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Loads of you are dying to know details about Summer of Sonic 2011 and are inundating our inboxes with questions – I can assure you we will be bringing you details on this year’s event as soon as we can! So while you patiently wait, you can watch the retrospective episode of last year’s Summer of Sonic courtasy of the Sonic Show, right here on TSS (its nice an interactive too!) Enjoy!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C4sV1MoCjw[/youtube]
The Sonic Show and Sonic Showcase Network once again join forces to shove a lot of Summer Of Sonic nostalgia from 2010! This year we head over to The Pavilion in London’s Shepherd’s Bush for our fun.
The delightful Roareye Black is our host for the run of the show, taking you through a tour of the Summer Of Sonic plus interview a lot of people from the Sonic community.
We also get to see the never shown on the day epic fest of Sonic Adventure 2 in brief, as well as enjoy the intro to last years event! Oh and there was one other thing… CRUSH 40 live in multi-angle epicness!!
So, if you didn’t get to go last year, or wanted to relive the magic, sit back and enjoy the next 50 minutes!
Happy New Year Everyone!
We hope you’ve all enjoyed whatever celebrations you’ve attended over the past weeks, and are looking forward to what the New Year has to offer! 2010 has been and gone, and boy it’s sure been a rollercoaster year! We’ve seen the long-awaited Sonic the Hedgehog 4 released and met with mixed reviews. We’ve been pleasantly surprised with the new cast of Sonic voice actors and with how fantastic a title Sonic Colo(u)rs turned out to be. Some of us got the opportunity to rock out with Crush 40 at Summer of Sonic ’10, and some of us have probably fallen over while trying to play Sonic Free Riders.
If you’re resident to the UK then no doubt your parents or grandparents will have insisted on watching the Queen’s speech on Christmas day, where our majesty usually talks about something relevant to the past year’s events. Well, I’m not royalty, but I’d like to talk to you guys and gals about friendship and tolerance. One of the things that makes this fan base so unique is the variety of talent and knowledge that you all harbour…not to mention the kindness, the generosity and the good nature you all display on a regular basis. I know a lot of you have forged strong friendships and have even found love through a mutual passion for Sonic. These principles of friendship are undoubtedly the backbone to many elements of what this community provides from general day-to-day conversations on the forums to real life meet-ups. Another thing that makes the community special in many ways is the diversity of opinions. I’ve always maintained we’d have one pretty boring world if we all agreed on everything, and it’s been rewarding to have lengthy discussions debating music, games and merchandise with many of you over the many years I’ve been a part of this community. I’m sure many of you who share the same passion will have had similar experiences.
Of course sometimes this passion can mean we lead with our heart and not with our minds, and from time to time discussion can become heated. More often than not the result causes an exchange of words that serves any purpose but to antagonise the other party. I am pleased to say that over the last year I’ve seen a massive decline in this happening in the comments on articles or on the SSMB forums, and I hope that you guys will continue this attitude, as well as to extend this to our brethren across all other sites and forums as well. Opinions are exactly that: opinions. We are all allowed to have them, and regardless of whether or not you agree with them, you have to respect the opinions of others. I hope TSS will continue to be a place where thoughts, feelings and opinions can be shared and discussed constructively.
Our network of friends continues to expand every year, and we are pleased to have been able to add many new names to the list of sites we communicate with, and we hope to add more to that this year as well as reinforce our bonds with those we already work with. 2010 has also seen our connections with SEGA grow even stronger; this has included opportunities for exclusive news, but it has most notably manifested with the increasing support we have had for the Summer of Sonic convention. I’m sure that the near thousand-strong crowd who came along to play games before anyone else, to pick up prizes and freebies available nowhere else and to see the UK’s first Crush 40 performance will agree that this event was something special.
These things don’t just pop into existence however; without the creative powers of Dreadknux (our very own Svend Joscelyne) and AAUK (Mr. Kevin Eva, SoE) to mobilise the massive undertaking, without the financial support from SEGA, and without the band of merry men and women from TSS, Sonic Wrecks, Emerald Coast, Nights Into Dreams (who will also be celebrating NiGHTS 15th anniversary this year!) and so forth, Summer of Sonic simply wouldn’t happen.
