We all know Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 is a joint venture between Sonic Team and Dimps but what about Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2? We’ve barely seen much of Episode 1 but the staff over at Xbox360Achievements.org are already looking into Episode 2 according to a new listing at their site in which they have the below info.
Episode 2 listing –
Developed By:
Dimps
Published By:
SEGA
Genre:
Platformer
Release Date:
US:
Europe:
Japan:
ESRB: E for Everyone
Episode 1 listing –
Developed By:
Sonic Team/Dimps
Published By:
SEGA
Genre:
Platformer
Release Date:
US:
Europe:
Japan:
So as you can see there is a difference in developers, if the site has got this right then Episode 2 will be a Dimps solo project and the game looks to have already been given its ESRB rating too which to no surprise is an E but oddly they havent listed Episode 1’s E rating we’ve known about for ages.
Take all of this with a very teency pinch of salt for now, we’ll let you know if we hear anything more.
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Following the news of Dimps working on retro revival game Sonic the Hedgehog 4 it has now come to light that the level designer who worked on Sonic 3 & Knuckles is also working on Sonic 4.
The revelation was made by SEGA of America community staff member Ruby Eclipse at the SEGA forums after fans cried out to them for the information.
Ruby Eclipse made the following statement :
Hi everyone,
After a listing on the official Xbox marketplace went up earlier this week, a lot of you have been asking us about who’s developing Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I. Some of you even called me out specifically asking for an answer – and today, I’m happy to say that we can provide you with the details you want.
So, is it just Dimps? Just Sonic Team? The answer is a bit of both:
Yes, Dimps is working on the game. But there’s actually more to it than just that: at the same time, we also have members of Sonic Team, including the original senior level designer from Sonic 3 & Knuckles on the SEGA Genesis working alongside them. It is most definitely a partnership, and the result of this teamwork is something many of us are excited for.
So, as requested – there you have it!
This combination of developers could bring a bright future for the game, Sonic Team gave us the classic Sonic games while Dimps have brought us the well received Sonic Advance and Sonic Rush titles.
How do you feel about this news? Let us know in the comments.
Source: SEGA forums via Destructoid
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I think at one time or another we’ve all complained that our friends across the Atlantic or Pacific really do get a much better deal than ourselves when it comes to getting Sonic stuff. Well, this season the Japanese have really beaten everyone on the scale of awesomeness…
Continue reading Win A Christmas Cards from Sonic Team? Japan Only Please!
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If rumours and an official LinkedIn profile are to be believed, one of the key players in Sonic Team, technical director Yoshihisa Hashimoto, has left in order to further his career in RPG developer Square-Enix.
Hashimoto is best known for his work recently in Sonic Unleashed, where he helped create the Hedgehog Engine and was the latest in the studio’s “revolving door” system to take the reins on the Sonic franchise and drag it out of the quality quagmire. Before his Director role he had a hand in many Sonic Team games since 1997, including writing enemy programming for Sonic Adventure, the Chao engine for Sonic Adventure 2 and coding tasks for Sonic Advances 1 and 2. It is believed he left Sonic Team as long ago as late April, to take a position at Square-Enix in a similar technical director capacity.
The rumour mill has been turning since GoNintendo carried the rumour, but doubters suggest that a discrepency in his LinkedIn profile (the incorrect Japanese naming of his latest work, Sonic Unleashed) could be a sign of a hoax. If true, it only throws more weight under the suggestion that Sega are seriously re-organising how they are developing and producing their Sonic titles.
We’ve contacted Sega for comment, and will update when we get a response. Thanks to the SSMB for the heads up.
UPDATE: ArchAngelUK has responded to our calls, confirming Hashimoto-san’s departure:
I can confirm that Yoshihisa Hashimoto has left SEGA to pursue another opportunity and we’d like to wish him well in his future endeavours.
