As much as we hate how Sonic's roots have been clawed out by some furry, fanged and stretchy-limbed abomination, we must grudgingly admit that the Werehog is -- at least on the Tokyo Game Show floor -- almost bordering on sort of cool. As is the case with most obnoxious, product-peddling mascots, we ultimately have to go with the one we'd prefer to hug. And just look at that guy's huge arms!

(Our next TGS goal: to capture an image of both Sonics together.)

Ms. Naka: Janene, has Sonic seemed a bit ... off to you?
Janene: Why, how do you mean? Sure, he's a little rambunctious, but --
Ms. Naka: No, it's more than that. He's spinning around town with the wrong crowd, he pawned all my gold rings to buy, well, other gold rings ...
Janene: No! His own mother's rings?!
Ms. Naka: It's true. Ever since Prope -- you know, Yuji's studio? -- put up that teaser image about a new game it's going to reveal in 17 days, Sonic's just been completely out of control!
Janene: Oh, Doris, that's perfectly natural. Yuji created Sonic, and now he's making something new. The little blue guy's just afraid he won't be the favorite any more.
Ms. Naka: ... Oh, God, are you joking? We haven't loved him for years. Did you not play Sonic and the Secret Rings?

This has to be one of the most incredibly overproduced game trailers in existence. It's like SEGA and BioWare hired the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack producer and forced him to write a full-blown soundtrack for Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. Sonic has never had so much fanfare, especially on such a small system.

Zack nailed this in his hands-on impression, and the gameplay backs it up, but it looks like you could have dropped any ol' characters into this real-time RPG. When we hear the name Sonic, we tend to think hyper-speed running and gold rings flying all over the place. Call us old fashioned.

Still, this trailer is sure to wake you if you're in that end-of-the-week coma.

The boys over at GayGamer.net put together a video scrapbook of serious questions they asked members of the gaming press during E3. The series features folks from several of your favorite gaming blogs, sites and magazines. There's no embed code and we referenced a couple of these during the week, but here they all are in one neat, perfectly trimmed, little package with a link to each episode:

• Part 1: Who won the E3 press conference war?
• Part 2: What character or franchise do you hope you never have to see again?
• Part 3: E3, GDC or Pax?
• Part 4: Would you rather sleep with Marcus Fenix or have your Gamerscore reset to zero?
• Part 5: Best game of the show?
• Part 6: Worst game of the show?
• Part 7: What is your E3 pet peeve?
• Part 8: Do you manscape?

GG tells us they'll be doing another video scrapbook at PAX in a couple weeks and asking the same type of hard-hitting introspective questions of random attendees. We definitely had fun with this and hope to see them do it again.

There's something about this week's update to the Wii's Virtual Console that just seems off. Maybe it's the odd partnering of a blue marsupial and a lumber-swinging madman, or perhaps it's the noticeable absence of Samurai Shodown II, which SNK said last week would be among this morning's additions. While you work out some conspiracy theories, let's take a look at what new oldies are available.

• Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega Master System, 500 Wii Points): While Sega's 16-bit original has been available for download for a long while, Sonic's 8-bit port changes things up with a handful of new stages, gameplay differences, and cruddier graphics.
• Splatterhouse 2 (Sega Genesis, 800 Wii Points): There's many ways that we could spend our time waiting to slip on the Terror Mask and bash demons' brains out in Namco Bandai's Splatterhouse redux, but really, what better way is there than to play through the arcade original's 16-bit sequel? The only right answer here is none.
  

Sonic has had a hard time since he discovered the third dimension. Not only is he now chubbier, but his adventures in 3D-land have been met with lukewarm reception. The general consensus is that the last great Sonic game was on the Sega Genesis. With Sonic Unleashed Sega are hoping to reinvigorate the franchise with a focus on speed and platforming, as well as evolving the character (literally) into something unique.

The first thing you notice about Unleashed is that it's very pretty. Even with rough shadows and unfinished lighting physics, the game looks gorgeous. It looks like it might also play quite nicely, depending on controls. There are two different styles of gameplay in Unleashed which, together, could satisfy most Sonic fans.

For a lot of people the name Sonic is synonymous with "speed," and the day-time missions in Unleashed reflect this. The first level seemed simple enough -- hold the analog stick in the right direction and watch Sonic go, making sure to jump in time. Obviously, this won't be true throughout the game, later levels will feature more precise platforming sections and less non-stop running. There are also different routes to take throughout the levels, which require a specific button combination press in order to reach.

Sonic continues his storybook adventures with Sonic and the Black Knight, a Wii-exclusive Arthurian sequel to the Arabian Nights-infused Sonic and the Secret Rings. In this installment, Sonic picks up a sword "to aid in his effort to save the day," causing us to wonder aloud (stop staring at us!) if Black Knight could be one of the first third-party games to utilize the Wii MotionPlus.

Oh, and far be it from us to tell Sega how to run its show but, despite the opportunity provided by a recent industry event, the first you'll see of Sonic and the Black Knight will be within the pages of next month's Nintendo Power before its release in Spring 2009.

