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Sonic Battle

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Sonic Battle is a 2003 beat 'em up video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Game Boy Advance . It is the second fighting game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, the first game being Sonic the Fighters . It was released in Japan in December 2003 and in North America and Europe in early 2004. The game received an indifferent response from critics.

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133-475: Battles are fought in 3D arenas with up to four players. Each character has a set of attacks and abilities. Most attacks are used with B, including the combo (1st, 2nd, and 3rd Attack), Air Attack, Upper Attack (used to knock opponents straight up), Heavy Attack (used to knock opponents away), and Aim Attack (used to pursue an opponent after the Heavy Attack). The A button is used to jump, and the L button lets

266-637: A mad scientist who seeks to steal the mystical Chaos Emeralds and take over the world. Sonic can curl into a ball to attack enemies and use the Chaos Emeralds to become invulnerable . He has appeared in over 100 video games , in addition to guest appearances in other Sega franchises and in crossover games such as Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. series. Jun'ichi Kanemaru voices Sonic in Japan, while his English voice has been provided by Ryan Drummond , Jason Griffith , and Roger Craig Smith . Sonic

399-531: A February 2019 interview that with changes in retailer procurement, their own switch to fewer but more quality titles, and the rapid spread of news via the Internet that having a trade show as late as June is no longer helpful, and that Sony had to create its own Destination PlayStation experience in February as to secure retailer sales. Industry Analyst Michael Patcher, speaking to GamingBolt, said, "I think it's

532-529: A change, E3 would become extinct. Pachter also found that retailers were less interested in E3 due to the later calendar date. Activision , which had been a member of the ESA since its start, opted to leave the ESA in 2008 and to no longer participate in the E3 event, with their CEO Robert Kotick stating the company was too big for the E3 and ESA at that point, riding on revenue from World of Warcraft . Responding to

665-455: A cross-world and interstellar journey, Sonic X depicted Sonic and his human friend Chris Thorndyke in quests to save the world. Sonic: Night of the Werehog is a short film produced by Sega's VE Animation Studio , released to coincide with the release of Sonic Unleashed . In the film, Sonic and Chip enter a haunted house, and must deal with two ghosts trying to scare them in attempt to win

798-598: A decorative ornament hanging from a rearview mirror. This was followed by an unlicensed appearance in The Adventures of Quik & Silva as a villain. Sonic's first playable appearance was in the platform game Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis , which also introduced his nemesis Dr. Robotnik . His two-tailed fox friend Tails joined him in the game's 1992 sequel, Sonic

931-525: A dedicated space at the next CES, which would have conflicted with the planned E3 event, requiring the companies to pick one or the other. Most of the IDSA members supported E3, while Nintendo and Microsoft were still supportive of the CES approach. After about three to four months, Ferrell was told by CEA's CEO Gary J. Shapiro that he had "won" and that they had canceled the CES video game event, effectively making E3

1064-580: A dedicated trade show for video games, building off IDG's established experience in running the Macworld convention . Ferrell contacted the IDSA who saw the appeal of using their position in the industry to create a video game-specific tradeshow, and offered to co-found the Electronic Entertainment Expo with IDG. Though several companies agreed to present at this E3 event, Ferrell discovered that CEA had offered video game companies

1197-451: A dog, a Theodore Roosevelt look-alike in pajamas (who would later be the basis of Doctor Eggman 's design), and a rabbit (who would use its extendable ears to collect objects, an aspect later incorporated in Ristar ). Naoto Ohshima took some of these internal designs with him on a trip to New York City and sought feedback by asking random passersby at Central Park their opinions; of

1330-634: A drawing in the theatrical film . Electronic Entertainment Expo E3 (short for Electronic Entertainment Expo ) was an annual trade event for the video game industry organized and presented by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). It was held principally in Los Angeles from 1995 to 2019, with its final iteration held virtually in 2021. The event hosted developers , publishers , hardware manufacturers, and other industry professionals who used

1463-441: A good future for the world. Sonic 3 and its direct sequel Sonic & Knuckles , both released in 1994, saw Sonic and Tails battle Robotnik again, with the additional threat of Knuckles , who is tricked by Robotnik into thinking Sonic is a threat. Sonic 4 (2010–2012) continues where the story of Sonic 3 left off, reducing Sonic to the only playable character and releasing in episodic installments. The second episode sees

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1596-422: A human female as one of the worst parts of it. In 2024, a poll conducted by BAFTA with around 4,000 respondents named Sonic the Hedgehog as the fourth most iconic video-game character of all time, only behind Lara Croft , Mario and Agent 47 . Ken Balough, Sega's former associate brand manager, said that Sonic's appeal endured because the character is "a gaming legend, first and foremost" who originated "from

1729-421: A large keynote presentation and instead have used pre-recorded Nintendo Direct and live video events during the E3 week since 2013 to showcase their new products, though they still run floor booths for hands-on demonstrations. Since 2014, there also have been Nintendo Treehouse Live streams that focused on several different games as well as tournaments for different titles. Electronic Arts, since 2016, have set up

1862-431: A limited number of special moves can be selected. Shot, Power, and Trap must be allocated to three slots: Ground, Air, and Defend. The special move the player sets to Ground will be used when pressing R on the ground. The move the player sets to Air will be used when pressing R in mid-air. The last slot, Defend, has a different function; when a player sets a certain type of special move to Defend, then every time an enemy uses

1995-518: A link with him after Sonic demonstrates his abilities. The Gizoid, which Sonic names Emerl due to its ability to use the Chaos Emeralds , demonstrates the power to perfectly replicate any moves it sees and quickly gets wrapped up in the affairs of Sonic's friends, allies and rivals. Through his encounters with Miles "Tails" Prower , Rouge The Bat , Knuckles The Echidna , Amy Rose , Cream The Rabbit , and Shadow The Hedgehog , Emerl learns of

2128-401: A mistake to skip the show, they will probably be there without a big booth. It was a surprise to me". As of 2016, revenues from running E3 accounted for about 48% of the organization's annual budget, with another 37% coming from membership dues. With Sony's withdrawal from the conference and the controversies surrounding outgoing ESA president Mike Gallagher, some member companies criticized

