Happy Groundhog / Hedgehog Day (And A Possible Announcement On The Way?)

Happy Groundhog / Hedgehog Day (And A Possible Announcement On The Way?)

It’s 3am on Thursday, the 3rd of February, and fortunately for me Groundhog day won’t be repeating itself for me (although today seems to have gone on forever!) However for many of our American fans, their local groundhog will have predicted whether or not they will be having 6 more weeks of winter, of if early spring is on it’s way.

However the tradition of calling the 2nd of February “Hedgehog Day” was a tradition continued by SEGA since the announcement of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 a year ago. The SEGA America Blog is celebrating Hedgehog day in a very mysterious way…and no, I don’t mean the hedgehog weather-sensing facts either!

Keen-eyed fans will notice that certain letters are highlighted throughout the blog, and in order, spell “Berlin”.

Is SEGA giving us a hint as to a possible announcement that could take place soon in Berlin? Are the SoA employees enslaved to write the blog trying to tell us the city in which they have been locked in a dungeon and chained to a laptop? Is Sonic changing his name to Hans and moving to Germany? No doubt many fans will find this too much of a coincidence, and with two or three Sonic titles in the works this year, this is bound to get the fans talking.

So what’s going on? Answers on a back of a postcard…or let’s hear your conspiracy theories or know-how in the comments!

UPDATE: LordSpeed has a pretty convincing theory:

“Isaiah Berlin with his essay called “The Hedgehog and the Fox” takes the hedgehog as the type of the person who knows “one big thing”, as opposed to the fox, who knows many things. This was taken from a poem by Archilochus -> (image of Sega Blog) (Wikipedia).”

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Published by

Adam Tuff

With a decade under his belt, Adam is one of The Sonic Stadium's most seasoned writers, with interests in the music and merchandise of the Sonic the Hedgehog universe. Adam is the co-organiser for the Summer of Sonic convention.

76 Comments

  1. “Green eyes is back”

    LOL.

    My brain is failing to remember the convention’s name, but it sounds like the next big game (likely having a wind gimmick?) will be announced at the major gaming convention that takes place in Germany.

  2. Storybooks series may become History Books. A new title called “Sonic and the Berlin Wall, fighting against socialism”

    Ok… I choose for dungeon where SoA employees was locked option =|

  3. Perhaps we might get more information on Sonic 4: Episode 2. Then again, we will never know until they reveal it anyway.

  4. Green eyes is back? Oh noes!!! 😛
    I still wonder if the whole Sonic Anniversary collection game will come to pass, tho i think we can probably do without any more collections. Unless they can finally port Knuckles Chaotix and Sonic Arcade, tho a Knuckles game hardly celebrates Sonic’s 20th

  5. Hmmm *sherlock holmes hat and pipe*
    If episode 1 was announced this time last year … and the game was out in october…

    pre-mediated delay?

    As for Berlin *puffs on pipe* Probably a reference to the Video game exhibition that just opened there or an upcoming video game show there (with an announcement coming from either or both)

  6. lol Is SEGA pulling a NIN Year Zero A.R.G.? Soon we’ll find flash drives, and cryptic websites depicting the end of Mobius sent from 15 years in the future.

  7. I don’t intend to sound snooty, but some of us have been calling it “Hedgehog’s day” since 1994 when Sonic 3 was released on February 2nd. Anyway, this post makes me happy. I’ve been waiting for this day for weeks, just hoping there would be a new game announced today. I would have been disappointed except yesterday’s news about the new jazwares toys made me so happy, a lot of that happiness caried over to today.

    I enjoyed the reference to the 1993 movie “Groundhog Day”, I watched that movie 4 times today. It continuously played at work throughout the day at work today, then when I got home, sure enough that’s the movie my wife wanted to watch, so we did. But hey, you can never get sick of Bill Murry, right?

    So “green eyes” is his new nickname? I sure hope that doesn’t stick. I mean blue blur and true blue are okay nicknames, I am just not ready to associate him with a whole nother color.

  8. Interesting to say the least.
    By the way everyone, I’m by default the coolest person in the world because I posted the first comment on this topic as if it matters.

  9. What about your secret highlighted letters? “Green eyes is back,” what’s that supposed to mean?

  10. G r e e n E y e s is B a c k !!! XD

    LOL

    well…Berlin of Isaiah Berlin with his essay called “The Hedgehog and the fox” -> Takes the hedgehog as the type of the person who knows “one big thing”, as opposed to the fox, who knows many things. This was taken from a poem by Archilochus (Wikipedia).

    emm thats sound like Sonic and Tails relation in a “clever way” xD…maybe a main series game with Sonic and Tails in a full-formula gameplay (speed-fly) 😀 or…just Tails in Sonic 4: Episode II…uhmmm Sonic with new powers of wind with Tails? in a “time-weather adventure” xD!

  11. Green eyes is back? Grammar fail? Or did you mean Green eyes as in a name, the green-eyed sonic being named “Green Eyes?”