At the end of last month's issue of Nintendo Power, the editors promised a huge reveal in the magazine's following issue, teasing those anxiously awaiting Wii-exclusive installments in the Earthbound and Kingdom Hearts franchises. However, if the supposed scans of the cover of the upcoming edition of Nintendo Power that have begun to trickle onto the internet are legit, then the publication's big surprise could be coming from an unexpected source -- a new adventure of a recognizable blue rodent, titled Sonic and the Black Knight.

Assuming the scans are real, the twentieth anniversary edition of Nintendo Power will give readers their first look at the title. No other details are given on the supposed cover, though we're sure the sole image of the cerulean speedster brandishing a broadsword is enough to send you into a tizzy. However, let us not forget the disaster that resulted the last time we bestowed a lethal weapon upon a hedgehog.

We've been wondering what everyone's favorite Sega mascot, Sonic, has been up to lately. Since Sega's Gamers Day in May, the company has been pretty quiet regarding Sonic Unleashed -- the latest console adventure for the speeding hedgehog. To find out, we caught up with the US Producer for Sonic Unleashed, Patrick Riley, to see what sort of information he could tell us. As it turns out, we've got tons more info on the blue hero. Here's but a small taste; we've got the full interview after the break.

Joystiq: We're most interested in the day and night gameplay, specifically when Sonic changes into an unleashed beast. We're wondering if this will play out in real-time as players go through a stage, or are there set stages specifically for night time?
Patrick Riley: Certain parts of the action stages are built for both day and night gameplay. When in these areas and when in the villages, in-game time will pass and Sonic will transform. However, we're making sure that the player won't be "stuck" in a form they don't want and it will be easy to automatically advance the clock. Other parts of the action stages are built specifically for day or night gameplay. While Sonic is in these areas, in-game time will not pass.

How many stages are there? We've seen "Greece" and "Europe" but what other themes are there?
We'll be talking about the number of environments later but there are plenty we haven't touched on at all, and of course we'll be reserving some of them to be found by the players. In addition to Greece and Europe, however, players will visit China and Africa, as well. There are daytime and nighttime stages in each environment, in addition to unlockable mini-stages. Players will explore numerous locations throughout the globe, each of which has been rendered like never before in a Sonic game.

A partial list of things that the below trailer could be used for (with only minor edits to the end):

• A new Rayman: Raving Rabbids game (BWAAAAAAH!)
  
• The Dark Night movie
  
• The new season of Heroes
• A new alternate reality game
• The sequel to Wii Fit (OK, this one might be a stretch)

No, as the title of this post suggests, this video is actually a mysterious trip through some of the real-world style locales that it seems the newly hulkified Sonic will be grinding all over in Sonic Unleashed. It's a shame, too. We really love those Rabbids.

You know that feeling that nags at the back of your skull, reminding you that you've forgotten something, but stopping just short of recalling what exactly that something is. Well, we've been struggling with that for a few days, and let me tell you, it's been enough to drive us crazy. It turns out, however, that what we overlooked was none other than Sega's 'tude-fueled azure marsupial's 17th birthday.

Sonic first sped into North America households on June 23, 1991 in Sonic the Hedgehog for the Genesis as Sega's answer to a certain Mushroom-hungry plumber, and has since been featured in numerous games, toys, and breakfast cereals. Happy belated birthday sonic. We hope you didn't forget to blow out your candles and make a wish. We suggest something simple, like a game that doesn't continue to dilute your good name. That, or you know, a pony.

Well, that was terrible. The headline, we mean. IGN's new video of Sonic Unleashed gameplay (check it after the break!), on the other hand, is actually quite exciting. Though gameplay looks a little on the simplistic side, the side-scrolling shots of Sonic speeding through a colorful city certainly show off a solid graphics engine, not to mention an electric pace.

And no grating sidekicks in sight! We'll have more of this, please.

Sega has released the first trailer for its turn-based RPG, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. Developed by Bioware, the Nintendo DS game shows promise. The publisher obviously spared no expense in the voice-over department as the "movie voice guy" talks all dramatic-like through the trailer. Sonic Chronicles is expected to be one part of the Sega mascot's reboot this fall.

Sega Mobile says that its version of Sonic the Hedgehog has reached the milestone of being downloaded 8 million times since it launched in early 2006. Verizon Wireless has seen the most success from the $8 download of Sonic, with the company stating that the game has made a "substantial contribution" to the company's sales these past two years. Sega Mobile plans to introduce Sonic 2, Sonic Spinball and Sonic at the Olympic Games this year.

For those keeping track, this would be our second mobile success story of the day. We got this weird feeling ... could somebody check on Alderaan? Oh, really, not there you say? That's too bad.

It's no wonder Sonic is looking blue these days (har har). Sega Sammy has reported a ¥52.47 billion (US $501 million) loss in its fiscal year 2008, with sales of ¥458.98b (US $4.38b). Comparatively, the company posted ¥43.46b net income (¥95.93b difference) with ¥528.4b in sales (¥69.4b difference) in fiscal year 2007.

According to GameDaily, Sega's entertainment group will be cutting 400 jobs and close 110 facilities. The company is predicting that fiscal year 2009, which ends in March 2009, will see a net income of ¥5b with sales of ¥470b.