Welcome to the Archive site of The Sonic Stadium (2008-2023)
Please note that this site is no longer being updated or maintained; as a result, there may be design issues, and links to images and other media may be broken. Links to posts may redirect you to the same article on the current Sonic Stadium website.
It’s kind of hard getting a daily article in when the site that you write for goes down for entire days at a time. :s
Anyway, now that I’m actually into TSS, check out some damn art by gsilverfish. It was made for the GHZ art contest, but was an hour late and not entered. I hope a TSS front page feature is enough of a consolation, Mr. g.
Sonic CD is my favorite Sonic game. Shock. I know that people in the SSMB are discussing how overrated it is, but fuck ’em. Not only is this picture set within Sonic CD, but it just has an undeniable charm to it. The colors really pop with some excellent shading techniques and seeing Sonic ride on the back of a badnik is awesome. Also, +10 points for the use of that wacky flying jet-ski that Robotnik is riding.
Nice work, g. I hope people in the comments section will talk about your art and not about Sonic CD. *wink wink everybody*
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Earlier today ‘Hero of legend‘ reported to TSS with a most intriguing link leading to a Nintendo fan-site named ‘WiiNintendo.net.‘ It appears the site has managed to get a hold of some exclusive character model sheets from the upcoming ‘Sonic and the Black Knight’ title currently in development exclusively for the Nintendo Wii.
The character model sheets show off some nifty angle shots of Sonic (as himself), Knuckles (as Sir Gawain), Shadow (as Sir Lancelot) and finally Blaze (as Percival.) Technically the first we’ve seen of Blaze in the game. The model sheets show off her new re-design complete with an armoured mask, similar to that of Gawain and Lancelot’s. Keep in mind all of these character models are taken from the CG Cut Scene areas of Sonic and the Black Knight. TSS seriously doubt’s you’re going to be seeing models as detailed as that in-game.
It’s still unclear how WiiNintendo managed to get their hands on the character model sheets, but what’s even more interesting is a thirty second video showcasing all the characters present, of which has been uploaded to the Nintendo themed websites Youtube account.
You can check out the character model sheets here and the video showcase of all four characters at Youtube here. Just look at those Knights spin!
UPDATE: Unfortunately, it appears that both the images and video have disappeared from the Internet. Either WiiNintendo decided to remove the models on their own accord or with a little encouragement from SEGA. Fear not though disheartened reader, as you can still view all of the images in the SSMB forum topic right here.
See? I told you to get them while they’re hot. Now they’re all gone. Huge thanks to the sexiest of all Sheza’s for the heads up!
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Whether or not you’ve decided that Sonic Unleashed is a good game or not, you’ve probably heard a handful of tunes that have got your feet tapping as you blast through levels at break-neck speeds or smack goofy enemies with your Wolfy pimping-hands. So for those of you who are bonkers for Sonic soundtracks, you can rejoice in the knowledge the Sonic World Adventure: Planetary Pieces Official Soundtrack has been released today.
Once again, the usual suspects Tomoya Ohtani, Kenichi Tokoi, Fumie Kumatani & Hideaki Kobayashi have teamed up to create another monstrous album containing a comprehensive collection of all the tracks from the game. The staggering 91 track list includes the rather sexual Werehog Battle music, Jaret Reddick’s “Endless Possibility”, several versions of the game’s theme, and the pleasant “Dear My Friend” from the ending titles. Not only that, the presentation of the box is of the usual incredible standard (there’s a CD with Chip on it!)
You can check out the track listing over at the Video Game Music Data Base, and if you’ve got some coins to spare you can buy yourself a copy from Play Asia or CD Japan for about 4200 Yen...a bit steep at around £31 ($45 – and don’t forget you’ll have to pay for International Postage on top of that), but well worth it if you’re as mad as me for these soundtracks!
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I’ve been battling bronchitis and I really, really, didn’t feel like writing anything for the front page. Nothing. Sonic news has been pretty dull anyhow, since SEGA has turned all of its attention to the success of House of the Dead: Overkill. Well played, SEGA. Anyway, on to fan-made things that make you go 😮 …
DeviantArt user, Zero20-2, made a plush Metal Sonic doll. Yep, it’s awesome. Cuddle with it as you hum the tune(s) to Stardust Speedway and drift off to Dream Land.
You want to know what’s more awesome? Zero20-2 made an entire set of Sonic plushies!