Our ties with SEGA still don’t end there though; we’ve also been fortunate enough to have been in a position to be able to give our feedback on games such as Sonic the Hedgehog 4 directly thanks to SEGA Community Events (attended by our very own Brad Flick late last year). Events like these are heralding the beginning of a paradigm shift to an era in which SEGA are listening more and more to what the community and to what the fans want. Even if you don’t think Sonic 4 is the perfect title, the feedback our community contributes will assist future direction to the franchise. For those of you were totally unimpressed with the title, exercise tolerance; creating the perfect game is surely an iterative process, and thus we should exercise patience as frustrating as it is. In any case I toast AAUK, RubyEclipse (Mr. Aaron Webber, SoA) and the many others who have taken the time to make this their mission to talk to us fans, and hope they will continue their work on into 2011 and beyond.
For those of you still sceptical, then I invite you to come along to Summer of Sonic this year and meet fellow fans for yourself. Dread often talks 
of something that has now become affectionately known as “SoS syndrome” – the fantastic feeling you get from coming along to Summer of Sonic, and which usually lingers for weeks after the event. I’m sure it will change your mind.
So what does 2011 have in store for us? Well it looks like there are two or three new Sonic titles to look forward to, as well as Sonic’s 20th anniversary, which is already being teased by SEGA of Japan’s website. Of course if that wasn’t enough, you can expect Summer of Sonic ’11 in June as well; I can guarantee you won’t want to miss this year’s festivities! As per usual we’ll have some awesome stuff to give away to you guys as well, so keep your peepers peeled for new competitions just around the corner!
On behalf of all the staff here at TSS, I wish all of you the best for the year to come, and we hope you all enjoy sharing and celebrating two decades of Sonic the Hedgehog with friends new and old with us here at the Sonic Stadium!
T-Bird, TSS Staff
Fellow merch-hogs like myself love our Sonic themed merchandise, and Summer of Sonic has over the past few years been the source of exclusive items both sold and given away, including archie comic page originals, Crush 40 merchandise and goodie-bags. But from what we have heard from you guys is that you can’t get enough – we couldn’t believe how fast we were wiped out of nearly all of our merchandise this year!
So, we want to hear what you guys want to see at Summer of Sonic next year! But please guys, realistic ideas are much more helpful! In order to submit your ideas, head over to the Summer of Sonic website and let Mr. AAUK know!
Summer of Sonic co-organiser and webmaster of Sonic Wrecks, Kevin ‘ArchAngelUK’ Eva, has written a heartfelt open letter to the Sonic fanbase explaining his departure from leading the annual convention. Exhaustion, funds and career aspirations are all cited as reasons for the initial announcement on Twitter some weeks ago.
“[The] truth is all these years of being battered and battering myself with endlessly long hours for SOS I’ve just reached a limit and had enough,” writes AAUK in a statement on Sonic Wrecks. As an integral member of SEGA Europe’s Community Team, AAUK’s role in co-organising the Summer of Sonic has been nothing short of an extremely important one, arranging internal budgets and pitching the concept of the event to Brand Managers and other executives in the company.
Such campaigning is starting to bear fruit, as AAUK mentions the sudden interest from key members of SEGA Europe management during the execution of this year’s well-recieved convention. “I think you simply won’t need me by [2012],” AAUK writes, “Some SEGA/Sonic high-ups had actually been in the [2010] venue and already offered much more help than I got this year in securing wonders for you.”
Another reason is the inability to afford the costs of setup. AAUK contributes within the region of £500-1000 of his own money each year into the Summer of Sonic – while other members of the organisation staff also contribute a similar number, since 2008 the contributions AAUK has had to make has resulted in some “real financial headaches… I’m not THAT well off ya know and I’ve a family I need to take care of.
“I kinda hope by then I might’ve moved either onwards or upwards by the time people start thinking of an SOS12,” AAUK continues. “I don’t want to be Sonic Community Manager forever, I actually think I could contribute to the brand higher up.” Following this, he mentions his final and possibly saddest reason for leaving his role behind – the fact that he has simply lost the love for the event.
AAUK stresses that he is not exactly leaving the fanbase – “at least not yet.” Before parting with the announcement of a few final surprises to come for the event, the Community Manager finishes with thanks to “all the Summer Of Sonic staff who’ve helped so magnificently and magnanimously over the years – you’re all awesome sauce incarnate,” along with “all those who’ve come to SOS over the years and hey its not over yet – we’re just reaching the end of this particular chapter.”
Svend ‘Dreadknux’ Joscelyne: Speaking personally, as the creator and co-organiser of the event as well as a personal friend, I know that the Summer of Sonic event would never have become a reality without the knowledge, passion and dedication that AAUK has put into this project over the years. I may be so bold as to say that he is truly unaware of just how much respect and acknowledgement he has earned from everyone in the Sonic community for this convention, and everything he has worked for and achieved besides in his role as Sega Community Manager.
