In the newest issue of ToyWorld Magazine, Sega have posted a new advert for Sonic’s 25th featuring Classic, Modern and Boom Sonic together along with another version of the 25th anniversary logo.
The advert is there to advertise licensing enquiries so don’t jump to conclusions just yet about this being Sonic Generations 2 or some other big clue as to a new game announcement, even though it’s very tempting.
However, in the same issue there are also a bunch of details about Sega’s 2016 plans including one or two details which we didn’t yet know, and one or two interesting choices of words which I know some people are going to go crazy at, you can decide for yourself if that’s the good or bad crazy.
Most of the information is already known, again Boom the TV show is doing very well with plans to expand into Russia, Spain and Turkey in the near future, as well as more partners joining the Sonic Boom toy/merchandise line.
However the more interesting part is that the ‘Classic Sonic’ is described as ‘Pixel Sonic’ and Archies Sonic is now ‘Comic Book Sonic.’ However I wouldn’t take those definitions too seriously since this is information for people who are not too familiar with the brand.
Bioworld, Archie Comics and First 4 Figures are all named as being brands who will be supporting the 25th anniversary, products include, toys, publishing, clothing and even ‘limited edition collectibles’ and Sega are looking to expand on this list.
Now for the VERY interesting part. The final part of the article states the following.
2016 will be a a celebration of Sonic’s 25th birthday throughout the year. New Style Guides and new collaborations across toy, gift apparel, branded events and bespoke retail events initiatives will be on offer throughout the year.
Did you spot it?
- Celebration throughout 2016
- New Style Guides.
- Branded Events.
The first significant detail is that the whole year will be a celebration, not just the summer or when a game is due out, so at any time Sega could announce something.
What is a style guide? In this context, it means one of two things, the most likely thing, is that Sega are going to be ensuring that all Sonic merch for the 25th anniversary follows a set pattern, so all merchandise packaging looks similar, it helps customers identify the product and allows for a set standard.
You can see the 2014 style guide on TSS as it happens.
Now… and this is less likely, it may also mean that some characters have had some minor or major (major is unlikely) design changes, it might be very subtle, but noticeable.
The second thing is branded events, could this mean the return of Sonic Boom for the US and Summer of Sonic for the UK? Or even the day Sonic decided to go to Mercedes Benz World a few years ago.
We’ll keep you upto date with more news as we get it.
Source: ToyWorld Mag
This is very interesting news. I’m excited for this year now! Thank you very much for sharing this ^^
me too but lets just say that we need more info about crush 40 songs
Not gonna lie, I like the image.
Wait, is that… Beta Green Hill Zone?
Looks like Palmtree Panic.
Well, Looks like I whoopsed.
Forgot how different Palmtree Panic’s trees looked. My bad.
Eh. That’s less far off than my guess at least. XD
yeah more or less
That’s just Green Hill with Quartz Quadrant’s background for some odd reason.
Ohhh, yeah. Would you look at that. I thought it looked familiar, but not like the Green Hill Zone that I know.
I own a Sonic t-shirt involving 16-bit Sonic characters running around everywhere which has Green Hill Zone graphics similar to the ones used here. Guess whoever’s responsible for this merch isn’t a big fan of GHZ’s original background and would rather use backgrounds from other games.
No it is not. It is the modernized 16-bit Green Hill Zone.
Haven’t been hyped from anything Sonic related in such a long time. And this type of news is giving me (cautious) hope of what’s to come in the coming months. We still have Hedgehog Day coming in a few weeks, so maybe some big news then. Either which way it goes, it’s very exciting.
Possibly something to have to do with the genesis portals maybe?
I’m pretty sure that’s gonna stay Archie Sonic only.
i think so man
Not gonna lie, I would honestly be interested in a game that featured Classic Sonic, Modern Sonic AND Boom!Sonic all in one.
Probably an unpopular opinion, but I just wanted to throw it out there…
It’s definitely an unpopular opinion, but it’s interesting to think about.
Hmm…the litte Sonic fan in me would like to see this information be an indication of SEGA of not only using the 25th anniversary game to celebrate but the entire franchise, from Pixel Sonic to Comic Book Sonic.
But then my common sense smacks that foo upside his head and tells him that SEGA is too chicken shit scared to be that ambitious, and thas good thing because they’ll probably fuck it up as usual.
Best case scenario, there will be small events, tons of toys and merchandise, and plenty of twitter memes. Sonic Runners will get an event, so will Sonic Dash 2 SEGA will make Archie interrupt whatever story lines they have in order to hype the anniversary, and who knows, if SEGA thought ahead, maybe there will be a tribute episode of Sonic Boom. Then SEGA will play it safe, make Sonic Generations 2 and call it a day. Rinse and repeat for the next 25 years.
“most popular and most iconic video game character of all time”
Why you lyin’ Sega? 😛 He’s not even that popular in East Asia and some countries only know him by his cartoons.
Besides that little tidbit, it looks like Sega is planning something big for this year. I wonder what this new style guide is– it looks like we’re in for some good merch to be sure. I just hope this doesn’t all fall flat on its face a la Sonic 06 or Unleashed.
