Happy New Year, Happy New Crossfire. I finally have something to talk about that is not a repeat of 100 threads on the first page of the Sonic the Hedgehog forum on the SSMB. Let’s get on with it.
GiantBomb.com, a site founded by former GameSpot employees, were handing out “Game of the Year” awards this past week, as so many gaming websites do. To differentiate themselves from the thousands of wanks telling people what their favorite games were, Giant Bomb added some entertaining joke awards and dubious honors. One such dubious honor was the “Take A Break” award, where a particular franchise should lay low for a while for it being over-saturated, of poor quality, or all of the above. Well, Sonic is once again the butt of everybody’s joke:
2008 continued the trend of Sega producing bad Sonic the Hedgehog games. It’s a trend that’s been ongoing since, well, depending on your perspective, you could claim it went all the way back to the Genesis. Personally, we pin Sonic’s continuing failure to please on polygons, and the gameplay’s failure to stay true to the series’ high-speed roots. There’s only one problem: Sonic Unleashed has moments that attempt to stick to what Sonic does best–running too fast for you to do anything other than watch–and it’s totally boring.
Aside from a few handheld outings, the franchise has been a mess since Sonic & Knuckles. Perhaps instead of continuing to bash their head against the hedgehog year in and year out, the folks at Sega should take a few huge steps back, take a break, and figure out a new direction. Because it’s become pretty obvious that what they’re doing now isn’t working.
With that said, would a break actually help the franchise or does it really matter how much time there is between games? Can a break put an end to THE ALL-KNOWING CYCLE?! Bring on my personal viewpoints already… Continue reading The Crossfire: Take A Break, Sonic
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Nintendo fan site Nintendo Everything have managed to nab some new screens and artwork of upcoming Nintendo Wii game Sonic and the Black Knight. The images look a little grainy as if they’ve been scanned from a magazine but no magazine is mentioned in the sites post. Most of the screens we’ve already seen but a couple are new and there’s also some artwork of the big bad wolf Black Knight riding horse-back, we’re yet to find out the horse’s name though but for now I’ll call him Dreadagus since he’s dark and he looks as bad ass as Dreadknux Pegasus came to mind.
Another screenshot of Sonic outside of a dark town with a fiery sky looks like possible artwork but Sonic’s model looks like the in-game model so I’ll let you be the judge on wether that is art or in-game screenshot.
You can check out all of the images here
UPDATE: I have been informed that these images are from the latest issue of Nintendo Power, thanks to SSMB Member: Hero of legend
Discuss over at the SSMB topic.
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UK retailer Gamestation have slashed the price of SEGA and Bioware Nintendo DS RPG game Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood in half to £14.67 with the VAT reduction knocked off. This is likely to be be part of their Christmas Advent sale they’ve been running this month where a new game gets reduced to half price every day up until Christmas.
I don’t know when the offer ends but it’s likely to be Christmas Eve. If you were holding back on picking this game up because of the price (ya cheapniks) then now is a good time to go get it. The half-price deal is in-store and online.
Gamestation.co.uk
You can find out more about Sonic Chronicles at the game’s official interactivewebsite.
Discuss over at the SSMB topic.
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Are you from the UK? Do you remember an old gaming TV show on CITV called Bad Influence? No? Then you were either too young to remember or living under a huge rock. Bad Influence was the coolest TV show of the 90’s, you just couldn’t wait to get home from school and watch it. No-one had the internet to keep up with the latest videogame news, previews, reviews and gameplay video’s – sure, we had our magazines but to see games in action we needed our TV shows.
The show was presented by Andy Crane and Violet Berlin and contained news, previews, reviews(from actual gamers), reports on the latest technology, U.S. coverage, reports from the latest gaming events, cheats from Nam Rood and competitions. It was awesome!
Anyway, what has all this got to do with Sonic you ask? Well, the show covered the early console days back when Sega and Nintendo were rivals. Sonic features a number of times on the show and thanks to amazing James Osborne who has managed to get permission from Patrick Titley at Yorkshire Television(who own the show) the public now have access to a new website and a YouTube channel for the show and it’s episodes.