There’s more art at Zeros 20-2’s DA page, including more plushies, awesome NiGHTS and Sonic drawings, and a whoooooole lot of fancharacters. Oh, fancharacters, how ridiculous you are.
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IGN has a preview of the upcoming (and umpteenth) compilation from SEGA, Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection, up on its website. Despite the game having the infamous “butt Sonic art,” the previewer, Ryan Clements, is all smiles about this upcoming batch of 40 Genesis tiles on one disc.
Ryan notes that the game features a filtering system in the game selection menu. You can arrange the titles by genre or your personal rating, thus putting all of your favorite 16-bit adventures at the top of the list. It looks to be yet another winner for SEGA, as it continues to rehash its back catalog until the end of time (and by back catalog, I mean Genesis games. My homebrew-enabled Wii can’t emulate a Saturn, SEGA. A little help here!)
Ryan does not touch upon the “hated” (I guess?) upscaling filter that makes all the games “HD.” Don’t worry, because WorthPlaying.com has some “HD” screens of Sonic 2and they are awful. Let’s sneak a peak at the legendary special stage:
Aw, man, who wiped their nose with the Sonic screenshots again? Wait, nobody did? Well, shit.
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Who would buy this statue? Most likely, somebody at TSS (and by somebody, I mean DiscoPonies), so that’s why I’m telling all of you broskis. eBay user, Luxmans40, is selling this magnificent specimen, starting at £500. Considering that Luxmans40 states that this thing normally goes for £1200, £500 is a steal of a deal.
Check out the specs on this bastard:
Figure Height: 186 cm
Base Height: 25 cm
Total Height: 211 cm
The figure was only open for photo purposes, so it’s guaranteed to not have any residue on it from a confused furry on a Saturday night.
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Now you too, just like Sonic, can become a Knight of the Wind! Providing you’re fifteen centimetres high, of course.
Earlier today SSMB member ‘Fox Gungrave‘ reported to the ‘Sonic and the Black Knight’ section of the forums with something a little different than the usual, some photographs of a miniature ‘Calibur’, Sonic’s talking weapon from the upcoming Wii adventure available this March.
It appears the quite amazing looking fan work was earlier posted on French Sonic fan site ‘EVERSONIC‘ along with new screen shots from the upcoming 360 and PS3 exclusive ‘SEGA Mega Drive Ultimate Collection’, something that was also posted on the SSMB forums earlier today by fellow TSS staff member ‘Shadzter.‘
The sword appears to have been hand crafted and painted by an unknown fan of Sonic’s medieval escapades, or simply a guy/girl who just loves producing miniature replicas of talking swords. If the creator of mini-Calibur is anywhere out there, please let us know who you are via the SSMB. We would love to add credit to the article!
UPDATE: It seems original poster of the sword miniature, Fox Gungrave, has done a little research behind the model and figured out the creator is none other than SomaKun, a member of the DeviantART website. The Calibur sword is actually a part of a fully customized Sonic Unleashed figurine, of which also has a customized armoured glove to match. Fantastic stuff!
What would be your ideal piece of ‘Sonic and the Black Knight’ merchandise and why? A miniature Sonic and Calibur statue? A Sonic and the Black Knight storybook? A limited edition ‘Lancelot Legendary’ version of the game, complete with free steel Knight’s helmet? Let us know in the comments below!
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The Sonic 10th Anniversary statue and Sterling silver ring
Sonic the Hedgehog related merchandise seems to permeate everything these days; it wasn’t too long ago that you couldn’t get moved for the overwhelming amount of very mediocre Sonic X gear that was lying around to pick up for next to nothing. There are however some absolute gems out there – the joy of collecting Sonic stuff is that you also collect a little piece of Hedgehog history along with them. I think a lot of the collectors amongst the Sonic community would be agreed that some pieces are truly works of art.
Over the next few weeks I’d like to focus on some of the best bits of nearly 18 years of collecting, from generally going about finding yourself a nice addition to your Sonic the Hedgehog merchandise collection, to some of the more elusive and exclusive things that have been produced in the past.
