Welcome to the Archive site of The Sonic Stadium (2008-2023)
Please note that this site is no longer being updated or maintained; as a result, there may be design issues, and links to images and other media may be broken. Links to posts may redirect you to the same article on the current Sonic Stadium website.
The annual fan convention Summer of Sonic has updated it’s website, and things are a bit darker than normal. In what will be the conventions 6th year a teaser site has gone live which doesn’t show us much, but there are one or two clues. Most noticably are tiny outlines of Sonic & Metal Sonic along the bottom of the site and do we need to point out the matrix style numbers in the background?
Also, if we take a look at the official Facebook & Twitter feed, things seem a bit… different? What could it all mean?
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Second in our 3-part lot of Summer of Sonic interviews – the one and only Takashi Iizuka! Pictured with him up there are his translator and Sonic’s Brand Director – David Corless. Anyway, onto the interview!
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First up in the 3-part series of Summer of Sonic interviews, we have two legendary guys – Jun Senoue and Johnny Gioeli! Together this duo makes Crush 40, but I’m sure you all knew that already! Without further ado, let’s get on with the interviews, shall we?
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Well, it’s been just over a fortnight since Summer of Sonic has been and gone for another year and what a day it was! Between meeting many old friends, playing S&ASRT and enjoying all of the on-stage entertainment I had the opportunity to sit down with Jun Senoue, Johnny Gioeli, Takashi Iizuka, Steve Lycett and Tim Spencer for a chat about the past, present and future of their involvement with everyone’s favourite blue blur! These interviews will be coming up over the course of this week, so stay tuned for more!
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Sore you couldn’t go to Summer of Sonic? Bummed out that you can’t go to Sonic Boom? Nothing can compare to being there on the day, but we hope to give two very lucky readers out there a little piece of the UK experience with our Summer of Sonic goodie bag!
We have a pair of these to give away, which include the Summer of Sonic tote bag, an Archie comic, a Summer of Sonic programme, a stick of Summer of Sonic rock, a Sonic birthday card and a code for Sonic Generations on the PC. As if that wasn’t enough, we’re throwing in one of the awesome 20th anniversary pin badges that have only been available at a few events, along with the brand new Crush 40 EP containing their three new tracks and a Crush 40 poster. What’s more; you will also receive the autographs of both Jun Senoue and Johnny Gioeli!
So what do you have to do to nab these awesome prizes? Well, all you need to do is answer these three easy-peasy questions about this year’s Summer of Sonic Event!
1) Which two SEGA characters were announced for Sonic and SEGA All Stars Racing: Transformed by Steve Lycett?
2) What are the names of the two character theme songs that were performed by Jun Senoue and guest singers during the Jam with Jun?
3) Which two of our invited guests in attendance were involved with the UK Sonic the Comic?
Send your answers to all three questions to the usual competition address at competition@sonicstadium.org along with your name. The competition will close at 5:00pm BST on Friday 20th of July, and two winners will be chosen at random out of correct entries; winners will be notified by email soon after. This competition is open worldwide, so wherever you are on the planet, feel free to enter!
Good luck!
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This years Summer Of Sonic ended in a fantastic hour long performance by the one and only Crush 40.
For those who missed it, or those who want to see it again, here it is complete with direct audio from the mixer. Crush 40 have never sounded so good!
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Due to an electrical fault, the Hove Centre will now be unavailable to host Summer of Sonic this year. The event will now take place at the Brighton Centre, not too far away. Everyone involved with Summer of Sonic apologizes for this last minute change, but everyone’s safety must come first. All ticket holders will still be able to get into SoS and all scheduled attractions will still take place minus the art classes, which have been cancelled due to venue constraints.
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In part 2 of TitansCreed’s ongoing coverage of Summer of Sonic, today’s Community Spotlight highlights on all things SOS’12! The second of the three-parter goes into detail concerning this year’s events and special guests!
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TitansCreed’s latest Community Spotlight focuses on Saturday’s convention in the south of England, Summer of Sonic.
httpv://youtu.be/hku0FXNg-LM
In a special three-parter over the next few days, Pete talks to SoS staff Dreadknux, Roareye, T-Bird, vger, SonicYoda, TallGuy91 and Hogfather about the con’s beginnings, what’s in store for this year’s event, and the direction SoS might be going in the future.