Sonic 2 proved to be very popular on the show, in Episode 4 their panel gave the game 2 5/5’s in their review. In the same episode Violet show’s a copy of the first Sonic character design sketches handed to her by creator Mr.Kanari. It’s the same sketches we’ve seen around the net for ages now but still cool to see an official copy.
Andy Crane got to visit the Future Entertainment Show where SEGA were in attendance allowing the public to get their hands on both the 16 Bit and 8 Bit versions of Sonic 2 for the first time ever in Episode 3 – Part 1(8:40, Future show begins) Part 2(0:04 Sonic 2 segment begins). You can also see a couple of the first official SEGA Sonic and Tails costumes, Tails suit has bushy eye brows for some reason.
In Episode 8 Violet visit’s SEGA Japan HQ to look at SEGA’s arcade machines and meet’s the head of the Sonic 2 project team who’s name couldn’t be revealed due to security reasons(anyone who recognises him, let me know by PM over at the SSMB). Violet is shown alot of Sonic 2’s design sketches for the Zone’s, 2 of which are shown up close in the episode. A cool Sonic statue/model can also be seen on the desk(Do want very muchly). The SEGA visit starts at 6:14 and the Sonic 2 bit starts at 6:42 just after the funny sleepy SEGA employee at 6:40.
Sonic Spinball got reviewed in Series 2: Episode 9 and given 2 5/5’s.
Sonic & Knuckles got reviewed too and given 2 4/5’s.
So, have any of you seen/remenber this show? Do any of you guys new to the show like it? What are your thoughts on Sonic 2 zone design sketches?
Let us know in the SSMB topic.
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For those hardcore Sonic merchandise collectors out there who want a copy of Sonic Unleashed under the name Sonic World Adventure, SEGA have announced a release date for the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions that were delayed from their 18th December date a while back. The new date is 19th February 2009. The Wii version however is still going to be released to the original plan of 18th December 2008. 19th Feb is a long way away to say their still getting the game we’ve got in quality standards as SEGA said in a press release given when these versions first got pushed back.
The Japanese text announcement translates(in Google translator at least) to –
PLAYSTATION3 version / Xbox360 version, Release Date Announcement
2008 Release Date November 7 to tell us postponed, and was released in the spring of 2009, PLAYSTATION3 version of Sonic Adventure World and is the Xbox360 version of the “February 19, 2009” make the decision to release MASHITA.
We apologize for the inconvenience, but we will notify here.
Before the Release Date: Spring 2009
After the change of the Release Date: February 19, 2009
※ Wii version of the 2008 will be released on December 18
Link
Discuss over at the SSMB topic.
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Ever wonder why your Sonic games have shooting, emerald hunting, brawling, more shooting, telekinesis, lengthy cutscenes, hub worlds with annoying inhabitants, and various other things that are not running? Well, during IGN’s “Red Light Podcast,” David Clayman talks about a discussion he had with one of the members of the Sonic Unleashed team at the Tokyo Game Show. 19 minutes and 40 seconds into the show, David said:
I asked one of the developers at TGS, you know I was like, come on everybody just wants Sonic running, like whats up with the werehog? And he was like, well, heres the deal… he [Sonic] runs at this miles per hour, kilometers per hour, and he laid out all of the statistics on how fast this hedgehog goes, and he was like In order to make a game where Sonic is running and everybody enjoys the whole thing we’d have to design this many miles of level, and it was some ungodly number. And he’s like and that would be like maybe a three hour game and I was like wow, well that kinda stinks and he’s like yeah, so we gotta do this other stuff.
