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In an update to his blog, Xbox Live’s Major Nelson has revealed that Sonic Generations was added to Xbox Live Marketplace’s Games on Demand yesterday. The game is available to download for £24.99/$29.99/29,99€/$49.95AU, with a demo available to try before you buy. Oddly, SEGA hasn’t said a word about this on their blog or social media sites.
If you missed our review, you can check it out here.
Source: Major Nelson
In a new preview just posted online, Pocket Gamer has shared the first details about the Nintendo 3DS version of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. As expected, while the PS Vita version will be much like the console versions, the 3DS version will be pretty different. One of the differences is a different engine “more optimised for that sort of platform,” according to Sumo Digital’s Gareth Wilson. With the game running a different engine, it will be missing some game modes present in its big brother.
Pocket Gamer reports that the game isn’t missing content just because of processing power, but to adapt the game to different audiences.
“We got some children to come in and play [a level in which] you had to blow a tank up and dodge missiles and they didn’t really get that,” says Wilson. “We also had a mode where you had to dodge between lots of traffic and they kept getting run over really badly.”
Modes like World Tour are said to be much the same across all formats and both PS Vita and 3DS versions support online multiplayer, but the 3DS version will have simpler game modes “like ‘beat people’s laptimes’ or ‘beat this particular character’.”
According to Pocket Gamer, the 3DS and PS Vita versions will be available in Europe November 16th 2012, the same date the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions are released.
For the full preview, head over to Pocket Gamer at the link below.
Source: Pocket Gamer
Last month we told you about the ESRB’s E10+ rating for Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed and how the game will feature mild language and animated blood. Today, the ESRB has made their full rating description available on their website with the reasons behind it.
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed™
Platform: Windows PC, PlayStation 3, PS Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360
Rating: E10+
Content descriptors: Animated Blood, Mild Cartoon Violence, Mild Language
Other:
Includes online features that may expose players to unrated user-generated content (Windows PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U)Rating summary: This is a racing game in which players compete with Sonic the Hedgehog and other characters from the SEGA universe. As players speed through each themed track, they can bump into other vehicles and use various power-ups (e.g., firecrackers, cyclones, puffer fish, snowballs, bee swarms) to impede opponents’ progress; some projectiles result in colorful explosions, and vehicles often spin out or flip into the air when hit. In one battleship-themed level, realistic explosions can be seen in the background; another racetrack contains giant spider hazards that emit splashes of green liquid when struck. One character says “damn” during gameplay.
http://www.esrb.org/ratings/synopsis.jsp?Certificate=32576&Title=Sonic%20%26amp%3B%20All-Stars%20Racing%20Transformed%u2122
Could Shadow the Hedgehog be returning to his old ways of not giving a damn about minding his mouth, or could it be someone else? As for the spiders, a House of the Dead track anyone?
Source: ESRB
SEGA Europe has today released box artwork of the Limited Edition version of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed via their press site, but the Wii U version is oddly labelled differently as a ‘Special Edition’. Retailers have been and still are showing a Limited Edition for Wii U, though SEGA has never officially announced it for the Wii U, so have they been working on exclusive content for the Wii U version behind the scenes? Hopefully we’ll find out soon. If we get any details, we’ll pass them along.
Limited Edition box artwork for all formats is available after the jump.
Continue reading S&ASR Transformed Wii U Special Edition Boxart Surfaces
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1EUJTKAaRs&feature=plcp[/youtube]
SEGA has officially unveiled Danica Patrick’s likeness in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed with the above new trailer and a few new screenshots. The publisher has also announced a partnership with toy company Mattel and Hot Wheels. Fans who buy a copy of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed at selected retailers (to be announced) will get a diecast hot wheels toy of Danica Patrick’s in-game “Danicar”.
SEGA has also announced that the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed have been bumped up to a November 18th release in the US with the Wii U version. Yesterday’s reported delay of the Nintendo 3DS and PS Vita versions to December 11th in the US has also been confirmed.
Screenshots and an image of the “Danicar” toy are available in our gallery after the jump.