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Talk about speedruns! The third and final wave of Summer of Sonic tickets were released at 6pm BST this evening and were completely sold out in a staggering 43 seconds!
The total combined time to sell out all three ticket batches, which saw 755 tickets go to fans from all around the globe, came to just over four minutes.
If you were not lucky enough to snag a ticket in time, don’t worry too much as the event will be broadcast online via a video live stream, so you won’t miss any of the stage events!
A full schedule of the events happening throughout the day will shortly be displayed on the Summer of Sonic website, so those visiting the event and watching online can plan their day accordingly.
Keep your eyes on the site for many other updates and announcements over the course of the next few days.
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[EDIT: Apparently the songs are available now! Go get them! – T]
If you really can’t wait until Sonic Boom or Summer of Sonic to get your Crush 40 fix this year, new songs from their upcoming EP are available for download.
iTunes currently has Rise Again and Sonic Youth listed for a 4th of July release (although you can download them right now), for the not-so-bank-breaking cost of 79p each. As of this moment, One of Those Days is not listed for download.
You may also be interested in the physical CD release of their Rise Again EP, which will contain Song of Hope (also available through iTunes) along with the three new songs. The CD will likely be a Japan-only release through Wavemaster Entertainment, retailing at 1,260 yen (approximately £10/$15). This is due for launch on the 1st of August, and can be ordered online through HMV Japan; anyone outside of the land of the rising sun will have to import in order to get hold of a copy.
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Due to the incredible demand for Summer of Sonic tickets this year, the entirity of wave 1 tickets (that’s 400 tickets!) sold out in less than three minutes. If you didn’t manage to grab a ticket the first time around, then here’s your next chance!
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One word alone is enough to summarize anyone’s reaction toward this, as Wave 1 of Summer of Sonic 2012 tickets went and gone by in under three minutes; the 400 free tickets being distributed have been sold out only mere moments after the wave went up, lasting from 12:30 to 12:33 BST.
To those who haven’t managed to get their tickets, you’re too slow!a second wave will be announced this weekend with all needed details including the distribution date, so brace yourselves: like the first wave, it’s on a “first come, first serve” basis!
In comparison, last year’s convention, which brought special guests such as Yuji Naka and Takashi Iizuka to celebrate Sonic’s 20th anniversary, took almost ten hours to give out 700 tickets! This, in conjunction with the surprisingly brief giveaway and the recent announcement of Crush 40 attending this year’s convention, is a sure sign of exponentially rising demand and anticipation for SOS 2012!
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If you couldn’t hold on much longer for news on special guests at this year’s Summer of Sonic, you’ll never let go of this announcement! Prepare to open your heart and get ready to roll out the blue carpet, because Crush 40 will be making a booming return to the annual SOS convention!
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Following the recent spate of redundancies in the wake of SEGA’s re-organisation in which many casualties have included high profile employees such as SoA’s Kate Burning, it has now also been confirmed that the last remaining member of SoE’s community team, Laurie Cooper, has also now left the company.
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Although you’re still going to have to wait another five months for the event itself, the Summer of Sonic website is now up and running with a swanky new look and a funky-fresh logo!
Although nothing is being revealed yet and ticket applications have not been announced, you can still head over to the site and register your interest for the event.
What’s more, Summer of Sonic is always looking for fan input – so the question is put to you guys and girls….do you have any great ideas for Summer of Sonic? Maybe you’d like a particular guest to come along, or an old face to return? If you do, head over to the SoS site and let the team know about it in the comments!
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We love Mike Pollock, the voice of Doctor Eggman and many other characters throughout the world of animation; some of you may have spotted Mike wandering around at Summer of Sonic last year and will know how awesome this guy is!
The guys over at DeNomHat caught up with Mike recently in this hour-long interview, where they talk everything from inspirations to voice acting and careers in animation.
Check it out above!
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It’s always difficult condensing 365 days worth of events into a thousand words…particularly after a whirlwind year like this! We all certainly expected a lot from SEGA for a 20th anniversary year, most of us were really taken by surprise by the massive torrent of treats that had been prepared for the end of Sonic’s second decade.
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Most of you will have enjoyed many years of entertainment from original videos to Summer of Sonic coverage through the Sonic Show‘s website and youtube channel.