Total bullshit, right? Continue reading SEGA explains why Sonic games do non-Sonic stuff
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Sonic couldn’t believe his game has sold out
Yes, you read the title right. Sonic Unleashed is selling out of stock before the game has even hit launch day. After taking pre-orders for just a couple of months, UK retailer Woolworths ran out of pre-order stock for all versions of the upcoming game that sees our beloved Hedgehog travel the globe. It has been ages since a Sonic title has sold out after launch, never mind before release (not counting Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games), and with Christmas coming up sales can only increase. With good impressions from previewers, fans happy with what they’ve seen so far and now this, Sega might just have a winner on their hands.
Link
Discuss over at the SSMB topic.
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Guess who has been busy? Me! Sorry for you Crossfire fans who have had to wait an entire month, but them’s the brakes. With college kicked into full gear, in addition to more Sonic Nexus development after the surge of popularity, I never usually get time to myself. Working on the project, with it being a classic Sonic title and given the positive response that it has received everywhere, got me thinking about something…
In the past week, I have played the absolute hell out of Mega Man 9, Capcom’s return to the original Mega Man series and 8-bit gameplay and presentation. I am enjoying every minute of it, because I am not just riding a wave of nostalgia, but I am also impressed with the refined gameplay. The fact that a game straight out of 1988 can be successful in 2008 is downright admirable and eye-opening. It makes me wonder, as a Sonic fan, if a retro reboot is in order for another blue hero: Sonic. Would a 16-bit foray treading new ground be a commerical success or another step towards irrelevancy? Today, we take a look at whether or not SEGA has the potential to make some magic, akin to Capcom and Nintendo, and if looking backward has the potential to push forward.
Continue reading The Crossfire: Retro Rebooting
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Register Hardware is reporting that Sega are planning releasing a new portable media device next year under the name Sega Vision. Register Hardware do seem to have some proof to back up their report though with a promotional image and what seems to be an official trailer. The device is shown to be no bigger than a credit card, and has a list of features:
Portable TV tuner, MP4 movie player, MP3 music player, Digital camera, Video camera, Games (Trailer says they’re in Java form), eBooks and document reader, Voice Recorder. Continue reading Sega to release portable media device named Sega Vision?
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Samba De Amigo Wii has been released in Europe today and many retailers are already taking advantage of the game by releasing their own over-priced dull looking maracca shells. Anyone who’s been watching this game the past few months will remember an image that appeared on the internet of an official bundle of the game with a pair of official maracca shells. Sega have now confirmed to French gaming site Gamekyo that an official bundle of the game with maracca shells is indeed on the way and should be released in about one months time. Sega have even shown the maracca shells to Gamekyo staff.
You can check out pictures of the maraccas and bundle here.
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Sega have put out some Sonic Chronicles pop-up and banner advertisements on gaming website Gamepro. Contained in the ads are some new screenshots including a shot from an unknown area that Shade is standing in on the official Sonic Chronicles website. SSMB member Core has kindly taken the screenshots from the ad for everyone to see. Here they are for your viewing please, thanks Core –
You can find the ads over at Gamepro’s DS site.
Discuss over at the SSMB topic.
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Spanish gaming site Revogamer have had the opportunity to talk to Sega about the Wii version of Sonic Unleashed and here is a translation of their main findings from GoNintendo –
- Half of the game normal, the other half were-hog
- Wii-PS360 more similar than first thought, design and gameplay-wise
- You use Wiimote + Nunchuck
- Won’t have motion controls for attacking from the air, despite of being pretty similar to The Secret Rings
- Some problems controlling Sonic at a low speed. Walking for rings, etc
- Wiimote just for accelerate-push
- No motion controls for side-step, you’ll use B and Z, like on 360
- Don’t know if they’re using for balancing ropes or QTEs, but they should!
- According to SEGA, the game (Wii version) should be shown in the upcoming TGS, in October.
- Not showing the Black Night because of focusing on this one first.
So barely any waggle in Sonic’s sections at least, wether that’s a good or bad thing I’ll let you be the judge. Now hopefully with the Wii version confirmed to be at TGS next month we’ll see some footage at long last.
