To celebrate the 35th anniversary of “Sonic the Hedgehog”, SEGA recently launched a real-life interactive event called “Chaos Emerald Hunt.” Players can search for Chaos Emeralds online or in person in cities such as Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and San Diego, and have the opportunity to obtain rewards such as badges and collectibles. When the event was first announced, many fans felt that it was a quite sincere anniversary planning. However, just when everyone was about to sign up to participate, some players opened the event terms and found something that instantly cooled the community.
Want to attend an event? First agree to help AI learn
According to the relevant terms on the event registration page, this event is actually conducted through the third-party platform Community, and the personal information submitted by participants may be used to “improve, develop and train AI models and tools.” The terms even mention that relevant data may be used to strengthen proprietary AI systems, and some data may also be shared with third-party service providers.
After the message was screenshotted and uploaded to the community by players, it quickly sparked discussions on X and forums. Many fans said that they originally just wanted to participate in the anniversary event, but found that they had become AI training materials by the way. Some people also complained that this kind of operation is simply like something the “Sonic” villain Dr. Eggman would do, rather than something that should be included in an anniversary celebration.
Player enthusiasm suddenly flames out
In fact, the game industry has been quite sensitive to generative AI in recent years. Many developers have encountered player backlash when trying to introduce AI tools, and this is not the first time SEGA has been involved in similar controversy. Just earlier this month, the Steam page of “Crazy Taxi: World Tour” also caused discussion due to the appearance of instructions related to generative AI. Now that the AI clause has appeared again in the “Sonic” anniversary event, many players have naturally become more vigilant. The most embarrassing thing is that originally everyone was discussing Chaos Emeralds, anniversary events and reward content, but now all the focus is on the AI training protocol.
The 35th anniversary celebration turns into an AI controversy conference!
For SEGA, this turmoil may not affect the event itself, but judging from the community response, it has obviously affected the atmosphere of the anniversary celebration. After all, players originally came to celebrate the 35th birthday of “Sonic”, but after clicking on the registration page, they found that they had to sign an additional AI consent form. This kind of development really makes many fans feel like a bucket of cold water has been poured on them.