Unfortunately due to a malicious attack, the Sonic Show site and youtube channels both suffered an internet attack from a hacker earlier this week. While the Sonic Show site has survived, the youtube channel was deleted by the hacker, and unfortunately this has meant the loss of many years worth of hard work from the likes of hard working staffers such as Discoponies and Brad – including the Summer of Sonic 2008 retrospective.
However it will take more than one moron with nothing better to do to bring the Sonic Show down! A new youtube channel has now taken its place, and slowly but surely materials are being re-added.
I call upon all of you Sonic the Hedgehog fans out there who love the community to unite and support this rebuild by subscribing to the new Sonic Show youtube channel, so we can get this great show back on it’s feet.
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Less than five years ago I, was sat in a tea shop in Nottingham eating cake and sipping tea with AAUK and Dreadknux, celebrating Sonic’s 15th anniversary, joking about the prospect of a Sonic the Hedgehog convention. Five years on and we are celebrating our biggest and most successful event to date, with over one-thousand attendees passing through the event doors on the day. It fantastic that even though Summer of Sonic is a fan event, it has over the years evolved into something increasingly professional, and that has become growingly involved with SEGA on an official level.
We have also been fortunate across the four events to have comic artists such as Nigel Dobbyn and Nigel Kitching from Sonic the comic and our first international guests Iain Flynn Tracey Yardley this year. We’ve seen musical performances from the likes of Richard Jacques, TJ Davis, Bentley Jones, Julien-K and Crush 40, and we’ve even had the two big Sonic Team names, Yuji Naka and Takashi along on the day to give you guys an opportunity to meet them face to face.
Each year, our selection of playable Sonic titles grows larger, with opportunities to games that are months away from release. The input from the community has grown rapidly, with many prominent fans, talented with both the brush and the microphone, contributing substantially to making Summer of Sonic something special. You guys keep turning up in your droves in ever more elaborate and unusual costumes, and our prizes become ever more desirable! There is of course the social aspect of the day too, and many of you have met some of your best friends through SoS; some of you have met future husbands and wives. It is fair to say that many of you look forward to SoS more than you do to Christmas!
From an organisational point of view, Summer of Sonic went extremely smoothly this year, by far the least stressful Summer of Sonic to stage manage to date. But of course as this event becomes bigger, the amount of time, effort and organisation becomes greater. Summer of Sonic simply would not take place if it was not for the passion and dedication of the 20+ strong community team who hold the event together – whether they are at the front on stage as the compare, or at the back of the hall as door-safe; each member is vital to the machine and most notably they all work for nothing, giving up their day so you can have a fantastic time. A lot of them also donate substantial amounts of money for extra guests, prizes and events for the day – just so as much as possible can be packed into the day. Each one deserves a huge thank you from us all. I also want to thank all of our guests, some of whom returned for their second or third round of Summer of Sonic, and who also come to talk and perform to you for nothing; they come back every year because they love SoS just as much as we all do.
Summer of Sonic was once again a totally free event for anyone of any age who wanted to attend. We often get asked why we don’t charge for tickets, and the reason is twofold; first off it creates a lot of red tape and secondly, we don’t want a ticket price to be a reason for people not to attend. This is something we hope to continue. We’d like hope to make more opportunities for you guys who want to donate in the future; some of you did this year, quite generously I might add, and this year and that was a great help…especially considering the quantity of water consumed backstage!
I also want to thank all of you. As always, I was pleased with how well-mannered and courteous you all were to our special guests and to each other, particularly when queuing for games or to meet guests. Even with venue air conditioning running full blast it got very warm very quickly inside the building, but you didn’t let that ruin your fun.
At the moment we don’t know what the future holds for Summer of Sonic; our hope is that as long as you guys keep coming, Summer of Sonic will keep going and SEGA will continue to generously support us. Not just that, but the community prongs now extend all the way around the world, and I was extremely honoured to be able to represent Summer of Sonic this year at the Sonic Boom event in Los Angeles. This event proved just as popular as Summer of Sonic with thanks to the fantastic community team at SEGA of America, and we hope that Sonic Boom will be something that makes a return next year.
I will be stepping down from my duties as stage manager at Summer of Sonic; it’s been a fantastic job and I’ve loved being able to facilitate some fantastic stage events. Don’t think for one second though that means this is the last you’ll see of me though! I will definitely be at the next Summer of Sonic come hell or high water, but in a more supporting roll.