Link
Source: GoNintendo
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Gamespot got to preview Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood in their latest edition of their weekly show ‘On The Spot’. The game looked and sounded pretty good as the Sega rep showed how puzzle solving around Central City was conducted. There was even some new Rouge artwork in there. The biggest shocker of the preview was at the end when the Sega rep make a big announcement and then balls’d it up.
The Sega rep announced that Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood will be available before release at the Nintendo World Store where you will also be able to collect an exclusive Chao unavailable anywhere else. Signed copies will also be available at the event. Now, when will this little event be happening? The Sega rep said August 28th. Now, correct me if I’m wrong but wasn’t that yesterday? I guess it was still the 28th(7:45pm) in the U.S. at the time of announcement but it was a bit late at night. So, anyone from the U.S. who picked up the game, please let us know how you feel about it won’t you?
Back to reality, I assume the Sega rep meant September 28th as the U.S. release date is listed on many a retailer and gaming site as September 30th. I’m surprised he and the show presenters didn’t notice the Sega rep’s mistake. Sega, you do make us laugh sometimes.
You can watch the show here.
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Sega have today announced their games line-up for the Leipzig Games Convention which includes many familiar titles but Sega have announced a new title is planned for its world premiere at the event. Jinkeys! Sonic titles to appear at the Games Convention are Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood and Sonic Unleashed.
Titles set to appear are – Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, Sonic Unleashed, Space Siege, Empire: Total War, Alpha Protocol, Madworld, Bayonetta, Golden Axe, Valkyria Chronicles, Stormrise, Samba De Amigo and several other titles.
We’ll keep you up to date on all info released from the event next week!
Link – Videogamer.com
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Sega have announced their games that will be shown at PAX(Penny Arcade Expo) 2008 and among them is Sonic Chronicles.
Bleach Dark Souls (DS)
Dinosaur King (DS)
Sonic Chronicles (DS)
Valkyria Chronicles (PS3)
Yakuza 2 (PS2)
Link
The event will run from Aug 29th – 31st. Hopefully with the game being shown so close to release (Sept 26th in Europe), we will see the final version in action. We’ll be keeping an eye on the event and let you know what comes out of it regarding this awesome game.
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Hey, broskis, we’re taking a break from the aesthetics of Sonic game design and talking about an equally important part of the game industry, public relations. Today, we’re following up on the GameDaily interview with SEGA VP of Marketing, Sean Raticliffe, which was covered so brilliantly by me last week. I felt that the fanbase could be split on the remarks by Mr. Ratcliffe, in that they could be the soothing words that calm the fan backlash of the newer Sonic titles or that they are partaking in the same PR bullshit that SEGA has been spewing for years now. Where do you stand?
Sean Ratcliffe: Full of Sanguity or Shit?
POINT: SEGA has fully acknowledged its mistakes and the future Sonic games will be of better quality.
We have rarely seen somebody from SEGA step forward and field a question like the one that GameDaily asked (“Aren’t you concerned about the brand though when game after game is mediocre at best?”). Ratcliffe admits that the criticism is indeed warranted, thus proving that the Sonic community’s constant complaining was good for something, in a sense. We can continue to/finally be optimistic about the future of the franchise. Continue reading The Crossfire: Ratcliffe Reactions
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SEGA’s Vice President of Marketing, Sean Ratcliffe, sat down with Game Daily for an in-depth interview and discussed the lack of quality control in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.
It is about time. Ratcliffe said:
“Some of that criticism is probably warranted. We definitely recognize that a franchise that has been going as long as Sonic, you really have to put a huge amount of effort in to make sure that you maintain that quality, and arguably a disproportionate amount of effort. However, I would say we recognize it, which is why you’re seeing us this year taking the first steps in making sure the quality is right, and we’re constantly looking at innovation. We can’t just stand still with Sonic; we’ve got to be looking at different ways to develop the character, different genres, and so on.”
