Sega Reveals New 25th Anniversary Details “Branded Events & New Style Guides”

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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.

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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

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UPDATE: Johnny Gioeli Hints at Possible Crush 40 Involvement In 25th Anniversary Title

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UPDATE: Following the publication of the article, the post on the Facebook Page has since been removed.

Original Story: It probably isn’t far-fetched to guess that SEGA have a Sonic the hedgehog title lined up for the 25th Anniversary this year, however Crush 40 lead singer Johnny Gioeli has given a very strong indication that one is in the pipe line…and that Crush 40 could potentially contribute material to it.

Via a Q&A on the Official Johnny Gioeli Facebook Page today, Gioeli gave the following response to a question regarding new Crush 40 material in the works:

When will there be news about the Crush 40 album?
~We are planning a few performances for 2016 to commemorate the anniversary of Sonic. We “might” participate in writing new songs for the anniversary game…stay tuned…

Although some caution should be exercised with the key word in this response is “might”, the fan anticipation for a new Sonic game announcement will no doubt be further escalated, irregardless of game or new Crush 40 songs.

Stay tuned for more 25th anniversary announcements!

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Tomy Reveals 25th Anniversary Toyline For July 2016

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“Ok Detective TSS! Are there any clues as to the next Sonic game?” Well F4F saying that their 25th anniversary statue must be classic, press material from various licensing and toy fairs saying classic. Interviews also saying classic. And now Tomy are releasing a classic themed toy line with the 25th anniversary logo all over it…

It’s hard not to jump to conclusions, it’s really hard, so many signs indicate that next year will be a classic themed one, why would there not be a game to support that, anyway…

Found in Tomy’s catalogue for 2016 are a bunch of classic Sonic toys complete with a new version of the 25th anniversary logo. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Eggman are set to get a plush toy release and Sonic, Tails and Knuckles are also going to get a figure release with a collectable coin.

Now these are clearly just mockup images as they use the Boom figures as place holder images and official art as place holders for the plush line.

In just over a months time there is both London and New York Toy Fair which would be the most likely place for them to make their first appearance.

Items are set for release July 2016.

Keep checking TSS for more information as and when we get it.

Thanks again to Lhancat for the find. 

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More 25th Anniversary Licensing Details Discovered at BLE 2015

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We’ve had a few items up this week regarding Brand Licensing Europe, but one thing we’ve not yet told you all is that we actually had someone at Brand Licensing Europe to check out the various booths, the reason being is that in the past not many websites/blogs bother to take pics or cover the Sega booth, so we sent our own guy, despite this year being odd in that Sega decided to advertise their own booth on twitter, our guy was able to take some additional photos and provide some new information.

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The 25th Anniversary area simply had t-shirts, including two of Sonic himself (one being the box art of Sonic 1). On the other side of that wall was a sketch of a Classic Sonic ‘get ready’ pose, with an interesting little ‘GOTTA GO FAST’ logo featuring AoStH Sonic at the bottom. I tried to snag a look inside those Sonic bags that people were toting around, but all I could see was promotional material picked up from other booths.

Elsewhere in the booth, there were a few new Sonic Boom renders plastered about and the television was showcasing various trailers of season 1 of the Sonic Boom cartoon and SEGA properties like Football Manager and Total War. There were t-shirts to go with these, but you have already published photos of them on the site.

The Christmas Sonic jumper was also there; although it was difficult to get a good picture of it because people were often walking past or huddled in front of it. There is also a bag at the front (bottom right) of the image, as well as a couple of other jumpers and an Ecco t-shirt at the back, but again, people persistently positioned their bodies in inconvenient places.

Looking at the images from our correspondent myself. It would appear as if Sega are not only heavily pushing active franchises, but there is also a big desire to push what seems to be dubbed ‘The Retro Collection’

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Alex Kidd, Alien Syndrome, Altered Beast, Ecco, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage and Shinobi are all listed as being licenses up for grabs. That’s quite a wealth of content right there! Would love to own some more Streets of Rage stuff, just hope that also includes Streets of Rage 2 & 3 and not just the first game.

But let’s bring it back to Sonic for now, in the last few months since we first saw the 25th Anniversary logo, we keep seeing words like ‘Classic’ and ‘Heritage’ being branded about. This is the first time that we have seen the 25th Anniversary logo and some of the promotional material for it in close and clear proximity.

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The use of the classic Sonic as a sketch, that to me screams of origins/early creation, then we have the leaflet all of what appear to be T-Shirt design, notice how they are all classic era designs. No sign of any modern Sonic, or any other modern character for that matter.

Sadly there are still no clues on the content for the next big Sonic game, however with Sega promoting the 25th as being classic and heritage based and also confirming that they are intending to celebrate it, to not have a game which ties into this seems like a missed opportunity.

Very special thanks to SSMB member Pawn for the photographs and report.

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Sega’s Booth At Brand Licensing Europe: 25th Anniversary & Boom Spotted

ble2015booth1More Brand Licensing news, several images of Sega’s booth have been posted on twitter by none other than Sega’s own Tadashi Takezaki!

The booth appears to at first be very Sonic Boom heavy, however there are other Sega games around the outside of the booth including a ‘retro collection’ area.

However, eagle eyed readers may also find the image at the top of this article of interest, we can see the 25th anniversary logo again but this one is on a mural of classic Sonic and Eggman from Sonic 1. Is this a further clue as to the tone/nature of next year?

But more interestingly… is the fact that it was Tadashi Takezaki who took these images in the first place, in previous licensing events, both in Europe and the United Stages, it’s normally the local staff who handle and run the event, this is the first time that someone from Sega of Japan has been brought over to oversee an event. Dare I suggest that there is something of high importance at Brand Licensing Europe which he has gone over to oversee?

You can see the rest of the images in the gallery, keep checking TSS for more updates as and when we get them.

Source: Twitter

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