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Sonic Channel, the Japanese official Sonic website has updated today with the second of this years colouring pages with official artwork from Sonic Team. First we had Sonic in a cheery walking pose and now we have Shadow standing with his hand to his chest maybe taking an oath? If you like the look of these, or would like to see Sonic in a shade of green and Shadow in a shade of purple or just want to colour them in properly (you boring person) you can download them from Sonic Channel here.
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At a recent event in London where Sonic Team’s upcoming Sonic and the Black Knight title for Wii was being showcased, Eurogamer managed to grasp a video interview with Tetsu Katano, who is well known for his work on past achievements such as Sonic Adventure 1 & 2.
In the interview, Tetsu responds to feedback about recent Sonic game gimmicks, his awareness of the criticism and how they implemented into the game. When asked about returning to Sonic’s 2D gameplay, Tetsu let’s us know they do like to target the core Sonic users but it’s under discussion at the moment and he can’t say alot about it. A new game for the hardcore Sonic fans in development, perhaps?
Yuji Naka also had a look at the new game while he was at the event, and explains his feelings on the recent Sonic since he left Sonic Team. Naka-san explains how he is happy to be free to work on new projects now he doesn’t have to work so hard on Sonic. He sees today’s Sonic as one that is breaking out of the mould he made and taking a new direction, and hopes this will be one the fans can enjoy.
You can check out the video interviews here. Yuji Naka on let’s Tap: 0:00-06:09, Tetsu Katano: 6:10 and shortly afterwards Yuji Naka’s thoughts on recent Sonic.
What are your oppinion’s on these statements? Do you like Sonic’s recent direction? Is the TSS front page getting too clogged up with Yuji Naka love? Let us know in the comments.
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The SSMB Forums have brought to light a discussion that has recently taken place on popular imageboard 4chan. In it, an anonymous tipster called “Wentos the Travelling Salesman” has hinted at details that could be included in the next major Sonic title. Click the image on the left there to give it a good read.
Claiming that he knows a few people in the Localisation department of SEGA, it appears he has been privvy to Hashimoto’s desire to create the perfect Sonic game, as he tells captivated posters on the imageboard that the current Sonic Team is built of old school fans fresh out of college. It is suggested that the new team will handle the series for some time yet. “Wentos” also let slip on the conclusion to the reaction of Unleashed;
“The next Sonic will be just Sonic with optional characters in the sense that they were optional back in Sonic 2 and 3; the levels will be in the style of Unleashed daytime levels, though there will be an increased focus on careful platforming to replace what the Werehog strived for.”
Having said that, it was then suggested that an announcement on this project is unlikely to happen for some time. Dubious 4chan readers were challenged to archive the thread and see if the crystal ball-gazing was in fact on the money. “Wentos” then wrote some development information regarding Sonic Unleashed, and how the Wii version was specifically made to recoup the losses of the intentionally superior Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 releases. Continue reading Rumour: 4Chan’s ‘Wentos’ Hints At Future Sonic Team Plans
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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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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
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After sending an email to SEGA Europe, with a generic 6 question list, =TSS= founder Svend Joscelyne (AKA Dreadknux) recieved a response – but what he wasn’t expecting was who replied to it — Masahiro Kumono and Shun Nakamura; project leaders for the upcoming game “Sonic the Hedgehog,” scheduled for release on the PS3 and X-Box 360 later this year.
The two Sega representatives revealed exclusively to TSS details about the new Sonic game, one in particular being that Amy Rose — Sonic’s self proclaimed fiance (the nerve, eh? =P) — will indeed have an appearance, stifling all the rumors of a supposed love interest between Sonic and the new “Princess Elise” character, who will have a vital role in the plot of the new Sonic title. Continue reading SoS and NextGen Goodness!
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The Summer of Sonic website, a massive official fan-project led by The Sonic Stadium, has gained information that seems to confirm that Amy Rose is set to make an appearance in Sonic the Hedgehog for PS3 and XBOX 360.
In responding to a small set of Q&A questions exclusively for the Summer of Sonic website, arranged by SEGA Europe and TSS, producer Masahiro Kumono (also the new Head of Sonic Team since Yuji Naka’s departure) and director Shun Nakamura briefly stated their feelings for the Sonic franchise and where they see it heading after 15 years of popularity.
