Twenty years. That’s how long this humble little Sonic the Hedgehog fan site has been kicking around for. The Sonic Stadium launched on 24 October 2000 and hasn’t taken a break (server crashes aside) ever since, making it possibly the oldest, longest-running Sonic site still active to this day. Over the next couple weeks, we will be celebrating our anniversary in style with special Twitch and Discord channel launches, special features and more!
In the two decades The Sonic Stadium has been active (or, to call it its various nicknames: TSS, the ‘Stadium, Sonic Stadium – or for those with really long memories, SSNG), we have been at the forefront of the Sonic the Hedgehog online community. Whether it’s delivering the latest Sonic News, offering definitive unbiased reviews, getting exclusive access to Sonic Team and game developers, or establishing new ways for fans to connect, TSS has truly been one of the most innovative and important tentpoles of the Sonic scene.
I personally have been managing and operating this site as a hobby since its doors opened way back in October 2000, and twenty years later I’m still super-psyched at the latest Sonic announcement and game release. Our coverage, community outreach and enthusiasm for the blue blur is not fizzling out any time soon – as you can see below with our celebratory content plan below.
Ahead of next Saturday (24 October 2020) I want to thank each and every Sonic fan who visited – and continues to visit – The Sonic Stadium. You have helped make this site what it is today – the first place fans go to for Sonic the Hedgehog information and discussion! Please join us in celebrating 20 Years of our existence with the below shenanigans!
Oh… I forgot one thing.
Stay ICE.
~ Dreadknux
20 Years of TSS: Legacy Features!
Starting Monday 19 October through Sunday 25 October, we will be celebrating the history of The Sonic Stadium in style! Several special features will cover various aspects of this site’s past: the many (many) layouts and designs we’ve had; our side-projects (radio shows, music albums, battle arenas, live conventions, even fan games) and iconic moments from our archive.
Over the next few months, we will also fully explore our 20-year-archive of solid Sonic content, revisiting and remixing some of our past coverage. Stay tuned for that!
TSS 20-Year Restoration Project!
It’s time to delve back into the long-lost, forgotten backups of The Sonic Stadium! We still have many, many folders of original content – recovered from failed hard drives and the many crashed servers that occurred over the years – that we intend to restore to this current iteration of the site. Our previous work on this has been slow, but over the coming months we will light a fire under ourselves and get things fully plugged in!
One of the great things about having a fansite that has lasted this long is that you’re not only at the forefront of the latest news, but also a perfect snapshot of the Sonic online community back in the day – be it 2001, 2005, 2009 or 2015. We hope you’ll enjoy our evolving trip down memory lane!
Discord Server Launch!
That’s right! We’ve finally gone and done it. The Sonic Stadium has its own Discord server. Now, you can be at the centre of the Sonic community by simply using your Discord username! As you read this, we have literally just opened, so we’re still finding our feet with everything, but as we grow and evolve, we’ll look into adding all sorts of cool features that will help make Sonic fans feel right at home!
You can join in the Discord server with this permanent invite link.
Remember to follow the server rules and don’t be a jerk.
We don’t like jerks here.
Twitch Channel Activate!
On Saturday October 24th, we will be fully celebrating TSS’ 20th Anniversary with a (re)launch of our Twitch channel! Join Dreadknux at 6pm UK / 10am Pacific for a trip down memory lane as he runs through some Sonic games and tells some ‘Stadium tales. Our Twitch channel can be found right here: https://www.twitch.tv/sonicstadium
This special stream will formally kick-off our Twitch channel activities (after a brief test last year where we played Team Sonic Racing for a bit). The following week will see some very special streams and coverage of Sonic Hacking Contest (see below), but after that we will be looking to set up a regular schedule where some of our TSS writing team will jump on to kick back and play some Sonic games with you all. Stay tuned for that!
Sonic Hacking Contest Coverage!
We’re proud to announce that The Sonic Stadium will be teaming up with the awesome Sonic Hacking Contest to provide special coverage of the online event! Starting Sunday October 25th with an SHC 2020 pre-event stream on our Twitch channel, our crack team of reporters will be bringing you the latest from the community contest.
We will not only be bringing you hands-on coverage on The Sonic Stadium website, but also be regularly streaming from our Twitch channel throughout the week. Full streaming schedule to come – stay tuned for more details! And visit the SHC 2020 website here!
New Look Sonic Stadium!
While all the above is going on, we’ve been hard at work on an updated look and feel for The Sonic Stadium to take us into 2021 and beyond! Well, truth be told we’ve been working on this for several months now, but a lot of other things have gotten in the way of releasing it. Once the 20th Anniversary celebrations are out of the way, we’ll get right back on this – we just wanted to tease you a little bit and let you know that we’re moving forward with a new face for TSS.
That’s all we have to share right now! Do share with us your favourite memories of The Sonic Stadium from the last 20 years – either in our blog posts (i.e. here), on the SSMB Forums, or on our social media channels!
INCREDIBLY hyped to be a part of all the goings on! Can’t wait to see everything unfold. 🙂
I remember reading news for Sonic Generations here. I feel so old right now!
Man do I feel old.^^ Congrats on twenty years Sonic Stadium! This is currently the only Sonic-related fan site I visit now and then (there was also TSSZ but it sadly closed down earlier this year).
I used to listen to a 24-hour stream called SegaSonic Radio, that’s how I eventually found this site, whatever happened to it? Did it merge with RadioSEGA? Any plans for a return? RadioSega gets the job done but it’s always great to have more options.
Anyway, I always use this site to stay up-to-date, and hope to see it ‘running’ for years to come.