No small turnout of shameless Sega freaks answered the call to show up in the front of SoA HQ on Monday doing their best impersonations of his Hedgehogness. Of the dozens upon dozens who hit the blue, blue streets, seven lucky winners were chosen by Sonic himself...who arrived in style, complete with police escourt, and who - judging by his size - also seems to have been slacking off since finishing Sonic Adventure. (He'd better hit the track now if he intends to be fit enough to squeeze himself into that tiny NeoGeo Pocket screen by December.) Of the seven most freak-worthy hedgehog freaks at the event, the three absolute freakiest won a Dreamcast console and a lifetime supply of first-party games. The other four walked off $500 richer, and everyone else had to go home with nothing but irreparably ruined family names. Even several members of Sonic Team were at the showing to admire their handiwork with society. This whole event was actually a part of Sega's Gamers Day, within which even more exciting goings on were, well...going on. Keep reading.

What do you MEAN this isn't the Smurfs Convention?!	I'm tired of waving. When's lunch?
These lunatics will do anything we tell them. Naka-sama will be pleased. The time is at hand...	I don't have to tell them that I was actually on my way to a costume party dressed as a papier-mâché blueberry...

   The very next day, a new enticing revelation regarding Sonic Team's four secret games was made. Aside from the teaser logos, each one also has a codename. The swirly logo belongs to project "Kaigai" (Japanese for "meeting"), the south-of-the-borderish logo to "Samba", the cartoon text bubble to "Chu 2", and the circle with three emphasized points to "PSO". That still leaves us all pretty much in the dark, but I'll tell you one thing for sure right now...I wanna play "Samba"!

   Tuesday evening, hot new info straight from Sega Gamers Day shed new light on Sonic Adventure's online functions, and they are more than we could've even hoped for. Still no head-to-head competition, unfortunately, but there's plenty to hook your DC modem up on 9/9/99 for just the same. For one thing, you can forget Explorer and Netscape...you'll be viewing the official Sonic Adventure page through a custom-built Sonic browser! Out with scrollbars, it's all clean-screen button-pushing, and since most of the graphics are loaded right off the SA disc, load times are virtually nil. On top of that, it streams music straight from the GD-rom as well...now that's what you call surfing in style! Okay, that's just the interface, but it only gets better from there. Here are some of the features you'll be treated to from day one:

• World Ranking Mode -- Match your best times from players around the world. Expect to see the initials "GG!" at the top of every chart...
• A hint section for amateurs that features guides for every character. Although experienced Sonic-philes (that's us) may want to check it out as well for the detailed maps...
• Chao Garden -- This is where you get it on with your Chao! (Unsettling bestial double-entendre not intended.) Store your Chao characters here, secured with password protection. Once stored, you can upload Chao race rankings, get your Chao evaluated, or do some shopping at the "Black Market". Featured in the Black Market is an ultra special Chao...but you can only get it if you've found at least 100 Emblems in the actual game. Better get searchin'...
• Mercury GP -- In Twinkle Park, there is a bonus game where Sonic and Amy race around a track in hovercars. In the game itself, there is only one track to be found...however, new ones can be downloaded through the "Mercury GP" option on the SA online page! The ability to download additions to the actual game is undoubtedly the most exciting prospect of SA's network functions.

   The network activity doesn't stop there, though. Remember Christmas NiGHTS? Be prepared to celebrate the holidays, Sonic-style! By downloading "patches" into your VMU, you can access special theme-inspired graphics. The first of these will be available from day one, and will give Station Square a Dreamcast launch celebration makeover, complete with balloons and banners. Oh yeah, tonight we're gonna party like it's 9/9/99! Look for Halloween and Christmas downloads coming down the pipe, as well as many more beyond that. (Sonic Team promised to support the internet functions for at least a full year.) As a further example of the power of this unique and highly innovative feature, a special version of Speed Highway was shown. As part of an AT&T sponsored event scheduled to launch sometime after the Dreamcast's release, a special VMU download was created that puts some new socks on Speed Highway. It's identical to the original, except shameless AT&T promotion is everywhere: banners, billboards, and even special platforms that affect gameplay. (One of these special platforms is placed at such an area that it allows for a major shortcut in the level.) Alright, so that's just a big, sickening advertisement for AT&T, but it demonstrates the possibilities of this extraordinary online feature. Smell that? It's the smell of revolution in the air...Sony and Nintendo are taking notes if they know what's good for them. Unfortunately, no screenshots of these special internet modes are available.

   With all this new stuff in the US version, you may think Japanese gamers would get a bit jealous. That wouldn't be so good for international relations. Freak not, this turn of events won't tip us into WWIII, as Sega plans to re-release the updated version of Sonic Adventure back in its home country. The re-release will definitely feature the online additions, and most likely the improved cameras and whatnot. Hrmph, and just when we thought we were going to get our props after players in the Land of the Rising Sun got the jump on us by nine months...

   On Wednesday, screens of Sega's latest batch of DC commercials hit the 'net. Like the last few seconds of the infamous "Apocalypse" ad, they all feature the stadium full of Dreamcast characters chatting, partying, and having a good time in general. Of course Sonic is there, as are Tails, Amy, Big, and even Dr. Robotnik! In "Opening Day", Sonic dashes through the vast arena, passing up Tails and Big on his way. Amy Rose is once again stuffed waaay in the background among hordes of other DC characters. Meanwhile, Tails gets down with Brian Grant of the Portland Trailblazers. In "Daydream", Sonic plays DJ, spinnin' the discs for a dance floor loaded with 40 characters gettin' down with their bad, bad selves. Sonic begins to neglect his duty, however, daydreaming of his game (excuse for some real SA gameplay footage!). He gets a little carried away on the records, until Taka Arashi and Gary Payton complain at him for playing the music at light speed. With a shrug and a "my bad," Sonic gets back to pumpin' out the beats. Among those mixing it up on the dance floor are Tails, and the evil doc himself! Boogie with the Eggman! (I may be able to search for more if I can get my eyes of Pai Chan's...interesting...position.)

   But wait, that's not all! On Thursday, Sonic Adventure officially hit the 500,000 mark in sales, meaning that blue has gone gold! It's about stinking time, too. SA remains the top-selling Dreamcast game yet in Japan, and its success here in the Land of the Free should be even greater. Friends, the Second Coming is at hand! Repent now!

   And it doesn't end there! (That pink bunny should show up any minute now.) According to DC.IGN, the completed US version of Sonic Adventure will have a language setting option. What does this mean? It means that you can choose to have the characters speaking in Japanese or English, and you can have the text in Japanese, English, Spanish, French, or German. So if you don't like the English voices, you can use the original Japanese voice track with English sub-titles! Or maybe if you're learning Spanish, you can have English voices with Spanish sub-titles. Or if you're really good, Japanese voices with German sub-titles. Now that's what I call a cultural experience!