When asked what Sonic character was their favourite, Kumono-san stated that Amy was a preference, saying that “I like Amy, who appears as an amigo [friend/support] character in this title [Sonic 2006]. She has that same active personality, which build up the story as well as the game.” Continue reading Sonic 2006: Amy A Possibility
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Congratulations are in order for Sonic Team as the fandom rejoices at the apparent return to form for the 2006 Sonic game aptly named Sonic the Hedgehog (working title). Apparently this is not just a mentality shared by the fans, because the many game journalist that attended the E3 show were more than optimistic for the spiky ones first next generation outing.
The popular game site Gamespot held a vote, called E3 2006 Peoples Choice Winner, whereby its members were able to vote for their favourite game from a wide selection of those showcased during E3. In total 20 games were voted hottest in show, although none were ranked in terms of the number of votes. Sonic made it into the line-up winning the members of Sonic Team a celebratory hamper which they were keen to show off on Sonic Channels staff column and its E3 article. Continue reading Sonic 2006 wins Gamespot peoples choice award
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There’s been a mixing pot of Sonic news lately, none of which has been deserving of a full-blown article, which is why Sonic News has rounded them up into handy little news reports.
SEGA’s FPS a phantom of it’s former self?
In Japan there have been rumours suggesting that, due impart to an absences from E3, Fifth Phantom Saga (developed by Sonic Team) for the PS3 had been canned. HarihariSonic of Japanese Sonic fan site Act Select quelled these rumours by revealing SEGA were still listing the game down on its products page of their Japanese site.
For anybody interested in Fifth Phantom Saga you can visit the official Japanese site here: Fifth Phantom Saga
Sonic Wild Fire E3 demonstration
Gamespot has a video of the Sonic Wild Fire demonstration members of the press were show during E3 available to download for registered members here. Continue reading Wii me and PS3
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SEGA have dropped the bomb again with their announcement earlier today of yet another new Sonic title, Sonic Wild Fire for the Nintendo Wii. SEGA currently have not released any screens or media other than the below image of Sonic holding a Wii-mote, but have been rather generous with story and gameplay details. Continue reading E3 2006: SEGA annouce Sonic Wild Fire for Wii
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Earlier this month Sonic News reported that Yuji Naka (often attributed to the creation of the Sonic franchise) was to leave SEGA and form his own development studio. While some of the rumours surrounding Naka’s resignation have been confirmed, he will not however be leaving SEGA to setup his own development studio, instead he plans to persue a career in the catering business. Naka has used his available finances to setup a Japanese Tea House.
Yumeshiya, as his restaurant is known, sells a variety of dishes, which unfortunately I’m unable to name as I don’t speak Japanese. However if you’re ever in Japan and fancy some Miso Soup and rice then Yumeshiya is the place to go.
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Just minutes ago news has broken (VIA a next-gen.biz update) that Yuji Naka, head of Sonic Team throughout the Sonic the Hedgehog series, is planning to leave SEGA/Sonic Team shortly. Details are uncertain at this point, however it is understood Naka will be forming new game development studio, which according to rumours, will still be in alliance with SEGA.
Further details are still yet to be revealed, but stay with SONIC NEWS to find out as it breaks.
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Gaming website IGN recently had an interview with Takao Miyoshi of SONICTEAM to talk about the next generation of Phantasy Star games, ahead of the Tokyo Games Show event taking place in Japan.
The interview discusses many new aspects of the game in depth, including the choice of why Phantasy Star Universe was chosen for a PlayStation 2 release rather than XBOX or Gamecube: “We felt that we could reach a wider audience by moving over to the PS2 and the PC… It might be okay to launch PSU on Xbox for the US market, but not for the Japanese market. Knowing what Final Fantasy XI has done in Japan with Online gameplay, I feel that the user base is there, so I feel strongly that PSU will appeal to the PS2 audience.” Continue reading SONICTEAM Talk PSU
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Sonic Team surprises with announcement for a new racing game. Sonic Riders is on the way for this Winter, for Japanese gamers.
