“Virtual Summer of Sonic” Competition – Win A Signed Copy of Virtual Sonic!

SOS09-LOGO-WITH-DATE1Because we simply can’t give away enough stuff to you ravenous Sonic fans, there’s one last chance to snag yourself a really nice piece of Sonic history for your collection! The legendary Sonic composer Howard Drossin has given us a Signed copy of the “Virtual Sonic” album for one of you lucky people to win in our competition!

Continue reading “Virtual Summer of Sonic” Competition – Win A Signed Copy of Virtual Sonic!

The Sonic Stadium may link to retailers and earn a small commission on purchases made from users who click those links. These links will only appear in articles related to the product, in an unobtrusive manner, and do not influence our editorial decisions in any way.

Take Sonic On An Adventure – The Winning Photo!

It’s Easter, and so everyone’s making plans to go on holiday somewhere. Sonic’s already had his World Adventure in the form of Sonic Unleashed, but perhaps the sights of Apotos and Chun-nan hasn’t given our hedgehog a complete view of the world we live in.

This is where you come in. Courtesy of our friends at SEGA Europe, we have an Xbox 360 Elite console plus a game or two to give away to a special someone on The Sonic Stadium. As a runner-up prize, we also have a copy of Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection (Xbox 360, PAL) for one of you. This is all made possible by the good folk at the Sonic City Blognik – click the link to visit them and have good times.

plush-adventure

The Challenge

So what do you have to do to be in with a chance of winning a brand new console? Simple. We want you to take a Sonic plushie on an adventure and take a photo of where it ends up. Much like Sonic Team’s famed plushie photo shoots (example above) we want Sonic to see all the sights of the world – be that eating at a TGI Friday’s in New York or skulking down the beaches in Skegness. The craziest photo will end up with a spanking new Xbox 360 Elite. Magical!

The Entries

worldadv-yuluga worldadv-silencer226

Image 1: No sooner had we opened our contest than we suffered the good old Rule 34, with our first entrant displaying a somewhat “tough encounter between rivals”, courtesy of Yuluga. Not quite sure if Tails is experiencing anything about the world apart from the fact that it can be a cruel, cruel place, but I’m sure Eggman is having a good time. So er, thanks for this Yuluga.

Image 2: Silencer226’s entry attempts to add some toilet humour to the proceedings. It’s quite impressive how he’s managing to balance that Archie with his feet, either way. According to Silencer, “…Shadow has always wondered why Sonic loves those chili dogs, so he tried one. Big mistake… from his facial expression I could tell he had much to do. Now he must live his life as the ‘Ultimate Crapper'”.

worldadv-waaurufu worldadv-peter

Image 3: Here we have Shadow ‘enjoying’ the sights of Disneyland in Anehiem, California. As much of a traveller as the Ultimate Lifeform is, apparently the Happiest Place on Earth wasn’t part of his agenda. Entrant Waaurufu promised a Haunted Mansion ride to get him to come along. It’s a nice photo, let’s just hope the angsty one doesn’t find out about it.

Image 4: Peter had no Sonic plush, so he entered with his favourite figurine instead. We suppose it counts, particularly if you end up having a Bug’s Life-esque adventure as Sonic seems to be having here. Makes even a Bulgarian garden an exotic locale for some exploration.

worldadv-frobman worldadv-josh

Image 5: Sonic climbs among the rocks of Barry Island, Cardiff in this photo, immortalised by Frobman. Doesn’t look like he’s breaking much of a sweat – maybe all those past adventures have kept him fit over the years. It’s an awesome picture nonetheless, and almost won the contest.

Image 6: Josh enters a photo of a particularly knackered Sonic, which kind of links quite nicely from the last entry here. “He didn’t quite save [the world] this time, so he gave up because there was no hope–because the earth was already taken over, and so he decided just to take a nap on the beach.” Apparently beaches aren’t what they used to be after the world got destroyed by Eggman, hence the photo. Nice try, Josh.

worldadv-milesdx worldadv-deancast1

Image 7: Amy tries the economy-busting approach to holidaying, by fishing in a bucket in MilesDX’s backyard. Well, at least she can’t complain about the quality of the food or accommodation this way. Let’s hope she doesn’t end up with a frog for dinner, otherwise Big won’t be happy.

