Latest news with #Sonic
Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Sonic fans just realising why iconic hedgehog is blue ahead of fourth film
Sonic the Hedgehog is one of the most popular characters in video game history, and he'll soon be starring in his fourth film - but do you know why the character is blue? Sonic the Hedgehog fans have only just realised why the iconic video game character is blue - and it turns out there's even a reason for the colour within the franchise's lore. Sonic is one of the most popular video game characters of all time, and he's been featured in over 100 gaming titles since his first appearance in 1991's Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis. In 2020, Sonic became the subject of his own live-action film, which has since spawned two further films, with a fourth on the way in 2027. With interest in the super-fast mammal still rising, fans are now starting to ask one very pertinent question - why on earth is he blue? The real-world reason for Sonic's striking blue coat is simple. Sega created him in 1991 as a mascot that was supposed to rival the success Nintendo was having at the time with their mascot, Mario. As Mario is predominantly red, Sonic was made blue as a direct contrast, as well as blue being the primary colour in the Sega logo. As for Sonic's red shoes, they were actually inspired by both Santa Claus and Michael Jackson, with the design team particularly taking inspiration from the latter's 1987 album, Bad. A TikTok video from Byte Sized Science explained: "Sega made Sonic to rival Mario, and they needed a bold mascot. Blue matched Sega's logo colour, and the red shoes were inspired by Michael Jackson's Bad cover. Even his attitude was designed to feel edgy and Western, unlike Mario." But Sonic's blue colour isn't just something that can be explained away by good marketing strategies. The character actually has an in-game reason for his blue hue, and it's all to do with his arch-nemesis in the games, Doctor Robotnik. In a Sonic comic it was revealed that Sonic was originally a regular hedgehog with natural brown fur. Everything changed when he stumbled into the laboratory of a scientist named Ovi Kintobor, who was looking for the seven Chaos Emeralds so that he could lock the world's evil away inside them. Sonic decided to help him by using his superspeed to find the last Emerald. The scientist was so fascinated by his skills that he began running tests on the hedgehog. But when Sonic ran so fast that he broke the sound barrier, the sonic boom destroyed the testing gear and turned Sonic blue in the process. The hedgehog stuck around with Kintobor after the incident, but later, another accident occurred in which the scientist fell into his evil collecting machine while holding an egg. The evil stored in the Chaos Emeralds was transferred into Kintobor and the egg, fusing them into the evil Doctor Ivo Robotnik - the Eggman. The Blue Blur will star in his fourth film in 2027, where Ben Schwartz is expected to reprise his role as the voice of the titular hedgehog. Jim Carey has played Dr Robotnik in the past three instalments, but it is not yet known if he will return for the upcoming fourth flick. It's also believed that Sonic's love interest, Amy Rose, could make her debut in Sonic 4, but no actress has been confirmed to be voicing her as of the time of writing. According to IMDb, however, both Lady Gaga and Scarlett Johansson have been considered for the role. For Sonic fans who can't wait for the new film, a new Sonic racing game titled Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, is scheduled to be released on September 25th this year for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC. A Nintendo Switch 2 release is planned for a later date. Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is expected to be released on March 19, 2027.
Broadcast Pro
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Broadcast Pro
Manga Productions partners with SEGA to bring Sonic franchise to MENA
The game debuts with a record 23 characters, with more to be added through ongoing post-launch updates. Manga Productions, a subsidiary of the Mohammed bin Salman Foundation (Misk), has announced a strategic publishing and distribution agreement with Japanese gaming powerhouse SEGA to bring the Sonic franchise to audiences across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The collaboration will see Manga Productions publish SEGA's kart racing title Sonic Racing: Crossworlds in the region. In a statement, the company emphasised that the partnership aims to not only localise and promote the game for regional gamers but also to involve Saudi talent in the publishing and marketing process, supporting the growth of the Kingdom's creative industries. Dr. Essam Bukhary, CEO of Manga Productions, said: 'Manga Productions has built strategic partnerships that support the creative content industry in Saudi Arabia and the region. Our collaboration with SEGA brings Sonic Racing: Crossworlds to MENA audiences.' Developed by SEGA's arcade racing team, Sonic Racing: Crossworlds features a gameplay twist where tracks shift into mysterious, unpredictable worlds during the second lap of each race. The title will launch with a record-breaking roster of 23 characters, including iconic guest appearances from characters such as Hatsune Miku, Joker from Persona 5 Royal, Ichiban Kasuga from Like a Dragon, as well as crossover entries from Minecraft and SpongeBob SquarePants. More characters will be added in future updates. The game offers extensive customisation through over 70 'Gadgets' that allow players to tailor their racing strategies with skills and advantages. It also supports cross-play functionality, enabling up to 12 players to compete online in various multiplayer modes.
Asharq Al-Awsat
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Manga Productions Partners with SEGA to Publish 'Sonic Racing: Crossworlds' Game in MENA
Manga Productions, a subsidiary of Mohammed bin Salman Foundation (Misk), has signed a publishing and distribution agreement with the Japanese gaming giant SEGA to publish the iconic game Sonic in the Middle East and North Africa. CEO of Manga Productions Dr. Essam Bukhary said: 'Manga Productions has built strategic partnerships that support the creative content industry in Saudi Arabia and the region. Our collaboration with SEGA brings 'Sonic Racing: Crossworlds' to MENA audiences.' In a statement on Monday, Manga Productions said it will collaborate with SEGA to publish the game for audiences in the MENA region, providing opportunities for Saudi talents to participate in the publishing process, as well as marketing the game. 'Sonic Racing: Crossworlds' is the next-generation kart racing game developed by SEGA's arcade racing team. Its standout feature is its dynamic track design, where players warp into an unknown world on the second lap of each race, making every race unpredictable and thrilling. With a record-breaking 23 characters available at launch, the roster will continue to expand through post-launch updates, featuring guest appearances from Hatsune Miku, Joker (Persona 5 Royal), Ichiban Kasuga (Like a Dragon), Minecraft, SpongeBob SquarePants, and more. Players can customize their racing strategies using over 70 types of 'Gadgets,' each offering unique skills and advantages. The game also supports cross-play in online multiplayer, allowing up to 12 players to compete in various exciting modes.
