I promise that PTB isn't turning into an all-Sonic blog, but there's just been so much happening in the hedgehog world lately on which I have an opinion.  Now there's word circulating that Sega has chosen to replace all of the actors behind the Sonic the Hedgehog characters with the cast of the North American version of the Sonic X anime.  The new actors take over starting with the upcoming Shadow the Hedgehog.  Ryan Drummond, the former actor behind Sonic, has confirmed the news both to the forum linked above and to AMN.  Here's his take on the situation:

4Kids was really inconsiderate and cast [the North American version of Sonic X] without me, not caring about what the fans thought or about product continuity. Well, all of a sudden, Sega decided that product continuity WAS important to them starting with this new Shadow game. So, WITHOUT TELLING ME, they have *replaced* me as the voice of Sonic with the fella who does Sonic’s voice for the Sonic X show. I was only told after it happened. My Sega contact told me that they thought it would be a good idea that from now on that Sonic’s voice remain the same in the game and the non-Sega cartoon series. So after FIVE YEARS of providing the voice of Sonic, I was let go without a word or an explanation (until I went looking for one).

Business is business, but after five years on the job as the voice behind Sonic the Hedgehog and crew, one would think that Sega would show a little professional courtesy and tell the cast before replacing them like this.  To be honest, I'm neutral regarding just who voices the characters; my issue here is the manner in which the cast was let go.  I bet that the Sonic X cast is willing to work for less money than Drummond and company, hence this sudden new-found love of continuity.  When has the Sonic series ever had a strict continuity from one game to the next?  Hell, sometimes Sonic games can't even stay consistent from one level to the next.