2261-563: A misunderstanding about hedgehogs not being able to swim. The only exception is that he can swim in the Sonic the Hedgehog Adventure Gamebooks. When the seven Chaos Emeralds are collected and used, Sonic transforms into "Super Sonic" ( スーパーソニック ) , a faster, stronger and invulnerable version of himself that can fly. In Super Sonic form, Sonic's irises turn red and his body becomes golden. As Sega's mascot and one of

2394-504: A new threat to his own life, Silver the Hedgehog . He is the only playable character in Sonic Unleashed (2008), in which he unwillingly gains a new personality, "Sonic the Werehog", the result of Sonic being fused with Dark Gaia's power. He gains strength and flexibility in exchange for his speed, and new friends including a strange creature named Chip who helps him along the way. In Sonic Colors (2010), Eggman tries to harness

2527-537: A player takes damage, blocks attacks, or heals, the Ichikoro Gauge fills up. When it is full, the next special move the player does will instantly KO anyone it hits. However, if they chose to defend against that type of special, or successfully block, their Ichikoro Gauge will be filled instantly. Players healing damage will also slowly fill up their Ichikoro Gauge, but are still vulnerable to attacks. The game features ten playable characters. Eight are playable in

2660-564: A positive response by Patrick Lee of The A.V. Club and Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media . Sonic has also been used as a symbol for Sega's various sponsorships. Between 1993 and 1997, Sega sponsored the JEF United Ichihara Chiba football team, during which period Sonic appeared in the team's uniform. During the 1993 Formula One championship , Sega sponsored the Williams Grand Prix team , which won

2793-588: A prototype programmed by Naka. Sonic's design was influenced by a variety of sources, including Felix the Cat , Mickey Mouse , Michael Jackson , and Santa Claus ; his pigmentation was chosen to match Sega's cobalt blue logo. Yuji Uekawa redesigned Sonic for Sonic Adventure (1998) to suit the franchise's transition to 3D computer graphics , with a more mature look designed to appeal to older players. Sonic media characterizes Sonic as an impatient, snarky drifter and daredevil who despises injustice. He battles Eggman,

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2926-491: A redesign of him, pushing back the release date to February 14, 2020. The second trailer for the film was released on November 12, 2019, featuring the redesign, which drew in a far more positive response from both fans and critics alike. In the first film, it centers on Sonic, born with supersonic speed powers and abilities, who befriends the sheriff named Tom Wachowski, to stop the villainous Dr. Robotnik who plots to have Sonic's speed powers for world domination. A sequel, Sonic

3059-476: A separate EA Play event in a nearby locale to announce and exhibit their titles, citing the move as a result of the lack of public access to the main E3 show. Other vendors, like Microsoft and Sony have used pre-E3 events to showcase hardware reveals, leaving the E3 event to cover new games for these systems. By 2015, traditional video game marketing had been augmented by the use of publicity through word-of-mouth by average gamers, persons not normally part of

3192-520: A separate but free "E3 Live" event at the nearby L.A. Live space that was to help provide a small-scale version of the E3 experience. While it drew about 20,000 people, it was found to be underwhelming. In 2017, the ESA reserved 15,000 tickets to the convention for members of the public to buy; these were all sold, leading to more than 68,000 attendees during E3 2017 , which led to noticeable crowding and floor management issues. ESA confirmed that E3 2018 would include public passes, but that for two of

3325-472: A separate location would be held as "Fan Days" for all members of the public. In January 2023, IGN reported that neither Microsoft, Nintendo, or Sony would exhibit at E3 2023, with Nintendo confirming their absence the following month, citing that "this year's E3 show didn't fit into our plans." Microsoft confirmed in March 2023 they would not be on the E3 showfloor, but would be holding the digital events. In

3458-448: A separate venue in collaboration with ReedPop . The pandemic further accelerated the use of standalone presentations by individual publishers and media outlets to promote upcoming games directly to consumers, development timelines usually aligned around the convention had been disrupted, and publishers were increasingly concerned over the costs of exhibiting at the convention. E3 2023 was cancelled after all major publishers pulled out of

3591-485: A series of games that defined a generation in gaming history, and his iconic personality was the epitome of speed in the early '90s, pushing the limits of what gamers knew and expected from high-speed action and platforming games." A Japanese team developing the Radio & Plasma Wave Investigation (RPWI) instrumentation for the upcoming Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer spacecraft, to be launched by ESA and Airbus in 2022,

3724-500: A series of imperfect Emerl duplicates under the name "E-121 Phi". Eventually, all the Chaos Emeralds are obtained and Emerl achieves full sapience. In a last attempt, Eggman decides to lure Emerl onto his new Death Egg to capture him. The two battle, and Emerl emerges victorious, but Eggman uses his new Final Egg Blaster to force Emerl to override his link to Sonic with Eggman's own. However, this overloads Emerl, deleting his personality and making him go haywire. The rogue Gizoid then turns

3857-435: A sprite to move smoothly on a curve by determining its position with a dot matrix . This concept was subsequently fleshed out by designer Hirokazu Yasuhara . Sonic was created without the ability to swim because of a mistaken assumption by Yuji Naka that all hedgehogs could not do so. A group of fifteen people started working on the first Sonic the Hedgehog game , and renamed themselves Sonic Team . The game's soundtrack

3990-488: A statement announcing that he would also be forgoing his attendance of E3 for the first time in the expo's 25-year history, citing his discomfort with the direction planned for the event in 2020. However, in the months leading to the 2020 event, the COVID-19 pandemic created concerns related to large gatherings such as E3. As late as March 4, 2020, the ESA had still intended to hold E3 2020, though said they were monitoring

4123-551: A trash can that reads "No Hopers" on the Cranky's Video Game Heroes screen. Sonic has appeared in several crossover games, including playable appearances in Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008), Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U (2014), and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018), Lego Dimensions (2015), and Cookie Run: Kingdom (2021). He appears in the crossover party game series Mario & Sonic at

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4256-423: A voluntary standard rating system that was approved by Congress. The industry recognized that it needed some type of trade show for retailers. According to Eliot Minsker, chairman and CEO of Knowledge Industry Publications (which produced and promoted the show with Infotainment World), "Retailers have pointed to the need for an interpretive event that will help them make smarter buying decisions by interacting with

4389-534: A wide range of publishers, vendors, industry influentials, and opinion leaders in a focused show setting." Attempts were made between the video game companies and the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) which ran CES, to improve how video games were treated at CES, but these negotiations failed to produce a result. Pat Ferrell, creator of GamePro which was owned by International Data Group (IDG), conceived of an idea for starting