The latest issue of Famitsu magazine reveals the whole deal for Sonic Riders. Sonic, Knuckles, Tails and three new bird friends called by the names of Storm the Albatross, Jet the Hawk and Wave the Sparrow.
Much like Sonic R, Dr.Eggman has called for a racing challenge. Winning means gaining a Chaos Emerald. Alot of tracks will be included in the game, such as Green Cave, Sandy Ruin, Splash Canyon and Egg Factory. Continue reading Sonic Riders is on the Track
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SONICTEAM have just updated their official website for Phantasy Star Universe, the next-generation in exquisite Rappy Bashing.
The website, as all official SEGA sites with any healthy yield of information pre-release, is in Japanese. Since we don’t have the mental strength to read Japanese yet, there’s not a lot that can be obtained from the story other than guesswork (or the hiring of a translator). The story focus does appear to revolve around items called ‘SEED’ however – which, when studying the “World of Phantasy Star Universe” page, appears to be some sort of plant. Most likely with some kind of ‘Phantastical’ (sorry) properties. Or (even more likely) a sort of organisation in the game story. Continue reading Phantasy Star Universe website updated
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Earlier this week we saw the announcement of the Feel The Magic/Project Rub sequel, Where do Babies Come From?. Naturally, just days after the announcement SEGA have added a page to their Japanese site for the game containing some teaser images, the new logo and more of those wacky Japanese vocals featured in the first game.
We have ninjas currently working on translating the little information available, bear with us until more is available. Stay with SONIC NEWS to find out first.
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Feel The Magic XY/XX was arguably one of the best, if not strangest title to be released with the Nintendo DS last November. It’s no surprise that a sequel is in the works after the games success, the latest incarnation to be titled “Where Do Babies Come From?”. IGN Reports:
Sega has a new DS title in the works from the makers of Feel the Magic. According to reports out of Japan, the new game is a sequel of sorts to the DS launch title, although it has a completely new name, “Akachan wa Dokokara Kuruno?”. This name translates to English as “Where do Babies Come From?”.
The name alone ensures us this title will be the next chapter in the ongoing bizarre love story between our blue haired protagonist and the female whom he chased throughout the first game.
Thanks to Invader Tails from The Sonic Stadium’s own SSMB forums for the link. Stay with SONIC NEWS for more information and the first images as they surface.
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If there’s anyone in the industry who has an eye for new gadgets and consoles like some sort of deranged magpie, it’s Yuji Naka, head of Sonic Team. The last few years has had his team shift Sonic and Puyo Pop onto almost every console imaginable, and certainly every new one. He’s also one to be quite close to Nintendo, being tea chums with Miyamoto-san.
In the latest issue of Famitsu, Naka-san has gone on record to comment on the next generation line of consoles, not surprisingly. He admits he is very interested with the Nintendo Revolution, expressing excitement over the surprise the controller may bring, and even the downloads aspect: Continue reading Yuji Naka – Loves Everyone
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As new titles have been suddenly revealed at E3, Sonic Team have updated their website to reflect this too. Being E3, this is an unusually large update, unfortunately for English speaking fans close to all of the content is in Japanese and Flash, so Babel Fish cant help this time!
The first of the updates include the long overdue Japanese website for Shadow the Hedgehog. The website contains new movies and a few new screens, whilst confirms the game will be 1-2 player, no release date was specified.
The movie begins with Shadow loading a weapon before using Chaos Control to fly through a cityscape and Chaos Blast to attack some enemies. Some new landscapes were visible in the movie as well as Sonic rendered in the games alternate style.