Ultimately his health, happiness and family come before anything else, and I would not have it any other way. He leaves the role knowing that he is directly responsible for helping create an event that touches so many Sonic fans’ hearts today. The Sonic Stadium, the Summer of Sonic attendees and the Sonic community at large salutes you, dude. All the best in your future Sonic (and non-Sonic) related endeavours.
More than 800 people enjoyed the Summer of Sonic 2010 on Saturday, which took place in Shepherd’s Bush and featured the first public demos of Sonic Colours, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 and an exclusive live performance from Crush 40.
At the end of the packed day, Svend ‘Dreadknux’ Joscelyne and Kevin ‘ArchAngelUK’ Eva took to the stage to formally announce the date of next year’s Summer of Sonic.
Those who wish to attend SoS 2011 will need to book their holidays for the 25th June 2011, the Saturday following Sonic the Hedgehog’s 20th Anniversary. After an intimate and exciting gig from Jun Senoue and Johnny Gioeli – only their second time playing together live, and the first outside of Japan – attendees were left astounded and wondering exactly how things can be topped for next year’s convention.
Feedback from visitors were mostly positive, with the lack of air conditioning in the venue not fazing Sonic fans eager to play games, watch Crush 40 and meet new friends. Unprecedented queues for Sonic 4, Sonic Colours and Crush 40 signings meant that there was some confusion in the venue, coupled with long waiting times.
Besides these drawbacks – which the team have taken on board to fix next year – the day went largely without a hitch, despite some issues with the venue and an alleged case of stolen equipment worth £3000 in total. Police are investigating the situation, after Roareye Black’s Sony Vaio laptop, netbook and HD camcorder went missing the very morning of the Summer of Sonic 2010 convention.
You can read recollections of the day from both ArchAngelUK and Dreadknux on the Summer of Sonic 2010 website.
Couldn’t make it to this years top event? DON’T WORRY. We have it covered! The Sonic Show is providing you with a live stream again this year! Complete with better audio 
And for those of you who can’t be here in London, we have some nice little exclusives for you, like the first trailer of Return To Little Planet 2, only available to the folks watching at home!
There will also be a live chat room for you all to speak directly with other viewers and the Disco Ponies 
I know many of you “Crushers” out there can’t make it to Summer of Sonic this year, and that some of you have burning questions to ask Jun and Johnny…well, here’s your opportunity! During the Q&A session that we’ll have in the afternoon, I’m giving you all an opportunity to have your questions put to the dynamic duo!
Due to the limited time we have on stage to ask questions, and because we’ll also have questions being pitched by the crowd on the day, I will only be able to ask a selection of questions – so make your questions interesting and unique to increase their chances of being asked!
If you have a question you would like to be asked, please send them in an email entitled “Crush 40 Questions”, to tbird [at] sonicstadium.org. I’ll see if i can rustle up some C40 goodies for what I think is the best question as well!
Please submit all your questions by Thursday at 9:00am BST, so I have sufficient time to prepare them.
Those of you fortunate enough to be attending the Summer of Sonic this year will be the first to be able to get their hands on some Official Crush 40 merchandise! As well as a selection of T-Shirts, there will also be badges and guitar picks available for purchase!
Not only that, there will be a whole host of other Sonic the hedgehog related merchandise including plush toys and comics up for grabs – stocks will be strictly limited though, so if you want to snag yourself some bits and pieces, better do it early on the day!
You’d better bring your pennies with you!
EDIT: All C40 merchandise prices TBC
EDIT 2: I’ve also just been informed by Jun there will also be a selection of CDs available for purchase as well!
It was back in 2008 that the Summer of Sonic started and oh my how it’s changed. One thing that hasnt changed is the great spirit from the community as seen in this classic The Sonic Show episode. Enjoy original exclusive Summer of Sonic coverage and footage! Featuring all the concert numbers by Richard Jacques, TJ Davies, and Lee Brotherton, T-Bird’s Quiz Show, and more, Oh yeah and see what was going on at SoS U.S.A 2008 (lulz)!
Check back next week as we look back at SOS 2009!
Because AAUK won’t have already stuffed enough goodies into your free bag of goodnesss upon entry, and because you’ll not know whether you want to play Sonic 4 or Sonic Colours first, we know Summer of Sonic is going to be exhausting, what with all this excitement.