4522-614: Is accompanied by supporting characters , such as his best friend and sidekick Miles "Tails" Prower , self-proclaimed girlfriend Amy Rose , and friendly rival Knuckles the Echidna . Sonic made a cameo appearance in the arcade game Rad Mobile (1990) before starring in Sonic the Hedgehog , a platform game for the Sega Genesis , in 1991. Sega sought a mascot to compete with Nintendo 's Mario , and Ohshima designed Sonic based on

4655-552: Is his running speed, being known in the game's universe as the world's fastest hedgehog. Many of his abilities are variations on the tendency for hedgehogs to roll into tight balls for protection with the addition of spinning his body. Since his introduction in 1991's Sonic the Hedgehog , Sonic's primary offensive maneuver is the basic "Spin Attack" (or "Sonic Spin Attack"). Later games in the series expanded on this basic attack and two of these enhancements have become mainstays of his:

4788-489: Is mostly quick-witted and easygoing, he has a short temper and is often impatient with slower things. Sonic is a habitual daredevil hedgehog who is honest, loyal to friends, keeps his promises, and dislikes tears. He took the young Tails under his wing like a little brother, and is uninterested in marital proposals from Amy Rose . In times of crisis, he focuses intensely on the challenge, as if his personality had undergone an astonishing change. Sonic's greatest strength

4921-407: Is one of the most famous video game characters in history and an established pop culture icon. He is widely considered one of the greatest video game characters and his popularity inspired a wave of imitators. His likeness has been featured in merchandise and Sega sponsorships. The Sonic series is one of the bestselling video game franchises and was one of the key reasons for Sega's success during

5054-466: Is truly gone, Sonic reassures everyone that they will see him again someday. The game was officially announced at the 2003 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) and Tokyo Game Show , both of which featured playable demos. The game was released in late-2003 in Japan as part of the "Year of Sonic", and early-2004 by THQ in the United States following a deal between both companies. Internationally,

5187-505: The OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode "Let's Meet Sonic". In February 2021, Sonic Prime was announced by Netflix with a 2022 release window, though the series' development was initially revealed in a deleted tweet in December 2020. The show is primarily for children ages six to eleven, as well as longtime fans of the franchise. In October 2022, Netflix set its release for December. In

5320-474: The 16-bit era in the 1990s. Sonic has been adapted in comics , animations , and films, including a live-action film franchise distributed by Paramount Pictures in which he is voiced by Ben Schwartz . While Sega was seeking a flagship series to compete with Nintendo's Mario series , several character designs were submitted by its research and development department. Many results came forth from their experiments with character design, including an armadillo,

5453-518: The COMDEX trade show to shut down. Several large vendors told the ESA that they were going to pull out of the next E3, which would have had a domino effect on other vendors. To avoid this, the ESA announced in July 2006 that E3 would be downsized and restructured due to the overwhelming demand from the exhibitors, and would limit attendees to those from the media and retail sectors. For 2007 and 2008, E3

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5586-461: The Sega Saturn , priced at $ 399. Sony also introduced the first PlayStation console , with Sony Computer Entertainment North America's president Steve Race came on stage during their press event to simply say "$ 299" before leaving the stage to applause. The surprise undercutting price had a significant impact on Sega and the current console war between Sega, Sony, and Nintendo. From then on, E3

5719-679: The Wii U and Nintendo 3DS . Sonic and the Secret Rings (2007) features Sonic in the storybook world of One Thousand and One Nights . A sequel, Sonic and the Black Knight (2009), continued the storybook theme, this time taking place within the realm of the Arthurian legend . Sonic has also been featured in other games of many genres other than 2D and 3D platform games. These include Sonic Spinball , Sonic Labyrinth (1995),

5852-451: The "professional" development community. The ESA began to seek ways to allow these people to attend E3 in limited numbers without overwhelming the normal attendees. For E3 2015 , 5,000 tickets were distributed to vendors to be given to fans to be able to attend the event. That same year also marked the introduction of the "PC Gaming Show", featuring games for personal computers across a range of developers and publishers. E3 2016 featured

5985-429: The 2006 game, Sonic was redesigned to make him look adult-like and taller to appeal to the next generation players. This was also done because Sonic would interact with humans more often and his design was supposed to fit. An alternative "Werehog" form was introduced in Sonic Unleashed , placing more emphasis on Sonic's melee skills rather than speed. Although Tetsu Katano acknowledged the large negative fan response to

6118-463: The 2023 show was a result of three factors: that the COVID-19 pandemic had impacted the typical development cycle for most companies; that the current economy had publishers and developers re-evaluate the need for attending E3; and that, as a result, there has been more exploration of the mix of in-person and digital marketing events that individual companies have run. While Pierre-Louis stated that ESA

6251-585: The Constructors' Championship that year, as well as the team's lead driver, Alain Prost , winning the Drivers' Championship. Sonic was featured in the cars, helmets, and their rivals McLaren used to paint a squashed hedgehog after winning races over Williams. The 1993 European Grand Prix featured a Sonic balloon and Sonic billboards. In 1992, according to Sega of America marketing director Al Nilsen, Sonic

6384-512: The ESA announced that the in-person version of E3 2022 had been cancelled due to COVID-19, with no immediate confirmation of a virtual event. Although this announcement came amid spread of the Omicron variant , IGN reported that unlike past years, E3 2022 had no dates publicized by either the ESA or the LACC—which had cast doubt (especially amid the internal issues surrounding the 2020 event, and

6517-658: The ESA confirmed that E3 2023 would occur at the Los Angeles Convention Center during the second week of June 2023, and that they have partnered with ReedPop , who operate conventions such as PAX events , New York Comic Con , and the Star Wars Celebration , to help manage the event. In September 2022, the ESA announced that the event would also include three "Business Days" where the floor would be limited to developers, publishers, retailers, and recognized journalists, while two days at

6650-405: The ESA for splitting its focus between producing E3 and acting as a legislative advocacy group, with neither focus receiving adequate attention. This led to calls advocating for the business of running E3 to be split out into a separate company. Developers and publishers complained of the increasing cost to have a booth presence at E3 compared to simply holding a digital event streamed online, saying

