It's a big year for Sonic. Not only is it his 30th birthday, but he's also getting a Netflix show, a remastered Sonic Colors, and a Minecraft DLC. Now we're finding out that Sega has even grander ambitions for the Blue Blur: Sega wants to turn Sonic into a Vtuber.
This comes courtesy of Ryokutya2089 quoting statements from Sonic the Hedgehog producer Takashi Iizuka and art director Kazuyuki Hoshino. The source of these statements isn't clear, but Siliconera speculates that they're from an upcoming Famitsu column celebrating Sonic's 30th anniversary.
According to Ryokutya2089, Hoshino said that Sonic's next big project will be a Sonic theme park which will pair with a new streaming project. As part of that project, Sega wants to turn Sonic into a Vtuber so fans can "communicate with Sonic in real-time.”
Vtubing isn't particularly popular in the West, but it's a big deal in Japan. Vtubers use special rigs that record facial movements and gestures to control a virtual avatar on stream. Think Facerig, but a bit more complicated.
We've got no further info on the Vtuber project or the Sonic theme park, but we might get more after the full Famitsu article drops tomorrow.
Takashi Iizuka, meanwhile, said that the Sonic team is taking its time with the new Sonic game, which still doesn't have a name. Iizuka added that the "future evolution of Sonic" will differ from past iterations, so expect to see something totally new when the game arrives sometime in 2022.
We got our first view of Sonic Prime earlier today thanks to some released concept art. These screenshots were reportedly from an artist's portfolio that shows several different versions of Robotropolis. They also show a stone-age version of Amy, a confused Tails, and Sonic running towards three portals while being pursued by alternate Robotniks.