Continue reading New S&ASRT Trailer & Screens Show Danica Patrick in Action
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx5VR-V6xPU&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
It looks like there is a reason why we’ve not seen the Nintendo 3DS and PS Vita versions of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed – they’re behind schedule. Gaming Age has just been sent a slightly different version of the game’s most recent trailer that lists the handheld versions at the end with a US release date of December 12th 2012. The website says this trailer is part of SEGA’s New York Comic-Con press releases, so we may see this date and maybe more information announced about the handheld releases soon, but the trailer suggests we won’t be seeing footage of them.
Source: Gaming Age
A new preview at V3tro has revealed that the flagman for Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed will be Mega Drive/Genesis ‘star’ Ristar. We guess the little guy’s waving in the previous game’s Egg Hangar track had a lasting impression and landed him the role.
You know the development team tried their best when the race starts and Ristar is cheerfully waving the flag. Each of the courses is a visual treat that will certainly make gamers smile.
Check out V3tro’s preview at the link below.
Source: V3tro
Sumo Digital’s Steve Lycett aka S0L has seemingly confirmed that Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is heading to Japan. On our very own SSMB forum, the developer stated that a Japanese release will happen, but at a later date than in the rest of the world.
Japanese version will happen, but will be later dates.
The first game wasn’t released in Japan, so this is quite a nice surprise and will hopefully bring more SEGA fans to the game’s online community.
Source: SSMB
Disney UK released a new trailer for Wreck-It-Ralph last week and Sonic seemingly had little presence in it. But now, thanks to keen-eyed TSS reader Setnaro X, we can see a Sonic the Fighters arcade cabinet amongst all of the others at the beginning of the trailer. As it’s so difficult to see without precise pausing, we’ve taken the above screen grab for your viewing pleasure.
You can check out the trailer after the jump.
Continue reading Sonic the Fighters Spotted in New Wreck-It-Ralph Trailer
Pocket Gamer has revealed that Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is coming to iPhone and iPad, however, Sumo Digital’s Gareth Williams says it won’t arrive until “after Christmas”, likely meaning a 2013 release. Pricing is still up in the air, with the developer in discussions on whether to charge a small amount or even give the game away free and let people buy the characters they want.
“Do we sell it for two or three dollars, and have a few little in-app purchases?” Williams says. “But maybe we should give it away for free and allow people to buy characters.”
For the full interview, head over to Pocket Gamer at the link below.
Source: Pocket Gamer
Some new previews and interviews have appeared online following SEGA’s Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed news updates the other day. According to EverybodyPlays, SEGA held a press event in the UK for Transformed earlier this week where attendees were treated to some boat riding on the Thames. In their preview, EverybodyPlays reveals that the flying sections will have a ‘Flight Assist’ option that guides players with a line and helps them get to grips with the controls. The game will also include 132 mods, over 100 stickers, and will be fully playable in co-op in the Grand Prix and World Tour modes.
Hit the jump for more new details.
Continue reading S&ASRT Previews Reveal New Details, Roulette Road Returns, Billy Hatcher Track Confirmed
Nintendo of America has revealed a list of content coming soon to the Nintendo 3DS eShop in the US, and among that content is a demo for Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. No release date for the demo has been given, but with no screenshots, video and barely any information released about the 3DS version, let’s hope it will be available before the game’s release.
Source: SEGA Addicts
SEGA has today teased a new entry to the Sonic Jump series of mobile games on their blog. No details were released other than it is coming soon to mobile devices, but we expect it will take full advantage of today’s smartphones. For those not in the know, Sonic Jump sees players help Sonic jump from platform to platform to climb up to a very high goal without falling to his death.
We’ll pass on more information and media when we get it.
Source: SEGA Blog
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tjeDF-_nPE&list=UUmB-U0lIC2TciZ1nevP9k5g&index=1&feature=plpp_video[/youtube]
SEGA Europe has released the above new trailer for Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed showcasing the game’s various modes and multiplayer options, including a first look at the game’s mission based ‘Challenge’ mode. Ten new screenshots have also been released which confirm Space Channel 5’s Ulala as a playable racer. Those are available to view in our gallery after the jump.