6783-484: The ESA once notified. A number of journalists on the lists reported that they were subsequently harassed and had received death threats due to their private information being released as part of the leak. Ahead of E3 2020, the ESA stated they were taking stricter security measures to protect the privacy of those registering for E3 as a result of the leak. ESA president Stanley Pierre-Louis stated they plan to collect less data from attendees and take measures such as securing

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6916-605: The ESA stated it still planned to hold the 2021 event, announcing its normal June dates to partners in April 2020. While the ESA had planned for a combined in-person and virtual event, the organization notified its partners in February 2021 that it was dropping the in-person event but maintaining the virtual event plans. According to Video Games Chronicle , the ESA still planned to use the LACC to broadcast some of these virtual events during E3 2021 , as well as planning on further use of

7049-839: The Hedgehog (2005) starred supporting characters of the Sonic series, although Sonic himself cameos in most of them. Sonic makes cameos in various other games, such as Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg as a power-up, in the main hallway in Phantasy Star Universe , and in the 2008 remake of Samba de Amigo . He is also a playable character in Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams . Nintendo, Sega's former rival, references Sonic in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest , by showing Sonic's shoes next to

7182-667: The Hedgehog , Sonic SatAM , and Sonic Underground . Sam Vincent provided his singing voice in the latter DiC cartoon. Starting with Sonic Adventure , Sonic was voiced in English by Ryan Drummond . Drummond was replaced by Jason Griffith starting from Sonic X , with Griffith voicing Sonic within the games starting with Shadow The Hedgehog in 2005. Griffith was replaced by Roger Craig Smith , starting with Sonic Free Riders and Sonic Colors . Smith announced on his Twitter account on January 29, 2021, that he would no longer voice Sonic, with his departure confirmed by Sega

7315-568: The Hedgehog , with Junichi Kanemaru continually voicing the role beginning with the release of Sonic Adventure . Kanemaru also voices Sonic in Sonic X , Sonic Boom , and the Japanese dub of the Wreck-It Ralph films. In Sonic Unleashed , Sonic was voiced by Tomokazu Seki while in Werehog form. Jaleel White voiced the character in the DiC animated series Adventures of Sonic

7448-409: The Hedgehog . Sonic Heroes (2003) featured Sonic teaming up with Tails and Knuckles, along with other character teams like Team Rose and Chaotix , against the newly rebuilt Metal Sonic, who had betrayed his master with intentions of world domination. Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) features Sonic in the city of water, "Soleanna", where he must rescue Princess Elise from Dr. Eggman while trying to avoid

7581-519: The Hedgehog 2 , was released on April 8, 2022, and it centers on Sonic and Tails on a race to prevent Robotnik and Knuckles from getting the hands on the Master Emerald. The original design of Sonic from the first movie's initial trailer appears in Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers , voiced by Tim Robinson . Named "Ugly Sonic", he is portrayed as a washed up actor looking to make a comeback after he

7714-457: The Hedgehog 2 . When all the Chaos Emeralds have been collected, Sonic can transform into Super Sonic by collecting 50 rings. Super Sonic is nearly invincible, runs faster, and jumps farther, but loses one ring per second and reverts to normal when his rings are depleted. Sonic CD , released in 1993, introduced Sonic's self-appointed girlfriend Amy Rose and recurring robotic doppelgänger Metal Sonic as Sonic traveled through time to ensure

7847-484: The Los Angeles Convention Center in 1999, and continued to grow in attendance, ranging from 60,000 to 70,000 attendees. In addition to the event, E3 started to support (or became associated with) several websites. One was E365, introduced in 2006, an online community which attendees used to network and schedule meetings. Following the 2006 convention, the IDSA—now ESA—found that many exhibitors were worried about

7980-401: The Los Angeles Convention Center, but also capped attendance at about 5,000. ESA was harshly criticized for these smaller events. Industry analyst Michael Pachter said that because consumers had been eliminated from attending the events, there was little external media coverage of these E3s, reducing the visibility and commercialization opportunities for publishers, and suggested that without

8113-845: The Olympic Games and is also a playable character in all three Sega Superstars games. An official Sonic the Hedgehog skin is available in the platformer battle royale game Fall Guys . Sonic appears as a playable character in Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 via free update. An official Sonic the Hedgehog world with skins are available with DLC in Minecraft . He is also appears as an unlockable playable character in Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD and Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania . The first three animated series featuring Sonic were created by

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8246-568: The Robot, is a grueling ordeal." Sonic the Hedgehog (character) Sonic the Hedgehog is a character created by the Japanese game developers Yuji Naka and Naoto Ohshima . He is the star of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise and the mascot of the Japanese video game company Sega . Sonic is an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who can run at supersonic speed . He races through levels , collecting rings and avoiding obstacles, as he seeks to defeat his archenemy, Doctor Eggman . He

8379-435: The Sonic character, the first which became the plot for the first Sonic game; Ohshima stated that this influence can be seen in the logo of the game, which features Sonic in a pilot's wing emblem. The origins of Sonic can be traced farther back to a draft created by Naoto Ōshima in 1989, which years later turned into Sonic. Yuji Naka implemented the idea of a character running inside loops with an algorithm that allowed

8512-588: The Spin Dash which was introduced in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and involves Sonic spinning on the spot before blasting off at full speed, and the Homing Attack, officially introduced in Sonic Adventure , in which Sonic dashes toward a target in midair. Sonic's only weakness is that he cannot swim, sinking like a rock if plunged to a deep body of water. The reason for this is because Yuji Naka had

8645-463: The Werehog, he believes it could return in a future game. Bob Raffei, CEO of Sonic Boom developer Big Red Button, stated that Sonic Boom 's Sonic is "very different... both in tone and art direction." Sonic originally had a few voice samples in Sonic CD , with designer Masato Nishimura providing the voice. Sonic's first true voice actor was Takeshi Kusao for the arcade game SegaSonic

8778-433: The aforementioned reception to E3 2021) over whether the event was even being planned at all. Furthermore, IGN reported via anonymous sources that the ESA had made a decision to cancel the event as early as late-2021. The ESA formally announced on March 31, 2022, that they had fully cancelled E3 2022. In June 2022, the ESA stated that they still planned to return with a physical and virtual show in 2023. One month later,

