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While a few Best Buys DID break the street date, I can now safely inform all Sonic fans that the SatAm boxset has, as of March 27th, 2007, been officially released in stores across the US! For those of you who don’t live in America, you can still pick the set up via various online retailers. Don’t forget, it’s region free!
The Sonic the Hedgehog: The Complete series boxset contains various bonus features on a 4 disc set, containing art work made by fans like you. The official MSRP is $25.99.
SEGA are getting ready to announce a new NiGHTS Into Dreams game for the Nintendo Wii, it has been reported. Gaming website SPOnG.com first revealed the information, where it writes that SEGA all but confirmed ‘NiGHTS 2’, yet wasn’t prepared to state this on the record.
Before SPOnG’s article, the Official Nintendo Magazine in the UK printed a teaser image in their current issue that has been rumoured to be a reference to NiGHTS. The magazine stated that it was a secret project to be revealed next month, but fears and doubts were raised when it was made clear this was to co-incide with April Fools Day. Continue reading NiGHTS Sequel for Nintendo Wii
The “Sonic the Hedgehog” (SatAM) cartoon series boxset is reportedly already available at at least one Best Buy store.
According to Perfect Chaos, a staff member at the Sonic Fan Games Headquarters, the DVD boxset is now available to buy at a local store. It is not officially due for release until Monday the 27th of March, so this may be a mistake on the store’s part.
Quexinos (aka Sonique) of site Fans United for SatAM has reported that another Best Buy store is also selling the set. If you’ve been waiting for this DVD set and are near a Best Buy, you could do a lot worse than to head over there and see if it’s there yet.
Remember the blue Sonic Team branded SEGA Dreamcast released in Japan back in the day? Svend managed to grab the blue VMU that went with it but has yet to get the console rarity. It’s something he incessantly mutters when he strolls into TSS Towers.
SEGA Germany is launching a contest to co-incide with the launch of Sonic and the Secret Rings over there, and the prizes are enough to trigger a fatal relapse. Open to German fans and extended to visitors of SEGA Europe’s official Sonic City Blognik, one lucky fan could win a Nintendo Wii decorated with the Sonic Team logo! Continue reading SEGA giving away Sonic Team Wii
If you’ve been reading many gaming websites or magazines (here and here) lately, you’d be forgiven for thinking that SEGA/THQ and plenty of reputable magazines had confirmed a PC release of Sonic the Hedgehog 06.
Fan ‘theshadowofsonic’ wrote to SEGA Europe asking when the PC version may be released after realising it hadn’t hit store shelves. Both a Finnish magazine and Finnish store website had stated 28th Feb 2007 as the release date, with the former saying it was confirmed by SEGA.
The response received, as many SSMB’ers probably know by now, was as follows:
“I’m afraid that at this time there are no plans for a PC version of Sonic the Hedgehog. I have seen this advertised on a few sites but I’m afraid that the information is not accurate.” Continue reading Sonic ’06: PC Release Confusion
Sonic and the Secret Rings appears to be doing what Sonic 06 wasn’t – selling. Being the first Nintendo Wii game in a good month or so, it makes sense that pre-orders for the game last week helped the game storm to the top of the Wii Charts in UK GAME stores before it had even been released.
That streak looks set to continue, as the official UK Software Charts sees the latest Sonic game hit #5 in the Top 10. This is especially good news considering the Top 4 – Final Fantasy XII, Crackdown, The Sims 2 Seasons and (especially) FIFA 07 aren’t going to budge anytime soon.
If you’re still sitting on the fence as to whether to get Sonic and the Secret Rings or not, check TSS’ Review to get the full lowdown on the game.
Thanks to SSMB’er “Shahra The Genie” for the tip.
A new downloadable was released for Sonic The Hedgehog (2006) today on the Xbox Marketplace, the all new Amigo Team Attack Episode. Once you downloadit, it becomes available through trial mode.
In this mode, you play through the whole game as Tails, Blaze, and Omega. You first play Crisis City as Tails backwards. you then move onto Sonic’s Kingdom Valley as Tails going through the stage backwards. You then play Tropical Jungle as Blaze through Sonic’s first section. You then go to Aquatic Base as Blaze in Sonic’s second section. You then play as Omega in Dusty Desert, in a very different scenario than past level experiences. You then finish off with Omega in White Acropolis, ending with a boss fight with the Egg Genesis. Wave Ocean and Flame Core are not in this download. Continue reading Sonic ’06 Gets Amigo Team Attack
According to Amazon.com, the 360 version of Sonic the Hedgehog (360) just got a nice price drop – from the original $59.99, now to $29.99! Hopefully this calms the nerves of those wary about trying the game out, and gives them a chance to do so with less to lose for doing so.