Business Insider
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
SpookySwap and THENA Each Launch Perpetual Trading via Orbs' Perpetual Hub Ultra
SpookySwap and THENA lead as the first DEXs to integrate Orbs' Perpetual Hub Ultra, bringing onchain perpetual trading to their platforms. The Sonic and BNB Chain DEXs, respectively, have integrated Orbs' protocol to introduce perpetual trading with up to 60x leverage and support for over 300 pairs. Orbs' flagship protocol, Perpetual Hub, facilitated over $2.2 billion in trading volume, with the newly launched Ultra version paving the way for further growth. Orbs' latest flagship protocol, Perpetual Hub Ultra, enables DEXs on any EVM chain to complement their spot markets with the addition of perpetual trading. Ultra's plug-and-play design brings deep liquidity to DEXs, enabling users to access leverage within a familiar trading environment. Both SpookySwap and THENA, have a track record of integrating Orbs protocols, previously integrating dLIMIT and dTWAP to expand their spot trading offerings. Now, with the rollout of Perpetual Hub Ultra, they are further evolving their platforms by introducing on-chain perpetual trading across more than 300 trading pairs, powered by Orbs' Layer-3 technology. Sonic users can now trade intent-based perpetual on SpookySwap, with Orbs' composable tech stack seamlessly orchestrating the entire process. Orders are filled by the Hedger, which draws liquidity from external sources, including centralized exchanges such as Binance. Positions are managed by the Liquidator, tasked with checking collateral and margin thresholds. Perpetual Hub Ultra is completed by the Price Oracle, which provides accurate unrealized profit and loss (PnL) data for efficient position management. BNB Chain users can also access perpetual trading on THENA, whose integration of Perpetual Hub Ultra is now live. All 300+ pairs that Orbs facilitates are available, enabling traders to enter leveraged positions for popular tokens, such as $PUMP, that aren't natively supported on BNB. smart contract infrastructure is combined with Orbs' infrastructure to provide a decentralized and highly liquid trading experience. Orbs CBO Ran Hammer said: 'We're delighted to see SpookySwap and THENA move quickly to integrate Perpetual Hub Ultra with full support from Orbs. These integrations bring a powerful onchain primitive to the Sonic and BNB Chain ecosystems that allow DEX users to access perpetual markets with deep liquidity and support for hundreds of assets. As Perpetual Hub Ultra is rolled out across more EVM chains, it will provide access to perpetual trading that is decentralized, secure, and fully customizable to suit the needs of leading DEXs.' Perpetual Hub Ultra has the potential to boost trading volume for DEXs that integrate the protocol, helping exchanges attract new users and grow revenue without the need to bootstrap on-platform liquidity, thanks to its intent-based architecture. Orbs is a decentralized Layer-3 (L3) blockchain designed specifically for advanced onchain trading. Utilizing a Proof-of-Stake consensus, Orbs acts as a supplementary execution layer, facilitating complex logic and scripts beyond the native functionalities of smart contracts. Orbs powered protocols such as dLIMIT, dTWAP, Liquidity Hub, and Perpetual Hub push the boundaries of DeFi and smart contract technology, introducing CeFi-level execution to onchain trading.
West Australian
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- West Australian
The Potbelleez to play in Busselton for first time with intimate Hally's Bar gig
Australian music trio The Potbelleez will be heading to Busselton for the first time in their 20-year career for a more intimate than usual, but still large, show. The group — known for their hits Don't Hold Back and Are You With Me — will be heading to Hally's Bar on August 1, where an audience of 500 people can enjoy a night of electro-house and dance music. Founding member Jonny Sonic said the trio couldn't wait to make their debut in the South West town. 'It's our first time in Busselton and it's very rare for us to have a first time these days, because we pretty much played every nook and cranny in Australia,' he said. 'It's always good to see a new one.' Sonic said with the gig being capped at 500 people, he expected the show to be more engaging for them. 'You can see people in the eye and you can feed off the energy a lot quicker than at a festival,' he said. 'People just get go absolutely bonkers and they feel part of the show. 'When we play a smaller venue, they always feel like they're at a festival because of the grandeur of the show that we put on. It's a very big style of music with a very big sound.' Sonic's message to the locals was to 'put your dancing shoes on, don't be arrogant, treat everybody well on the dance floor, put your phones down and enjoy the night'. Venue manager Peter Davies said the crew were excited to welcome the trio. 'It's going to just be a party of fun. They're going to be playing all their hits, which are many,' he said. Davies reached out to the band, having known them since 2008, and asked Sonic if they wanted to do a show in the South West town. He thought he would be organising the event for a different, larger local venue but was happy to hear the trio wanted to play in their smaller venue. '(Sonic) said 'let's do an intimate gig piece. We play in front of thousands of people every weekend',' Davies said. Tickets are available through Oztix .