8911-399: The aftermath of its first year, E3 was already regarded as the biggest event in the video game industry. The IDSA realized the strength of a debut trade show, and subsequently renegotiated with IDG to allow the IDSA to take full ownership of the show and the intellectual property associated with the name, while hiring IDG to help with execution of the event. During this E3, Sega had introduced

9044-416: The beginning of the game is "Soniclash", in which players try to knock their opponents off the fighting arena to gather points. In "Tails' Fly and Get", players fly around and try to collect more rings than their opponents. "Knuckles' Mine Hunt" is a single-player game based on the computer game Minesweeper . In "Amy's Treasure Island", players move around and search for emeralds. In "Shadow's Speed Demon",

9177-404: The blaster towards the planet, and Sonic is sent to stop him before the world is destroyed. Sonic defeats Emerl, who briefly reverts to his previous personality and bids his friends farewell before overloading with energy and exploding, leaving the shards of the Chaos Emeralds he acquired behind. Sonic returns home to his friends, who are saddened by the loss of Emerl. When asked if he believes Emerl

9310-463: The center has had to make the space more appropriate for their needs. Gallagher said that the ESA was working with the City and Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) which owns the Los Angeles Convention Center and the space around it, with plans to have nearly 500,000 sq ft (46,000 m ) of additional exhibition space added by 2020, but that they would judge this in the 2018 show. During 2018,

9443-458: The character up for an American audience by removing those elements. This sparked a heated issue with Sonic Team. Naka later admitted that it was probably for the best. Sonic's appearance varies greatly depending on the medium and the style in which he is drawn. In the video games, Sonic's original design by Ohshima was short and round, with short quills, a round body, and no visible irises. Artwork featuring this design and drawn by Akira Watanabe

9576-481: The character won a Golden Joystick Award for "The Sun Ultimate Gaming Hero". The character's popularity declined in the mid-1990s, and Sonic failed to place in Electronic Gaming Monthly ' s Coolest Mascot of 1996 in either the editors' or readers' picks, being beaten out by not only competitors Mario and Crash Bandicoot , but Sega's own Nights ; however, in a 2008 poll of 500 people, Sonic

9709-477: The company withdrew its support in favor of its PlayStation Expo. Sega then pulled out at the last minute, leaving Nintendo the only big-three company to appear. Held November 1–4, 1996, the presence of several other gaming expos and lack of support from Japanese game manufacturers led to reportedly poor turnout and rumored E3 events in Singapore and Canada did not take place. Due to failed negotiations for

9842-541: The complaints from the previous two years, the ESA announced that E3 2009 would be more open, but capping attendance at about 45,000 and closed to the public, as to achieve a balance between the two extremes. All subsequent E3s took place in June of the calendar year at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Starting in 2013, some of the major video game companies, particularly Nintendo and Electronic Arts , have opted not to showcase at E3. In Nintendo's case, they have foregone

9975-708: The convention space in Los Angeles, the E3 conventions in 1997 and 1998 were held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Turnout at these shows was dramatically lower than at the first two E3s, which has been attributed to a declining number of game developers and the fact that many video game companies were based on the West Coast, making the cost of sending staff and equipment to Atlanta prohibitive. The show returned to

10108-400: The data on separate servers to avoid this type of leak from occurring again. During the last day of the event in 2019, it was confirmed that E3 would be held at the LACC for at least another year, with the 2020 edition. The ESA affirmed they had renegotiated use of the LACC through 2023, but retained the rights to break that contract if desired. The ESA's membership approved an increase in

10241-604: The days, the event would be open only to industry attendees for three hours prior to admitting the public. The ESA unveiled the new logo for E3, replacing its previous one using three-dimensional block letters with a flatter, stylized graphic, in October 2017. While the ESA has the Convention Center space reserved through 2019, ESA's CEO Mike Gallagher said, following the 2017 event, that they were considering other options due to lack of modernization and upgrades that

10374-432: The designs, the spiky teal hedgehog, initially codenamed "Mr. Hedgehog" ( Mr.ハリネズミ , Mr. Harinezumi ) , led this informal poll, followed by Eggman and the dog character. Ohshima felt that people selected it because it "transcends race and gender and things like that". On return to Japan, Ohshima pitched this to the department, and the hedgehog was ultimately selected as the new mascot . The detailed design of Sonic

10507-410: The disruption caused by the pandemic made it impossible to host an online equivalent, fully cancelling the event, though the ESA would help its partners to present individual announcements via E3's website. Keighley would organize Summer Game Fest —an event series encompassing various publisher-led digital presentations and demo offerings from May to August 2020. Despite cancelling the 2020 event,

10640-786: The energy of alien beings known as "Wisps" for a mind-control beam. Sonic Generations (2011) features two playable incarnations of Sonic: the younger "classic" Sonic, whose gameplay is presented in a style reminiscent of the Mega Drive/Genesis games, and present-day "modern" Sonic, who uses the gameplay style present in Unleashed and Colors , going through stages from past games to save their friends. Sonic Generations features various theme songs including modern and retro versions that are able to be selected from throughout Sonic's twenty-year history. In April 2013, Sega announced that Sonic Lost World would launch in October 2013 for

10773-458: The event drew 69,200 attendees, the largest since 2005. With announcements of the dates for E3 2019 , the ESA declined to state where they had planned to hold the 2020 event. Sony Interactive Entertainment had announced that it would not be participating in E3 2019, having had participated in every E3 since its launch. Sony stated that they "are exploring new and familiar ways to engage our community in 2019". Sony's CEO Shawn Layden stated in

10906-620: The event, and E3 2024 was cancelled in September 2023 in order to evaluate plans for 2025. On December 12, 2023, the ESA announced that E3 had been retired and would no longer be held. Before E3, game publishers went to other trade shows like the Consumer Electronics Show and the European Computer Trade Show to display new or upcoming products as well as to pre-sell shipments to retailers for

11039-566: The evil Dr. Ivo Robotnik. Numerous British publications, including "Sega handbook" Stay Sonic (1993), four novels published by Virgin Books (1993–1994) and the comic book Sonic the Comic (1993–2001), published by Fleetway Publications / Egmont Publishing , used this premise as their basis. The American comics published by Archie Comics , Sonic the Hedgehog (1993–2017), Sonic X (2005–2008), and Sonic Universe (2009–2017) are based on