Continue reading Sonic Team Official Website Updated
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Woo, this is the calm before the storm. The E3 event’s yet to start (Wednesday), but the major companies are spewing forth their latest consoles and it’s exciting to see! SEGA have been on form though for next gen, and SONICTEAM’s creativity certainly lives on! We’ve just seen a trailer for a new Yuji Project, called Fifth Phantom Saga. Check SONIC NEWS for the first info, and check out the new TSS Game Page for the title. AND, Sonic Gems Collection IS A REALITY. We’ve only seen a Gamecube stand for it though, which fires up the rumours that Gems will be a Nintendo exclusive. SONIC THE FIGHTERS and SONIC CD are the only titles known to be on the Gems Collection at this point. Yuji does love us.
It’s only been a day and all this has spewed forth – remember, only at The Sonic Stadium and SONIC NEWS can you catch the SONICTEAM E3 information and media first. We’re not the #1 Sonic Resource for nowt you know. 😉 Nintendo’s conference is later on, and more SEGA surprises are apparently in store, so we’ll let you know on any breaking details.
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As Sony and Microsoft unveiled their latest consoles during their Pre-E3 Press Conferences on Monday, it was a good time for SEGA to start shouting about their advancement, now they’ve firmly gotten their feet dug into the third party game.
During the PlayStation3 unveiling on Sony’s side, there was a clip of a new SONICTEAM project called Fifth Phantom Saga. It’s marks the house of Sonic’s first attempt at a First Person Shooter – but as you’d expect, it’s not your bog standard fare.
While you do have a gun and can blast the crap out of baddies, the main protagonist appears to be a hellish, other-worldly creature that floats about and lays the smack on enemies. This somewhat evil-looking beast is controlled by the player, using the free hand not holding the gun. The unnamed creature can pick up objects and lob them at enemies, and can also appear to be used to solve puzzles: with one section of the trailer featuring the monster matching an effigy on a wall.
Continue reading E3: Fifth Phantom Saga
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As The Sonic Stadium is to be covering E3 2005 almost from the inside out, SONIC NEWS has made room for a TSS article to collate everything that’s already been said, what’s been confirmed, what’s been rumoured. E3 can be a very confusing and somewhat dangerous place for those who haven’t been catching up, so allow this article to hand you all the current information we have, so you get some background knowledge on what Sonic Team has and might be offering.
First of all, let’s base things on SEGA’s Official E3 Lineup. On the Sonic Team side, you have two titles; Phantasy Star Universe and Shadow the Hedgehog.
Phantasy Star Universe is, as the name suggests, the true sequel to Phantasy Star Online. It’s the “next generation” of PSO games. Sonic Team first revealed ‘PSU’ at E3 2004, but raised more questions than answers.
Continue reading TSS: What to expect at E3 2005
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In a press release sent to us by SEGA, the house of Sonic is fast preparing its offering for the E3 2005 event. Most interesting of note is that two BRAND NEW Sonic the Hedgehog games are set to be announced.
“SEGA is also fully supporting PC, handheld, and current-generation users with AAA titles like Spartan: Total Warrior (PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube), Shadow The Hedgehog, Virtua Tennis: World Tour (PSP portable gaming system), and Phantasy Star Universe (PlayStation 2, PC). And on the first day of E3, SEGA will announce two new additions to the Sonic The Hedgehog franchise.“
Shadow the Hedgehog has already been mentioned on the SEGA Press Release list, so this opens up some doors. We already know that the Nintendo DS Sonic the Hedgehog game is to be revealed in a near final form, so this will no doubt be one of the two ‘new’ games announced.
Continue reading Pre-E3: SEGA’s Lineup
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Games Are Fun recently reported on Phantasy Star Universe, revealing more information and a Japanese scan. The report says that the game will be released in both US and Japan in November, and that PSU will appear in the next Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine as the cover story. The scan below has what appears to be the two main characters, as well as some cutscene screenshots from the actual game.
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As you can see from the past report, Phantasy Star Universe will be released on the Playstation 2, PC, and Xbox. But that still is not known, as theres dozens of reports that say this game will be released only on the PS2 and PC. Also what has been said, is this game will be a follow up to the original Phantasy Star series, and not the PSO series.
So who do you believe? Right now, we just have to look at all of this as pure rumors. Right now a majority of rumors suggest that Phantasy Star Universe will be a regular RPG and not a MMORPG, giving storyline details on the characters and where the game takes place.
