Characters
Shadow's cast expanded across the year. The August update added Black Doom, Doom's Eye, and Sonic; the December renewal added ten characters; Maria followed in January 2006.
The 2005 Shadow Web
The official Japanese Shadow the Hedgehog promotional site is fragmentary today, but SEGA's surviving Sonic Channel records preserve enough evidence to reconstruct how it grew from May 2005 into a dense launch-period site of characters, stages, movies, downloads, interviews, and a Flash game.
What can be reconstructed
The original site opened on May 18, 2005, the same period in which SEGA was exhibiting the game at E3. Sonic Channel's old news archive then recorded individual updates to the Shadow site through January 2006.
This page reconstructs that update history from SEGA's surviving first-party record. It does not claim that Shadorux currently possesses the lost site files. Original HTML, downloads, and Flash assets remain preservation targets unless explicitly marked as recovered.
What the site contained
Stages and story material
Westopolis and its following event were present by August. Three more stages were added during the large December renewal.
Movies
Promotional movies arrived in October and November, followed by the TRIPOD BABY (SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG MIX) promotional movie and television commercial on November 24.
Weapons and vehicles
The December 6 renewal added six weapons and four vehicles. A further Vehicle entry was recorded on January 20, 2006.
Downloads
Three official wallpapers were added on December 6. Their original downloadable files have not yet been added to Shadorux's preservation collection.
Interactive and editorial material
A Shadow Flash minigame and the first part of Takashi Iizuka's developer interview arrived December 12; interview part two followed the next day.
Update chronology
The official site opens
Sonic Channel records the opening of the Japanese Shadow the Hedgehog site alongside the game's E3 exhibition.
Characters, Westopolis, and an event scene
Black Doom, Doom's Eye, and Sonic character pages were added, together with the Westopolis stage and an event following Westopolis.
Japanese release date fixed
The site announced December 15 as the Japanese release date.
A promotional movie arrives
A promotional movie was added under the site's screenshot area.
SEGA Direct preorder promotion
A SEGA Direct preorder with a bonus was announced through the site. The exact bonus remains an acquisition and identification target.
ARTIMAGE NIGHT material
Support and invitation material for ARTIMAGE NIGHT 2005 was added ahead of the December launch-day event.
Another promotional movie
The official update record notes another promotional movie.
m-flo campaign video and TV commercial
The TRIPOD BABY (SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG MIX) promotional movie and television commercial were published.
The major renewal
The site received ten characters, three stages, six weapons, four vehicles, and three wallpapers. This is the clearest evidence of how much material the promotional site held immediately before Japanese release.
Flash game and Iizuka interview
A Shadow Flash minigame and part one of a Takashi Iizuka developer interview were added.
Interview part two
The second installment of the Iizuka developer interview followed one day later.
Weekly Sega Voice and soundtrack notice
Sonic Channel recorded another Iizuka interview under Weekly Sega Voice together with soundtrack sales information.
Post-release additions
A Maria character page and a Vehicle entry were added after release.
Missing pieces worth recovering
Original site captures
HTML, navigation, imagery, scripts, and page structure from the Japanese promotional site remain the central reconstruction target.
Three wallpapers
The December 6 update proves they existed. Original-resolution files and filenames still need to be recovered.
Flash minigame
The December 12 update documents it, but the SWF and any dependencies have not yet been acquired by Shadorux.
Iizuka interview originals
The two December installments are documented by SEGA. Original Sonic Channel pages or captures are preferable to relying on a later translation alone.
SEGA Direct preorder bonus
The October 21 update records the preorder campaign without yet giving Shadorux a verified identification of the bonus itself.
Original media files
Promotional movies, television-commercial files, logos, screenshots, and other downloadable assets should be recorded with original filenames and dates when recoverable.
Sources
- Sonic Channel old site, 2005 update archive — first-party chronology for the official Shadow site.
- Sonic Channel, m-flo collaboration shoot
- Sonic Channel, TRIPOD BABY remix and campaign
- Surviving English translation of the December 2005 Sonic Channel developer interview — used as a preservation lead while original pages remain a target.