(no subject)

[lbd_nytetrayn]

From SonicAnime.net:

I e-mailed Ryan Drummond earlier, and that is indeed what he confirmed. No, I'm not happy about it either... but I guess it's how it's gonna be from now on. sad.gif

Here's Ryan's reply:

"Hi Iain!
Thanks for writing in. I wish I had happier
news to tell you, but I don't.
The original voice cast for the Sonic games
HAS BEEN replaced by the Sonic X actors.

I am NOT leaving
Sonic's voice by choice. Here is an excerpt from
the AUGUST 2005 newsletter that will be up on
RyanDrummond.com sometime by the end of the
month. Thought I'd give you a sneak peek since
you were nice enough to write in.
Read on...

************************************************
Last thing to mention this month is all for the
Sonic the Hedgehog fans out there. A lot of you
have been emailing in and asking about whether or
not I’ll be doing Sonic’s voice for the new
“Shadow the Hedgehog” game, etc. Well, here’s a
news flash on that and a true insight to how this
business works (and sometimes works against you).

After hearing some rumors on the internet and so
forth about how the game had already started
voicework (or in some cases was already done), I
emailed my contacts at Sega to find out what the
deal was. I got the following facts:
Many of you remember what happened with the
whole “Sonic X” television show. Please read all
about it in the July 2003 newsletter. In short,
4Kids was really inconsiderate and cast it
without me, not caring about what the fans
thought or about product continuity. Well, all of
a sudden, Sega decided that product continuity
WAS important to them starting with this new
Shadow game. So, WITHOUT TELLING ME, they have
*replaced* me as the voice of Sonic with the
fella who does Sonic’s voice for the Sonic X
show. I was only told after it happened. My Sega
contact told me that they thought it would be a
good idea that from now on that Sonic’s voice
remain the same in the game and the non-Sega
cartoon series. So after FIVE YEARS of providing
the voice of Sonic, I was let go without a word
or an explanation (until I went looking for one).

Now I have no ill-will towards the new voice.
I’ve heard him. He does a fine job. And he’s just
an actor like me trying to make a living, so good
for him! I DO, however, have issue with Sega for
having no grace in letting me go from my
position. That’s life, you could say, but you
know, in MY life, you treat people with respect.
And I believe five years of giving my all to the
little blue hedgehog (and to all the fans!)
deserved a little more respect. So Sega, goodbye
and good luck. Sounds like you’ll get along fine
with 4Kids when you do business that way.
*************************************************

So that's the story. Spread the word. Sorry it
doesn't have a happier ending. In my opinion,
Sega does not care what the fans think, because
they figure the fans will buy the games and the
products no matter who's doing the voice. If you
feel so inclined. Write them and tell them what
you think and feel. Let your voice be heard!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH for your wonderful support.
You have my deepest gratitude.

~Ryan Drummond"

As of this moment I am officialy importing all Sonic-related games from Japan. Sega - you officialy SUCK!!

Talking to lizsama, we think there could be other factors... the questionable quality of some voices in Heroes, the passing of the VA for Eggman, and possibly the return of Oshima, the original creator of Sonic(Naka was the programmer; Oshima left when Adventure started because he didn't like the direction. Funny, that), for the next-gen Sonics.

I'm mixed on the news.

Good: Finally, consistency between anime and game voices, just like the Japanese!

Bad: The way they went about it, not telling the guy who's voiced True Blue for five years.

Bad: Some voices aren't quite up to par.

Good: Others are, and some IMO better than Heroes.

Good?: Maybe this will start a tighter relation between 4Kids and Sega; maybe next time the anime does something like use "Live and Learn" for a scene like in the games, they can do it here as well. Maybe.

LBD "Nytetrayn"

Comments

[lizsama.livejournal.com]

What I am personally hoping for is that Oshima gets back to directing in the right direction and Naka gets back to programming, he's an awesome programmer.

As for the voices? if it's Oshimas decision i'll be happy, but if it was Sega being retarded? i'll be pissed.

[yuriranch.livejournal.com]

Well, that sucks majorly, but like the guy said, that's the business world...

[kyouryuu.livejournal.com]

Correct me if I'm wrong but, doesn't the guy who voices Sonic in all of the US cartoons also happen to be Urkel from Family Matters?

[https://users.livejournal.com/kojirotamer-md-/]

Yep

[lbd-nytetrayn.livejournal.com]

Not anymore. You're thinking the old 90s toons, in which that was the case. This is the new Sonic X cast, which started airing about a year ago, I think.

LBD "Nytetrayn"

[kanuckles.livejournal.com]

I honestly don't see how Oshima will make a difference. This is the man who designed Blinx the Cat, after all. What it all boils down to is the fact that Sega just doesn't give a flying fuck at this point.