Sega has taken a full page advert out in the newest issue of License! Global. The advert mainly thanks various partners for their support over the last 25 years. Continue reading Sega Thanks Partners for 25 Years of Success & Reveals New Licenses
SEGA in Talks for Sonic 25th Anniversary Party in LA
Following a report we brought you earlier this month from the latest issue of License Global which mentioned upcoming Sonic events, we may now know where one of them will be held. Continue reading SEGA in Talks for Sonic 25th Anniversary Party in LA
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Sega’s Plans For Sonic Includes ‘Console Games & Theme Park Licensing’
So we all just found out that Ivo Gerscovich is the new head of the Sonic Brand for Sega of America and looking on his LinkedIn profile page there are a number of bullet point details as to what might be in store in the future for Sonic. Continue reading Sega’s Plans For Sonic Includes ‘Console Games & Theme Park Licensing’
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“Special Reveal” At the SXSW 25th Anniversary Panel
A few days ago we brought you news that there would be a very special panel at the SXSW 2016 convention.
Well since then, there’s been a number of developments, the first major detail is that the event will now be live-streamed via twitch. However the more interesting detail is that according to the SXSW website, there will be a ‘special reveal’ as part of the panel for the anniversary celebrations.
What will this special reveal be? Well we know for certain that it’s not going to be a game. However with Yuji Naka being present along with Iizuka, you can’t blame fans for speculating it might be something important.
More details as and when we get them.
Source: SXSW
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Select Sonic games on sale on Steam in NA until Jan 25th
Steam have announced that a bunch of Sonic games are on sale on Steam in NA as part of a Weekend Sale until Jan 25th. Discounts range from 50% off to 75% off.
The games and their sale prices are the following:
Sonic Games Collection (with 21 games) ($56.49 USD/$64.99 CDN)
Sonic Lost World ($10.19 USD/$11.21 CDN)
Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed ($4.99 USD/ $5.49 CDN)
Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing ($2.49 USD/ $4.24 CDN)
Sonic Generations ($7.49 USD/$8.24 CDN)
Sonic 4: Episode 1 ($2.49 USD/$2.74 CDN)
Sonic 4: Episode 2 ($3.74 USD/$4.24 CDN)
Sonic 3D Blast ($1.24 USD/$1.37 CDN)
Sonic Spinball ($1.24 USD/$1.37 CDN)
Sonic 1 ($1.24 USD/$1.37 CDN)
Sonic 2 ($1.24 USD/$1.37 CDN)
Sonic 3 & Knuckles ($1.24 USD/$1.37 CDN)
Sonic Adventure DX ($1.99 USD/$2.19 CDN)
Sonic Adventure 2 ($2.49 USD/$2.74 CDN)
Sonic CD ($1.24 USD/$1.37 CDN)
Via Steam’s website.
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More Sonic Boom RoL Concepts Found
The Sonic Stadium has discovered even more concept work for 2014’s Wii U exclusive Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric. The work was found on Amped UX’s website revealing they too had a hand in the game’s development.
The studio provided the following services:
* UI/UX Design, Wireframes, and Project Management
* Heads Up Display (HUD) UI Actionscripting
* Progression/Systems Design
* Localization Production & Integration
* High Level Concept & Documentation
* Secondary Quest & NPC Design
* Level Geometry Whiteboxing & Visual Scripting
* Final Script Debugging and Level Layout Revisions
You can learn about these development procedures in huge detail over at Amped UX at the below links. They’re a good read if you’re interested in game development or getting into the industry.
Source: Amped UX [Link 1, Link 2]
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More alternate Sonic Boom logos found
Back on December 14th we reported that Senior Designer Henry Grey shared alternate logos for Sonic Boom on his page at Creativepool, and now today our own Shadzter once again has found that Henry has shared even more over at Cargo Collective which you can see above.
Which logo do you find interesting? Any you prefer to the final one? Let us know in the comments!