11172-429: The exposure afforded by E3 was not always worth the price. Sony and Electronic Arts' departure and Nintendo's move to a digital-only keynote diminished E3's status as the premier game announcement event, which further eroded its ability to attract exhibitors. E3 lost nearly 1/3 of its exhibitors between 2017 and 2019, going from 293 to 209. On August 3, 2019, it was found that an unsecured list of personal attendee data

11305-432: The former reportedly planned to have a "complete reinvention". On December 12, 2023, the ESA announced that E3 had been discontinued, citing "the new opportunities our industry has to reach fans and partners". Pierre-Louis said that events like Summer Game Fest were not responsible for the decision to end E3, while the increasing number of publisher-specific showcases was a reason. He further stated that ReedPop's departure

11438-531: The game doesn't quite reach the same status Nintendo and HAL created for the Nintendo consoles, Sonic Battle has enough stuff to make it one of the top original fighters on the Game Boy Advance system." GameSpy also gave a positive review, saying "A solid and pleasantly deep arena beat-'em-up with lots of longevity, and though the presence of the Hedgehog and his posse adds absolutely nothing to

11571-481: The game was co-published by Sega Europe and THQ. The game received generally mixed reviews from critics, according to review aggregator site Metacritic . While some critics praised the game's "surprisingly deep arena-fighting gameplay", graphics, and multiplayer mode, others dismissed it for its "limited moveset" and use of 2D sprites on a 3D fighting arena. IGN gave the game a positive review, saying "It does try hard to be what Smash Bros. is, and even though

11704-805: The game's Story Mode: Sonic the Hedgehog , Miles "Tails" Prower , Knuckles the Echidna , Amy Rose , Shadow the Hedgehog , Rouge the Bat , Cream the Rabbit , and the original character Emerl. By defeating opponents in the Story Mode, the player will gain "skill cards", which Emerl can equip to customize his moveset and utilize other characters' abilities. Two additional characters, E-102 Gamma and Chaos , can be unlocked for use in Battle Mode and Challenge Mode after they are defeated in Story Mode. The game includes five mini-games. The only mini-game available at

11837-461: The game, it's nice to see them getting work in these tough economic times." Nintendo Power gave a more mixed review, saying, "Moves are limited, but the overall experience is tons of fun." GamePro also gave a mixed review, criticizing the game's story mode, saying "The biggest problem with Sonic Battle is the poor game design in Story mode. Earning Skill Points, and thereby new abilities for Emerl

11970-640: The heart of the girl ghost. Sonic also makes multiple cameo appearances in the Disney films, Wreck-It Ralph (2012) and its sequel Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018). In October 2013, Sega announced a CGI animated series, Sonic Boom . The show ran for 104 11-minute episodes between 2014 and 2017 on Cartoon Network in the U.S. and the UK, and Canal J and Gulli in France. Sonic makes several appearances in 2014 anime Hi-sCoool! SeHa Girls and guest-stars in

12103-457: The high costs of presenting at the event, spending between $ 5–$ 10 million for their booths. They had also found that a larger proportion of attendees were bloggers and attendees who were not perceived to be industry professionals by vendors, managing to secure access to the conference. These additional attendees diluted the vendors' ability to reach out to their target audience, retailers and journalists. Both of these reasons had previously caused

12236-525: The inaugural Walk of Game class in 2005, along with former rivals Mario and Link (both from Nintendo ). One of a class of genes involved in fruit fly embryonic development, called hedgehog genes, has been named " sonic hedgehog " after him. On the other hand, Sonic's apparent romantic relationship with Princess Elise in the 2006 video game resulted in major criticism. Sonic's characterization and relationship with Eggman in Sonic Boom earned

12369-497: The international company DiC . The first of these series, Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog , premiered in 1993, and depicts Sonic and his friend Tails opposing Doctor Ivo Robotnik and his robots on the planet Mobius. Another animated series premiering the same year, simply titled Sonic the Hedgehog , depicts Sonic and a group of rebels aiming to defeat Robotnik in a futuristic version of Mobius. The third animated series, Sonic Underground , premiered in 1999, and features Sonic as

12502-458: The key reasons for the company's success during the 16-bit era of video game consoles, Sonic is one of the most famous video game characters in the world. In 1993, Sonic became the first video game character to have a balloon in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade . In 1996, Sonic was also the first video game character to be seen in a Rose Parade . Sonic was one of the three game characters inducted on

12635-465: The longest-running comic based on a game. Archie Comics also released a twelve part crossover with Mega Man beginning in 2013. The Archie comics were later succeeded by a new comic series by IDW Publishing in 2018, which is currently ongoing. Sonic has also been featured in two different manga . One series was simply called Sonic the Hedgehog , and featured a story about a normal hedgehog boy named Nicky who can change into Sonic. The other series

12768-432: The number of public passes from 15,000 to 25,000 for the 2020 show. Alongside this, the ESA had presented proposed, but not finalized, plans to make the 2020 event a "fan, media, and influencer festival". To mitigate the longer lines caused by increased public attendance, they aimed to use "queuetainment" to advertise to attendees while they wait, as well as a FastPass -like system of reserving game demos in advance similar to

12901-489: The occasion to introduce and advertise upcoming games, hardware, and merchandise to the press. During its existence, E3 was the world's largest and most prestigious annual gaming expo. E3 included an exhibition floor for developers, publishers, and manufacturers to showcase their titles and products for sale in the upcoming year. Before and during the event, publishers and hardware manufacturers usually held press conferences to announce new games and products. Before 2017, E3

13034-481: The one employed by Disney Parks . They planned to give priority to " influencers " by providing them appointment-only presentations on new games. Additionally, with these changes, the ESA were considering adding an extra day on the Tuesday of the convention week that would be an industry-only day before the floor of the convention was opened to public passes. Sony affirmed it would not attend the 2020 show, stating that

13167-403: The player block attacks, or heal damage if the button is held. The playable characters also have unique special moves, the three types being Shot, Power, and Set. Shot moves center around using a projectile to damage the opponent from a distance. Power moves focus on dealing damage quickly in a single move. Trap moves generally involve using a type of bomb to surprise-attack the enemy. However, only

13300-490: The players race against each other. While studying the diary of his grandfather, Professor Gerald Robotnik , Dr. Eggman learns of an artifact Gerald had unearthed: a 4000-year-old sentient weapon called the Gizoid created by an ancient civilization. Eggman attempts to get the dormant Gizoid to work properly, but is unsuccessful and abandons it at Emerald Beach. Sonic the Hedgehog finds the Gizoid, which activates and develops