So, if you’re already nackered by the afternoon then don’t worry – you’ll be able to sit down, relax, and not miss out on any of the action, as there is a treat in store for you Summer of Sonic attendees! If you’re around the stage in the afternoon, you’ll have an opportunity to mellow out in the presence of Jun Senoue, who will be playing a selection of acoustic tracks from the Sonic the Hedgehog universe.
What will Jun play? I’m not going to tell you…it’s a surprise!
If you haven’t already registered for a ticket, I suggest you do so today – with over 700 guests already attending, you’ll want to get your skates on to avoid missing out!
Announced earlier this evening at the Summer of Sonic website is news that advanced registration tickets for the event are running out fast, Urtheart has the full details below
“To the shock and horror of many we regret to announce that we may soon have to close registration.
In previous years, registration has usually got to a point where we have had to stop it in case we go over the legal limit of how many people we are allowed in the place we hold our events (health and safety and all that, any comments about us being PC will be met with a shotgun).
Despite us being able to hold double the amount of people in this venue, we are sadly reaching that limit again of how many people we can hold. If you are still on the fence about coming to Summer of Sonic, register anyway. This way, you get a ticket in case you do want to come. We will still try to get in all those who want to come and have not registered, but please be aware that ticket holders will get priority.
We are sorry that we have had to warn you of this before a week of registration has come, but demand for Summer of Sonic has once again been far greater than we anticipated with people all over the world trying to get to the event.
We will inform you if anything on this changes.
Joshua Urtheart Cartlidge
Source: Summer of Sonic website
The Summer of Sonic team are pleased to announce that not only will the convention house a Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing tournament and a playable demo of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 (E3 version), but we will also be giving you hands-on time with Sonic Colours on Nintendo Wii (E3 version). That’s right! Thanks to the good folks at SEGA, you’ll have access to another of Sonic’s upcoming titles before it’s released later this year.
The demo contains two levels for you to explore, Sweet Mountain and Tropical Resort. Players will also be able to try out two of the Wisp powers, including the Yellow Wisp (Drill) and the Cyan Wisp (Lazer). The game will be available in our Games Zone on our Wii pod.
We look forward to seeing you in the Games Zone and, if you haven’t done so already, you can register for your Summer of Sonic tickets here.
Source: SoS Website.
Not only will Summer of Sonic 2010 attendees be spoilt with a free performance by Crush 40, an appearance by Nigel Dobbyn, a go on Sonic the hedgehog 4, an All-Stars Racing tournament AND a whole heap of other stuff, there’s now even more EXCLUSIVE merchandise that will be given away, for nothing, at the event itself. Feast your eyes on this fancy draw-string bag, that will no doubt make your the envy of all your friends, and add to your cool high street fashion style.
Check out the Summer of Sonic Site for more details!
One of the big treats of the Summer of Sonic convention in past years has been that Sonic’s newest games have found their way into the hands of fans way before they’re released. That’s all thanks to our good friends at SEGA and we’re very pleased to announce that this year will be no different. In addition to all the other pods on the floor, including the All-Stars Racing tournament, SOS will be graced with the presence of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I.
Sonic’s eagerly anticipated 2D platformer will be on the convention floor where attendees will be able to get hands-on time with the E3 build, which contains all 3 Acts of Splash Hill Zone and its boss battle with Dr. Eggman. The game will be available in the Games Zone on our Xbox 360 pods, kindly donated by Microsoft who, as we mentioned in our S&SASR Tournament announcement, are part-sponsoring the games section of Summer of Sonic.
We hope you are as excited about this news as we are and look forward to seeing you in the Games Zone!
Source: Summer of Sonic website
It’s time to go crazy kids!
It is our utmost pleasure to announce that the Summer of Sonic will play host to the legendary rock group CRUSH 40 at this years’ convention!
Both Johnny Gioeli and Jun Senoue will be joining our already incredible roster for the day, and you, the fans will have the rare opportunity to come along and meet the band members!
Johnny Gioeli is no stranger to the world of rock, and has blown away audiences for nearly twenty years with his incredible vocals, fronting acts such as Hardline and Axel Rudi Pell. Teaming up with Jun Senoue to form Sons of Angels, they later became Crush 40. Gioeli’s powering voice has become synonymous, with a huge number of Sonic the Hedgehog title tracks including Open Your Heart (Sonic Adventure), Live & Learn (Sonic Adventure 2) and I Am…All Of Me (Shadow the Hedgehog).