This first article takes a look at some of the most desirable items that there are going; the 10th and 15th Anniversary Merchandise. A lot of the community will remember the 10th birthday of Sonic, as it was the launch date of Sonic Adventure 2, which is still held in high regards amongst the 3D Sonic titles. If you were a resident in Europe Japan or the US, and fast enough off the mark, you had a chance to grab yourself a box set with the pre-order of the game, which contained a rather nifty CD of some of the best Sonic tunes, along with a Gold coin and a booklet full of interesting Sonic facts, pictures, and a rather odd little story. These were however produced in rather large numbers, so aren’t as collectible as initially intended; on the plus side, you can easily pick one up on ebay for £25 ($35USD)! Those lucky enough to attend E3 that year would have also had a chance to scoop up a 10th anniversary badge, which do occasionally appear for purchase.
The SEGA Direct version of the 15th anniversary figurine
The main contenders for collector’s money thesedays are the trio of anniversary gifts produced by the Sonic Factory (Which closed soon after), being the 10th Anniversary statue, the Crystal Cube, and the Sterling silver ring. Each object was made to extremely high standards; the statue (on an engraved marble base!) was hand-painted, and the crystal cubes were carefully laser-etched to create a wire frame Sonic inside the glass. Each item was limited to 500 units worldwide; some where given away as prizes at a SEGA sports event in Japan, with the remainder being quickly snapped up from the Sonic Factory. In the highly unlikely case you see one on sale online, you’d better get your cheque book ready and phone your bank manager – you are most likely going to be in a bidding war that will go into hundreds of dollars!
Fast forwarding 5 years, the 15th anniversary churned out a number of nice little items. We were treated to two different statues, one was again on sale through SEGA Direct, but was later released as a freebie in the US with the pre-order of Sonic the Hedgehog on the Xbox and PS3. The other statue was produced in a limited run of 2,500 pieces – each was stamped on the base and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. A number of T-Shirts were also produced to commemorate the occasion, two of which depicted a running sonic in his pixelated form á la Sonic 1, with the 15th birthday logo on the back. Again, E3 goers in 2006 were treated to a nice distressed shirt, the number ‘91 (the year of Sonic’s launch) emblazoned on the back. The keen-eyed ebayer can still pick the odd one of these items up on ebay, albeit at a slightly higher price.
So, did you manage to get any of these items? Which are your favourite? Are there any items you managed to pick up that we’ve missed off our list? Let us know, and keep an eye out for the next feature!
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European ratings board PEGI have rated the Xbox Original title Sonic Mega Collection Plus for Xbox Live Arcade. We can only assume they mean the ‘Originals’ section of the Marketplace, and not the Live Arcade itself. For those who don’t know, SMC+ is an Xbox re-release of a Gamecube Sonic compilation, with added Game Gear titles as well as a few hidden non-Sonic titles.
PEGI have rated the game 7+, which is odd because they rated the original Xbox version 12+, so could we see some cuts in this port? Another thing that’s odd about this is that the original Xbox version is backwards compatible with the Xbox 360 anyway, the Mega Drive games will soon be released in SEGA’s newest compilation (SEGA Mega Drive Ultimate Collection) and two of those Mega Drive titles are already on the Xbox Live Arcade.
Oh well, if it’s going cheap and people can’t find the original Xbox game and want some added Game Gear action, this will be a good buy for them.
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SSMB’s very own member ‘KIRBY‘ has informed TSS earlier today (via the forums) with some interesting news regarding a recent edition of Japanese ‘Denki DS’ magazine.
The latest issue includes an exclusive three page preview on the upcoming Wii adventure, including some brand new images consisting of a first look at the multiplayer battle mode, a new cut scene illustration of Sonic and Tails and some never-before-seen image renders of Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Shadow. Just like with ‘Sonic and the Secret Rings’, all returning friends and enemies alike take the form of characters in the storybook at hand, with Shadow as ‘Sir Lancelot’ and Amy as ‘The Lady of the Lake.’
All information written in the magazine is in Japanese (of course), though it may well include some interesting new information on the game. Make sure you keep yourself updated and see the scans for yourselves in the SSMB Topic here. Be sure to let us know what you think of Tails, Amy, Knuckles and Shadow’s new designs in the comments below!
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If any of you out there are familiar with Screwattack.com’s ‘Angry Video Game Nerd‘, you may well have heard of the Nostalgia Critic. He’s been mentioned in quite a few different episodes throughout the Nerd’s escapades and even starred in a couple of cameo roles. For those of you who haven’t a clue who either are, allow us to explain.
