UPDATE 29/01/21: Well, it's now official: Sega has waved goodbye to Roger Craig Smith, who voiced Sonic the Hedgehog for over 10 years.

In a farewell post on Twitter, Sega said Smith had been an "integral part of the Sega family".

"He brought the voice of Sonic to life, and we are forever grateful for his never-ending enthusiasm in helping the community and spreading joy," the publisher added.

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Team Sonic Racing is off to a quick start in the UK - it's the first Sonic game to top the UK sales chart since Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games came out in 2008.

That's not all: according to our friends at GamesIndustry.biz, Team Sonic Racing's physical launch week sales more than doubled the launch week sales of its predecessor, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, which came out seven years ago.

It's a good result for publisher Sega, which is on something of a tear recently after the record-breaking launch of Total War: Three Kingdoms, and a positive sales story for UK developer Sumo Digital. (For more, check out our Team Sonic Racing review).

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Paramount's much-maligned Sonic the Hedgehog movie project has been delayed by a little over three months, and will now release on 14th February, 2020.

The Sonic movie was originally scheduled to hit cinemas on 7th November this year - until, that is, fan ridicule reached fever-pitch following the release of the film's first trailer last month. There was already deep scepticism surrounding the art choices Paramount had made in reimagining Sonic for the big screen, beginning almost immediately with the very first character reveal. However, when the world finally got a proper look at movie Sonic in action, the entire cinematic endeavour was hit with a tidal wave of online disapproval.

Days after the trailer first landed on the internet, the Sonic movie's director, Jeff Fowler, took to Twitter, writing, "The message is loud and clear... you aren't happy with the design & you want changes." These changes would now be made, he pledged, insisting that, "Everyone at Paramount & Sega are fully committed to making this character the BEST he can be..."

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Here's hyperbole for you. Just as Sonic Mania saw a group of talented fans going wild with Sega's icon to create something as good as, if not better than the very best 2D Sonic games, then the enthusiasts at Sumo Digital have worked similar magic here. Not that it's saying particularly much, but this might well be the best 3D Sonic in a generation or two.

Maybe that shouldn't come as much of a surprise - not if you've been paying attention, anyway. Some seven years ago Sumo Digital made, in All-Stars Racing Transformed, an arcade racer worthy of the greats, helped in no small part by how it leaned on so many of Sega's legends. Panzer Dragoon! Skies of Arcadia! Burning Rangers! For players of a certain vintage, it was pure heaven.

Team Sonic Racing is a very different game led by a different team, with development primarily handled by Sumo's Nottingham studio, staffed in part by former Free Radical team members. For Sumo Digital's third kart racer for Sega, it sees the biggest departure from the formula yet. There are none of the rich, broad references to Sega's past - instead, this is a pure, dedicated Sonic game (a reverse trajectory to that of Mario Kart, funnily enough, which with the eighth instalment became a Nintendo all-stars series). Jet Set Radio's Beat is out, in other words, but Big the Cat is in.

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Takashi Iizuka has confirmed the next main Sonic game has "begun production".

Talking at the SXSW Sonic panel this weekend (thanks, PCGN), Team Sonic were keen to temper expectations - apparently, we're unlikely to see anything concrete about the new instalment until next year - but said the team "will be excited to share more news with you in the future, but for now, thank you for your patience until we have something to show".

The panel also revealed an all-new trailer for upcoming Team Sonic Racing, scheduled to drop on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on 21st May, 2019. The teaser offered a peek at the new customisation options - albeit ones that stop short at full character creation, sadly - as well as a little glimpse of the game in action. Players are able to tweak pretty much everything about their vehicle, from handling and defence to acceleration and paint finishes, and even the sound of your horn. Here, take a look:

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Team Sonic Racing will no longer release this year, as originally planned, Sega has announced. Instead, those that like their hedgehogs blue and their woodland animals fast will now need to wait until May 21st next year.

Team Sonic Racing is being developer by Sumo Digital, the developer behind 2012's superb Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed and its predecessor Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing. Following much teasing and leaking earlier this year, Sega finally announced the game would be coming to PC, Switch, Xbox One, and PS4 some time "this winter".

Fans rejoiced! As did Eurogamer's Martin Robinson, who took a look at Team Sonic Racing in June. He came away impressed, calling it "the same fundamentally brilliant arcade racer [that] Sumo Digital has proven it's more than adept at creating over the years".

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On Sonic the Hedgehog's 27th birthday (that big 3-0 is fast approaching!), Sega has detailed Team Rose for Team Sonic Racing.

The announcement was made during an event to celebrate Sonic's birthday (you can watch it in the video below).

Team Rose is made up of Amy Rose, Chao and Big the Cat. Yep, Big the Cat, the large, anthropomorphic purple cat who made his name in the Sonic Adventure series, is in Team Sonic Racing. As if there was any doubt.

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Sega has unleashed a brand-new trailer for its upcoming animals-in-some-cars extravaganza Team Sonic Racing, offering a brisk cinematic deluge, alongside a tease of the new theme song - as crafted by some old friends.

Team Sonic and Team Dark fight for pole position in Sega's latest video, with the action unfurling, at least in part, across Wisp Circuit - one of the tracks that appeared online in gameplay form last week following early Team Sonic Racing previews. The sky-high glass track that pops up midway through, however, looks to be something new.

That new theme tune, by the way, is the work of Crush 40, the band responsible for all manner of music from past Sonic games - including Sonic Adventure's opening ditty, Open Your Heart. Let's be honest though - it's no Super Sonic Racing.

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Okay let's get the big one out of the way first, seeing as it comes up every time there's a Sonic racing game. Why is Sega's mascot, renowned for his breakneck speed, reduced to sitting behind the wheel of a car every time him and his crew get together for a racer? Well, if you'd been paying attention you'd know the answer already; it's because Sonic's so fast, if he was to go on foot it'd be plain unfair. So, there you have it in black and white. Let's move on swiftly, shall we?

Team Sonic Racing is Sumo Digital's third racing game built around Sega's characters, though it is a clean break from the previous two games. Unlike Sonic All-Stars Racing and its exquisite sequel Sonic All-Stars Racing Transformed, Team Sonic Racing doesn't delve into the wider world of Sega characters. There's no Alex Kidd, no Ryo Hazuki, no Segata Sanshiro, no tracks culled from Skies of Arcadia, Burning Rangers or Billy Hatcher. The focus is firmly placed on the world of Sonic and friends.

It's a disappointing place to start, really, given how so much of the thrill of those games was the fan service, ladelled on in thick, sweet dollops. Maybe it's because Sumo realised they didn't have many more places to go, seeing how deep Sonic All-Stars Racing Transformed ran (and it ran pretty close to perfection, too - for my money it's up there with Mario Kart 8 at the very pinnacle of the genre). Maybe it's because Sega needed a Sonic game this year, and doubled down on this particular enterprise.

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James Marsden will star in Sega's yes-it's-really-happening Sonic the Hedgehog film, Variety reports.

Currently appearing in Westworld, you may also know Marsden as Cyclops in X-Men. And he once appeared in an episode of Saved by the Bell: The New Class.

Paramount has already dated the Sonic the Hedgehog film - it's coming 15th September 2019, mark your calendars - although we know nothing of the plot, or who might be playing the 'hog himself.

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