User:Superspongebobbros/Sonic Boom Protests Timeline

PROTIP: This was a project that I didn't complete before my departure. Feel free to continue this project.

The chronology of Chris's Sonic Boom Protests is a confusing one, since Chris technically began them many months before he became vocal about his hatred for Sonic Boom and that the protests consist of a large amount of activity than Chris usually shows, from Facebook posts, to vandalism, to even court cases. Thus, I have taken up the challenge of summarizing the events of the protests into one timeline.

Prelude

2014

• 6 February - SEGA first announces the release of Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric alongside an unnamed 3DS companion game (later revealed to be Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal) and a CGI animated series.
• Sometime in February - Chris discovers the announcement trailer. After seeing that Sonic had blue arms, he was shocked but did not pay any more attention... for now.
• 22 June - Chris makes his first comment on Sonic's arms. He states that he is prepared to boycott the games should SEGA not meet his demands.
• 23 June - Chris repeats the same thing he said a day ago, this time on SEGA's Facebook page.
• 24 June - When asked why he is complaining now when the existence of the game had been known for months, Chris claims that he had only seen the redesigned Sonic a few weeks prior, but had too much stress to deal with it until now. He also goes off on a tangent, comparing the change of Sonic's arms to the changing of Michael Jackson's skin color, unaware that Jackson's lightened skin color was due to vitiligo.

Main Protests

• 3 September - Chris responds to another post about Sonic Boom, officially announcing his boycott.
• 11 November - Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal are released in North America.
• 13 November - Chris's Facebook friends form the group Keep Sonic Original so Chris can ramble on about Sonic Boom as much as he wants.
• 29 November - Chris posts on Keep Sonic Original, threatening SEGA with violence. He is kicked out for this, but retaliates by making his own group, FIX SONIC'S ARMS IMMEDIATELY, SEGA!!!
• 1 December - Chris sends a commission to eBay user Flufflehugs, depicting a panel in which Chris defaces a Sonic Boom stand.
• 3 December - Chris posts on Facebook, revealing the origins of his battle against Sonic Boom.

Arrest, Court Hearings, and Conclusion of the Protests

2014

• 26 December - Chris goes back to the GameStop at Charlottesville Fashion Square mall, and, after being told off by staff, pepper sprays an employee on the way out. He is arrested shortly after.
• 26 - 29 December - Chris is held in Albemarle Regional Jail.
• 29 December - Chris appears in court for a hearing of his crimes. The case is extended to 5 February 2015. Chris takes to Twitter to discuss the events of the last three days. Her claims that he only entered the GameStop to purchase Skylanders figurines and that he "had No Idea of the contents of the Pepper Spray, OR that it was Illegal for use in certain situations in the state of Virginia at all." He also blames the incident on SEGA for changing the color of Sonic's arms. He concludes by saying that he was the victim.

2015

• 5 January - Chris makes his first post on his Facebook group since his arrest. He again blames SEGA for his actions and announces that he will continue his Protests.
• 5 February - Chris's second hearing is held. It is also continued, this time on 2 April.
• 26 March - Chris claims that the reason Sonic Boom failed was because of the blue arms.
• 2 April - Chris's third hearing is held. It is to be continued on 7 May.
• 7 May - Chris's fourth hearing is held. It is to be continued on 11 June.
• 9 June - Chris rages over Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice's announcement. He also proceeds to threaten Sonic Boom producer Omar Woodley.
• 11 June - Chris's fifth hearing is held. It is to be continued on 23 July.
• 16 July - Chris discovers that the Sonic Boom animated series is getting a second season. He doesn't take too kindly to this.
• 22 July - Chris attempts to explain again why he hates the blue arms. He claims that he dislikes how Sonic's arms now blend into his body because Chris feels that he can't see Sonic's arms. The finer details to 3D rendering are lost on Chris.
• 23 July - Chris's sixth hearing is held. It is to be continued on 15 October.
• 2 October - Chris posts on his Facebook group, stating that Sonic's arms will be back to their original color for Mario and Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Seeing this as a victory, he declares his protests over.
• 15 October- Chris's seventh and final hearing is held. He is fined and sentenced to 180 days of probation.

Aftermath

2016

• 11 April - Chris's probation expires.
• 27 September - Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice is released for the Nintendo 3DS. It is the last game of the Sonic Boom sub-series.
• October - Chris attempts to convince the management of GameStop to unban him for his actions during the Sonic Boom Protests. It doesn't work.

2017

• 4 October - Chris is interviewed on the podcast "Internet Dream Lounge." In it, he states that he had gotten over his hatred over the design change, also calling the protests his greatest regret.

2019

• 4 March - The initial design of Sonic in the live action Sonic the Hedgehog movie is leaked, sporting blue arms. Chris lambasts the design accordingly.

2020

• 21 May - Bill Freiberger, the executive producer of the Sonic Boom animated series, states that there are no plans to renew Sonic Boom for a third season, effectively ending the Sonic Boom sub-series for good.