Analysis: Sonic 2020 initiative was never cancelled

Conflation of the postponed April announcements and the expressed desire for new information is probably to blame.

The lack of news during Sonic’s 29th anniversary was the ultimate accumulation of the community’s general frustration, but the desire for new information stretched as far back to the fallout of the postponed April announcements from SEGA of America.

Recently, there were some users that began expressing cynicism against SEGA of Japan for allegedly “ditching” Sonic 2020, an initiative intended to celebrate everything Sonic, all while leading up to his eventual 30th anniversary.

The tweet spurred a lot of misconceptions about Sonic 2020 and its intentions.

So what’s Sonic 2020?

The official initiative “Sonic 2020” was launched by SEGA of Japan as a tie-in to Sonic Station Live, Japan’s answer to the Sonic Official streams by SEGA of America.

“Sonic 2020” experienced a hiccup due to the pandemic, but they have since transitioned to a remote setup. They are continuing to announce new collaborations and merchandise for Japan.

Recent announcements during “Sonic 2020” include collaborations with H&M, WAYLLY, Nanoblock; and merchandise celebrating SEGA’s 60th anniversary and Sonic Channel’s 15th anniversary.

Weren’t they going to unveil the next Sonic game?

No. SEGA of Japan never promised that “Sonic 2020” was going to unveil major mainline news.

“Sonic 2020” is an effort created entirely for the Japanese market, and was never officially advertised by SEGA of America or SEGA Europe. It wouldn’t make sense for SEGA of Japan to unveil a major announcement in a practically small forum, in the same way American viewers don’t expect anything major during the Sonic Official streams.

So why were fans hyped about it?

There was some confusion in regards to SEGA of Japan’s initial wording about “Sonic 2020”.

There was no doubt that many fans got excited under the idea that there was going to be “a new Sonic announcement on the 20th of each month.” It even got press attention as well.

However, in the days that immediately followed, it became clear that it was referring to Sonic Station Live, and SEGA of Japan’s initiatives was going to be centered around that.

So, did SEGA trick us?

No, SEGA of Japan did not trick anyone.

It would be disingenuous to suggest that SEGA of Japan “tricked” fans into thinking that “Sonic 2020” was bigger than it appeared, despite the fact they have made the effort to clarify what they were doing, and they have satisfied the goals of the initiative.

More so, it appears that some fans are conflating Japan’s “Sonic 2020” with America’s “Sonic SXSW” as justification for thinking that something major was going to be showcased on the former, even though they are two separate initiatives.

For example, the announcements were published ahead of time. The “every 20th” idea was scrapped. These are very obvious signs that nothing major was going to be featured.

Summary

  1. The hype about “Sonic 2020” alluded to Sonic Station Live by SEGA of Japan.
  2. SEGA of Japan never promised to unveil major mainline news.
  3. “Announcements” were indeed published by SEGA of Japan – collaborations and merchandise.
  4. The postponed SEGA of America announcements are not related to Japan’s efforts.
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