On this note, I would also like to thank Kevin Eva who will also be stepping down this year, who has been the linchpin in realising the Summer of Sonic dream. I tip my hat to him for the incredible amount of work he has done over the last three years in getting Summer of Sonic off the ground and building strong bridges between SEGA and the community. We wish him all the best in his future endeavours!
I would also like to give our thanks Thank you to SEGA of Europe too, who have continued to support us in all of our endeavours, and I hope this partnership will continue into the future.
On my final note I’d like to wish Sonic a very happy 20th birthday, and that I hope that our celebrations continue to unite fans, old and new, with their mutual love of a little blue hedgehog.
SUMMER OF SONIC FOREVER!
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This year’s Summer of Sonic convention had so much going on…competitions, Sonic Generations, music performances, guests and loads more – even if you attended, you no doubt missed some parts of the day.
Even if that doesn’t satisfy your appetite for Summer of Sonic or if you’re still feeling blue and missing hanging out with all your fellow Sonic fans…there is a whole heap of other bonus footage to catch including the Nevermind the Buzzbombers competition, all 40 minutes of Julien-K’s performance, and of the uncut, unedited Sonic Team Interview!
You have absolutely no excuse to be bored this weekend!
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Just think. It was only two weeks ago that a corner of London was swamped by Sonic fans. It was just two weeks ago that people who helped create Sonic, and people who were still making Sonic what he is today, had flown all the way from Japan to meet people whose lives they had influenced. It was just two weeks ago that over 1,000 came to Summer Of Sonic, and over 20,000 went to our site to watch it online. Basically, a lot of crap went down two weeks ago!
Of course, some things never change. Once again The Sonic Show was there to broadcast the event to those of you at home and once again we (in conjuction with Sonic Showcase Network) have compiled a selection of highlights into a “Best of” hour special. Think of it as box of chocolates in video form, where we have taken out of the ones you don’t like. There are so many great moments this year that we couldn’t fit it all into one video. But don’t worry, they are all available too as bonus videos on our youtube channel.
So sit back, see if you can spot yourself, and enjoy!
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DOWNLOAD HERE!! Just click the Club Sonic artwork (viewable from website) to get your MP3 on!Enjoy Summer Of Sonic’s CLUB SONIC Dj set at the end of the day? Well lucky you we have it in mp3 for you to enjoy!
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This year the Evil Doc team put together a Red Hedgehog special in just 8 days! However it was in flash and our set up on the day couldn’t play it. Don’t worry though as we have it here for you to finally enjoy!
You can also see the rest of Evil Doc and what they do at http://evildoc.net | http://adoublea.deviantart.com | http://rogerregorroger.deviantart.com
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Meeting your heroes is a surreal thing indeed. It’s even more surreal if it’s at an event celebrating their main character’s 20th anniversary. And to think a few weeks ago I didn’t know any of this would happen at all… Continue reading TSS Exclusive Interviews: Yuji Naka & Takashi Iizuka
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Live in America and can’t afford the flights over? Mum and Dad are busy so you can’t be accompanied? Can’t come because you’re washing your quills that night? Don’t worry! Our Summer of Sonic technical team headed by Sonic Show guru Discoponies have got it all sorted!
Those of you who can’t make it to Summer of Sonic for the event itself will be able to tune into the live video stream from the event itself. Join fellow Sonic fans and have a chat while you watch the event from a bird’s eye view of the stage!
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Woohoo, see you on the 25th at http://justin.tv/summerofsonic
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One of the most frequent questions we get asked every year is whether or not Summer of Sonic would ever be held in the United States, but due to many reasons “SoSUS” never come to fruition. Unsurprisingly though there has been a huge demand for a Sonic convention state-side, and it was really only a matter of time before one materialised.
With the Sonic’s 20th anniversary around the corner, SEGA of America spearheaded plans to create their own official convention, the appropriately named Sonic Boom. Aaron Webber, the newly appointed Sonic Brand Manager took on the role of chief coordinator for Sonic Boom and got in touch with Dreadknux and myself a few weeks back, and cordially invited us both to the event.
We didn’t need to be asked twice!
The convention had been carefully timed to coincide with the E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles’ downtown convention centre venue. Sonic Boom was scheduled to take place in the moody and ambient environment of Club Nokia, a versatile bar come night club within walking distance of E3; a perfect site to celebrate twenty years of Sonic the Hedgehog.