Jun Senoue is one of the most influential composers in the Sonic the Hedgehog universe, having worked on Sonic titles as early as 1993. Sound directing some of the most prolific soundtracks to date including the Sonic Adventure series, Sonic Heroes and Sonic & the Black Knight to mention but a few, Senoue has become infamous for his musical direction as well as his musical prowess, with his trademark guitar work becoming the staple of countless Sonic the Hedgehog titles. Not only this, Senoue is the composer for the soon-to-be-released title Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1. The double threat of Gioeli and Senoue as Crush 40 has literally redefined the music to Sonic the Hedgehog games as we know it.
Jun and Johnny will also be answering any questions you might have in a Crush 40 Q&A event on stage. They will also be available for a quick chat in the afternoon in a meet and greet session, where you can bring along your Crush 40 memorabilia to have signed!
Not only this, but we are delighted that Crush 40 will be treating Summer of Sonic fans to a very special Summer of Sonic Crush 40 performance on stage at the end of the show, playing a selection of fan-favourites that will rock you to your core!
You’re not going to want to miss this year’s convention…it truly will be way past cool!
The Sonic Show is happy to announce that the first trailer for Return To Little Planet 2 will be played on the live video feed for Summer Of Sonic 2010! Once again this years SOS video feed is brought to you by The Sonic Show.
Sonic fans get your driving gloves on for it is time to take the pedal to the metal for Summer of Sonic’s Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing Tournament. That’s right, we at Summer of Sonic will be giving you the chance to compete for the honour and priviledge of being the S&SASR World Champion – a nice little trophy to add to your Sonic collection and we may just have some other prizes in-store too so keep an eye out for a future announcement.
That’s all fine and dandy Shadzter but what format will the tournament be held in and just what version will you be using? Glad you asked! The tournament will be played on the Xbox 360 version. The qualifiers will be held in Time Trial mode where you will be challenged to earn the best time possible in a track we’ll be choosing at the event, the players with the best times (number of players to be determined) will be going through to the knockout finals later in the day where they will race for victory.
So if you’re up for some racing action then come and join me and the games staff at SoS’s gaming area, we look forward to seeing you!
Source: My article at the Summer of Sonic website.
Those of you who popped in to last year’s Summer of Sonic convention might have had the opportunity to talk to Sonic the Comic artist Nigel Dobbyn…and some of you were even more lucky to beat me in picking up some original artwork! Once again we are fortunate to once again welcome back Nigel, who will be returning to Summer of Sonic once again to sign your comics and have a natter (and heck if you’re nice enough he might even draw you a quick sketch!). Nigel might also up to some other tricks on the day…but we’re keeping that under my hat for now; we will just tease you with some of his new artwork instead!
As well as Nigel, we are also happy to announce this year, the young aspiring artists from Sonic the Comic Online will be in attendence and will also be showing off their artwork and talent! Don’t forget there will also be more opportunities for you to show off your own artistic flair at our Art corner too…and who knows, there might even be some fab prizes to be won. More on that later!
Do keep your eyes firmly fixed on the Summer of Sonic website, because believe me, you’re going to want to be there this year!
Heads up! The Summer of Sonic website has revealed the intended location for this year’s convention. Following the announcement some months ago that the venue would be situated in London, attendees now know to head to Shepherd’s Bush for The Pavilion, a 1000-people strong space that offers a huge opportunity for some Sonic-based fun!
The website also provides a notice explaining the reason behind the venue’s delayed announcement. From the post:
“Various factors come into play when it comes to hiring a professional venue for an event – there’s signing of contracts, adding of accounts, and various clauses that need to be discussed at length before a deal between parties can be made final. Last year… we went through a similar process to this year to lock down the Truman Brewery. The fact that we have changed our venue for 2010 means all of that background work had to be done again.”
So there you have it. But, you already booked your hotels and flights and travel months ago anyway, right? So the delayed announcement is something of a moot point. As it happens, Shepherd’s Bush Tube station – one of the closest to the venue – is simple to get to on the Central (red) line on the London Underground map. A Google map location can be found here.
Click here to head to the Summer of Sonic 2010 post regarding this announcement.
Now either I’m very slow off the bat (in which case this probably isn’t news for you), but it looks like the US are getting a Sonic Convention…for a second time: apparently the DFW Hedgehog Show and SoniCon is now in it’s second year. The event is being held in Plano, Texas in early November, but looks to be a much more wildlife-ish related affair compared to what goes on with Summer of Sonic. Amongst a whole host of hedgehoggy people and gothic looking rock bands (I hope they give the hedgehogs ear plugs) is Eggman voice actor extrodinaire Mike Pollock, who will also be making an appearance at the event.
If you live state-side and are planning on going to this, let us know!
