Sonic usually makes an appearance at South by Southwest, a geek event held in Austin, every year, and this time we received more information about what the future holds for the character.
First came news about the series' next spin-off game, Team Sonic Racing. Players will be able to customize the characters' cars, including their paint, horns, neon lights, and decals. To perform the customization, players will need to pay for it with rings collected during races.
The producers then said that, following the success of Sonic Mania Adventures, many fans had been asking for shorts in that style starring modern Sonic. The fans' request was answered with Team Sonic Racing Overdrive! The cartoon will be produced by Tyson Hesse and Neko Productions, with the first part already shown at the panel and the second arriving in April.
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The cartoon will have no dialogue, using a more "silent" style similar to the other shorts already made by the team. Some concept art from the cartoon was also released:
Next, another Team Sonic Racing track was revealed: Bingo Highway from Sonic Heroes, which is back with a new remix by Jun Senoue!
Fans will also be able to get their hands on new merchandise for the series: one item inspired by the new episode of Overdrive, some Team Sonic Racing products, and a mug inspired by the Carnival Night Zone barrel, which certainly left its mark on those who played Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
As for the Sonic comics, a new cover for Sonic the Hedgehog #16 was revealed:
The panel discussed the Sonic Boom animated series and said that DVDs containing episodes are being made. The second season is also available on iTunes.
One element of Team Sonic Racing that fans have praised heavily is its soundtrack, and SEGA has a gift for them. The game's soundtrack will receive a CD featuring all 130 tracks. The Maximum Overdrive album will also be released on Spotify on the day the game launches.
One of the Sonic series' biggest releases this year is the Sonic movie, but no news about the film was released this time. Aaron Webber clarified, however, that it will arrive "soon."
Finally, Takashi Iizuka confirmed that a new mainline Sonic game is in production at Sonic Team. No other details were provided, but more information will come "in the future."
Team Sonic Racing will be released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC (Steam) on May 21, 2019. To preorder the physical edition of the game, visit its website.
