Thirty years. SEGA’s plucky blue hedgehog has been running for three whole decades. For some of us 1990s kids who grew up playing the original game on Mega Drive/Genesis, it seems absolutely crazy to think that not only would we still be playing Sonic games, but that the SEGA mascot’s popularity is stronger than ever in 2021. For those that grew up in the 2000s, the fact that Sonic Adventure 2 released twenty years ago may make you feel similarly ancient.
But time marches on, or so they say, and while there is plenty of amazing Sonic content in the future to get excited about – Sonic Prime, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Movie, IDW’s Sonic comics, Sonic 2022 – it’s important to look back and see just how far SEGA’s hero has come. From almost being a rabbit on a scrap of design paper, to becoming the worldwide-renowned icon he is today.
The Sonic Stadium is the biggest, longest-running and most treasured Sonic the Hedgehog fansite on the planet. And we’ve been running for almost as long as Sonic has – so we wanted to be the ones to celebrate the Blue Blur’s Legacy by running a season of special shows, podcasts and content.
New Site Theme
To celebrate Sonic the Hedgehog’s 30th Anniversary – and our season of content – we created a special new theme for the website. Influenced by the colours of the official Sonic 30th Anniversary logo, this theme will be set as the default look for the site for the next week running into July.
But after that, if you want to keep the design you can do so by selecting ‘Blue Blur Legacy’ from the dropdown menu at the bottom of any page. We will also be holding a special area at the top of the homepage for the rest of the month, which will specifically house our Blue Blur Legacy and anniversary-themed content.
We also gave SSMB Forums a new banner to celebrate the occasion – although in the near future, a much bigger theme change is going to be coming. We’re nearly done with preparations, but hopefully soon we’ll be able to update you with more details.
Sonic’s Anniversary Stream
On Wednesday June 23rd, we’re going to be celebrating Sonic the Hedgehog’s 30th Anniversary with a special selection of livestreams on our Twitch channel. The fun kicks off from 5pm UK (12noon EST, 9am PT) and runs all through the day. We will also host our Twitch stream on the Sonic Stadium homepage so you can catch it there too.
Be sure to tune in and reminisce with us!
SCHEDULE:
- 19:00 UK / 14:00 EST / 11:00 PT:
Sonic Talk Podcast Special: nuckles87, GX and Shigs gather round and talk about the blue blur’s big day! - Around 22:00 UK / 17:00 EST / 14:00 PT:
Dreadknux plays through iconic anniversary title, Sonic Adventure 2, in honour of Sonic the Hedgehog’s 30th Anniversary (and Shadow’s 20th)! It was the first game The Sonic Stadium covered when it launched in 2000, so it holds a special place in our heart. - 00:00 UK / 19:00 EST / 16:00 PT:
nuckles87 introduces SEGA arcade racer Rad Mobile, which was the very first game to include Sonic the Hedgehog. We also shoot through the classic Mega Drive/Genesis games via SEGA Saturn compilation pack, Sonic Jam.
SEGASonic Radio Returns!
That’s right, you read that correctly. After many years of downtime, our flagship radio station, SEGASonic Radio, is returning with a brand new concept and format. For those that don’t remember, SSR was The Sonic Stadium’s streaming Sonic music service, providing a 24/7 audio feed of randomised tunes from the blue blur’s history. We also had a regular schedule of live radio shows, hosted in real time by Sonic fan DJs, in a community-first concept called LiVECASTs.
Today, the landscape of how fans listen to Sonic music has totally changed since the radio station’s run (between 2001-2014~). Streaming services like Spotify and YouTube provide fans with all the Sonic music they could need, so what could a renewed SEGASonic Radio offer? That’s the question we’ve been trying to answer.
We think we’ve found a solution – a dedicated weekly radio show hosted on The Sonic Stadium’s Twitch channel. Starting Friday 25 June and running every Friday after that, a SEGASonic Radio DJ will play non-stop Sonic the Hedgehog music for you to chill out to. Or work to. Or work out to. Whatever you want to do.
SEGASonic Radio Timeslot:
Date: Every Friday
Time: 00:00 UK / 19:00 EST / 16:00 PT
Runtime: 60 ~ 90 minutes
Make sure you catch our first episode on TSS’ Twitch channel this Friday – right here! We hope this will satisfy those SSR fans who have been looking for a regular means to enjoy Sonic music. Looking into the future, we might celebrate SSR’s own storied past as well. Stay tuned for more!
Exclusive Interview with Takashi Iizuka!
We’ve been lucky enough to have several opportunities to chat exclusively with the people behind the Sonic games over the years, but our interview with Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka is extra special. Largely because this marks Sonic the Hedgehog’s 30th anniversary, but also because of what the blue blur means to IIzuka-san, someone who has been involved with the Sonic series for almost its entire run. He opens up to us about Sonic Colours, Sonic Origins, Sonic 2022 and more!
Read our exclusive interview right here!
Blue Blur Legacy Features
Here we will archive a list of our special features, produced specially for our Blue Blur Legacy season of content. A mix of exclusive interviews, previews and historical pieces that will run through the greatest hits of Sonic the Hedgehog’s 30-year past.
Make sure to come back to this hub page regularly for the latest – we’re not just limiting our season of content to Sonic’s birthday week, as we continue to run features all the way through the rest of 2021!
- Monday 21 June: What Made Sonic the Hedgehog Such an Influential Game
- Tuesday 22 June: Most Influential Moments in Sonic Games
- Wednesday 23 June: Happy 30th Birthday, Sonic the Hedgehog – The Blue Blur’s Lasting Legacy
- Thursday 24 June: Coming Soon
- Friday 25 June: Coming Soon
- Saturday 26 June: Coming Soon
- Sunday 27 June: Coming Soon
Race for Good 2021
The Sonic Stadium is taking part in Race for Good 2021, a charity streaming event held by British Sonic YouTubers TitansCreed and TheBritishAndy. On Saturday 26 June, Q&As with Mike Pollock and Johnny Gioeli will take place – and The Sonic Stadium will be helping moderate and ask the questions! We’ll be pulling largely from a list of fan-submitted material, so if you have a burning question to ask either Mike or Johnny be sure to send them in.
Mike Pollock Q&A:
17:00 UK / 12:00 EST / 09:00 PT
Johnny Gioeli Q&A:
18:30 UK / 13:30 EST / 10:30 PT
Anniversary News
- Dreams Come True Announces Vocal Green Hill Zone Single
- Exclusive: Sonic Origins “Won’t Be Running Off Emulation,” More Classic Sonic Games May Be Remastered
- Exclusive: Takashi Iizuka Hopes 2022 Sonic Game Will Lay Foundation For Future Titles
- Sonic Mania Free on the Epic Games Store Starting June 24
- Sonic X King Ice Necklaces Now Available for Pre-Order
- IDW’s Giving Away Trades, Games, and a Custom PS5
- Sonic 30th Anniversary Website Launches
Read more by visiting the Sonic 30th Anniversary news tag…
We’ll keep updating this page as we run through the rest of the year! Be sure to keep up to date! Here’s to another 30 Years of Sonic the Hedgehog!
Congrats on 30 years Sonic!
Could you maybe update the Blue Blur Legacy Features, with section with the rest of the article links?