I arrived at the venue early in the afternoon with Aaron, and before we’d even made our way upstairs we were greeted by fans queuing outside Club Nokia; some of them had been camped out since 6am that morning in order to score a place inside the venue as they had not been able to acquire a ticket. If that’s not dedication, I really don’t know what is! Kellie and Julian from the American community team (who you will know from the Free Stuff Friday videos!) were running around upstairs in the venue coordinating the setup of stands, pods and making sure everything was in place – a familiar scene to anyone who has been involved in the organisation of Summer of Sonic!
Even more familiar faces were up on stage as Jun Senoue, Johnny Gioeli and Alex Makhlouf (from Cash Cash, the band involved with the Sonic Colors soundtrack) were performing a dry run of the tracks they were going to be playing later on that evening. After a warm reunion with the guys I sat back to take some snaps and enjoy the privileged position of being an invited guest backstage at an event. I must have looked pretty dumb, but nevertheless I could not get rid of the huge grin on my face as the guys blistered through their fresh new set list, which included a brand new version of Sonic CD’s “Sonic Boom” and Sonic R’s “Super Sonic Racing”. What’s more, Alex’s accompaniment on synthesiser added another layer of ecstasy to the already monstrous set, and took the lead on the funky fresh new version of “Escape from the City” which will be gracing the in-game soundtrack for Sonic Generations!
I got an opportunity to briefly catch up with Johnny after rehearsals, and as always was up for a bit of laugh, as you can see from the picture (although I don’t think SEGA will be taking him on as their new mascot – stick to your day job, Johnny!). Another act rehearsing on stage before the doors opened was the cast of Needlemouse the musical. American fans will remember this bunch as the winners of the 19th anniversary competition last year, and were the lucky recipients of a trip to Japan to play Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode One. These guys were fantastic and incredibly animated on stage, so much so most of us assisting set up had to pause to watch and laugh at the jokes they were cracking. AJ and the bunch came to talk to me after their run-through, and were even kind enough to let me have my picture taken with them – an absolutely great bunch of guys and gals and well-deserving of the incredible ovation they received later in the evening (watch their performance here!).
By 5 o’clock the venue was taking shape, with the merchandise stands set up (each entrant received a Sonic hat, a special edition Sonic Generations T-Shirt and badge set) and nearly twenty gaming stations were primed and ready to give the throng of rabid Sonic fans outside a chance to play the demo of Sonic Generations. A number of photo booths had also been established to allow fans to record photographic postcards and video messages for Sonic’s birthday (you can check out Aaron and my postcard here, Dread’s postcard here and Yuji Naka’s here). Outside a huge queue of fans had formed, eagerly awaiting entry into the venue. Aaron and I went outside to rattle the crowd up a bit, and got to shake the hands of a few fans that had recognised Aaron and me.
At 6 o’clock sharp the doors opened and the mass of fans piled in. I took a brief trip upstairs to the VIP lounge, where the likes of Iizuka-san, Oshima-san and Naka-san were meeting other industry members at an exclusive VIP event. Unfortunately I was not introduced to Naka-san, but I was reintroduced to Iizuka-san, who smiled courteously as we had already met that week! Dreadknux appeared at the venue after his busy day at E3 (and was fashionably late as always!) and we proceeded downstairs to the main event floor.
A heap of guys came to greet Dread and I (there are far too many of you to mention!) and it really made our day – so if you came up and said hi, thanks loads; it really a pleasure to meet you all! TSS staffer, Sonic Retro writer and Sonic Show star Brad Flick was down on the time trial competition station hastily jotting down top scores on Green Hill Zone – you will have to keep an eye out for some hilarious pictures of Brad and Dreadknux in their bronik poses! Similarly to Summer of Sonic, there were a massive variety of cosplayers at the event too, including SSMB’s own mikeblastdude who came in an awesome Metal Sonic getup, and an excellent Charmy the Bee cosplayer. We also caught up with Scarred Sun from Retro and Shayne representing TSSZ news. I’ve never met either in reality before so we got to have a good chinwag and posed for a few photos for posterity – both are fantastic people and I certainly hope we get to all meet again in the near future.