13433-409: The porn vendors to find us. That particular year it was pouring rain, and the rain leaked right over our new Genesis system. I was just furious with the way CES treated the video game industry, and I felt we were a more important industry than they were giving us credit for." Sega did not return to CES the following year, and several other companies exited from further CES shows. Separately, in 1994,

13566-488: The premier trade show for the video game industry. The first event was held from May 11–13, 1995 at the Los Angeles Convention Center , which would generally be the convention's location in future years. The organizers were unsure of how successful this would be, but by the end of the convention, they had booked most of the space at the Convention Center, and saw more than 40,000 attendees. In

13699-550: The protagonist alongside his siblings Sonia and Manic. In 1996, a two-part OVA , Sonic the Hedgehog , was released in Japan. For the American release, the two episodes combined and released as Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie by ADV Films . A new series, Sonic X , began airing in 2003. The 78-episode anime series detailed Sonic's struggle to protect the Chaos Emeralds from Eggman and new villains. Featuring

13832-661: The racing games Sonic Drift (1994), Sonic Drift 2 (1995), Sonic R (1996), Sonic Riders (2006), Sonic Rivals (2006), Sonic Rivals 2 (2007), Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity (2008), and Sonic Free Riders (2010), the fighting games Sonic the Fighters (1996) and Sonic Battle (2003), the mobile game Sonic Jump (2005), and the role-playing video game Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (2008). Video games such as Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (1993), Knuckles' Chaotix (1995), Tails' Skypatrol (1995), Tails Adventure (1995), and Shadow

13965-435: The rest of the year including the late-year holiday season as well as to view for press coverage of upcoming games. As the game industry grew rapidly during the early 1990s, industry professionals felt that it had outgrown the older trade shows. According to Tom Kalinske , CEO of Sega America, "The CES organizers used to put the video game industry way, way in the back. In 1991, they put us in a tent, and you had to walk past all

14098-625: The return of both Tails as Sonic's sidekick and Metal Sonic as a recurring enemy. Other two-dimensional platformers starring Sonic include Sonic Chaos (1993), Sonic Triple Trouble (1994), Sonic Blast (1996), Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure (1999), Sonic Advance (2001), Sonic Advance 2 (2002), Sonic Advance 3 (2004), Sonic Rush (2005), Sonic Rush Adventure (2007), Sonic Colors (2010), and Sonic Generations (2011), all in which were released for handheld consoles. Sonic Adventure (1998)

14231-476: The same day. On May 26, 2021, Smith and Sega confirmed that he was voicing Sonic once again. Ben Schwartz voiced Sonic in the 2020 feature film , its 2022 sequel , and will reprise his role in the upcoming 2024 sequel . Canadian actor Deven Mack voices Sonic in the Sonic Prime animated series. Sonic's first shown appearance in a video game was in the 1990 arcade racing game Rad Mobile , as

14364-404: The same month, Ubisoft also announced that they would not be attending E3 2023, and would be hosting their own presentation event in June instead. On March 29, IGN reported that both Sega and Tencent would be skipping E3 2023. On March 30, 2023, the 2023 event was cancelled because of a lack of "sustained interest". According to ESA's president, Stanley Pierre-Louis, the choice to cancel

14497-407: The same type of special moveset, it will automatically be blocked. Each player has two vital stats, a health bar and an Ichikoro Gauge. When health is completely depleted, the player is KO'd and loses one life (in a survival match) or the one who KO'd them gets a point (in a KO match). The Ground, Air, and Defend settings are chosen at the beginning of the match, and every time the player respawns. As

14630-643: The series, after recklessly breaking the Paradox Prism which breaks the entire universe and creates several alterative dimensions and versions of his friends, Sonic desperately seeks to restore them and embarks on a mission to find the shards of the Prism and fix it. On June 10, 2014, a film based on the Sonic series was announced. Simply known as Sonic the Hedgehog , it was produced by Neal Moritz on his Original Film banner alongside Takeshi Ito and Mie Onishi, with Toby Ascher as executive producer. The film

14763-535: The settings established by earlier animated TV series, the ABC " SatAM " cartoon, the Sonic X anime , and an expansion to the series, respectively. The former series is currently the second longest-running licensed comic series in the history of American comic books, second only to Marvel 's Conan series (first issue released in 1970). In France two comic books named "Sonic Adventures" were published by Sirène in 1994. Guinness World Records recognized Sonic comic as

14896-406: The situation around the outbreak. On March 11, 2020, the ESA announced that E3 2020 had been cancelled due to the pandemic. The ESA also claimed that they would both fully refund prospective attendees and exhibitors and devise a virtual event that would enable exhibitors to hold digital presentations during the same week in lieu of a physical meeting. However, by April 7, 2020, the ESA stated that

15029-414: The space in 2022 and 2023. The virtual event faced a mixed reception among users and the industry, including issues with the event's official mobile app, and assessments that E3 as a virtual event was redundant to streaming presentations that could be held as standalone events by publishers. While Mayor Eric Garcetti stated that the ESA had planned E3 2022 to be an in-person event, on January 7, 2022,

15162-780: The video game industry had formed the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA, later becoming the Entertainment Software Association, ESA, in 2003) in response to attention the industry had drawn from the United States Congress over a lack of a ratings system in late 1993. The IDSA was formed to unify the video game industry and establish a commission, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) to create

15295-465: The vision for E3 2020 did not meet their goals, and instead would showcase their games at other events throughout the year. In the wake of Sony's announcement, ESA affirmed that the 2020 show "will be an exciting, high-energy show featuring new experiences, partners, exhibitor spaces, activations, and programming that will entertain new and veteran attendees alike". On February 12, 2020, Geoff Keighley , host of E3 Coliseum and The Game Awards , released

15428-405: The world and of concepts like friendship. As they train together, the group discovers that Emerl becomes stronger and develops more sentience with each Chaos Emerald which he obtains, and begin searching for the remaining Emeralds to help the robot develop. While searching, they are repeatedly attacked by the forces of Eggman, who now wants to retrieve the weapon, including a rebuilt E-102 Gamma and