You can find convention information at the DFW Hedgehog Show Convention webpage.
Alternatively, come to Summer of Sonic (shameless plug, yes).
The new website for the Summer of Sonic convention has opened to the public, and already fans have started posting comments detailing their excited interest in the event. The launch of the website means that over the next few weeks, some exciting reveals and detailed information on the day’s activities will be trickled out ahead of the event, scheduled for the 7th August 2010.
Hotly tipped to be revealed first is the venue of the convention, which has been kept a secret up until now because of continuing negotiations. As it was confirmed to be hosted in London several months ago however, some attendees’ travelling arrangements have already been booked.
Past Summer of Sonic conventions have seen big celebrity guests appear – including composer Richard Jacques, singers TJ Davis and Bentley Jones, comic artists Nigel Kitching and Nigel Dobbyn and Sumo Digital. All eyes are on who will attend this year’s event – have any conspiracy theories? Post them in the comments box below.
2010’s Summer of Sonic website is inviting discussion on conventions past and present – opening the floor to suggestions at the same time. If you have something to say, why not write your thoughts on the SoS 2010 blog entry?
The world’s Sonic the Hedgehog fan convention, Summer of Sonic, will take place on the 7th August 2010, we can announce today. Further details such as venue, guests and events have yet to be determined. Entry may be charged this year, in order to cover costs.
Summer of Sonic has come in leaps and bounds since its introduction as a real-life convention in 2008. Organised by fans for the fans, and headed by Kevin Eva (ArchAngelUK) of Sonic Wrecks/Sega Europe and myself, it has proven to be the annual go-to event for Sonic lovers around the world.
Past guests include musician Richard Jacques, singer TJ Davis, remixer and artist Bentley Jones, Nigel Kitching and Nigel Dobbyn from Fleetway’s Sonic the Comic and Steve Lycett (S0L) of Sumo Digital. The event has played host to events such as Guinness World Records challenges and exclusive sneak previews of Sonic Chronicles and Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing.
Over 400 people turned up to East London’s Brick Lane to hit the Summer of Sonic 2009, situated at Truman Brewery’s Boiler House. A similar number is expected for 2010, with Sonic fans around the world coming together in London for another day of Super Sonic activity.
With the costs of Summer of Sonic 2009 exceeding expectations, it is being decided whether to charge a small fee for entry to this year’s event. We hope you’ll be supportive of this move, should we go ahead with it, as it will allow us to bring you even more unexpected surprises. There are many things in the pipeline for 2010 – you won’t be disappointed.
Further details – as well as an official SoS 2010 website – to come soon. In the meantime – start booking that date off of work, guys!
A few weeks back we set you cretins the question of “If you were put in charge of Summer of Sonic ‘10, what would you do?” in order to bag yourself a signed copy of the ultra-rare “Virtual Sonic” album signed by Howard Drossin himself! Our inbox rapidly filled with entries, both cruel and unusual, but as always there can only be one winner!
Continue reading Virtual Summer of Sonic Competition: We Have A Winner!
You all asked if we were going to do another special like last year. It seems that the answer would be yes! Unlike last year, we didnt really plan to do one. With out focus being on the live broadcast, so we picked up our crappy video camera and attempted to get a few things for you. My camera doesnt deal with crowd noise, but anyone is free to subtitle it for me if they drop me a PM .
The Sonic Show and Sonic Showcase Network are very happy to bring you this hour of highlights from the Summer Of Sonic. And amazingly, we have missed out so many things! You just can’t imagine how busy the day was!
Here is a quick guideline of this epic Sonic Show episode:
Thanks to everyone who took part, I’ve never be so proud and happy to part of such a strong community. (I promise next year to do something a bit more professional)
For those of you old enough to remember, it’s ten years to the day since SEGA launched their Dreamcast console on the 9th of September 1999, and to celebrate AAUK and Sonic Wrecks is giving away ten fantastic prizes to those who are floating around on Twitter at 09:09:09am GMT! All you need to do is follow SonicWrecks on Twitter and be around to ReTweet (RT) a specific phrase – ten lucky hedgehogs will snag themselves one of these goody bags, which include some rare items like a Sonic Unleashed hoodie and the Megadrive Ultimate Collection Vinyl.
If that wasn’t enough, each winner gets themselves one of the exclusive artbooks that were given away at Summer of Sonic! One VERY lucky hedgehog will win themselves a signed Sonic and the Secret Rings poster signed by Yojiro Ogawa and the SatSR gang.