The Nostalgia Critic is a character played by an Internet comedian whom takes the roles of several different people, records some hilarious skits as those characters and uploads them onto the Internet via his website. The Nostalgia Critic is, as you’d expect, a ‘reviewer’ of old eighties and nineties movies and television shows, focusing more on jokes and entertainment than professionally critiquing the subjects themselves.
After recently making a video on Nintendo’s ‘Super Mario’ and ‘The Legend of Zelda’ cartoons, the Critic has decided that it’s SEGA’s turn next, announcing his ‘review’ of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog to be uploaded on the 17th of February.
For a bit of fun, it’ll be interesting to see what the Critic thinks of SEGA’s attempt at an American cartoon compared to his, quire underwhelming, opinions on Nintendo’s efforts. Do keep in mind though, the Nostalgia Critic’s videos are more or less solely for entertainment purposes, it’d be a bit silly to take the video too seriously once it comes online, whether it be good or bad.
Thanks to SSMB member ‘hurtfulthings‘ for the heads up! You can also discuss the video once it comes online next month in the SSMB topic located here.
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I admit, news has been slow lately so I thought I’d dig around Ebay and see what Sonic treasures there are to be found and I managed to find a few gems for you lot to get your grubby little mits on. One of the item’s I found was a 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog 15th Anniversary Limited Edition statue, one of only 2,500 made. The item still has the certificate of authenticity too and looks to be in mint condition. The statue is currently going for $19.99 and has no bids at the moment so get bidding while you still can. Link
The 2nd item I dug up was an original 1994 Sonic the Hedgehog sketch from a Sonic artist Manak NR. I don’t know much about this one or wether this was an artist from the comics or games. After researching around the net I could only find an artist from that time known as David Manak who designed for the Sonic 3 comic adaptaion. The item is currenty going for $9.99 and has no bids at the moment. Link
The 3rd item I came across is a SEGA Gold Collection edition of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Mega Drive. I’ve never seen one of these before but it looks pretty cool and very collectible. It even has a little gold Sonic at the bottom right of the box. The item is being sold at a ‘Buy It Now’ price of $10.00, pretty cheap if you ask me. Link
Now hop to it bargain hunters! *God damn I hate that show…*
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Earlier this week SSMB member ‘Hero of Legend‘ reported to TSS with some high quality screen shots of the PAL box artworks of ‘Sonic and the Black Knight’, Sonic’s latest medieval themed adventure on Wii. Earlier today, the same member updated us with a first look at the Japanese front cover of the title, and as per usual, it’s entirely different to other PAL and NTSC territory artwork.
Sporting a brand new CG render of Sonic ad Calibur, the Japanese box artwork for Sonic and the Black Knight also shows off the blue ‘Nintendo WiFi Connection’ logo, putting our minds at ease that the title will still offer ‘item trading’ over a wireless Internet connection.
You can check out the SSMB thread for the artwork here and also feast your eyes on a brand new screenshot of the game, of which sees Sonic bartering with some odd looking peasant character.
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You better believe they will. Spanish gaming magazine ‘Nintendo Acción’ have rumoured a wintry themed follow up to the immensely popular ‘Mario & Sonic and the Olympic Games’ that’s to be announced in the next issue.
The original Mario and Sonic (released November 2007) saw the clash of two great gaming icons for the very first time, celebrating the 2008 Beijing Olympic games. Hints in Nintendo Acción’s text (of which is written in Spanish, of course) state that the next meeting between both SEGA and Nintendo’s mascot characters will not be much different from the first, sad news for anyone hoping for a more traditional style of crossover game.
The scan was first posted on the Internet by unofficial Nintendo blog site ‘GoNintendo‘, and despite pointing them in all the right directions, still classes the sequel as a rumour until the revealing issue is out on the market.
What’s your take on the rumour? Are you all for Mario and Sonic’s second trip to the Olympics, or are you craving for something a bit different this time around? Let us know in the comments below!
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After an early report from IGN who claimed they had reason to believe 30 staff had been cut from our beloved video game publisher SEGA, a new report from EDGE with word from a SEGA of America representative has arisen to confirm jobs have been cut.
In an e-mail response to EDGE, the un-named SEGA rep stated –
Sega of America has grown at pace with the booming videogame industry, but at this time of economic recession, harsh retail landscape, and the reality of business challenges to profitability, we must take steps to reduce our cost structure and ensure long-term success.”
Guess even Sonic’s latest title can’t save them from the current financial crisis (sorry Sonic, we know you try).