Continue reading S&ASR Transformed: New Trailer & Screenshots, Ulala Confirmed
It looks like Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed won’t just be getting a Facebook site after all, because SEGA has today opened a proper website for the game, though it’s not much different to the Facebook site. One major difference, however, is the multiple backgrounds where in the ‘Screenshots’ section we can see what looks like a Sky Sanctuary Zone hub. Will the game feature a Sky Sanctuary Zone track? A Death Egg Zone hub can be seen in the sky next to it, and we’ve known for a long time that its track from the first game is returning.
We’ll keep you updated with any developments. For now, speculate away in the comments section.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQwXwsToHTg&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
In a blog update today SEGA of America has released six new screenshots for the new HD port of Sonic Adventure 2 showcasing some of Sonic and Shadow’s stages like Crazy Gadget and Sky Rail, as well as some of the game’s cutscenes in 720p high definition. You can view them all in our gallery after the jump. A launch trailer is also available for your viewing above.
Continue reading SEGA Releases More Sonic Adventure 2 HD Screenshots, PC Version in “Coming Months”
We got a look at the main twelve Achievements for the Xbox 360 version of Sonic Adventure 2 a few weeks back, and now the PS3 version’s Trophy list has been revealed, including the three extra Trophies the Battle DLC provides. You can check out both lists with coloured icons after the jump.
Continue reading Sonic Adventure 2 HD PS3 Trophy List Revealed, Including Battle DLC
Xbox Live Avatar Award items have been revealed online for the upcoming HD port of Sonic Adventure 2 on Xbox Live Arcade …and they aren’t much different to the ones released with the first Sonic Adventure. Even the tasks to unlock them are the same. The items include a Sonic Adventure 2 shirt and Sonic’s shoes that he wears in the game. You can check out pictures of the items after the jump.
Continue reading Sonic Adventure 2 Xbox Live Avatar Awards Revealed
UPDATE: The game is up on the PS Store and actually costs £14.99.
SCEE has revealed a list of the first budget PS3 Essentials titles that will be released for download from the EU PS Store later today, and Sonic Generations is one of them. Sonic’s 20th Anniversary game will be available at the cheap price of £15.99.00/€19.99/AU$24.95. Sonic Unleashed and SEGA Mega Drive Ultimate Collection have also been announced for the PS3 Essentials range, but it appears they will be coming at a later date. Gamers who prefer physical media will also be able to pick up PS3 Essentials games in stores.
Source: EU PS Blog
Sonic Adventure 2 has returned to Xbox.com after a long time away following its initial leak on the website back in June. Ten screenshots were posted back then with one of them of Sonic and Shadow racing showing a PlayStation circle button, but this time that screenshot has humorously been replaced with one of both characters jumping so as to not show the brakes option. The Chao Karate screenshot has also been replaced with one of Sonic in the Chao Kindergarten. You can view both new screenshots in our gallery below.
Source: Xbox.com
SEGA has this evening opened a Facebook tab for all things Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed on their official Sonic the Hedgehog Facebook page. It appears this will be in place of an official website for the game, as Sumo Digital confirmed a while back on the SSMB that their won’t be an official site this time. The Facebook tab has all of the features of a game website such as trailers, screenshots, features etc, but right now there isn’t anything new. We’ll keep our eyes open for any updates in the run up to launch, though.
Something we did notice is a SEGA rep answering fans questioning why Sonic is in vehicles and thought we would share it with you.
Now can we put an end to this question at long last, please? Pretty please?
Source: Official Sonic Facebook page
How many of you are familiar with these characters?
Go on be honest, if the names were not there you could probably name maybe 2 at the most? Ok I know some of you can name them all so please don’t flood the comments with ‘I know who they are!’ Because you would be wrong.
For years, those characters have had those names, whilst they’ve been adapted into other medias, you might be thinking ‘hey that Ricky looks like Sally Acorn’ or ‘That Pig and Rabbit look like those guys from Fleetways Sonic the Comic.’ you’d be right, they’ve been adapted and had their names changed. But the originals are still as far as we can tell, going by those names. Pecky, Ricky, Pocky, Flicky etc.