For more details, Terms & Conditions, as well as the full prize breakdown, head over to Sonic Wrecks.
You guys are certainly getting your fix of prizes at the moment!
The guys over at Sonic Paradox are really pulling out all the stops at the moment to bring us a Summer of Sonic special set of Sonic Briefs: Knuckles Shorts! Feast your eyes on yet another side-splitting host of hillarious flash animations over at the Sonic Show!
So what are you waiting for! Get over there and watch it! Just try not to get stuck on the loading screen punching Sonic on the toilet over and over and over…
Knuckles Briefs is a collab created by all of you’re favourite (or more likely, hated) Sonic characters. Knuckles is fed up of the attention brought to Sonic through the acclaimed series, ‘Sonic Shorts’ and has decided to have his own collection of “briefs”.
Knuckles Briefs is collection of hilarious shorts by the Sonic Paradox team. Sonic Paradox are known for many things in the community, most notable being the Sonic Shorts and Sonic Tribute collections. This flash was created for the Summer Of Sonic event, however unfortunately never made it’s appearence on the day. But fret not as we can finally share it with you here!
I should hope so, Sonic Paradox has been around since 2006, though the first collaboration was the “Tribute Collab 1″ back in 2005. Their forum was created by Lilmario and The Wax created the main site. The first project was started by Sweet_Kat22 from Newgrounds. She, however, has moved on from Sonic Paradox.
When Sweet_Kat22 dropped down from being leader, HyperactiveYouth (known for Sonic: Uncut 1, 2 and 3) stepped in, becoming the 2nd leader in charge of Sonic Tribute Collab 2. However, due to development hell, HyperactiveYouth stepped down as well and their longest in service member, Bit-Master, became the 3rd leader. Due to slow progress, he stepped down from being leader to co-leader with their current leader, The Wax (known for Full Metal Sonic, Sonic Halo, and Sonic: Dark Chaos, and a variety of shorts). The Wax is the creator of the Sonic Short Volumes you all know and love.
With Summer of Sonic 2009 all wrapped up and way past awesome for all involved, we’re starting to crack out some great downloads for people to keep as memories – or to entertain those who couldn’t attend the convention this year. As it happens, Bentley Jones returned after last year’s performance and gave an exclusive Sonic-themed song. Last year he did a special mix of “In His World”. 2009’s piece?
They Call Me Sonic.
Yep. I wasn’t kidding. They Call Me Sonic. As Bentley took the stage to sing it live, he jokingly mentioned how ‘serious’ this song is and how meaningful it is for Sonic fans around the world. Damn straight, it is. Maybe next year we can get someone to do a cover of Wonderman.
You can download the Studio version of Bentley Jones’ “They Call Me Sonic – Furry Tails Enhanced Parody Mix” (AAUK named it that, by the way) right here on TSS. Watch it on Youtube (because nothing says music download better than a video website obviously) via Sonic Wrecks’ page, then get it via the link below:
Bentley Jones – They Call Me Sonic (Furry Tails Enhanced Parody Mix) – 4.3MB
Download from TSS’ Media Server
Because 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 Summer of Sonic 2009 has come and gone, and a lot of people got to experience a second year of real-life convention goodness. On a personal level, there was a lot for me to prove (and improve) over last year’s debut in Covent Garden’s Dragon Hall. More space. Better seating. More production live feeds. Different guests. So as I write this retrospective on Saturday’s events, I hope the attendees are sharing my thoughts that the day went very well indeed.
As before, the day itself began with a group of main SoS staff rallying around the much-larger Boiler House (at the Truman Brewery in Brick Lane) in a mad scramble to get everything set up. Of course, for AAUK, myself and several others, the event started several months ago – with the week running up to the Saturday was perhaps the most manic. There was a confusion over my Macbook’s VGA output, so a last minute dash to an Apple store the night before was in order, shortly before a car journey into London that would not see us in bed until 3am Saturday morning.
After three hours of sleep and a few quick trips to get some breakfast (never start a day like this on an empty stomach), a group consisting of myself, Jemnezmy, Roareye and my friend Lee finally managed to hit the venue at arund 9am – originally this was the only time Truman would let us in to set up, but AAUK had managed to arrange an earlier time of 7.30am. As I arrived a few staffers were already present, helping with putting up pictures. The place was barren of any furniture, and the game pods had only just arrived, so naturally I started to worry.
Luckily, the tables and chairs all made their presence felt around 9.30am, which really made me realise the sheer scale of this year’s Summer of Sonic. We had well in the region of 200 chairs and a set of tables to accommodate that. It was a mad rush trying to get all the tables set up, modify the floorplan once it became clear that the Art section was going to block access, and ensure that each section was arranged in time for opening.