Amazon page
Thanks to Gamerguy of Sonic World for the heads up!
The Japanese site of Sonic and the Secret of the Rings has had a major update! They’ve released new info, new artwork, and much more new.
I realize many of you can’t read Japanese, so let me translate some of the highlights. The story is still about the same as we know; Sonic one day falls asleep while reading Arabian Nights, and awakes to meet a dijjin named Shahra. She tells him of an evil dijjin named Erazer, who is erasing the tales of Arbain Nights. It’s up to Sonic to stop him, for he was destined to by legend. Plus, if he doesn’t, Erazer will come to his world to wreak havoc. Sonic agrees and goes off to Arabian Nights! But when he enters the world, he encounters Erazer fairly early. Erazer calls Sonic a rat, then sends a fire arrow straight into Sonic’s heart. The arrow is slowly killing Sonic, but at the same time with Sharha’s help, Sonic can control the fire to his advantage. The only way to put out the flame is to defeat Erazer. Continue reading Sonic and the Secret Rings Japanese site update
You read the title right. The Sonic the Hedgehog “SatAm” DVD Boxset is officially done. That’s the DVD’s producer, Brian Ward, holding the real thing in his lucky mitts.
Brian Ward was the main man responsible for making this boxset a community effort. The DVD is loaded with special features and has cover art made from people all across the Sonic fandom. Expect further articles on Sonic Stadium regarding this boxset leading up to it’s monumental release. It’s coming out March 27th, 2007 in the US. However, it is obtainable to everyone else via import. Be sure to pick up this great slice of Sonic history, and well put together piece of Sonic memoribillia! Continue reading SatAM Boxset is Done (and Region Free)
Sega seems to be going all out in it’s promotion for Sonic’s upcoming Wii appearance, Sonic and the Secret Rings. They’ve teamed up with nationally known American slushy maker “Slush Puppie” to bring you the “Blue Dude with a ‘Tude Sweepstakes”.
This contest is only eligible for people in the 48 contiguous states of the United States, as well as Canada (excluding Quebec). You can enter this contest via either paper slips at participating retail locations, or by printing up a slip on their site.
The contest started on February 1st (sorry for the late notice) and ends on May 31st. Continue reading “Blue Dude With a ‘Tude” Sweepstakes
In the first of three downloads, SEGA has released Very Hard Mode on to the Xbox Live Marketplace for 200 points ($4) for each character. For 200 points, you can purchase Sonic’s, Shadow’s, or Silver’s Very Hard Mode.
You may be wondering if it’s worth it, though? Though their are lots of changes in enemy numbers and item locations, here’s the biggest differences in Very Hard Mode to the original:
Sonic fans have been extremely lucky lately with SatAM finally making the jump to DVD, however it seems the prayers from the other side of the fan base have been answered – Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog may soon see a DVD release as indicated by a new listing on Amazon.
The new listing details a four disc box set to be released on July 17th for an RRP of $29.99 and an Amazon list price of $22.49. Curiously enough Sony Music are listed as the studio behind the DVD release, however a quick search of their website turned up no information.
Will we be seeing Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog on DVD stateside any time soon? Stay with SONIC NEWS for the latest on this developing story.
Special thanks to Ryan S. for the tip.
Signed Sonic the Hedgehog paraphernalia amongst other video game related treasures are set to be auctioned next Saturday the 17th as part of the upcoming Hollywood Arts Dream Awards.
Straight from the press release:
The Dream Awards will host an auction on eBay with several game industry items including an audio cameo in the upcoming game HALO 3, a Master Chief statue, a tour of the Bungie Studios and signed video game paraphernalia of games such as Guitar Hero 2 and by artists such as Yugi Naki, creator of Sonic the Hedgehog. (I’m sure they meant Yuji Naka, father of Sonic the Hedgehog) Continue reading Yuji Naka Signed Sonic Gear Going Under The Block
Yojiro Ogawa, in a new review with Gamespot, spills the beans on some of the games status. Though this is his third interview in a week, this is quite possibly his most in-depth interview yet.