Phantasy Star Universe will take place throughout the Graal solar system, which consists of three planets and various races such as the Numans. After a century of peace following a lengthy period of war, civilization now faces an invasion from a new alien force named the SEED, which has begun attacking different colonies in space.
Continue reading Phantasy Star Universe Information
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In news that is bound to amaze in some ways and bore in others… SEGA have announced what everyone’s already known since E3 2004: the ‘true’ sequel to the inspiring Dreamcast MMORPG Phantasy Star Online.
What fans were not clued up on until now however, is platform specifics. Regarding the last few Gamecube incarnations and Sonic Team head Yuji Naka publically stating that Sonic Team fans will need Nintendo’s purple box, many would have been dead set on Phantasy Star Universe appearing on Nintendo.
It appears Phantasy Star Universe will be heading to PC, PlayStation 2 and XBOX, with no Gamecube version currently in plans.
Continue reading Phantasy Star Universe Confirmed; GC Not Invited
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E3, short for the Electronic Entertainment Expo, unveiled their speaker and exhibitor list, which includes appearances from SEGA of America.
E3 is undoubtedly the largest gaming event in the world, as it spans almost every company from around the world. As always, SEGA will be making their appearance, along with their newest releases – Shadow the Hedgehog will probably be playable, and many of Sonic Team’s secret projects (including Sonic DS and the new GCN Sonic title) may well be unveiled.
The Expo is set for May 17th and ands on the 20th, but please be aware that participation and entry to E3 is only permitted to industry professionals. However, members of the press will undoubtedly fill you and us in as they days go by, so keep checking back on Sonic News for the latest updates.
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Sonic Team’s Project Rub hit European shores today as the Nintendo DS was released to the public.
The Nintendo DS has 15 launch titles; Sonic Team develops one of which. Project Rub (known also as Feel the Magic XX/XY in America) is an off-the-wall series of mini-games that revolve around pleasing the “girl of your dreams”. It has a wacky sense of humour and is full of Sonic Team’s trademark innovations.
Continue reading Project Rub released in Europe
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A love-dating sim? It doesn’t seem to be Sonic Team’s style now, does it? And you’d be right – Feel The Magic is being developed, like Space Channel 5, Rez and Astro Boy before it, by the artist formerly known as United Game Artists. UGA have always had a flair for innovative artistic display, and Feel The Magic looks set to break the boundaries of at least the Sonic Team label.
The graphics are shaping up to be superbly unique, suiting the cult-like following and niche audiences UGA have recieved from their past projects. The graphics use both the 2D and 3D capabilities of the Nintendo DS console: at times the silhouetted characters turn out to be actual polygonal figures as well, and the design of the entire game produces an air of cool not seen since the ‘status quo’ already established with the Apple iPod adverts. And how much more niche could you get for the Western market too – Dating titles are very much a gaming delicacy best served in its native Japanese homeland, but this brave move to retail Feel The Magic to even America is as bold as the colourful graphics themselves.
Not that any of us should be complaining; it saves us all the trouble of importing it, doesn’t it? And far from being one of the generic and confusing love quests littering Japan, Feel The Magic actually keeps things as entertaining and as simple as possible. You play as yourself (albeit not ‘with’ said person, else that kind of denounces the point of the game), a guy who desperately falls in love with the hottest gal in town. But she’s not putting out so easily. She wants you to show how much you will dedicate yourself to her. She wants to be impressed. She wants a guy to truly love her, and treat her like a true gent (you being the gent, not her).
