This year marks the 35th anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog and to celebrate, Sega has apparently taken the tack of “Fuck it, we (Spin)ball.” First spotted by PC Gamer, Sega has unveiled a life-sized statue of the Blue Blur that it says contains Sonic’s DNA, encapsulated within what the company is calling a Chaos Emerald. See for yourself with the announcement video below.
How we’ve come to this marvel of modern, unserious-ass technology is through the work of Transeeds, which describes itself as “a science collective composed of artists, engineers, scientists and other members.” Another project of Transeeds was a “recreation” of Resident Evil‘s T-virus which did not contain any actual virus. As for Sonic’s DNA, how much actual genetic material it contains is equally dubious. The video claims Sonic’s DNA contains “Soinc biOS,” “Emerald vision,” “boost system,” “velocity cells,” and more Sonic-adjacent buzzwords. To house the hedgehog’s precious genetic gunk, Transeeds has also constructed a Chaos Emerald containment system that sits nestled within the Sonic statue, conjuring images of the famous mosquito encased in amber from Jurassic Park. And if you were hoping to catch a glimpse of it, well, Sega’s not keeping its little science / art project to itself; you’ll be able to see it in-person at Sega Store Tokyo on June 23rd.