First off, it seems that the game hasn’t been in actual development as long as people expected; they only started programing the game last January and only have had a little over a year to work on it. This isn’t exactly bad, though, cause they have actually pushed back the release date a few times to put in everything they wanted to. To make up for lost time, though, they doubled the development team on the game so more people could work on it. One half of the team worked on Adventure Mode (the game’s main mode) and the other half worked on Party Mode (multiplayer minigame mode). this explains why the multiplayer and single player seem like two totally different games. Continue reading Gamespot Interview Reveals Information
Sonic and the Secret Rings American site has finally gone up revealing lots of new info about the game, including story, minigames, and unlockables.
The story is simple, Sonic is laying down after reading his copy of Arabian Nights, but falls asleep. He wakes up to discover a mysterious genie named Shahra in front of him. She tells him she is the genie of the ring, and tells him of an evil genie named Erazer who is- get this -erasing the pages of Arabian Nights. If he succeeds in his goal, Erazer will break free of the book and become free in Sonic’s world, likely continuing his role as the backside of a pencil in the real world. Sonic agrees to Shahra’s pleas and enters the world of Arabian Nights on top of a magical carpet. Continue reading SatSR website up, new Ogawa interview
Just recently, the Official Nintendo Magazine had a little chat with Yojiro Ogawa, Sonic Team member and esteemed game developer – also responsible for Sonic and the Secret Rings, Sonic’s latest outing on the Nintendo Wii system.
According to the article, the lovely chaps down at Nintendo Magazine had a sitdown with Ogawa, and, after having a chat with him, gave a run through the complete version of Sonic and the Secret Rings. Here’s what they have to say about it:
“As you may know by now, the game is controlled by moving a constantly-running Sonic left and right. This is done by holding the Remote on its side and tilting it to make Sonic turn. Like all the best Sonic games it is simple to pick up and play and while he’s racing through the levels Sonic can perform loads of different moves. Continue reading Nintendo talks to Yojiro Ogawa
Up until now details surrounding the PC release of SONIC The Hedgehog have been vague and scattered, however SONIC NEWS have discovered numerous sources which have confirmed the title’s impending release in Australia.
THQ, whom are responsible for distributing SEGA and Sonic titles in Australia have listed SONIC the Hedgehog for PC in their upcoming release list for retailers. Numerous Australian online video game retailers (Listed below) have in turn listed SONIC the Hedgehog for PC with a Thursday 15th March release date with an RRP of $79.99. Curiously enough, the title will be released on PC more than a whole week before its local PS3 debut.
This new information combined with the earlier pieces of evidence can be taken as confirmation that SONIC the Hedgehog will indeed be appearing on PC very soon. Continue reading SONIC The Hedgehog Confirmed For PC In Australia
Once again the cornerstone titles of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise have been made available with the recent release of SEGA Mega Drive Collection in the UK. This new compilation title shipped just days ago in the UK and features the legendary Sonic The Hedgehog and Sonic The Hedgehog 2 amongst a plethora of other Mega Drive favourites.
The complete title list is as follows: Continue reading SEGA Ships SEGA Mega Drive Collection In The UK
Finnish gaming magazine Pelit announces release date and system specs for Sonic Next-Gen for the PC in their latest issue. The game ships from SEGA on February 28th. Along the fact of the confirmed release date from SEGA (who announced it as February 2007 recently) the magazine has also released the game system specs.
OS: Windows Me, Windows 2000, Windows XP
CPU: Pentium3 1GHz or faster
Memory: 128MB RAM or more
HDD: 3GB or more
12x CD-drive
64 MB Graphics card (DirectX 9.0c compatible)
Sound card (DirectX 9.0c compatible)
Sonic Stadium will keep you updated on the PC release of the game.
SEGA really do seem to love Nintendo Wii’s virtual console, and in the near future will be releasing Sonic Spinball alongside the already featured Sonic the Hedgehog.
Although SEGA and indeed Nintendo are still yet to announce the new title, the OFLC (Australia’s Office of Film and Literature Classification, similar to the ESRB and PEGI) contains a new entry for the title. The application, submitted by Nintendo Australia was finalized in late January and received approval for all ages as could have been expected.
A quick search of Nintendo’s other recent application reveal that other SEGA titles planned for the Virtual Console line up include Streets of Rage, Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle and Sword or Vermilion.
According to The GHZ, the optional downloadable content for Sonic the Hedgehog has finally been revealed, and is available for download on both Xbox 360 and the recently-release Playstation 3 version in Japan for about 350 yen each (about $2.89 USD).
But what is it, you ask?
