June 23rd is an important date in the world of gaming. It’s the day one of the most well known video games hit shelves and millions of people fell in love with a blue hedgehog. This year, SEGA who created Sonic the Hedgehog, hosted a multi-hour long livestream for his 35th birthday.
The livestream, which was shown on the official Sonic Twitch and YouTube channels, was used not only to share the birthday festivities with fans, but also to make multiple announcements. SEGA announced updates and patches to games already out, released Sonic Frontiers – Definitive Edition, showed a further look into recently announced SONIC PICO PARK, and more.
All around, the livestream was entertaining and full of excitement. However, there is one stand out moment for many Sonic fans. A “breaking news” announcement interrupted the stream where Sonic Creative Officer, Takashi Iizuka, tells the audience about an issue that is occurring. Chaos emeralds are circling in the sky, the ones Sonic and his friends were planning on using to power the 35th anniversary party that they are calling Club Chaos. However, the emeralds scattered across the United States, Dr. Eggman being the culprit. Iizuka calls upon fans to help find them before Dr. Eggman does, including the name to a website where fans will register to officially join the hunt.
The website has summary of the hunt, the video clip seen above, a countdown to Club Chaos, an update about the found emeralds, and a section about exclusive prizes that will be won in addition to finding the emeralds. However, looking over the terms of service, fans came to a disappointing discovery. SEGA is utilizing AI in this event; having a bot answer questions people may have would have been understandable, but they plan on collecting fan data to “train and enhance” their AI. They ensure their collecting will obey laws set in place regarding data collection, though this does not calm fans. There are even plans to involve third-party AI providers, leaving many people questioning why they cannot partake in an event without having AI involved.
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