The rep informed EDGE “around 30 people” have been laid off work and went on to say –
“The decision to lay off staff was a difficult one, and we thank these employees for their contributions and wish them well in their future endeavors.”
With todays financial crisis and more and businesses facing pressure and/or closure every day, it is becoming tougher for people to find employment. We at TSS wish those staff members well for the future and hope they do manage find more work and happiness through this difficult time whatever happens.
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In their latest issue, Official Playstation Magazine: UK have revealed their 2008 game awards as voted by you the public.
Sonic Unleashed was 1 of 4 games to be voted ‘Biggest Disappointment’ for 2008, the other 3 titles are Haze, Need For Speed: Undercover and Army Of Two.
Here’s what OPM:UK had to say –
Only disappointing in the same sense as a wayward child’s final, severing act of betrayal. We fervently hoped the hog would come good. He didn’t.
Many fans of the series have seen this game as a high turning point for the series, a step in the right direction but it looks like the general UK Playstation public don’t feel that way about the PS3 version at least. The PS2 version of the game has been placing pretty high on Chart Track in the UK Budget Priced charts since release.
The UK Playstation public didn’t stop striking Sonic Unleashed there, oh they had a problem with a certain someone from the game… Namely, Chip who was unfortunately crowned ‘Worst New Character’ for 2008.
Here’s what OPM:UK had to say –
Another year, another disastrous attempted comeback from Sega’s answer to Elvis. But for all the bile Sonic Unleashed triggered in our bellies, we reserved the purest rage for our spiky (ex-)friend’s latest sidekick, Chip: a purple douche who loves ice cream, trots out an endless stream of banality and looks like a flying Chihuahua. Which is kind of fitting given that we’d rather let a lap dog gnaw on our own undercarriage than play the big bag of balls that was Unleashed ever again.
That has to be the biggest over-exaggeration I have ever seen, there is no real reason given as to why he has been voted Worst New Character. Anyone can say they hate a character and just describe said character with vulgar words and phrases. Oh well, I guess this childish rant fits in with their review score of 4/10
Do you agree with the UK Playstation public’s votes? Let us know in the comments.
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Ever faffed about with those LEGO building blocks when you were a kid? Did you find yourself creating crappy, contorted (yellow) versions of cartoon characters and super heroes you saw on the TV? Well, now that you’re a teenager with nothing better to do (or an adult with nothing better to do, except your job), you can revisit those powerful Danish bricks of creation and make your very own Sonic the Hedgehog!
Gaming blog Kotaku has an excellent post on how to grab a computer game character sprite, size it up for LEGO-ssimilation, and glue your masterpiece together so you can hang it on your wall. The example they use here is, funnily enough, Sonic the Hedgehog, albeit a squishy one that we may take to the gym to get straightened out a bit. If you have kids, it’s also a great way to bond with the little critters. Or, if you’re having a turbulent relationship, create with your wife for some awesome divorce-repellant building fun. LEGO heals all wounds.
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Yes, you heard right! Sonic Retro member (and man behind the name ‘Dr. Ivo Robotnik’), Dean Sitton, has been kind enough to auction his malfunctioning gateway keyboard on eBay for the bargain ‘Buy It Now’ price of $66.60 (quite the joker, Dean.)
Along with the keyboard however are some very rare pieces of Sonic Merchandise, something any collector would want to get their hands on. A Canadian printed 8 page promotional Sonic Comic with a 7 page copy of the original pencil drawings illustrated all the way back in the August of 1991.
Deans auction is currently sitting comfortably at the bidding price of $31, though is quite the bargain even at the ‘Buy It Now’ cost. You can check out the auction here and read up on some interesting discussions with the man himself over at Sonic Retro.
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My main man Hunter Bridges just dropped a sick Sonic remix over at the Sonic Nexus blog, dudes. This new remix is a part of the second soundtrack of the game, the “Retro Remixes,” which consist of taking classic Sonic songs and remixing them into the style of the Nexus zone. The 8th zone, Wicked Works, is very groove heavy with guitars chugging along, so the Retro Remix had to follow suit. Hunter remixed Rusty Ruin from the Genesis version of Sonic 3D Blast and well…just listen to it.
It’s in the media player at the top of the Nexus page. It’s track #11.