At this juncture, usually you would expect a bunch of annoying, tedious and rampantly agitating adventure quests and modes, chatting up her friends to maybe see what she likes best and all that tosh. Feel The Magic really does have some tricks up it’s proverbial sleeve, choosing to stick to short, amusing and downright wacky mini-games. Think more along the lines of Wario Ware on Game Boy Advance, but with an actual love interest theme. And the games revealed so far sound very innovative and promising:
In one mini-game, a random dude manages to eat all sorts of sealife animals. On the bottom screen of the Nintendo DS, using the touch screen you must push the animals out of the person’s stomach and up his throat so that he can then regurgitate them out of his fat gob (shown on the top screen of your NDS) with cheeky grin and all. Another allows you to clean the apple of your eye, as she falls face first into a pile of crud, while in a similar touchy game you must pick scorpions off of your potential Valentine, whilst being careful to not actually rub her up yourself (she’ll get a little annoyed you’re not bothering to pick the scorpions off her back if your hands start a-wandering…). One really imaginitive aspect that struck me as fantastic was the way even the Nintendo DS microphone was being used: one mini-game has you trying to blow out candles, and you do this by blowing into your DS Mic. The DS can detect how hard you are blowing (easy) and will show on the touch screen accordingly. Thus, if you blow too hard (oi) you could end up winding yourself.
The touch screen and microphone are apparently the only functions of the Nintendo DS being used for this game, to keep things relatively simple throughout, and with 30 mini-games like the ones mentioned above, including tapping bulls to avoid a stampede and digging for your love’s lost possessions on the beach, you can tell United Game Artists will help turn Sonic Team back into the cult original developer it once was during it’s Burning Rangers hey-days. This is going to be an incredibly quirky game that uses the DS’ functions and makes perfect display of the things that make the new handheld unique. It will be released as a launch title in Japan and in America too, and that shouldn’t leave much doubt for a launch title proposal for Europe too, pray the powers above.
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So, the stylish influence of United Game Artists strikes further within Sonic Team HQ, as we finally know what ‘Project Rub’ is all about. It’s a dating sim for Nintendo DS, you see. And it involves “touching girls”. Egad. We’ll be covering that in a day or so’s time. Sorry for lack of updates too, but a new job convinces me to stay away from this computer and all, so bleh. Trust me though, I’m putting stuff up and have a ton of great things lined up over the next month – in time for TSS’ FOURTH Birthday. Also, SAGE has started once more – but if you hear hide nor peep from me for a day or so, I’m just fixing up Shadow Team’s booth for the event. Finally, the Sonic Site Awards is in Phase 2. Need I say more? I don’t think so. ‘Ave it.
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Yo. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find the time to update an awful lot, and today’s update consists of the rest of the submitted ‘presents’ handed to me on my 19th Birthday. You can find the link to the page below, or within the Site History page. Sonic Team Inc has ‘folded’ and re-integrated back into SEGA as an internal studio rather than it’s own independent studio, and frankly this could do more good than harm, if any harm was apparent. Sonic Team will keep their identity within SEGA too, and SEGA as a whole will return to it’s former glory during the Mega Drive days.
Excited? Oh you better bloody well be. Speaking of former glories, the reason why hardly any updates has occured is because what you suggested to improve The Sonic Stadium over the last few months will finally come into fruition. Remember some time ago I personally invited TSS visitors to come to me and detail their thoughts on the site, and ideas for major improvement, be it content, information or even regular updating (Ooooh, irony strikes! ^_^;)? Continue reading Sonic Team, and proof that we listen to you…
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Sorry about the lack in updates guys, things are really hectic back here, and I just switched to Windows XP the other day – it’s good actually. Wow, who’d have thought Microsoft would make something that would work? Anyway, E3 has come and gone, but luckily The Sonic Stadium is here to let you know what Sonic Team had to offer – the link is up there in the Game Alert. You can also find it in the ‘Articles’ section underneath the ‘Features’ channel.
It’s been an interesting E3 if nothing else, with The Legend of Zelda revelations, Nintendo DS, and Sony and Microsoft frankly not being able to touch Nintendo this year. Sonic Team had a good showing, and I think I speak for all of us when I say that the biggest Sonic Team development in that event was Phantasy Star Universe: the true, proper, kosher sequel to Phantasy Star Online. We have info. We have screens. We have movies. We have it all. Only on TSS. Check it out. Then shout out your thoughts on the SSMB.
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