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Scrapped Sonic and the Black Knight Poster Found
The Sonic Stadium has uncovered what appears to be an unused promotional poster for Wii exclusive Sonic and the Black Knight. The poster was created by a company called KJSCoverArt who have designed a lot of album covers for various artists, as seen on their portfolio. We assume this image must have been made pretty early on because you’ll notice Sonic is wearing two of the same gauntlet he wears in the game instead of just one, as well as a helmet, which looks much like Shadow/Lancelot’s. Other changes include slight differences in Caliburn’s hilt and the game’s logo.
What do you think of this artwork? Would you have preferred Sonic to have worn more armour? Speak out in the comments.
Source: KJSCoverArt
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Tomy Reveals 25th Anniversary Toyline For July 2016
“Ok Detective TSS! Are there any clues as to the next Sonic game?” Well F4F saying that their 25th anniversary statue must be classic, press material from various licensing and toy fairs saying classic. Interviews also saying classic. And now Tomy are releasing a classic themed toy line with the 25th anniversary logo all over it…
It’s hard not to jump to conclusions, it’s really hard, so many signs indicate that next year will be a classic themed one, why would there not be a game to support that, anyway…
Found in Tomy’s catalogue for 2016 are a bunch of classic Sonic toys complete with a new version of the 25th anniversary logo. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Eggman are set to get a plush toy release and Sonic, Tails and Knuckles are also going to get a figure release with a collectable coin.
Now these are clearly just mockup images as they use the Boom figures as place holder images and official art as place holders for the plush line.
In just over a months time there is both London and New York Toy Fair which would be the most likely place for them to make their first appearance.
Items are set for release July 2016.
Keep checking TSS for more information as and when we get it.
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Sonic Boom Alternate Logos Found
The Sonic Stadium has uncovered alternative designs for Sonic Boom’s logo that were scrapped in favour of the above final product we have now. The images were found on Senior Designer Henry Gray’s page at Creativepool where he describes Sonic Boom as “A grown up, adaptable and animated identity for the largest franchise from the Sonic stable to date”. You can check out the designs below.
Source: Creativepool
Do you think SEGA should have gone with one of the other logos, or do you like the one we have? Speak out in the comments!
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Sonic the Hedgehog: Awakening Found on Ex-Silver VA Resume
The Sonic Stadium has discovered a mysterious Sonic listing on the resume of former Silver the Hedgehog voice actor Pete Capella. The title is Sonic the Hedgehog: Awakening by SEGA Inc and Capella again did voice work for Silver the Hedgehog in it. Unfortunately, that’s all we know, as there don’t appear to be any other signs of the project online. Capella voiced Silver between 2006 and 2009, so it’s pretty safe to assume this title (whatever it is) is dead and buried.
If we find any more details, we’ll let you know.
Source: Pete Capella’s official website and IMDB resume
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(Update: It’s $5.99) 3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2 landing on 3DS eShop in NA on Oct 8th
Update: Nintendo has added the game to its website and like the other games in the Sega 3D Classics line it’s $5.99!
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Well, it’s a little later than planned (they just said September), but not by that much. 😛
Sega of America confirmed today on twitter that the game is finally coming out at least in NA on October 8th, after having already been released in Japan back on July 22nd.
The 3DS version actually has a wireless co-op multiplayer feature where one player is Sonic, and the other is an invincible version of Tails to assist Sonic in the game, basically like you did on the TV back in the day. You’re also able to save at anytime and can now more easily unlock Super Sonic just by beating the game on any mode, which gives Sonic all the chaos emeralds when the feature is turned on.
Sadly at the moment there’s no release date yet for Europe.
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Portfolio Reveals Sonic Classic Collection Had More Content Planned, Crazy Taxi 4 Pitch
It appears Sonic Classic Collection for Nintendo DS was originally going to be a much bigger collection at one point, with more games and content. The Sonic Stadium has found images on the portfolio of former SEGA Studios Australia employee Brooke Luder that reveal Sonic Spinball, Sonic 3D Blast (aka Sonic 3D Flickies’ Island) and Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine were all part of the collection during development. This would explain why sprites from Sonic Spinball and Sonic 3D Blast can be seen in the credits roll.