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Enjoy these latest high quality images of Sonic and the Black Knight’s PAL box artwork, fresh from SEGA themselves. Taking a note from the book of Sonic and the Secret Rings, it seems that each territory’s title will be translated for their respective audience. We have images of the German (which once again always manages to sound cooler than the English one), Spanish and Australian packshots, but no UK one. Which is a bit odd.
We’ve got these in maximum resolution, so if you want a massive Schwarze then simply click on the images above, and select ‘Full Size’ to receive your prize.
Thanks to Hero of Legend on SSMB for the heads up!
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It’s true. Eagle-eyed SSMB’er Sonic-Fan has spotted some new Sonic X branded plushies, which will be heading for Europe in ‘Early 2009’. The drawback? You can’t buy them. You can only win them.
The plushies were found on SEGA Prize Europe’s website, which is a subsidiary of SEGA that deals in prize arcade machines – the most common of which being UFO Catchers. While super-rare, SEGA branded UFO Catchers do exist in the UK, with the two most prominent ones located in London’s Trocadero Plaza (the building formerly known as SEGA World) in Piccadilly. Although these plushies will most likely feature in SEGA’s own UFO Catchers, the ‘Trade Purchase’ option suggests that non-SEGA branded machines could also house these awesome looking toys.
You can grab one of five different characters; Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy or Shadow. No Eggman sadly, but these 12″-15″ plushies look very cool indeed and are much better than some of the other official UFO plushies that looked like cheap knockoffs. The Sonic one is particularly cute. D’aw, look’attim. He wants a hug.
If you’re a prominent arcade manager, or a rather brave Sonic fan that will gladly pass themselves off as an arcade manager, then you can buy these plushies in bulk cartons of 6 pieces. You can enquire via the SEGA Prize Europe website.
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Sonic Channel, for the uninitiated, is Japan’s official Sonic the Hedgehog website. It’s about ten thousand times better than the American counterpart, Sonic Central, and is currently 100% better than the European Sonic City, which doesn’t exist yet (expect that to change when it re-launches though). It’s updated on a regular basis and provides plenty of decent fanservice for Asian fans of the blue blur. Every so often, we’d like to track the updates we find on Sonic Channel, so you don’t miss out on some good stuff.
Every month we’re treated to a new desktop wallpaper and calendar PDF, which features the talented artwork of Yuji Uekawa (who should really do more artwork for promotional purposes like game boxes – too many CG pieces flying around) – and every so often a little bio written by SEGA Europe’s Community Team as well. Recently the character art has been in a sketch style, which is a cool way of seeing how Sonic and Tails are usually drawn.
February’s calendar character is none other than Chip from Sonic World Adventure / Unleashed. I guess it makes sense – Valentine’s Day is the time of love, and Chip just happens to ‘looooooooove’ chocolate. We’re glad the little random sprat is getting some facetime. Even though it’s pink, it’s on my desktop. Because hey, I’m comfortable with my sexuality. Are you? Click here to grab the wallpaper and here for the calendar PDF.
The other main activity on the Japanese website appears to be on the official microsites of Sonic World Adventure and Sonic and the Black Knight, with the latter updating with a pretty cool video featuring Jun ‘Junny Baby’ Senoue and Johnny Gioeli performing ‘Knight of the Wind’ in a SECRET LOCATION. Well, a studio. A studio in a SECRET LOCATION. It’s pretty good stuff, head to the microsite and click the video called ‘Hey All’ to see it.
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Remember when we exclusively broke the news that Tommy Tallarico and Richard Jacques were working together on the soundtrack to Sonic and the Black Knight? Well, what better confirmation to have than an official Q&A with the Earthworm Jim composer? SEGA Europe are staging a sort-of interview with the award-winning chap, and the best part is you get to ask a question or two!
Questions are to be directed to SEGA Europe’s official blog, where approved fan questions will be posed to Tommy in order to give a bit more insight into the production of the music. Simply post a comment on this page (the linked page, not this one!), and as long as it passes all the official interview gubbins (i.e. No asking about things that will reveal anything of the game itself, such as plot points) your name will be up in lights!
Having visited Video Games Live a few times, I’ve had the opportunity to chat to Tommy at length about his career, favourite music and the concert that he and Jack Wall co-created – if you’re trying to think of a question to ask, give the link a good read as it might give you some ideas.
Tommy will most likely be coming back for another round of Video Games Live in London, and TSS will be chatting to him a little later in the year to talk about his Sonic experiences in detail. For now though, this is an awesome opportunity for fans to get into the mind of one of the most charismatic game musicians on the planet. Go!