He added:
“So your point [about quality] is a fair one, and it’s a challenge to Sega to make sure we’re pushing and making sure the quality is there with Sonic. Do we get concerned about it? Yes, of course we’re always concerned about how we’re developing that franchise. And a lot of time and effort is spent discussing how we develop Sonic.”
Continue reading SEGA Admits to Making Poor Sonic Games
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Nintendo mastermind Shigeru Miyamoto has gone on record to tell Wired News that the motivating factor behind the quality control in their games is to avoid the styles of other developers. Namely SEGA’s. Quoth:
I’m always instructing my game designers on the history of the characters and worlds we’ve created. Often we’re in development and I’ll say, ‘Oh, this looks like a Sega game. We need to make it look more like Mario.’
It’s a double edged sword really, I guess he has a point. On the one hand, SEGA have been doing nothing but running their old franchises into the ground lately. On another, it’s good that Nintendo distance their style so much so that no-one else’s name is tied in with Nintendogs or Wii Fit or whatever waggle fad is cool these days. And on a third hand I just created out of plasticine and sticky tape, Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games felt MUCH more like a Nintendo game than a SEGA one, and that ended up stealing Nintendo’s own lunch money.
Of course, there’s a 100.1% chance he’s using SEGA as a mere example of avoiding another company’s style and not running the boys in blue into the ground, but of course we’ll wait for the million and one fanboys to start cursing Ninty’s name in the street bearing torches. Give it ten minutes.
15th Anniversary: Revenge of the Wii (Wired, via Kotaku)
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Making regular appearances at the top of many “top downloaded” and “top rated” charts for mobile games, the mobile edition of the original “Sonic the Hedgehog” just recently became more distinguished for selling over 8 million downloads in the United States and the United Kingdom. Linda Chaplin, vice president of SEGA Mobile accredits the game’s success to Sonic’s appeal to the masses by stating, “Sonic the Hedgehog is a title that resonates with a universal audience of gamers who have grown up with the franchise, as well as with a growing audience of casual players.”
Verizon Wireless, the initial provider of the title, is probably the most pleased with the landmark sale, as the game has helped Verizon’s “VCAST” service become increasingly popular, says Todd Murphy, director of Mobile Web, games and applications for Verizon.
The success of, yet another, port of Sonic’s original adventure has sparked SEGA Mobile to port Sonic the Hedgehog 2 & Sonic Spinball to mobile devices. In addition, the company is working on a new iteration of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for phones.
In made-up news that will eventually happen, SEGA has tentatively announced porting each Sonic Genesis title to the iPhone, Playstation 4’s online store, and the brace keeping my left knee from caving again. Also, potatoes.
Sonic the Hedgehog Mobile Site
Source
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Sega have released a brand spanking new UK website. The website has a glossy white look to it and changes backgrounds to suit the game your currently looking at. The site is also alot simpler and easy to use than the old European site. Best of all the website loads quicker.
Sonic City, the European official Sonic site which has been completely down for a while has now updated with a maintennance message so that may be up again soon. The Sega Blogs, including the Sonic Blognik, are also down at the moment. Could this be something Sega are going to officially unveil at their gamer day?
You can check out the new Sega UK website at www.sega.co.uk
UPDATE: Sega have also released a new version of the U.S. site aswell as other regions sites too that look’s the same as the new UK one. Thanks to Dr. SEGA Monkey at the SSMB for the tip.
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Nintendo have announced that starting February ‘Master System’ games will be available to download from the Japanese Virtual Console.
Just like the NES, Master System games will cost 500 points a download each and will shine in all their 8-bit glory. The first two games available to download will be ‘First of the North Star’ and the iconic ‘Fantasy Zone.’
But that’s not all, Game Gear games and SEGA Mark III titles will also be appearing on the service for your downloading pleasure. Also take note that the Gear Gear games are the first handheld based titles available to download from the VC!
Popular Sonic titles such as Sonic Chaos, Sonic Triple Trouble and <b>Sonic Labyrinth</b> could also be making an appearance in the near future.