Image 8: Rather than go on a world adventure, Deancast shows Sonic that the best place in the world can be home, as the blue blur is caught finding some chili dogs to cook up. The way he’s looking, it seems ol’ Sonic’s had his fair share of dogs as well. Getting a bit porky there. Deancast, just how long has Sonic been stuck in your house living on this stuff?

worldadv-chaos360 worldadv-pri0n worldadv-wordtamer

Image 9: The chili dog scoffing must have taken its toll on Sonic’s fitness, as Chaos360 sends us a picture of our hero gallantly failing his daily training in a gym in Catford. Bonus points to Chaos360 for the confused onlooker on the rowing machine there.

Image 10: Sonic needs gems! Emeralds! Shiny things! To satisfy his desire to complete his gems collection, Pri0n took his plushie to a New York jewellery shop. After ‘detecting some strange energy patterns’, the hedgehog discovered that the store had Chaos Emeralds, and they were for sale too. If only Dr. Eggman knew how easy it would be collecting the elusive seven…

Image 11: The Word Tamer lives up to the name by sending us a short story alongside this entry, where Sonic valiantly escapes from his most dangerous foe yet – Sonic Man! While quoting a bunch of hyperactive side-characters, Sonic’s task in “Sonic Adventure 3” is to reclaim the stolen Yuji Naka-Sanchinity orb from Sonic Man, all the while abandoning Tails and Knuckles via rope swing in Wivenhoe Woods. An ‘A’ for effort here, and an ‘A’ for sympathy as Wordy apparently fractured his wrist on that very rope swing prior to his career change to unconvincing villain.

worldadv-frack worldadv-tracy

Image 12: Frack’s entry speaks for itself: “Before being relocated to a maximum security, underwater GUN prison , Sonic was temporarily held in a similar facility in San Diego, CA. Poor guy.” He doesn’t quite look like he’s enjoying his world adventure there, does he? It’s OK Sonic, Amy will save you… at least she would, if she wasn’t bucket fishing.

Image 13: Tracy sent in a pretty cool photo of Sonic jamming in a band with Tails and Knuckles. She says the gang had just defeated Eggman for yet another time and playing the drums helps Sonic relax. Well, as long as Sonic doesn’t go anywhere near a guitar that shoots happy hardcore laser beams, we’ll be okay. And I think the neighbours would accept loud drumming noises compared to that as well.

worldadv-dylan worldadv-keegan

Image 14: Sonic enjoys a well-earned rest in a nearby tree – well, with all this exploring around the world and seeing all sorts of sights, you do need a break every now and then. Dylan took this photo while Sonic was napping, but I’m sure he won’t mind.

Image 15: “Sonic is on in adventure this Easter Cracking One Bad Egg at a Time…” reads this entry from Future. Sonic finally gets Eggman into a corner – or should we say cup – as he declares “This is going to happen to you next!”, pointing at a broken egg. My my, we never knew Sonic had it in him. Eggman’s understandably a bit soiled at this threat, and the shocked face slapped on that egg is awesome. Nice work.

The Almost-Won-Its

worldadv-foreversonic worldadv-rio worldadv-leo

Image 16: Foreversonic took this stylish photo of Sonic trying his luck in Great Yarmouth’s crane game machines. The story goes that Sonic’s friends got caught in this catcher so Sonic must try to free them. The setting feels very much like a location Sonic would be seen in, and the story behind it is pretty sweet too.

Image 17: Looks like Rio went on his own world adventure round about the same time most of the TSS Staff did, as he takes a photo with his Sonic plushie by a lake in the Chu-Zenji mountains in Nikko, Japan. It’s truly an amazing view, and we can say we’ve seen similar sights in our own journey in the land of the rising sun. This almost won because it was about the only entry that actually took the contest seriously. Great work.

Image 18: Leo’s entry sees Sonic hitchhiking in rural Germany, with the Bavarian Alps looking beautiful within the town of Garmisch. It was a real close call between the winning entry and this one, as the view is absolutely breathtaking and the photography here is worthy of praise. Sonic’s all bandaged up like that as the result of a traffic accident. Trying to get to Spagonia those few seconds faster doesn’t really seem worth it now, does it Sonic?

Leo’s entry is the clear runner-up in the contest, which means he bags himself a PAL copy of Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection on Xbox 360.

The Winner

worldadv-khyber

Khyber’s entry won the contest by the width of a fishing line – literally! Setting up a scene where Tails is carrying Sonic over Bellingham Bay, WA is a unique way of staging a world adventure (as long as Tails doesn’t get too knackered after all that flying) and very fitting for the games as well. What really got us was the effort that went into taking this photo – believe it or not, the image above is not photoshopped, but rather a couple of plushies hanging on a fishing line. Kyber explains:

“I switched to fishing line instead of string because the string kept showing up in the picture. Sonic and Tails are held together with safety pins, and the angle is such that the pins aren’t visible. This was HARD to get right, but definitely worth it.”