Aaron appeared on stage to welcome all of the guests to Sonic Boom, and it wasn’t long before Jun, Johnny and Alex were on stage blowing the socks off all those in attendance. A lucky few spotted Naka-san on the event floor and managed to grab his autograph and a photo before he disappeared backstage once more. Jun, not one for passing up the opportunity to meet fans, came down off stage with the legendary Sonic guitar to sign autos and pose for pictures with a handful of fortunate fans.
Following Needlemouse: the Musical, the best of the cosplayers were invited on stage to participate in the cosplay contest, and Iizuka-san, Miyamoto-san and Senoue-san were all invited up to wish Sonic a happy birthday and to sing him a happy birthday song…and of course, Sonic was present too, along with his birthday cake! It wasn’t long before Dread and I found ourselves up on stage, telling the Los Angeles crowd all about Summer of Sonic. I had been really nervous beforehand about how the crowd would receive us on stage (especially considering the acts we were following!) but the audience were really receptive, and cheered us on – thank you all for letting us talk to you briefly, and hopefully we’ve enticed some of you to come to Summer of Sonic!
Naka-san and Miyamoto-san, along with Oshima-san joined the cast on stage at the end of the show once again and were presented with the graffiti artist’s drawing of classic and modern Sonic which had been created over the course of the evening. I’m sure most will agree the evening past all too quickly, and before long it was time to close up the evenings proceedings.
Dread and I pitched in to assist with the clean up, and ended up collapsing in the dressing room to have a chin-wag with Alex (who is also a massive Sonic nerd by the way!) After moving a precious cargo of guitars, we emerged on the street next to the Nokia theatre and ran into our good friend Richard Jacques, who was just as surprised to see us as we were to see him! Exhausted, we crashed for a few drinks at a local bar as well as a few last photographs of the day, and toasted the success of Sonic Boom.
I’d like to end by applauding the fantastic job Aaron and the team at SoA did putting together an event of this magnitude in such a short period of time, and all those involved in the stage entertainment over the course of the evening. America has now had a taste of a Sonic convention, and I’m sure this won’t be the last we hear of Sonic Boom. I’d also like to thank Aaron on behalf of Dread and myself for sponsoring our trip to Sonic Boom; I’m sure I also speak for both of us by saying we are both honoured and flattered to have been considered during the creation of this event to represent Summer of Sonic; we’ve had the time of our lives, and I’m sure I speak for hundreds of other fans when I say…
SONIC BOOM ROCKS!!!
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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.
Summer of Sonic is delighted to announce alternative electronic rock actJulien-K will be appearing as part of the amazing line up at this year’s Summer of Sonic convention! Julien-K defined the sound of Team Dark with their fan-favourite track “This Machine” for Sonic Heroes, and returned a few years later to perform the song “Waking Up” which was featured on the soundtrack to 2005’s Shadow the Hedgehog title. The band have since worked on a whole host of projects including the soundtrack to the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen video game, released their first album Death to Analogue and have collaborated with Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington on his solo project Dead by Sunrise.
Ryan Shuck, Amir Derakh, Elias Andra and and Anthony “Fu” Valcic will be joining us during their current European tour to perform a music set as part of the afternoon’s entertainment on the main stage. The band will also be appearing later in the afternoon for a meet and greet session to give all you boys and girls the opportunity to meet the band in person as well as grab a few autographs if you wish.
The band will also be playing the London Borderline on the 22nd of June to promote their upcoming album We’re Here With You, so if you’re in the neighborhood go and check them out!
Get ready to rock at this month – Summer of Sonic is going to be a scorcher!
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.
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.
Summer of Sonic is once again shaping up to be yet another top notch event, with the announcement yesterday that Sonic Generations, the highly anticipated multi-format title will be available for event-goers to play hands-on during the day.
You honestly thought we would host the world’s greatest Sonic the Hedgehog party and not give you the opportunity to play the game that everyone is talking about? Of course not! This year, at the Summer of Sonic 2011, you will be able to play Sonic Generations – months before it hits the store shelves!
Sonic Generations is the 20th Anniversary game that sees our beloved blue hero join forces… with himself! That’s right, you’ll get the chance to play as two distinctive styles of hedgehog. Get reacquainted with modern Sonic, and blitz through colourful 3D landscapes at mach speed while the world warps around you! Or take it back to the old school with classic Sonic – 2D platforming action just like you remember it!