Keep checking back at TSS for all the latest Sonic and SEGA news as it happens!
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SEGA announced earlier today that there were to be releasing a series of new Theme Park Arcades in Emaar shopping malls across the Middle East.
The first Arcade is set for opening in the Dubai Mall, featuring such attractions as roller-coasters, simulators and arcade machines.
SEGAs CEO Hajime Satomi said, “Entertainment is about living dreams, it is about experiencing joy and culture. In joining with a company of Emaar’s stature and power, we hope to convey the pleasure and excitement inspired by great entertainment to people all over the world.”
The Theme Park Arcade is set for release later this year, and there has currently been no mention of a UK or US consideration.
Stay tuned to Sonic News for more info!
And thanks to Pur-Rulz for finding the info on her Wii news channel!
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Sega have today announced they are making a real official Olympics game called Beijing 2008, real meaning non-cartoony like Mario and Sonic. The game is being made for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC. The development team working on the game is Eurocom Entertainment Software. The title is planned for release in the Summer when Olympics hype will be at its best. Nothing else is known about the game at present.
Stay tuned to Sonic News for further developments!
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Popular German gaming site ‘Gamefront’ reported earlier today that SEGA are planning to release a downloadable demo of the highly anticipated PS3 exclusive Yakuza game sometime this January.
The game is set for release in Japan on March 6th of this year and the demo has not yet been confirmed it’ll be showing its face on the US or EU Playstation Network.
Those unfamiliar with the series can check out the Japanese website for the upcoming game here or brush up on your knowledge of the previous titles at Wikipedia.
Yakuza has become a big franchise for SEGA, with promise that this third title in the series will not disappoint.
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Sega have revealed their European Winter release schedule. Among the list are popular upcoming titles such as NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, Sonic Rivals 2 and Phantasy Star Universe: Ambition of the Illuminus.
Here is the full list –
December – The Golden Compass (PC, PSP)
December 7 – Sonic Rivals 2 (PSP)
January 11 – Phantasy Star Universe: Ambition of the Illuminus (PS2, PC)
January 25 – Ghost Squad (Wii)
January 25 – NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams (Wii) Continue reading Sega’s Winter releases in Europe dated
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SEGA stated to the press today that at this years Game Connection events they’re looking for something ‘New and Original.’
Games Industry.biz reported that the company will be attending among other big names in the gaming world to discuss new business strategies and search for new game ideas that hope to drive their role in the gaming industry.
I have never heard of this event before and personally I think that it is a very good idea. Speaking from a trainee Games Designers point of view, this opens a huge opportunity for creative individuals who have the experience along with wanting to get noticed to pitch their ideas and goals to big companies like SEGA.
If you’re part of an Indie games company and wish to be noticed by someone like SEGA, Games Connection sounds like the best damn opportunity you’re going to get!
[Edit – Corrected spelling =) ]
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First off, we’d like to apologize for both our downtime, and being so late to deliver the most widespread of news. Rest assured, though, we’re bucking up, and promise to deliver the latest Sonic News from now on, yadda yadda, you get the deal. Anywho, on with the show…
If you’ve snooped around the internets lately (or Sega’s website, to be more specific), you’d notice this little gem. What’s this? Sonic and Mario? In a game together? This isn’t a photoshop, right?
And indeed, it isn’t!
Continue reading Sonic and Mario Finally in Cahoots!
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With the advent of DoCoMo i-mode phones in Japan offering a huge catalogue of SEGA developed mobile titles, and the increasing popularity of the SEGA Mobile division in the US, you’d be forgiven for wondering what’s happened to the mobile situation in Europe. An irony, given that the UK is one of the most mobile crazy countries, coming second only next to Japan itself.