You can see how Kyber set up the shot by taking a peek at this image. The imagination alone has earned you an Xbox 360 Elite console, a copy of Sonic Unleashed, a bonus game and a bundle of Sega goodies to boot, so well done Khyber! Thanks to all of our entrants, all of your photos were awesome and detailed a very interesting (if not sordid at times) adventure that the Sonic crew will certainly not forget!

What’s your favourite entry out of all of these photos? Let us know in the Comments box!

The Sonic Stadium may link to retailers and earn a small commission on purchases made from users who click those links. These links will only appear in articles related to the product, in an unobtrusive manner, and do not influence our editorial decisions in any way.

Put Your Face To Faith

Face to FaithHow’s this for an Easter treat? We’re teaming up with SEGA Europe to give away an Xbox 360 Elite console, along with a copy of Sonic Unleashed and some other goodies too! I also have an Xbox 360 copy of Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection to give away too, so I’m chucking that in there too. Monster prize, eh? It’s just what we do. Wanna win it? Head to the contest page right now!

As we’re getting through the Media Portal updates, I’ve been working hard to get a few more music pages online at TSS. We’ve just added the Face to Faith vocal soundtrack from Sonic and the Black Knight, and an information page on Bentley Jones’ debut Japanese album, TRANS//LATION. It’s some pretty good stuff, and I urge you to use the links provided on the page to import the albums if you like what you hear (although for the record, we won’t be providing downloads of Bentley’s album – sorry).

On this Easter holiday, you might want to kick back and relive some of your younger days. Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection may be right up your street, and we have a review online now to help you decide whether it’s worth a few bob of your money and time.

Finally, we have yet another old/new addition to the Skin Selector. Rounding off the Triple Threat, I’ve gone ahead and remade the ‘Knucklehead’ theme so you can see red whilst you browse TSS.

The Sonic Stadium may link to retailers and earn a small commission on purchases made from users who click those links. These links will only appear in articles related to the product, in an unobtrusive manner, and do not influence our editorial decisions in any way.

SBK Script Up For Grabs In SEGA Europe Competition

satbk-script

UPDATE: In an update at the Sonic City Blognik ArchangelUK informs that the competition is now open to all countries.

SEGA Europe together with entertainment and media news website Digital Spy are offering you the chance to win one of only two copies made of the Japanese Sonic and the Black Knight script. Even better it’s signed by the game’s producer Tetsu Katano. ArchangelUK tells us in his latest Sonic City Blognik entry that he has the other one but with a bit of luck and by answering a simple competition question you could be the lucky owner of the second one. Three runners-up will get a Sonic and the Black Knight inflatable sword and a SEGA vinyl sticker. Entries are to be one per household and are to be in by Friday, April 10, 2009 at midday.

You can check out the question and full competition details at Digital Spy’s website.

The Sonic Stadium may link to retailers and earn a small commission on purchases made from users who click those links. These links will only appear in articles related to the product, in an unobtrusive manner, and do not influence our editorial decisions in any way.

Perms for Herms Art Contest: We Have A Winner!

A few weeks back, we set you guys the task of sticking a crazy barnet on the heads of your favourite Sonic characters. We received a whole barrel load of entries, and they’ve certainly given us a laugh! So, before we get to our winner, we’ve got some other noteworthy entries and some runner-ups too!!!

Continue reading Perms for Herms Art Contest: We Have A Winner!

The Sonic Stadium may link to retailers and earn a small commission on purchases made from users who click those links. These links will only appear in articles related to the product, in an unobtrusive manner, and do not influence our editorial decisions in any way.

Perms for Herms: Win Signed Matt Herms Sketchbook

So, you fancy winning yourself a copy of Matt Herm’s Sketchbook? Not only has this renowned Archie comics artist signed this book of sketches, it’s also got a hand-drawn sketch of Sonic on the back page too!

210220091421

Not too shabby a prize eh?

So, if you would like to add this cool-ass comic to your collection, get yer pencils out!

Sonic and the gang feel like their hairdoos just aren’t hip anymore – they’re just too nineties! So, what we want to do is to give your favourite Sonic character a new haircut, as our resident Roarey Raccoon demonstrates!

tails_hair1

You don’t need to be an artist! Points will be awarded for style and originality! Closing date for entries is the 27th of March…so get scribbling!