15561-421: Was Sonic Team's return to the character for a major game. It featured Sonic returning from vacation to find the city of Station Square under attack by a new foe named Chaos , under the control of Dr. Robotnik (now known as Dr. Eggman ). It was also the first Sonic game to feature a complete voice-over . Sonic Adventure 2 (2001) placed Sonic on-the-run from the military (G.U.N.) after being mistaken for Shadow

15694-417: Was a compilation of short stories and was separated into two volumes, the first being called Dash and Spin , and the other called Super Fast Sonic!! . According to various official materials from Sega, Sonic is described as a character who is "like the wind": a drifter who lives as he wants, and makes life a series of events and adventures. Sonic hates oppression and staunchly defends freedom. Although he

15827-479: Was able to gain Sega's approval to use Sonic as the mascot for the device. An Internet meme called "Sanic" has been used based on a poorly drawn Sonic; typically, the meme uses one of Sonic's catchphrases but with poor grammar. Sega's official Sonic Twitter account has made numerous references to it, and it appeared in official downloadable content for Sonic Forces on in-game shirts. The meme also appears as

15960-474: Was aimed to be something that could be easily drawn by children and be familiar, as well as exhibit a "cool" attitude, representative of the United States at the time. Sonic's blue pigmentation was chosen to match Sega's cobalt blue logo, and his shoes evolved from a design inspired by both Santa Claus and Michael Jackson 's boots with the addition of the color red, which was inspired by the contrast of those colors on Jackson's 1987 album Bad ; his personality

16093-427: Was an industry-only event; the ESA required individuals wishing to attend to verify a professional relationship with the video game industry. With the rise of streaming media , several press conferences were broadcast to the public to increase their visibility. E3 2017 became open to the public for the first time, with 15,000 general-admittance passes for those who wanted to attend. When hosted in Los Angeles, E3

16226-512: Was based on then- Governor of Arkansas and later President of the United States Bill Clinton 's "Get it done" attitude. To help sell the idea to Sega's higher-ups, Ohshima pitched the concept framed by a fictional fighter pilot that had earned the name "Hedgehog" due to his spiky hair, and had decorated his plane with images of Sonic. When this pilot retired, he married a children's book author, who wrote stories about

16359-475: Was composed by Masato Nakamura of the band Dreams Come True . Sega sponsored the group's "Wonder 3" tour, painting Sonic on the tour bus, distributing pamphlets advertising the game, and having footage of the game broadcast above stage prior to its release. The original concepts gave Sonic fangs and put him in a band with a human girlfriend named Madonna. However, a team from Sega of America, led by Madeline Schroeder, who calls herself "Sonic's mother", "softened"

16492-482: Was displayed on the package artwork for Sonic the Hedgehog . Sonic's proportions would change for the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on the Mega Drive; Sonic's head to height ratio was changed from 1:2 to 1:2.5. For the 1998 release of Sonic Adventure , Sonic was redesigned by Yuji Uekawa as a character with longer legs and a less spherical body, longer and more drooping quills, and green-colored irises. For

16625-471: Was found to be more recognizable than Mickey Mouse in the six-to eleven-year-old demographic, based on the character's respective Q Scores , although this claim could not be confirmed by Q Score developer Marketing Evaluations, Inc. Nintendo Power listed Sonic as their sixth favorite hero, stating that while he was originally Mario's nemesis, he seems at home on Nintendo platforms. They added that he has remained as one of gaming's greatest icons. In 2004,

16758-420: Was held in the Los Angeles Convention Center . The event was cancelled for the first time in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic , and the event in 2021 was held as a virtual event to mixed reception. The 2022 event was cancelled also due to the pandemic, and with no virtual event held. The ESA had planned to return to a full in-person convention in 2023 with a new format, including a fan convention component at

16891-417: Was intending to hold E3 in 2024, they were looking themselves to find a balance that works for the industry. The ESA affirmed in September 2023 that there would be no E3 2024, that they would not be using the LACC in the immediate future, and that ReedPop was no longer working to help organize future events. The ESA stated they were still in discussions with their partners on E3 2025 and future shows, with

17024-523: Was kicked off the film. Sonic briefly appears as a player's avatar in the 2018 film Ready Player One . Sonic's first comic appearance was in a promotional comic printed in Disney Adventures magazine (and also given away as a free pull-out with a copy of Mean Machines magazine), which established a backstory for the character involving the origin of his color and abilities and the transformation of kindly scientist Dr. Ovi Kintobor into

17157-520: Was publicly accessible from the ESA's site. The list contained the information of over 2,000 people, most of them being the press and social media influencers that had attended E3 2019. ESA removed the list after it was found, and apologized for allowing the information to become public. However, using similar techniques to access the 2019 data, users found similar data for over 6,000 attendees of past E3 events still available on user-authenticated portions of their website; these too were subsequently pulled by

17290-679: Was renamed to the E3 Media and Business Summit, and moved into the July timeframe, about two months later in the year than previous shows. The 2007 show was held at the Barker Hangar at the Santa Monica Airport and other nearby hotels in Santa Monica, California with attendance limited to about 10,000, and was the last time the show was not physically held at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The 2008 event returned to

17423-526: Was seen to play a major part in other console wars, with journalists reporting on which manufacturer "won" E3 based on their product offerings. In 1996, IDG and the IDSA tried a Japanese version of E3, in preparation for a worldwide series of events, at the Makuhari Messe in Tokyo (as E3 Tokyo '96) in association with TV Asahi . Although Sony Computer Entertainment was the show's original sponsor,

17556-719: Was voted the most popular video game character in the UK with a 24% vote while his old rival Mario came second with 21% of the vote. Later that year, Sonic was ranked as the most iconic video game character in an MSN rankings list. In 2011, Empire ranked him as the 14th greatest video game character. And he was voted 10th out of the top 50 video game characters of all time in Guinness World Records 2011 Gamers' Edition. Sonic ranked ninth on GameDaily 's Top 10 Smash Bros characters list. GameDaily also listed his "next-generation stumble" in their list of video game characters' worst moments, using his relationship with

17689-435: Was written by Pat Casey and Josh Miller and produced as a joint venture between Paramount Pictures and Marza Animation Planet . The film is a live-action and CGI hybrid. The movie was filmed in 2018, with a release date initially set for November 8, 2019. Upon the release of the film's first trailer in late April 2019, however, Sonic's appearance was heavily criticized, leading to the director, Jeff Fowler , to announce

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