Last year, just after the release of Sonic Heroes in the UK, McDonalds and SEGA Europe held a promotion involving various miniature Sonic the Hedgehog electronic toys inside Happy Meals.
During Christmas and earlier this year, a new wave of Sonic McDonalds Happy Meal toys have been released for mass consumption within the USA and Australia respectively. This week, McDonalds chains in the UK will be promoting the new ‘Sonic Electronic’s over the course of the next few weeks.
The toys are simply more of the same, with various tiny electronic games being handed out to the young and young-at-heart alike. The heart of the promotion appears to be focused on sport, with a new Sonic artwork image made for the offer, of the blue blur playing football with Tails. The artwork for the other characters featured (Tails, Amy, Rouge, Knuckles and Cheese the Chao) are just reprints of the Sonic Heroes official CGs – although the heavy emphasis on physical activity remains, with Tennis and ‘Soccer’ showcased on two sides of the box each.
Despite the fact that the boxes misprinted Cheese the Chao’s name as Cream (“oh, you crazy Europeans”), there are suggestions to participate in healthy exercise and healthy eating – hardly preaching to the converted, considering the outlet of which the meals are purchased.
Only one game is available this week – Cream’s Flower Catch – but there are a total of six to collect, and will most likely follow the classic Happy Meal pattern of serving two different kinds of games per week. If you’re an avid Sonic collector of the strangest kind, be sure to catch each game before the week is out.