Until yesterday… When most of them ended up with a name change.
Continue reading “Oh Na Na, Pocky Was The Name!” Sonic Characters Given New Names
Together with the announcement of the new super slim PS3 model, Sony has announced the first wave of PS3 Essentials titles joining the new PS3’s launch in Europe next week on September 28th. PS3 Essentials is a budget range of some of the best games released on PS3 over the years and Sonic fans will be pleased to see Sonic Unleashed and SEGA Mega Drive Ultimate Collection (which includes Sonic’s Mega Drive outings) among the first games to be re-released. These and all other PS3 Essentials games will be available at retail for €19.99 (just over £16 in the UK) making them perfect stocking fillers this Christmas.
Source: EU PS Blog
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6hxzAtVzk0&feature=BFa&list=PL07222D46E8980AA3[/youtube]
Live in Australia and want to get some early hands-on time with Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed? Then get yourself over to Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park for the EB Games Expo 2012. SEGA will also have a playable demo of Aliens Colonial marines there, and many other publishers will also be showcasing playable demos of their upcoming games for you to try out before release. For a full list of games announced thus far, head over to the EB Games Expo 2012 website where you can also purchase tickets for the event. The EB Games Expo 2012 will run from Friday October 5th to Sunday October 7th.
Source: EB Games Expo 2012 website
SEGA’s Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed product page has updated with an ESRB rating of E10+ listing Animated Blood, Mild Language and Mild Cartoon Violence. Could the House of the Dead franchise be making a return appearance in Transformed with blood intact? If we take a look at the rating for the first game, it appears the mild language doesn’t derive from lyrics this time around. Could Shadow be returning to his d**n potty mouth ways? We expect a full rating will appear on the ESRB’s website soon. Maybe they will accidentally reveal a character again like they did with Ulala last time.
Source: Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed’s SEGA of America product page (Those outside of the US will need to change the flag at the top right on SEGA’s website to view the page)
Sega have announced a new Sonic digital trading card game in partnership with Stampii. Players will be able to collect/trade/buy digital cards to complete a collection of 90 unique cards in the Sonic the Hedgehog series.
Each card comes with artwork of the character/game and the ‘back’ contains a small blurb about the character or information about the game in question. The selection is quite vast, obscure characters like Pocky and Rocky have even been given a card.
Continue reading Sonic the Hedgehog Digital Trading Cards Launched
ASRT Executive producer Steve Lycett and track designer Gareth Wilson sat down with SegaBits for a bit of a chat last week and revealed a few small details about the game. Covering a variety of topics a few pieces of new information was uncovered. Check out the details after the break.
Continue reading Steve Lycett & Gareth Wilson Reveal New ASRT Details
It’s that time of year again Blue Believers, when our wallets tremble as the stores start getting filled with all manner of new toys and products that have been teased to us all year long. So here at TSS, we’ve decided to try and review as many Sonic related products as we can to make your wallets life a bit easier, or harder if everything ends up being awesome! To start with, we’re going to look at a product which has been out for over a month, but had quite the reaction when it was announced. The Sonic X Hello Kitty plush!
Games Radar have uploaded a short video showing gameplay footage of ASRT on the Wii-U, however unlike your typical gameplay video, this one includes a picture in picture of the controller, giving you an idea as to what appears on the screen as well as how one controls the game.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwrHlPNPdPg
In terms of the game itself, the only criticisms I can spot are from the frame rate of the early build. The main problems seem to be with the controller itself. The screen is ‘distracting’ and that it’s ‘hard to press the boost’ assuming this means the ‘weapons fire’ button, since boost triggers automatically following a drift? That said there are a number of positives from the video like a ‘good sense of speed’ and the player does seem to be enjoying himself despite it being an early build.
Nothing much else new is shown in the video other than maybe some weapons, though we do get our first clear glimpse of the ‘Seaside Hill Monster,’ I don’t know if he/she has an official name yet. My theory? Eggman finally got Nessie.
So? What do you think? The comment box awaits!