Why Unleashed?
Unleashed had one of the largest marketing campaigns for a Sonic game to date– with advertising everywhere, extensive merchandising, even a short CG movie presentation to promote the game. It was hyped as the game of the year, basically, but when it came out, it turned out to be… well, certainly good, but certainly not game of the year material. While people saw potential in the day stages, the Werehog was simply a bad idea that was treated as such, and it wouldn’t be until a few years that later that people would see the story, aesthetics, and even music as anything noteworthy. All of these issues were inflated by the hype the game had received, and thus there was a massive backlash against it. Hence, Unleashed fell flat on its face.
Ah. I actually didn’t know this. Thanks for explaining.
But again, it’s because people wanted SONIC ONLY that caused the “knuckles-style” stages to be skinned by Sonic. Be it true or not, that’s how I’ll always see the argument in regards to the long winded Werewolf stages.
No, the Werehog was planned from the start for Sonic. Part of Unleashed’s big promotion was using dual gameplay styles then letting players to decide what gameplay style they wanted for Sonic. The styles presented were the beat ’em up style of the Night stages or a 3D/2.5D adaptation of the boost formula of the Day stages. Obviously, people picked the boost adaptation.
Yeah, I kinda cringed at that part. Mario and Pacman are more iconic than Sonic but the blue hedgehog comes pretty close.
Well, in the US and UK, at the very least. I love the Blue Blur, but c’mon, he’s not as popular as Sega would like us to think. I know Sonic’s schtick is being cool and cocky, but I think this takes it a little far. 😛
lol, I laughed at that part.
Mario’s name is echoed in the same name as Mickey mouse, Sonic is popular, but not in Mario’s league or even Pikachu and Link for that that matter.
in case you guys have not notice SEGA said the werehog is gonna return in the future sonic games.
Source? I know he’s coming back in Runners, but that’s the extent of it as far as I know.
go to wikipedia
Wikipedia is not a reliable source as anybody can edit it. I could write that Sonic is a huge aficionado of spicy pickles on there, even though that isn’t true at all.
Give me a reliable source.
Proof or didn’t happen.
Did you spot it?
Celebration throughout 2016
New Style Guides.
Branded Events.
That’s three things. A triangle has three corners and three sides. Sonic is allumintai confirmed!
Sorry, I just had to do that. 🙂 Really, this is looking promising. It’s not the first time we’ve seen SEGA this confident about something, but it’s still a good sign.
I honestly thought you were gonna write SA3 Confirmed.
I think there’s a bigger chance Valve will announce HL3 this year than SA3 ever happening.
Considering as how we’re only joking I don’t really care if SA3 gets announced or not.
CONFIRMED YOU GUYS!! VALVE IS DOING SA3!! FREE-TO-PLAY BUT YOU GOT TO BUY A MILLION HATS TO UNLOCK STAGES!!
Oh yay finally a new Sonic game in 2016 that Sega announced this year of the biggest rumor new Sonic game, in 2016 we all know but I’m not spoliering it to anyone because their gonna get mad at me for saying that!!!
As if anyone could understand you well enough to care.
Ey, back off there. You don’t know if he’s capable of good English. Might not know much English due to being foreign or have some disability. Besides, the gist of what he said is he’s hyped for the new Sonic game that was announced (kinda), and vaguely skimmed over here. We all have a right to say that here. Not his fault you lack the brain cells to at least get the gist of what he said.
NO ONE WANTS SONIC BOOM SEGA! That is all.
Yeah except for all the people who enjoy it which despite what you see on is a good amount of folks.
…I want Sonic Boom. Who are you to tell the fanbase what to think?
He’s just saying what the majority of us are feeling. Boom has caused so much controversy. Not everyone cares for that brand of humor or characterization, whether they make a decent game or not.
Controversy implies polarization, which implies a variety of opinions from love to hate. So by that alone his opinion is not a popular as he thinks. Boom is polarizing– there’s plenty of on the like side, there’s plenty on the hate side. I agree that not everybody cares for Boom nor does anybody have to, and that Boom is flawed. But at the same time, I think its extremely obnoxious to proclaim about how nobody wants Boom when it clearly has a fanbase.
I mean, if I’m to put it into perspective for you, imagine if Sega decided to make a third season of SatAM, proving once and for all that it wasn’t such a lost cause as originally thought. But a faction of the fanbase, still convinced that the show cannot be anything more than a failure, devotes itself to trying to insult SatAM and shame the SatAM fanbase by claiming that its style is completely unlike Sonic (despite aspects of its style being present in the games), making exaggerated and often inaccurate criticisms of the characters while ignoring bigger issues and positive aspects, claiming that only complete morons would ever like it, and that its worse than Sonic 06? You’d be pretty offended and annoyed, no? Well, that’s the type of BS I’ve had to put up with as a Boom fan. He’s not “saying what the majority of us are feeling”, he’s part of the problem with people mistreating Boom fans. And honestly, I’m sick of it. Who is Mike to tell the fanbase what it wants? If he wants to dislike Boom, that’s fine, but there’s no need to be so obnoxious.
