I went to the “Sonic Generations of Skate” on Saturday. It was a thing that happened.

Sega of America, probably in response to past criticism that they “do not advertise their Sonic games enough,” is going balls out with Sonic Generations. We had “Sonic Boom” back in June during E3, a slew of online/print ad campaigns and now a skateboarding competition on the iconic shores of Venice Beach. I’m going to preface the rest of what I’m about to say by mentioning that I didn’t show up until about 3:30 PM. See, every Saturday, I have a commitment to drink beer and watch college football in the afternoon. Standard operating procedure.

I had a friend check out the first half of the show, sending me texts and mobile photos. There was a mobile skate park for kids to trick on (very cool), a gaming tent with many XBOX 360 kiosks and the large half-pipe for the competition. The weather was shitty and remained shitty the rest of the day. Misty and overcast with heavy fog. It was completely different from the partly-cloudy Hollywood I had just driven from. It was unfortunate to have the event run under these conditions, but they powered through it like champions.

The event was like any other skateboard competition that you’d see at Venice or on Fox Sports Net at 2 AM after bowling or f-ing poker.  It just had Sonic Generations advertising, swag and gaming booths. The competition results I won’t comment on because a) I don’t want to spoil it b) I missed most of it and c) I’m lazy. You can watch it on Fox Sports Net on November 25th. Check your local listings. It was cool to see Tony Hawk and other skaters that I only know from Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater to perform in person, despite it not being 2001 and my increasing disinterest in skateboarding.  I’ve been on TV crews for sporting events and they were doing a great job keeping things moving and the crowd energized in the bad weather.

Having a good event is key when you’re trying to sell copies of a video game and allowing the skateboarding faithful to check out City Escape and Green Hill in Sonic Generations doesn’t hurt either. There were about a dozen kiosks and SEGA staff on hand to answer questions and meet the media. You could also get some awesome bootleg-looking merchandise with the event logo on it. Totally sketch.

Sonic was on hand to greet those on the boardwalk and lure people in. He posed for photos, presented the trophies and super-fans got to live their sick, deviantArt fantasies by hugging him. He blended in well with the other costumed crazies on the Venice Beach boardwalk. I distinctly remember a pair of 30-somethings dressed as a devil and Princess Leia saying, “Man, Sonic was great 15 years ago!” Who knew boardwalk crazies could say something so coherent and correct?

The rest of the night was also standard operating procedure. When the event’s over, you get some drinks and chat. Right across the street from the event was a hotel with a rooftop bar. If you follow me on the Twitters, you’ll already know the score for the evening. Kellie and I had a great time, Aaron was hella late but he eventually joined the party.  Great night.

That’s it.  Venice Beach is dirty.