Although Sonic the Hedgehog’s birthday was back on June 23rd, it’s not every year you turn 18, and the festivities are continuing through at least this Friday, July 10th — when Sonic the Hedgehog (and Tails) will be making their annual visit to Phantasy Star Universe. Their visits have become something of an annual event and tend to attract enormous crowds — check out a videos, recorded by a player, from a previous year:

All of the “Happy Birthday Sonic” spam isn’t just decorative — players are awarded in-game items for saying specific phrases (typically wishing Sonic a happy birthday). This year, we’re able to give away two room items: a NiGHTS statue, and a previously unavailable “Happy Birthday” statue:

The new news for this event? While in previous years Sonic & Tails have just scampered around the in-game lobbies, this year the duo will be running missions with players, trying to explore as much of  Phantasy Star Universe as possible!

The event will be going on all day — if you’re a Phantasy Star Universe Subscriber, here’s the full schedule (all times PDT):

10:00 AM – 11:00 AM: PC/PS2
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Xbox 360
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM: PC/PS2
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM: Xbox 360
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM: PC/PS2
5:00: PM – 6:00 PM: Xbox 360
6:15 PM – 7:00 PM: PC/PS2
7:15 PM – 7:45 PM: Xbox 360

Hope to see you there! And for those who can’t participate, we’ll post updates & images after the event finishes.