  12. I don’t get the secret message. Who cares? XD

    As for the Berlin thing… how is this gonna get fans talking? It doesn’t seem like that big of a deal to me… yet. Depends on whatever’s revealled later. If it’s just an event I don’t really care much. lol

  13. *Spells out highlighted letters. facepalms* They’re never going to shut up about that, are they?

  14. Green eyes is back? I didnt know he went away! And besides, we all know Sonic wears green contacts…
    As for Berlin, this is obviously a hint at the new character in Sonic 4/2. It will have a Germanic flavour, and the star will be Zonic ze Hedgehog…

  15. TSS: Green Eyes Is Back

    Well, there ya go. Sonic 4 Episode 2 is being announced. With Tails and stuff.

  16. “The Hedgehog and the Fox”?
    That could be what made SEGA make Sonic’s side-kick a fox.

    (“the fox knows many little things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing”)
    Tails, now, is a technical expert. Sonic, when there’s danger, he (mostly) only thinks about stopping it.

    I’m only speculating, of course.
    Do you think there’s any kind of connection?

  17. Hmm. Come to think of it, people started compklaining about the green eyes and embarrassing themselves over it abotu a year and a half ago. We’ve had a green-eyed Sonic for about 13 years now.

    Secondly, now that I think about it, it’s kinda funny people are upset about this cuz no one’s made that Tails has blue eyes, Knuckles has purple eyes, or that AMY also has green eyes?

    Even more funny is how people were upset about Sonic having green eyes but… most girls usually think green eyes are sexy. Ironic indeed. XD

  18. The Crush 40 website says 2.4.2011 for some reason (if you know, please tell me xD).
    If it’s a European date, then it means 2nd March, if American then it’s 4th Feb (TOMORROW)!!

  19. I think this might be a code name, “green eyes”, just like “project needlemouse” last year

    Everyone back then knew that sonic was a needlemouse…hmm

    ..and now everyone knows he has green eyes! …I think its most definetely Episode 2

  20. Berlin the Hedgehog ^^,

    No really, I think Sonic Anniversary will be annouced at an upcoming Berlin game expo.
    Either that or this is one of those events SEGA America mentioned in the Sonic 20th Anniversary press release

  21. Green Eyes is back? lol

    If the announcement is gonna be about Episode 2, the only thing I’ll need to hear is the sound effect of tails when he’s flying and “a certain hiphop beat” to make me satisfied until I see some actual gameplay lol

  22. Berlin = Isaiah Berlin, who wrote The Hedgehog and The Fox.
    The Hedgehog and The Fox = DUUUUUUUUUH…

    Green Eyes Is Back could literally just mean “Sonic is back”.

    So, Sonic is back and he’s bringing Tails with him for Episode 2.

  23. Mean Ties for Zack?
    Spleen Pies is Gack?
    Sheen Tries to Act?
    Bean Whines for comeback?
    Wot, WOT?!

  24. Sonic has green eyes… He used to have brown eyes back in the megadrive days, but hey… So Sonic’s back, hope its soon, hated the long wait for Episode 1

  25. Oh well…BERLIN

    Isaiah Berlin with his essay called “The Hedgehog and the Fox” takes the hedgehog as the type of the person who knows “one big thing”, as opposed to the fox, who knows many things. This was taken from a poem by Archilochus -> (image of Sega Blog) (Wikipedia).

    Thats like Sonic and Tails relation xD in a “clever way” maybe a new main series game with a full-formula (speed-fly)…or…just Tails in Sonic 4: Episode II…or…a game with Wind powers xD in a “time-weather adventure” XD!!!

  26. Oh dear, I hope they’re not hyping Episode 2. Seriously, we all know it’s going to be released, and we all know Tails will likely be in it. SEGA, don’t get me all excited for new material just to find out it’s the same stuff we already knew about.

    Still rooting for Sonic Adventure 3, though I know the prospect is unlikely… unless Iizuka was lying.

    Anybody know if the 2/4/11 on Crush 40’s website is indeed referring to tomorrow?

    [This actually refers to the Crush 40 show in Shibuya, Tokyo on the 2nd of April this year – T]

  27. Truthully, I’ll only get Episode 2 if Tails is in it.

    Now, all I can do is pray that they bring Super Tails back…

  28. Sonic’s green eyes do not affect the gameplay, people. In fact the modern character designs are fine the way they are. So why would you want them changed back to the old designs? It does not make any sense. Sonic is Sonic. No matter what the design is. Accept it.

  29. “Green eyes is back”

    I know Sonic have green eyes. Oh wait, Chaos from Sonic Adventure have green eyes.

  30. I’m surprised it’s not acknowledge that feb 2nd is also the anniversary of Sonic 3 making now that game and Knuckles the Echinda 17 years old

  31. 2.4.2011 would be Feb. 4th or April 2nd. Hmm… is SEGA having a press conference in Berlin, or is there a convention there soon?

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