News:2023 Sonic Central stream features new game, merch, and Sonic Prime announcements
Sonic Central, the now-yearly livestream of Sonic the Hedgehog news and announcements from Sega, took place today in celebration of the 32nd anniversary of the release of Sonic the Hedgehog. Premiering on YouTube and Twitch, Ivo Gerscovich and Takashi Iizuka kicked off the celebration presentation by thanking all fans for the recent year and promising an even better year. Iizuka also noted that the series had innovated in the past year with Sonic Frontiers, Sonic Origins Plus, and Sonic Prime and promises to continue to create great content for years to come.
Sonic Origins Plus
The first announcement was the launch trailer for Sonic Origins Plus, which launched overnight. The trailer boasts sixteen titles in one collection with new game modes, challenges, and missions. In addition to the four classic titles in the original Sonic Origins, the game features twelve titles from the series on the Sega Game Gear, a playable Amy Rose, Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic CD, and more.
Sonic Frontiers: Sonic's Birthday Bash Update
A trailer for a birthday celebration in Sonic Frontiers was revealed. The trailer features a birthday skin to the heads-up display, a variety of birthday-themed objects placed throughout the Starfall Islands, and birthday-themed textures to existing structures like grind rails and platforms. Additionally, new challenges were teased involving collecting rings on rails, fighting the robots on the island, and navigating the platforms what appears to be a time limit. New moves for Sonic in both the islands and cyberspace, new celebration-themed Koco, and a New Game + mode were also announced in the trailer. The update is set to release today for free.
Sonic Speed Simulator
An event was announced for Sonic Speed Simulator on Roblox that unlocks a tuxedo-wearing Classic Sonic in the game. No additional details were provided in the trailer, but the update is set to be available sometime today.
Sonic Prime Season 2
A brief teaser for season 2 of Sonic Prime was shown off. In the teaser, Shadow the Hedgehog tells Sonic that his home is gone because of the destruction of the Paradox Prism. However, he suggests that the only way to fix their reality is to work together to gather the shards of the Paradox Prism together. Meanwhile, Dr. Eggman appears to also be after the shards. The teaser ends with the reveal of what appears to be an alternate-reality version of either Sonic or Metal Sonic. The new season of Sonic Prime is set to release on July 13, 2023, on Netflix.
Additionally, Sonic Prime Dash, a Sonic Prime version of the endless-runner title Sonic Dash, is set to release within Netflix on July 13, as well.
Sonic Dash and Sonic Forces: Speed Battle
Super Silver is currently available to be unlocked in both Sonic Dash and Sonic Forces: Speed Battle. Additionally, Dragon Hunter Lancelot is set to release in both titles in July. Finally, Classic Super Sonic is set to arrive in the mobile titles later in the year.
Samba de Amigo: Party Central
Sega announced that two tracks from the Sonic the Hedgehog series, "Escape from the City" from Sonic Adventure 2 and "Fist Bump" from Sonic Forces will be included in the game when it launches. Additionally, the game will also feature a stage based on City Escape from Sonic Adventure 2. The game is set to release on August 29. Additional costume and accessories will also be avaialble for purchasing the Digital Deluxe Edition.
Sonic Symphony: World Tour
Additional details were revealed for the upcoming Sonic Symphony: World Tour. The world tour will kick off on September 16 at Barbican Hall in London. Additionally, live performances were announced in Paris, Los Angeles, São Paolo, Boston, and Chicago in October. The following February, the tour will perform in Tokyo, Japan. Additional locations were announced for Düsseldorf, Germany; San Antonio, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; Seattle, Washington; San Francisco, California; Washington, DC; Kansas City, MO; Toronto, Canada; Montreal, Canada; and Portland, Oregon.
TailsTube
The second season of TailsTube, an animated stream hosted by Tails that delves into the lore of the Sonic the Hedgehog series, was announced.
Merchandise
A variety of merchandise was announced during today's stream as well. A Death Egg Play Set from Jakks Pacific, based on the Death Egg from Sonic the Hedgehog 2, was announced. Additionally, red clogs by Crocs, with Sonic-themed gibbets, were shown off. A variety of t-shirts, home goods, and rugs from street-wear brand Hypland celebrating the series were shown off and are set to be available world-wide on June 26.
New Cable Guys featuring both Sonic the Hedgehog and Shadow the Hedgehog were also revealed. A new statue by S-Fire featuring Sonic and Shadow was also shown and is now available for pre-order. A Sonic-themed guitar from ESP and a Sonic Playmates cooler from Igloo were also announced.
A one-shot comic book from IDW Publishing was also announced in celebration of Amy's 30th Anniversary.
San Diego Comic-Con
Sega announced that Sonic would be at this year's San Diego Comic-Con with a Sonic-themed restaurant. More details are set to be announced at a later date. This year's San Diego Comic-Con will be July 20 through July 23.
LEGO Collaboration
The previously-announced Sonic and LEGO collaboration was shown off during Sonic Central today. In addition, Dr. Eggman appeared to take over the stream to announce the Eggman-themed LEGO collection. Dr. Eggman also revealed a redesign of LEGO Sonic, promising that if enough people use the hashtag #MakeLEGOSonicMoreEggman, LEGO would replace Sonic with his redesign. The new LEGO sets will be available on August 1, 2023.
Sonic Superstars
A brief segment of an interview with Naoto Oshima and Takashi Iizuka focused on the recently-announced Sonic Superstars was featured during Sonic Central. Additionally, a collaboration with LEGO inside the game was teased. Pre-ordering the game now will also include a skin for Dr. Eggman as LEGO Eggman. Additionally, LEGO is now offering a free children's ticket for its LEGOland parks and Discovery Center in celebration for Sonic Superstars.
Conclusion
The presentation concludes with parting words from Iizuka and Gerscovich. Gerscovich mentions the upcoming releases of Knuckles and Sonic the Hedgehog 3, with more information set to release soon. Iizuka concludes by promising that the fans' loyalty and dedication is noticed and has inspired the team more than ever to provide high-quality content for the series.
Which announcements are you most excited for?