Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 (lost build of Tokyo Toy Show tech demo of multiplatform platformer; 2005)

Screenshot from the pre-rendered teaser trailer shown at E3 and TGS 2005.

Status: Lost

Sonic the Hedgehog (commonly known as Sonic '06 or Sonic the Hedgehog 2006) is a platformer developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and released in 2006 to coincide the Sonic the Hedgehog series' 15th anniversary. Upon release, the game was critically panned and is widely considered one of the worst video games of all time. A year earlier at Tokyo Toy Show 2005 a tech demo of the game with numerous changes from the final build was shown to the press.

Close-up of Super Sonic from the prerender E3 / TGS teaser trailer.

Background

After a short teaser trailer, which a high-quality version of has also since been lost, was shown behind closed doors at E3 2005 Sonic '06 was properly unveiled at Tokyo Toy Show 2005.^[1] After the E3 trailer played again^[2] a real-time tech demo was presented by the head of Sonic Team, Yuji Naka and controlled by the game's director Shun Nakamura.^[3]^[4] The demo took place in a very abridged version of the Kingdom Valley and was mostly used to show the game's technical achievements such as it's use of the Havok physics engine.^[3] At the beginning of February 2006 high-quality screenshots from a build very similar to the TGS tech demo appeared on Sega Europe FTP.

Differences from Final

Sonic's character model is different, looking closer to how he appeared in the teaser trailer.
Most if not all of Sonic's animations are different and resemble updated versions of his animations from Sonic Adventure with the animation for jumping off of ropes not even being finished. These animations still exist in the final game's files but they go unused.^[5]
An early version of the stage's theme "The Wind" can be heard in the background.
Crate stacks are in different formations and there are fewer crates overall.
The stage lacks any enemies outside of the Egg Gunner as such an alternate path involving a chain of Egg Flyers is also absent.
The game appears to be running slower albeit at a consistent frame rate, unlike the final game.
Sonic's speed while grinding is way faster than it is in the final game.
The Springs and Dash Panels resemble the ones found Sonic Heroes with certain Dash Panels replaced with crate stacks.
Many developer tools were still active such as freecam. This was likely done for demonstration purposes.
A full day-night cycle can be seen functioning via debug controls. It's unknown how the cycle would have worked in the final game.
There's no wind path for Sonic to grind on.
Metal and wooden crates have more realistic textures and don't resemble the ones seen in Sonic Heroes unlike the final game.
The effect for Sonic's jump dash is different.
The stage ends very earlier compared to the final game, likely because the rest of the level wasn't finished yet.
The level clear jingle is the same one used in Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Heroes.
And many more.

Thumbnail from Project TGS's release video.

Availability

Despite being publicly shown the demo has never been officially released nor has it leaked online. A fan-made recreation of demo titled Project TGS was developed by ChaosX and released on August 2nd, 2021 for PC.

Gallery

Images

Teaser Trailer

Close up of Sonic running.
Sonic diving off of a cliff.
Sonic running alongside Egg Gunners.
An Egg Gunner searching for Sonic.
Sonic from an Egg Gunner's perspective.
Sonic homing attacking a line of Egg Gunners.
Sonic flying through the air.
The Egg Carrier in the sky.
A line of Egg Gunners firing at Sonic.

Tech Demo

Sonic stretching in the opening area.
Sonic grinding on a rail.
Sonic standing on a small plateau.
Sonic standing on a small plateau but zoomed in.
Sonic standing next to a tree with mushroom's on it.
Sonic standing next to a tree with mushroom's on it. Alternate angle.
Sonic about to knock an Egg Gunner through a breakable wall.
Sonic sending an Egg Gunner though a breakable wall.
Sonic falling to the floor after knocking down a breakable wall near a rope.
Sonic falling to the floor after knocking down a breakable wall near a spring.
Sonic falling alongside a bridge.

Sega Europe FTP

Close-up of Sonic running towards a Spring.
Close-up of Sonic bouncing off of a Spring.
Close-up of Sonic running past an Egg Gunner.
Close-up of Sonic grinding.
Screenshot of a bridge falling.
Screenshot of the entrance to a small plateau area. This is closer to the final build compared to demo with the presence of Egg Gunners and a wind switch. It has a trail of rings for Sonic to Light Dash on which isn't present in the demo or the final game.
Like the previous screenshot but at dusk.
Like the last two screenshots but at sunset.
Screenshot of the stage's opening area. An eagle has been added and the crate stack in the pathway's formation now matches the final game.
Like the last screenshot but now closer to dusk.
Like the last 2 screenshots but at dusk.
Like the last 3 screenshots but at sunset.
Sonic standing in the stage's opening area.
Sonic standing in the stage's opening area but at dusk.
Sonic standing in the stage's opening area but at night.