Xbox Releases New Console to Promote 'Sonic the Hedgehog 2'

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 hits theatres on April 8, and Xbox is doing something special for the new movie. Xbox and Paramount Pictures have teamed up to release a limited time, only custom Xbox Series S console and the Xbox Wireless Controllers inspired by Sonic and Knuckles. The black Xbox Series S console features a golden portal ring shining on its surface with the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 logo. And the controllers come in Sonic Blue and Knuckles Red. 

Xbox has been entertaining gamers with Sonic for 20 years. The character was introduced in 1991 with the game Sonic the Hedgehog published by Sega. In the last 30 years, the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise has grown into an empire with video games, comics, and live-action movies. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 stars Ben Schwartz who voices Sonic. Idris Elba stars as the voice of Knuckles. Other stars in the movie are James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Shemar Moore and Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik.

Schwartz also started in the first film Sonic the Hedgehog which was released in 2020. During an interview with Screen Rant in 2020, Schwartz talked about getting Sonic's voice. "The first couple of video games, he really doesn't talk," Schwartz said. "And then as it [goes on], there are different iterations that these great people have done in cartoons. You had Roger Craig Smith, you have Jaleel White, you have Ryan [Drummond], Jason, [Griffith] – you have all these great people.

"For me, I played the video games again, the first two. And I was like, "Okay, I love the idea of the speed and I love the idea of the attitude." Then when I read the script, I was like, "You know what he is? He's like a little kid that so badly wants to get out into the world and, like, just do everything. He's so excited."  

The Xbox Series S and Series X consoles were originally released in November 2020 and were developed by Microsoft. The consoles are the ninth generation of video game consoles and are the successors of Xbox One. For Sonic the Hedgehog fans, there are plenty of Sonic the Hedgehog games to play, including Sonic the Hedgehog Minecraft DLC which is available to download at the Minecraft Marketplace. Fans can win the limited series console by entering two enter-to-win sweepstakes, with the first being following and retweeting this tweet and the other being redeeming Microsoft Rewards points.