Send all your entries to permsforherms@googlemail.com.

The Sonic Stadium may link to retailers and earn a small commission on purchases made from users who click those links. These links will only appear in articles related to the product, in an unobtrusive manner, and do not influence our editorial decisions in any way.

Be Sociable and Win a Megadrive/Genesis Ultimate Collection LP!

If you’re one of these hip, cool people who loiters on the Global Networking / Distraction from work site facebook, you can have yourself an opportunity to snag yourself a nice bit of SEGA Megadrive history. Many of you will know that SEGA have produced a limited run SEGA Megadrive Ultimate Collection LP, featuring 6 tracks from SEGA titles such as  Ristar and Golden Axe (for those of you who are too young, an LP is one of those big black disc things that your Mums and Dads have at home in the dusty cabinet – usually featuring Barbera Streisand’s hits and ABBA Gold).

Anyway, if you fancy having a crack at winning one of these, for purely aesthetic purposes or not, head over to the SEGA facebook page, and vote in the current poll that is going: “What is your favourite SEGA Megadrive/Genesis series?” To increase your chances, let the peeps at SEGA know WHY the series is your favourite in the comment box.

If you’re reading this, you are now by law required to vote Sonic…not that he’ll need any help mind you…

The Sonic Stadium may link to retailers and earn a small commission on purchases made from users who click those links. These links will only appear in articles related to the product, in an unobtrusive manner, and do not influence our editorial decisions in any way.

Will the REAL Billy Hatcher please stand up?

SEGA Europe has begun a national search for a Real Life Billy Hatcher. In Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg (a review of which at TSS can be found here), you needed courage to overcome the threat of the evil crows.

SEGA are looking for kids aged between 5 and 16 years old, with an extraordinary story of real life courage or kindness to help others out. Here’s part of the “press-y”:

Do you know a child that has gone to exceptional lengths to be kind to others. Has your friend beaten all odds to overcome difficulties? Or perhaps a brother or sister has reacted with strength and courage in the face of tragedy.

It doesn’t have to be you, or if you’re too old, you can nominate a younger cousin, sibling or other friend that has something on a par with the Chicken-Suit-Wearing freak that is Billy.

What happens if you win? Well, the kid awarded as the national ‘Real Billy Hatcher’ will get an exclusive day out at the SEGA Europe Headquarters in London, where you get to become a games tester there for a day (SO, that’s how they process an application is it? =_=), giving feedback to the chiefs on unreleased SEGA games. Regional winners will also win a specialised ‘Billy Hatcher Bedroom’, where your room will win Billy Hatcher bedroom decorations, a games theatre (including a console and SEGA games), and most likely a copy of Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg.

To participate, you have until the end of January 2004 to get your application in – go here for the information: Billy Hatcher Official Website, and click the signpost that Recky is holding to the left.

Good luck to those that participate!

The Sonic Stadium may link to retailers and earn a small commission on purchases made from users who click those links. These links will only appear in articles related to the product, in an unobtrusive manner, and do not influence our editorial decisions in any way.

TSS UPDATE: SAGE 2002 Competition Results!

Remember the SAGE 2002 Competition we held a while back? Well, the results are in! The winner of the competition is… Thomas Walker! Thomas, you were randomly picked from the list of entrants to win all the goods!

Continue reading TSS UPDATE: SAGE 2002 Competition Results!
The Sonic Stadium may link to retailers and earn a small commission on purchases made from users who click those links. These links will only appear in articles related to the product, in an unobtrusive manner, and do not influence our editorial decisions in any way.

Enter Our SAGE 2002 Season 1 Competition [Update: Winner Announced]

Yes, no sooner than SAGE 2002 has launched, The Sonic Stadium has set up its VERY FIRST competition for you to enter! If you’ve been looking about recently, then you’ll know about many of the games that are in development here, soon to be unleashed on your own PC. To celebrate SAGE 2002 Season 1, TSS has teamed up with some of the show’s exhibitors to share a bundle of special ‘playables’, for one lucky winner. Continue reading Enter Our SAGE 2002 Season 1 Competition [Update: Winner Announced]

The Sonic Stadium may link to retailers and earn a small commission on purchases made from users who click those links. These links will only appear in articles related to the product, in an unobtrusive manner, and do not influence our editorial decisions in any way.