Our guests had arrived ahead of time this year – Bentley Jones was the first to appear, and he was very excited as he prepared for his two performances that would take place on stage. He arrived with his mum, who was very proud to be taking lots of photos and recordings. Sumo Digital popped in to set up Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing (which, contrary to popular belief, had no recording restrictions – that was reserved for Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, as the code being used was pretty new). Nigel Kitching and Nigel Dobbyn set up in the Comics area, and Dobbyn was savvy enough to bring some art samples to sell. Needless to say, that area soon became very popular.
Once everything was set up, the only thing left to iron out was the VGA connection from my Macbook to the two TV’s installed by the stage. The original plan was to get a projector, but unfortunately the studio organisers we collaborated with couldn’t make theirs available, so we had to make do with improvisations. We gave our awesome David Tennant-lookalike security guard the nod to let people in at 11.45am.
I was at the doors with the other door staff, and was surprised at how many people flooded in. Last year, in a hall suited for 200 people, we saw 300 Sonic fans try to fit into the Dragon Hall. I was quite proud of that achievement. This year, in the space of half an hour, we had pretty much satisfied that quota already!
Some people went immediately for the games pods, a lot of fans rushed to get a seat at the Art tables (which was considerably bigger this year than the two tables we put together in 2008), but many sat around the stage, waiting for the big event to officially kick off. Before AAUK and I appeared to do our introduction speech, we played a special video created by the always-awesome BoozermaN.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4WQN0dxZQI[/youtube]
This was just one of the fantastic fan-created videos that we played throughout the day, and it was great to see these guys get seen at a SEGA-endorsed event. Mostly though, it was awesome to see more of BoozermaN’s work – I especially liked the sniffling apology and the following “Yay!” at the end.
AAUK and I took to the stage once the video played, and we kicked off the biggest day on the Sonic Community calendar…
To be continued…
Were you at the Summer of Sonic? Did you watch the live feed online? Tell us what you thought of the day in the comments section! Photos courtesy of various attendees via the Summer of Sonic Facebook page.
MP3 of all the live songs will be posted here throughout the day.
MP3 of all the live songs will be posted here throughout the day.
Broadcasting will be live between 11am and 6pm GMT. These times may vary on the day.
The Summer of Sonic 2009 is set to be even bigger than the first in 2008, with many special guests, a load of events taking place on stage and around the venue, and the return of areas and features that you guys loved – only ten times bigger! We’re going with the tried-and-tested uStream – we have an easy job putting it on, you have an easy job viewing it. We’ll have a camera perched in Dread’s Crow’s Nest™ with a good view of the crowd and the stage all through the day, and Jay up in the place will keep you up to date on developments with a live video ticker, so if you miss Lee’s presumedly excellent show or something similarly freaky – that’s freaky in a good way – you’ve only got yourself to blame. Or your computer. Or your annoying sibling cruely stealing the computer.
Unquestionable taste in suits
The host for your video pleasure is the one and only Roareye Black. He’ll be guiding you throughout the days events as well as asking Sonic fans what they think of the day so far (and hopefully all in a snazzy suit).
Can’t make it to the biggest Sonic event of the year? Fret not, for The Sonic Show, SEGASonic Radio, TSS and the SoS website have you covered! There are two ways to enjoy the event, depending on whether you like multitasking or your Internet connection.
Thanks to The Sonic Show, there will be a special live video feed that will overlook the day’s events and focus on various things on the show floor during the day! Roareye Black will be your presenter for the day, and DiscoPonies your producer/cameramans. Say hello to them if you’re at the Summer of Sonic tomorrow and you’ll be shown online! A video feed is below via uStream, but you can also watch on The Sonic Show’s website, Summer of Sonic’s website or on the special uStream page.
The other method you can tune into the day’s activities is by listening to SEGASonic Radio – thanks to our radio station, we’re able to broadcast the DJ’s tunes and the crowd live to your eardrums. The two feeds will provide different services – the radio feed will work right off of the live source, meaning if you’re into learning more about the Q&A and the power of sight isn’t a big deal, you may get a better result from the SSR feed. Listen in either using the panel below, or by going on the SoS website (link above).
EDIT: As embedding the SSR player isn’t working on TSS, you can head to SoS’ Live page and listen to the proceedings from the player on that page instead if you wish. SSR 24/7 will continue to play until the day kicks off.
See you guys tomorrow!