Thanks to FourCartridge for the heads up.
Greetings Blue Believers, Sega have just announced that the PSN & XBLA versions of Sonic Adventure and the directors cut DLC will be permanently reduced by 50%!
See the details after the break.
Continue reading Sonic Adventure & DLC Now Half Price… FOREVER!
Are you looking to up your gamerscore when Sonic Adventure 2 hits Xbox Live Arcade on Xbox 360 next month? Well, the list of Achievements has just been revealed, and we have it available for you after the jump so you can prepare yourself. There are a total of 12 Achievements to earn with a maximum gamerscore of 400.
Continue reading Sonic Adventure 2 Xbox 360 Achievements Revealed
Some of you may remember an old book published by ‘Ladybird’ called ‘Where’s Sonic?’ The book was pretty much a ‘Where’s Wally/Waldo’ clone, only it had Sonic characters instead of the mischievous man in the red and white jumper. In the 90’s and to this day these books were incredibly popular with kids and adults. If you were a kid sitting in the back of a car on a long journey, these books were a blast! So a Sonic themed one was a dream come true for lots of fans growing up in the 90’s.
Continue reading Where’s Sonic? Why, He’s in This New Book Of Course!
“YES! I’m making my way back to the top, baby!”
It’s that time of year when the annual Golden Joystick awards roll around once more, allowing gamers across the globe to vote for their favourite games from the past year in a number of different categories. This year’s awards will be of particular interest to Sonic fans though, as the blue blur’s 20th anniversary title – Sonic Generations – has been nominated not once, but twice!
That’s right, not only is Generations a nominee in the Best Action Game category, but the City Escape level (be it classic or modern!) is also up for a gong as Top Gaming Moment.
If you were one of the many who thoroughly enjoyed Sonic’s time-travelling adventure, then you can place your votes for the game via the following links:
Vote for Sonic Generations as Best Action Game
Vote for Sonic Generations as Top Gaming Moment
Best of luck to Sonic in his bid for these Golden Joysticks!
While Sonic has made several TV appearances in several different cartoon incarnations ranging from good to terrible (we’ll let you decide which is which), none have been quite as intruiging as what is set to hit Japanese TV later this year.
Aoi Sekai no Chushin de (translated as “In the Centre of the Blue World”) is a manga retelling of the story of the console wars with a fantasy twist created by Anastasia Shestakova and illustrated by Crimson. While the green-light was given for the anime back in March, this information has gone mostly unnoticed on Western shores.
Anime News Network recently posted news on the upcoming broadcast:
The story re-imagines the real-life console wars as a fantasy tale — the Segua Kingdom is locked in an age-old war with the Ninterudo Empire for dominance of the land of Consume. Segua now finds itself on the defensive, but an unlikely hero has risen in the form of Gear, a boy who brags about his breakneck speed. Gear helps turn the tide of the war.
At present it looks fairly unlikely that Aoi Sekai no Chushin ne will be officially affiliated with any of the companies the story is based around, however it will probably garner the attention of both SEGA and Nintendo fans worldwide.
See how many references you can spot to SEGA and other videogame IPs in the character designs below!
Thumbs up to Soniman on the SSMB for spotting this!
What you see above is a newly released trailer for the Sega Heritage collection and with it comes some new information which some of you might find interesting. That being, each game comes with some ‘bonus developer interviews.’
At 0:40 the trailer cuts to Mr Iizuka along with the tag line ‘bonus developer interviews.’ along with what appears to be concept artwork for Jet Set Radio. No specifics have been made yet as to how long each interview will be or if there are any other surprises to be found in the re-release of SA 2.
A release date of October 2012 was also included, but no specific date provided.
Source: Sega-portal.de (Via Jango On the SSMB)
Pax Prime, it’s one of the largest public video game events of the year, most studios have a booth there and theres usually some big announcements. So it’s a little strange how things have been a tad quiet when it comes to news regarding anything Sega related eh?
That said however, reports from several sources at Pax have slowly started to come in, specifically regarding Sonic Adventure 2 and a number of interesting tid bits of information have come to light. Hit that read more button to find out what.
