgehog creator Iizuka if he thinks the character has been interpreted differently over the past decade than he originally conceived him. His answer didn’t surprise anyone: ‘Yes.’
“So yes, there are some ways that people interpret Shadow that are not how the team is intending,” Iizuka begins (via translator). “I think the biggest one, if you look online, everyone’s like, ‘Oh, this is Dragon Ball Vegeta.” states that Shadow is “not Vegeta in any way. Vegeta really starts out as an enemy and then later becomes a friend and an ally and kind of, like, fights for justice and trying to save the world and whatnot. Shadow is not like that. I never want him to be like that. Shadow is doing his own thing, he’s not friends with Sonic, and he’s gonna go off and, you know, do whatever he feels is correct or right, or what he needs to do. And it’s not like, ‘Well, okay, we used to be enemies, but we’re friends now. Let’s save the world.’ He’s not that kind of character, and [I don’t] want him to be that kind of character.
“So when people are always online saying, ‘Oh, it’s Vegeta, it’s Vegeta,’ it’s like, it’s not Vegeta,” he laughs.
It’s quite interesting that he seems to be suggesting that he doesn’t agree with this sort of characterization that has been given to Shadow the Hedgehog by fans. While Shadow the Hedgehog isn’t really friends with Sonic the Hedgehog, they do save the world together when their goals align and would say they have a more ‘rival’ type of relationship, which I think Iizuka shouldn’t be afraid of promoting. I think it gives Sonic and Shadow an interesting dynamic.
The moment everyone has been waiting for has finally come. Paramount Pictures has at last unleashed the movie trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the long awaited third chapter in the Sonic the Hedgehog movie universe, as well as the movie debut of everyone’s favorite edgehog, Shadow, shown above doing the famous Akira motorbike slide. He does more than slide though. He also speaks for the very first time, sounding a lot like a certain movie star we all know and love who’s quite experienced with firearms himself.
This trailer’s also the movie debut of another very well known Sonic character with an intimate connection to Shadow, which I won’t spoil. Just motorbike slide in below the break to see for yourself, then contain your excitement and your holiday spirit until Sonic the Hedgehog 3 debuts in theaters on December 20th, 2024.
TMS Entertainment, a beloved Japanese animation studio currently owned by Sega Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of SegaSammy holdings, has just announced that for their 60th anniversary, they’ll begin uploading special animated features of significant importance to the company to their official YouTube page. Most noteworthy to Sega/Sonic fans, this includes the first six episodes of Sonic X in its original Japanese dub. The entire campaign begins on August 5th, 2024. This is a good chance to get a taste of what Sonic X was originally like, free of both English voices and the cacophony of censorship edits imposed on it in its original English dub by 4Kids Entertainment.
EDIT: It’s come to my attention that one of the other anime part of this celebration: Super Dimension Century Orguss (1983), also has a Sega connection, as Sega made an SG-1000 game based on it. I’m adding details about that show below the break too.
Gotta go fast as you rush past the break for the skinny on this special event. GO! GO! GO! GO! LET’S GO!
EDIT: The 60th Anniversary event has ended and all these videos have, unfortunately, been removed from the TMS Entertainment YouTube Page. Fortunately, Discotek Media has released both Japanese Sonic X and Super Dimension Century Orguss on Blu-Ray. You can buy them from Amazon or Crunchyroll’s store. I removed the dead YouTube embeds from the article
Back during the heights of first person shooters and gritty settings & characters, it was also at a time where Sonic looked he was on the up. After Sonic Colors, something interesting happened that hadn’t been as exciting since the unveiling of Unleashed trailers. Odd that I have 11/1/11 etched into my brain but to me this was a countdown: that at the right place, the right time, and the right feeling, turned into what became a good, if not great, if not awesome, if not outstanding, if not amazing game that would be. I would like to take you into back to 2011 and what it was like to be a fan during that time, the expectations, and the outcome of what is still considered my favorite video game of all time: Sonic Generations for the 360/PS3/PC (unless Sonic x Shadow Gens becomes better lol).
Remember the Retro Diner Amy skin that was recently available exclusively to Ihop Rewards members? It is exclusive no longer. You can now finally download this skin completely free on the digital storefronts where Sonic Superstars is available. So if you’re like me and don’t have a Ihop for many miles to travel to just for some delicious Sonic pancakes (I’ve heard from Barry that they were good, anyway.), you can now just have the skin right now for nothing, even beyond the United States, where Ihop restaurants may not even exist depending on your country.
For convenient download links for all the different consoles and PC storefronts, check in past the break.
The crossover tradition continues in Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble as Sonic and friends joins the adventure.
Not only Sonic and Tails are returning as playable characters, but Knuckles and Amy joins Banana Rumble. Each with unique stats and Gold Rings as in-game pick-ups.
The Sonic Superstars will be available as part of the SEGA Pass included in the Digital Deluxe Edition, as a separate bundle, or a la carte.
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble will be available exclusively for Nintendo Switch on June 25, 2024. Pre-Order the Deluxe Edition on the official website.