Whichever Sonic you pick, the adventure will be filled with classic badniks, colourful set pieces and recreations of traditional stages such as Green Hill Zone. As far as Greatest Hits compilations go, it doesn’t get any better looking – or come with more attitude – than this!
There will be several gaming pods on the Summer of Sonic show floor with demonstration copies of Sonic Generations installed. Make sure you take the time to come down and enjoy the first few levels of the game in public before anyone else in Europe! You’ll be the envy of all your friends – all while you’re making brand new friends at Summer of Sonic!
As stated on the blog, we aren’t anywhere near finished with our announcements for Summer of Sonic – keep your eyes peeled for more exciting news!
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With Summer of Sonic 2011’s date rapidly approaching (Less than two-and-a-half months to go now!), expect to see a whole host of announcements over on the Summer of Sonic website with regards to guests and events at this year’s convention.
To start us off, we at the Summer of Sonic can proudly announce that Archie Comic artist Tracy Yardley! will be attending this year’s convention! As many of you know Tracy has been involved with the franchise since 2005 and has become one of the most recognised artists in the comic series. We hope you are all looking forward to meeting Tracy at this year’s convention!
If you are considering coming to Summer of Sonic and this is your first convention (particularly if you are travelling from overseas), don’t forget to check out the travel guide on the SoS site for handy hints and tips on getting to the Camden Centre venue and on places to stay.
Don’t forget to keep track of guest and event anonuncements on the SoS website!
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The intentional venue for the Summer of Sonic 2011 convention has been revealed – and it’s right on your doorstep! The Camden Centre is situated right opposite Kings Cross St. Pancras Station in Central London, and is just a short walk from Euston station too, making it the most accessible SoS location to date!
According to the announcement on the Summer of Sonic website, the Camden Centre can house 900 raving Sonic fans (without any additional equipment clogging up the space), but any concerns of a cramped experience against all those tables will be relieved to hear that there’s a sizeable foyer and secondary hall that will also be used to hold stalls and other things.
“In terms of what it could offer us as a space, and after visiting the very friendly management there, the SoS team feels that Camden Centre is the perfect place to hold Sonic the Hedgehog’s 20th Anniversary,” reads the post by… well, me. More updates – including a closer peek at the venue – are to come at a more regular pace now that the intentional location has been decided. Stay tuned to TSS for the latest.
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There’s only a few months to go until the biggest Sonic the Hedgehog fan party hits London – the Summer of Sonic 2011! Hosted by The Sonic Stadium, Sonic Wrecks, SEGA and the Sonic fan community, we’re working hard to make this year’s event the best ever! Continue reading Summer of Sonic Facebook Event Emerges – Register Your Interest
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Many of you who have set foot in a Summer of Sonic event will know Kevin “AAUK” Eva. If you’ve read the SEGA blogs or have dealt with SEGA, you will have no doubt dealt with him at some point along the way. Unfortunately, as of today Mr. Eva is hanging up his Sonic shoes and parting ways with SEGA.
Kevin has, amongst a plethora of feats spearheaded many of the community related events over the past four years, most notably creating the Summer of Sonic convention with TSS creator Dreadknux, which has gone from strength to strength over three years.
AAUK talks a bit about what he hoped he would achieve at his time at SEGA:
My initial goals of being here have been realised; SEGA is now very much aware of the Community and has a great deal of respect for it, other matters I’ve been fighting for over the years have been realised too and I think it would be fair to say the direction Sonic is going is most assuredly upwards. I’m stopping as I’d like to try my hand at some other things, so it’s hardly that I hate that hedgehog, what exactly I’ve yet to really decide on but things that don’t involve hedgehogs 24/7 would probably be nice(!) You’ll not be completely rid of me within the community, I’m still the main organiser behind Summer Of Sonic for this year anyway and I’ll probably still be active on Sonic Wrecks and other places. This, is who I Am.
You can read the full sign-off on the SEGA blognik. I for one would like to thank Kevin on behalf of the community for going above and beyond the call of duty, and for the many sleepless nights involved in mobilising Summer of Sonic. SEGA has surely lost a valuable asset.
If you have any farewells or messages of thanks for AAUK, please do post them in the comments.
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Woohoo, see you on the 25th at http://justin.tv/summerofsonic
With Summer of Sonic 2011’s date rapidly approaching (Less than two-and-a-half months to go now!), expect to see a whole host of announcements over on the 
