SEGA Announces 'Sonic Party' Summer Festival in Japan

With plenty of new Sonic games now incoming, SEGA is celebrating by hosting a number of Sonic the Hedgehog parties in Japan. The 'Sonic Party - 2002 Summer Festival' will see a number of SEGA stores participating in special events to promote new and recent games in the series.

Fans who turn up to select SEGA outlets on Sunday August 4 will be able to take part in a bunch of activities. For gamers, there will be a 2P Battle Tournament on Sonic Adventure 2 on Gamecube as well as public demos of Sonic Advance 2 on Game Boy Advance.

If you have the first Sonic Advance game to hand, you can also download and save a special 'Rare Chao' into the Petit Chao Garden. Attendees with a GBA but no copy of the game can also download the Chao to the handheld's memory, and they'll have a chance to transfer it into their copy of SA2 Battle before its battery runs out. The Chao may or may not look like the one in the picture above (courtesy Sonic Team's website).

Outside of the games, there will also be a colouring contest with prizes for participants and winners alike. You can even meet Sonic and dance along with him in a special stage area.

Sounds like fun? You bet it does! The Sonic Party festival will be held at the following locations across Japan:

• SEGA World Shinmichi (Hokkaido)
• SEGA Arena Toyohashi (Aichi Prefecture)
• Okayama Joypolis (Okayama Prefecture)
• SEGA Arena Hamaotsu (Shiga Prefecture)
• SEGA World Kumanan (Kumamoto Prefecture)
• SEGA World Kasai (Tokyo)
• Hakkeijima Carnival House (Kanagawa Prefecture)

Let us know if you plan on going (if you are travelling to or live in Japan), and let's cross our fingers for a similar event in the West!