Well, we’ll tell you – “Very Hard Mode”! Sega continues their cliche of optional increased difficulty levels, with three versions for download – one for each character (Sonic, Shadow, and Silver). The download is labeled as “1st Download,” which hints towards more possible content in the future. However, so far, no other downloads are available; no fixes for glitches, no faster loading times, etc.
Stay tuned to Sonic News for further updates!
Famitsu released a new nine minute trailer of Sonic and the Secret Rings on their website. This trailer is an extended version of one that IGN released a week ago. But this goes in further, much further, revealing new levels, multiplayer, and even characters.
Within the trailer, they include an in-depth look at multiplayer. Working similarly to Sonic Shuffle, up to four players choose one of eight possible characters. They then choose a game board play in a series of minigames. The player that wins the minigame gets a chance to open a treasure chest. Treasure chest either contain a Sonic Token or a booby trap. If you get a Sonic Token, you get to choose another Treasure Chest, but if you get a booby trap, your chance to open treasure chest is up and all players play another minigame. Player with the most Sonic Tokens at the end wins.
Along with their look at multiplayer, though, we also see new footage of some new levels, displaying how the games mechanics and level design is presented in the title.
We here at Sonic Stadium will keep you up with the game news, and watch progress on the trailer on the discussion forum on the Sonic Stadium Message board.
Sonic and the Secret Rings, formerly known as Sonic Wildfire, and Sonic’s latest (and first) adventure on the new Nintendo Wii system, may be arriving earlier than initially expected!
Originally scheduled for launch around Spring of 2007, then later revealed as February 27, GameSpot recently announced that the game will, in fact, launch a week earlier – on February 20th! Good news for all you impatient little buggers, eh? =P
Sonic and the Secret Rings is Sonic’s latest adventure on next-gen consoles, and makes use of the Wii’s unique control scheme to maneuver Sonic through an “Arabian Nights” type setting. Stay tuned to Sonic News for further updates on Sonic and the Secret Rings, as well as other Sonic-related events!
Sonique of Fans United for SatAM has spoken to Sonic News about the recent story of a possible Sonic movie in the works, stating that Richard Kuta’s chances of actually getting the project off the ground is slim.
“Richard Kuta is NOT a film maker. What films has he made? None. Nada, zero zip, zilch. He’s just a guy who’s been banned from almost every Sonic forum ever made who has a dream. That’s it.” Sonique said in an email. “He’s never even written anything above fanfiction.”
Interesting evidence and searching reveals no information on the animation company ‘Soloakai’ either. Sonique states that findings point to the group being makers of flash animations rather than a professional major movie production team. Our research only found the name ‘Soloakai’ on our own news reports. Continue reading Sonic Movie a Hoax? [UPDATE]
Rumours have been flying around the Internet for years now about a Sonic The Hedgehog motion picture, however, one of these trails it seems may finally come into fruition. Film maker Richard Kuta has been working on an animated film based on the series known commonly to fans as Sonic SatAM, and has recently received approval for the project from Soloakai Animation.
After successful negotiations with SEGA throughout last year, Kuta and his co-writer initially pitched the film to IDT Entertainment, who mulled over the idea before eventually rejecting it. Since then the team proposed the film to Solokai Animation, who were more than happy to take the project onboard. Continue reading Sonic The Hedgehog Movie In Pre-Production?
British gaming magazine Games Master have revealed a plethora of new information about the soon to be released Sonic and the Secret Rings for Nintendo Wii.
The following information is taken from The Wiire’s report.
According to Games Master, Sonic and the Secret Rings will feature 10 different levels, five of which being Sand Oasis, Dinosaur Jungle, Evil Foundry, Levitated Ruin and Pirate Storm. Each level has 10 missions such as stealth attack, rampage, chain challenge, beat the clock, and more.
In addition, Sonic’s skills will be customizable, with upwards of 100 available to learn. These skills affect everything from Sonic’s handling, to moveset, to special abilities – such as slowing down time or speed boosting. Experience points are earned through the game that grant players access to these abilities, but only four can be maintained at any given time (through rings Sonic wears). Continue reading New Sonic and the Secret Rings Info
“Of course you know this means war!”
SEGA Europe has sensationally filed a lawsuit against humour website YTMND (You’re The Man Now Dog!) over jokes it contains involving Sonic the Hedgehog.
YTMND, for the uninitiated, is a website where users can create their own webpage consisting of only an image for a background and a voice clip as background music. Many trends are built on the back of this, where Star Trek’s ‘Epic Manoeuvres’ and Star Fox’s ‘Do A Barrel Roll’ being gags that has spawned countless YTMND joke pages.