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Of course you can! Or so says gaming website ‘WorthPlaying‘ last November. It seems twenty one new images of the game were added, some of which SSMB members claim to have never seen before, so why not take a chance and go and give your eyes a good oogle at them yourself? Check out the screen shots here and here, and a big thanks to SSMB members TodStar and Tizo for pointing them out!
Sonic and the Black Knight is heading to the Wii this Spring. You can check out the latest two trailers for the game posted here earlier last weekend!
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So, I was browsing Ebay for rare Sonic merchandise and stumbled across this little gem being sold by user 1ninja*com. I’ve never seen it before as apparently it was only released in Japan. It’s a karaoke add-on for the Dreamcast that comes with a microphone, this particular pack I assume has Sonic tracks on the CD with it to sing along too since the seller lists it as ‘Sonic Karaoke’, though I don’t know which tracks they are. Continue reading Own a Dreamcast? Fancy singing with Sonic?
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Don’t you tell me that this isn’t cool! SFGHQ member, Ironrind, posted this yesterday in the General Fangame Discussion forum and I j’d in my p. He explains his concept:
This is still an early protype, but the idea is that each act is broken up into three ‘tracks’. Scattered throughout each track will be buttons, switches, doors and various types of gimmicks which link all tracks together. I plan to design most of this game in a team-based fashion simular to Knuckles Chaotix.
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We’re on a Super Sonic tangent in honor of Sonic’s latest lulzfest of a super form. The previous, and first, entry in the “Sonic Storybook Series,” Sonic and the Secret Rings, brought us a form that we’ve given the name “Darkspine Sonic.” ShadoHejjihoggu has created an amazing blotch rendition of this super form and it’s incredible! Check out the laundry list of materials that ShadoHejjihoggu used to make this piece:
Tools:
Watercolor Paint
Prisma Color Pencil
Prisma Lightfast Pencil
Salt
Rubbing alcohol
Que Tip
Paint brush
Colorless Blender, with brush tip
Watercolor Prisma Pencils
Cheap Ballpoint pen
Sketch book paper
Nice work, Shado. Send some more in, will ya?
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A Japanese commercial for Sonic Spinball. Priceless. Why are the Sonic commericals in Japan so badass?
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Today, Sonic the Hedgehog #196 is now available in comic book stores across the United States. This issue marks the end of the “Bold, New Moebius” saga, which was made up of four two parter story arcs all focused on reorganizing and reimagining what had always been a stale part of the continuity, Anti Mobius. It gave all of the characters more unique personalities, gave the world a brief but unique backstory, and even made Scourge, formerly “evil Sonic”, into a real villain. Anti Mobius, or “Moebius” now provides something more then evil people wearing leather whom happen to look just like the Freedom Fighters. It is a world with characters that provide real contrast beyond “good and evil”. I commend Ian for this.
I have really enjoyed this saga, and how it reshaped the “evil” characters. This issue looks to be capping the saga off with a pretty epic ending as well. You can see what I mean in the thumbnail images below.
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With Sonic’s new super-form revealed, let’s take some time to reflect on some “super” moments from the past. Metal Sonic’s return in “Sonic Heroes,” a game that I really enjoy for some reason, was nothing short of awesome. BlazeTBW captures the moment Metal goes berserk and becomes an “overlord” in his piece “Fight with the Overlord.”
BlazeTBW drew this work for the Black Knight contest and didn’t win. Like I said with a previous rejected entry, the ones that were picked must be amazing if they didn’t accept this one. BlazeTBW sketched the work in pencil and uses her Wacom tablet, Photoshop, and Corel Painter X to color and detail the whole thing. She thinks that it is her best Sonic work to date and I certainly agree.
My own take on this work relates the expressions on Knuckles and Tails’ faces. I like to think that they aren’t grimacing over Metal Overlord and his ability to “ownz jOO,” but rather, why they don’t get a super form, something that we all questioned within the community when Heroes’ ending was revealed. Look at Knuckles, he’s so mad about not getting his super form! Haha…oh, I’m getting sidetracked. Nice work, BlazeTBW.