Fret no longer for your mobile gaming delights, as no sooner do we finally get the joys of Pacman on our Nokias and Siemens, than SEGA Europe announces an “assault on the mobile gaming market” on their website. Eight SEGA titles are to be launched for a range of mobile phones, provided by partners iFone. You can expect the original Sonic the Hedgehog to finally grace EU mobiles, with Super Monkey Ball Mini-Golf also announced alongside Virtua Tennis and SEGA Rally. Continue reading Sonic goes Mobile in Europe
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Sega of Japan conducted an interview with Masato Nakamura of the Japanese band: ‘Dreams Come True’. Dreams Come True has been a popular band in Japan for some time now, their second album: ‘The Swinging Star’ (released November 14, 1992) was the first to sell over 3 million copies in Japan.
But even before Dreams Come True’s success one company realised the bands potential, and that company was Sega. Sega employed Masato Nakamura to compose the music for ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ and then again for ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’. In return SEGA offered sponsorship to Dreams Come True, and Sega began promoting Sonic through them.
Sega of America have translated that interview, and it gives an interesting insight to the development of the games soundtrack. It’s interesting to note that while Masato was composing music for both Sonic 1 and Sonic 2, he was also recording the Dreams Come True albums: ‘Million Kisses’ and ‘The swinging Star’, which would explain why certain songs from each album were inspired by themes from the game. For instance the song ‘Sweet Sweet Sweet’ from the album ‘The Swinging Star’ is a lyrical interpretation of the ending theme from Sonic 2.
The interview is as follows: Continue reading Sega interviews Masato Nakamura
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A Japanese video game magazine has provided an article, including pictures, which confirms the existance of Super Monkey Ball for the Nintendo DS.
Super Monkey Ball is a very popular video game series by SEGA that has had a number of console and handheld releases over the years. Many gamers have enjoyed the simple, yet challenging and addictive gameplay and the host of mini-games.
The article comes from a currently unamed video game magazine written entirely in Japanese. Most probably, it comes from Famitsu, one of the most famous and popular magazines in Japan. Continue reading Super Monkey Ball DS: Confirmed
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Sega Japan and Wavemaster are teaming up to come out with a special Sega Saturn 10th Anniversary DVD and CD compilation, both can be bought seperately.
The Visual Collection Vol. 1 is a DVD that features opening and endings to 16 games, including Sonic Team’s NiGHTS Into Dreams.
Continue reading Sega Saturn History CD & DVD
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Got a press release from SEGA today – TakeTwo Interactive has effectively bought out Visual Concepts and Kush Games. For those that don’t really care or know (that’s everyone outside of America, then), they are the SEGA divisions that brought us the Sports 2K Series. The acquisition will see SEGA no longer owning the developer’s rights to these games. TakeTwo and SEGA are also apparently going to work together to bring Visual Concepts games to arcades – be it Sports 2K or something else we dunno. Finally, the agreement will apparently include SEGA publishing and distributing the 2K series in Japan and Asia. I’ll post the whole press kaboodle on the SSMB later. Continue reading li3k, an UpDat!
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It was all going so well. After releasing a couple of box sets in the US, DIC Entertainment has apparently told the SatAM fanbase that it is unable to release any more DVDs due to a refusal by SEGA to continue working with the license.
Continue reading Report: SEGA Blocking DIC From Releasing More SatAM DVDs
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No sooner has the ink dried on the deal between SEGA and Sammy to merge companies, has the House of Sonic had to issue a denial on several fronts of rumours that both Electronic Arts and Microsoft are planning a takeover.
Continue reading SEGA Denies Rumours of Buyout From EA and Microsoft
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Things have just been a rollercoaster for SEGA lately, haven’t they? After rumours of buyouts, following a split from its parent company, it’s being reported that it will fully merge with Japanese pachinko company Sammy from October 1.
Continue reading SEGA And Pachinko Maker Sammy Announce Merger
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As we recently reported, there has been a shake-up at SEGA America. Following this, SEGA’s CEO Tetsu Kayama has announced a new “five tier” strategy for its game releases. In this plan, the Sonic the Hedgehog could see more spin-offs to help support the main franchise.
Continue reading SEGA Plans More Sonic Side-Stories and Spin-Offs
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