The most popular of the Sonic jokes, a mickey take on the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon motto “That’s NO Good!”, involves editing the voice clip to include various random quotes from films and other cult references. Many different versions of this Sonic gag suggest furry rape or sex or some other kind of ‘NO Good!’ activity, which is likely the reason that SEGA have kicked off in such a way. Continue reading SEGA suing humour website over AoStH gag
Pre-ordering Sonic’s debut Wii game in the US will bag you a free wristband sporting the blue blur, according to a new promotion by retailer EBGames.com.
The website offer can also be made in ‘real life’ stores, so those who aren’t exactly web-friendly can secure one in the comfort of bricks and mortar.
The band itself features a blue line with a generic picture of Sonic on it. Might look like someone from Spain made a knock off official band, but hey, free’s free so who are we to complain? Click the link in ‘More Info’ below to hit the EBGames page.
EBGames pens Sonic and the Secret Rings for a release date of 27th February 2007, but remember that dates on a retail website are not indicative of final or official release.
Cheers to our nameless tipster who popped the news in our inbox the other day. We’d buy you a beer, but well, we won’t.
In the latest issue of the American game magazine “GamePro”, Sonic the Hedgehog 06 has been nominated for the magazine’s “Reader’s Choice Action/Adventure Game of the Year” award. The game is going against some very strong contenders, including The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and Okami.
For those of you whom wish to take part in the awards, you can access them through GamePro’s website via the following link: http://www.gamepro.com/rca/sweepstakes.cfm
Oddly enough, Sonic the Hedgehog scored a 2.75/5 in the very same issue.
Special thanks to Neo Hazard of SSMB for providing the news.
According to a scan of the back of the Sonic Riders PC manual, and Amazon.com, what Sonic Next fans without any of those newfangled consoles have been waiting for is no longer just a nice idea!
Thanks to Shadow Hog of The GHZ for pointing this out – perhaps this will bring new opportunities to fans of the new Sonic game, eh?
Simon Jeffery, head of SEGA US, recently spoke to BusinessWeek.com about what SEGA see of the future for PS2, when he dropped a potentially interesting hint about possible future Sonic titles.
The following is a excerpt from the interview.
What strategy should a software developer like Sega take?
We’re really balancing our portfolio of games for old-gen and new-gen hardware. We’re focusing our big investments on the next generation, and we’re making sure we have a balanced portfolio of kids’ games and family-oriented products and movie tie-ins. Continue reading More Sonic Titles Coming To PS2?
Here it is SatAM fans, the moment you’ve all been waiting for since the announcement of the SatAm box set: The box art, special features, retail price, and release date have all been revealed.
Firstly, the special features are as follows:
According to the latest monthly report from NPD Funworld, the well known video game sales tracking company, Sonic the Hedgehog was a huge bomb last month at US retail, selling a total 38,000 units throughout it’s first two weeks.
For the unlearned, these numbers are very, very bad for a series like Sonic, which can often garner anywhere from 100,000 to 200,000 in it’s launch month.
Despite the ad blitz Sega put behind the game, it seems ultimately, the games poor reception from the press and gamers alike was it’s downfall. Only time will tell if it’s sales will shape up.
Let’s face it, SONIC The Hedgehog has fought an uphill battle since the first critical impressions leaked out in early November. This, however, it seems has not managed to slow Sonic at all, with the new title reaching top ten XBox 360 sales charts in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.
In the United Kingdom, SONIC The Hedgehog has fallen from it’s position in ninth place last week to a still reputable tenth place.
1 Gears of War
2 Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas
3 Call of Duty 3
4 Pro Evolution Soccer 6
5 FIFA 07
6 WWE Smackdown! Vs. RAW 2007
7 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07
8 Need For Speed: Carbon
9 Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Double Agent
10 Sonic the Hedgehog
UK charts provided by ELSPA. Continue reading PAL: SONIC The Hedgehog Hits Top Ten
IGN recently name their top ten video game franchises in need of a re-redesign, with the Sonic The Hedgehog franchise taking out the top spot. Other legendary franchises were not spared either by IGN, with Sonic The Hedgehog beating them all.
IGN’s full list is as follows.
10. Gauntlet
9. Secret of Mana
8. Donkey Kong
7. Contra
6. Mega Man
5. Mario Kart
4. Star Fox
3. Castlevania
2. Bomberman
1. Sonic The Hedgehog Continue reading Sonic in Desperate Need of Redesign