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SEGA Europe have updated their product page for their upcoming retro collection game SEGA Mega Drive Ultimate Collection. The game will hit European shelves 20-02-09. The collection will feature many titles from SEGA’s 16 Bit history in HD visuals including: Continue reading SEGA Mega Drive Ultimate Collection dated
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Are you Sonic mad? Are you an Oil Baron? Then you might consider getting yourself this set of wheels, as it’ll be unlikely you’ll see another for a long time! Yes, you’re eyes do not deceive you; on Yahoo! Japan auctions, someone is selling an original Sonic Waku Waku Patrol Car. For a mere 900,000 Yen (about $1,100 or £750) you too can hunt down Dr. Eggman and prevent him from causing more traffic offenses.
For those of your tilting your head in wonderment at what this fantastic contraption is, allow me to explain: this was an arcade machine that featured almost exclusively in Japan; apparently even now there are still some in use in various theme parks across the Middle East. The idea of the game was that you drove around a city in a police car, in pursuit of Eggy himself, occasionally stopping to allow Flickies to cross the road.
According to the auction it’s still functional! However, you can only pick it up in person and it will require 6 people to move it.
So, phone your friends, sell your family heirlooms, and get going on your freighter to Japan!!!
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So I randomly thought of Sonic X, which made me randomly remember digital tv channel Jetix, which I randomly remembered show Sonic X, which made me randomly remember they have a Sonic X website, where I randomly remembered they use to have a Sonic X store on their site, so I went there and clicked the ‘Store’ link. I was randomly taken to a page full of Sonic X items at a site called Toystore.co.uk.
Alot of the Sonic X merchandise I remember seeing at Jetix’s old Sonic X store but unless I’m mistaken a couple of new ones seem to have appeared –
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Screw “Darkspine Sonic!” I’ll take “Gold Knight Sonic” any day of the week!
It looks like the one-to-one odds that a new super-form would appear in this game have seemingly come true. This above image was seen in a completely different trailer for SatBK hosted at every Sonic fan’s favorite website, IGN. Their trailer has the instrumental version of “Knight of the Wind,” more wacky sword play, more castle crashing, darker locales, and (ugh) G…Gol…Gold Knight Sonic. I wonder what 7 magical McGuffins you have to collect to unlock this particluar super-form? Anyway, hit the break for the trailer. Continue reading IGN Showcases Completely Different SatBK Trailer
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In this new SatBK trailer, we get to feast our eyes on some gorgeous CG cutscenes and some intense gameplay footage. I mean, if you’re going to do something dumb and give Sonic a sword, this is how you do it. The cutscene clips give a glimpse as to why Sonic is in King Arthur’s court: purple-haired Zelda Merlina, some wizard in peril, shoots a beam into the sky and calls upon…Sonic, of all people. Then, Sonic gets a talking sword kills and anything that moves, while Crush 40 rocks out.
Now that you’ve watched the trailer, it’s time to play “Place Your Bets.” Bet on what will happen in this game (odds are in parenthesis).
Final boss battle with a super hulked-up Black Knight as a new super form of Sonic (1:1)
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It’s taken a while for us to actually bother with setting up the comments system on TSS. The main reason being is that we wanted those who had signed up on our SSMB Forums to be able to simply log in and comment on stories posted on the main site. Integration, and all that. Turns out that pipe dream’s going to take a bit longer than expected, due to the fact that we need a new version of our forum software to actually start creating our own integrations and what-have you.
So for the time being, you can comment on any of our stories without waiting for any of that forum-linkup nonsense to take place. You can even register an account if you want the site to remember you, if that’s what you’re into. So go do it, and be the coolest Sonic kid on the block, or something.
Also, and we’ve had this for a while but we never really made it obvious – if you have a news tip or anything you would like to submit to The Sonic Stadium for coverage, we have a ‘Send Tips’ page where you can fill in a little form and we’ll respond in kind. It doesn’t matter what it is; whether it’s info on the latest game, your new fan project, a piece of merchandise you’ve spotted (past or present) or some random Sonic video you’ve spotted on Youtube, we’d love to hear from you!
Use this story to let us know what you think of TSS so far in 2009! We’ve got a few more awesome surprises coming your way, so stay tuned to us, as we’ll be getting special features and community updates that you won’t see anywhere else.
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It’s kind of hard getting a daily article in when the site that you write for goes down for entire days at a time. :s
Who would buy this statue? Most likely, somebody at TSS (and by somebody, I mean DiscoPonies), so that’s why I’m telling all of you broskis. eBay user, Luxmans40, is selling this magnificent specimen, starting at 