Well I’m sick of people dissing Sonic’s friends (but claiming that Sally is the greatest character ever), claiming Mario is better than Sonic because he has little dialog, and using COD as an end-all alternative for the Sonic franchise, but that’s never going to end anytime soon.
Doesn’t mean you can’t criticize that kind of behavior, or call people out on it. Sometimes people really don’t know any better because of what some crazy folks have told them. Others are the crazy folks who deserve every word of calling out that they get.
I am a firm believer in speaking up. Even if your criticism doesn’t have any effect on the people you’re calling out, you’ve still raised awareness of the issue and thus helped your cause.
If Boom Sonic is seriously going to be included in the next game, I think it’s pretty safe to say that we can put the nail in the coffin. Alternatively, if Boom is somehow included and made not to be a massive failure, then it’ll just make me question why they couldn’t get it right the first time around. Generations is the best game to come out in years..why can’t Sega just actually stick with what works?
If any design changes happen for the characters most likely it will just be for Sonic Boom since those designs went viral and caused much controversy even worst than when Classic Sonic became Modern Sonic in Sonic Adventure!
Blue Arms are worst than Green Eyes apparently!
Well I don’t like (to be honest I hate it)Sonic Boom but , hey still it’s coming to Turkey at least I will have something to watch on TV.
Oh and also , SEGA please stop making spin offs and make something serious about Sonic franchise. Haters gonna hate but I gotta say without Werehog parts I really enjoyed the world of Sonic Unleashed , I want something like it , it had a good story , good gameplay and what I love about it , it had some cartoon kinda humans not like the Adventure series.
Starts post admitting he hates Boom. Follows up with a “haters gonna hate”
Lol , *haters gonna hate* part is not about Boom . It’s about Sonic Unleashed . There are some people hate it just because of Werehog parts.Please read all of it :D:D
well i want to hear more info about the crush 40 songs for this anniversary :/ i mean sonic unleashed was ok but its more like sonic heroes.
Be cool to see Sonic Generations 2 with Sonic Boom included.
I can’t wait for more news.
So…Dragon Ball Z celebrating Sonic’s 25th?
So…Dragon Ball Z celebrating Sonic’s 25th? Along with many other anime, video games, cartoons etc. Oh yeah, this year will be a BLAST found for Sonic!
So… more Nintendo exclusives and mobile games?
Woo hoo.
This is really cool, now this time SEGA possibly can’t fail to having three Sonics. I had a feeling the Boom Sonic would be a third Sonic in a Sonic game. If you guys, yes you SEGA are having us to choose our favorite levels again I would like to see Splash Hill Zone.
Anyways SEGA I believe in you guys on the Boom Sonic, I wish to you guys the best of luck with the Boom Sonic in the game and the Boom franchise in general.
-From President, Founder & CEO Raymarko J. Armstrong of Systariced
I REALLY hope this will FINALLY mean an appearance, in a proper Sonic Team-made Sonic game, of the Knothole Freedom Fighters.
Sonic Boom Sonic doesn’t deserve to stand next to the Classic and Modern Sonics, who actually had good games. The only reason the Sonic Boom franchise is still going on is the sales of the toys and merchandising. In other words, it’s more a toy commercial than a legit game series.
They didn’t say anything of a new game. I don’t give a crap about merch or events. I have no need for merch, and no money for events. I want a new Sonic game. Plus at this point Sonic isn’t the most iconic. I mean hes well known, but 06 and Boom sort of screwed him out of being on Mario’s level of popularity. Even if Colors, Generations, and Lost World were all awesome. Now I just want a good, canon game, that could be an adventure title (preferably) or something like the light-hearted more recent Sonic games (take out Lost World’s dark outbursts).
Make a game with sonic and shadow as the main characters. Not too light hearted, but not too serius. Give sonic and shadow different abilities, maybe using shadows caos control as stopping everything for 10 sec then slowing to half speed for 7 sec then returning to normal (like in sonic generations ). Also have caos boost,caos lance,caos blast, and maybe some new abilities, after all sonic gets to gain new abilities every once in a while so why shouldn’t shadow? Letting caos control somehow teleport shadow would be fun if it can be done right. Sonic should keep boost from generations, and also homing attack. Maybe having sonic be slightly faster, but shadow with better durability and abilities. To even it out maybe have tails invent something cool for sonic. The idea of the power rings from sonic x isn’t bad and something like that might be usefull to balence sonic with shadow. Mayby having the regular sonic game rings get rarer and gaining the ability to turn 10 of them into one power ring. Maybe using 5 power rings could give sonic 15% more speed for 10 seconds and 10 power rings give 25% more speed for 15 seconds. Having the power rings also give 50% more damage for 15 and 20 sec would put sonic and shadow almost even. Having sonic and shadow have a permanent health bar that regenerates with each ring and over time might be a good idea as well. ( bad grammer i know, DONT CRITISIZE!)