Another image shows that video content was planned too, though no examples are given. You can check out more images in the gallery at the bottom of this article.
SONIC CLASSIC COLLECTION
SEGA Australia had the good fortune (WOOO!) of acquiring the Sonic Classic Collection port to Nintendo DS.
I created all the UI artwork for the port. This included recreating all the game logos as Sega no longer had the original editable logos. It also involved designing and creating the in-game assets for all the front end menus and ingame menus that weren’t part of the original game play and creating sprite sheets for the EFIGS language conversions.
Studio: SEGA Australia
Fun Factor: OMG!
Publisher: SEGA America
Release Date: 2010
Platform: Nintendo DS
Position: Senior UI/UX Artist
Software: Photoshop, Illustrator
Skills: Graphic Design/Layout
In non-Sonic news that will no doubt disappoint a lot of SEGA fans, Luder’s portfolio reveals that a Crazy Taxi 4 pitch was made by SEGA Studios Australia. No information about the pitch unfortunately, but we’re shown the above piece of concept art at least.
CRAZY TAXI CONCEPT ART
A concept piece created for the Crazy Taxi pitch from SEGA Australia. Illustrated in Photoshop and logo design created in Illustrator.
Studio: SEGA, Australia
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Software: Photoshop, Illustrator
Skills: Illustration, Logo Design
Luder has also shared some concept art of SEGA Studios Australia’s official video game for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
LONDON 2012 OLYMPICS CONCEPT ART
I was involved in early stage graphics prototyping for SEGA’s London 2012 Olympics game. As part of this experience I created some of the early stage pitch art for game play prototyping.
Studio: SEGA Australia
Fun Factor: Gold!
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Position: Senior UI Artist
Software: Corel Painter
Skills: Illustration, Concept Art
Brooke Luder’s portfolio: Sonic Classic Collection, Crazy Taxi 4, London 2012 Olympic Games
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Sonic’s First Home Appearance On The Amiga & He Was A Bad Guy!
*puts on a deep echo like voice* “TIME FOR HISTORY!”
Sonic’s first appearance in a video game was Rad Mobile, Rad Mobile was an arcade racing game in which Sonic appeared as a small toy in the window of the car you raced. This officially is the first appearance of Sonic in a videogame. His next appearance is Sonic the Hedgehog on the MegaDrive, however it turns out that this information isn’t exactly accurate.
Whilst I cannot find an exact date for when Rad Mobile first came out, it seems to be early 1991. However, information uncovered by Guru Larry (however it was originally discovered by another user (more on that later)), points to an Amiga game called ‘The Adventures of Quik & Silva’ in which Sonic appears as a villain!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5uC0ymZK3s
What’s going on here? Well, as Guru Larry explains, the game wasn’t sold in stores, it was made and sold to a video-game magazine who put it on their cover as a free game for Amiga users. The magazine in question was ‘Amiga Fun’ and the issue in question is dated May 10th 1991, this pre-dates Sonic 1’s official launch by a month!
Meaning this is actually the first home appearance of Sonic, not Sonic 1.
So what happened? Well, it seems that the company behind this game decided to make smaller games which were cheap and easy to produce, then sell them to magazines who would put them on their covers as a ‘free gift’. Readers would not only have a magazine to read, but also a game to play on their system.
However, to save money on building/designing assets, this company did some slightly shady stuff, mainly in the form of disobeying copyright laws, the game contains a few unauthorised/unlicensed uses of characters, even Mario is in here, however more strangely is that Sonic is also in the game despite his first game not being released yet.
To top it off, Sonic is a bad guy in the game!
It’s completely unofficial, but still quite a fun tid bit of information, especially since this wasn’t a fan project and it was actually bought by a second company who put it on their magazine.
Also, as mentioned earlier, this was in fact first discovered back in 2011, however it was only brought to light now and Guru Larry’s video contains a lot more information. But give out the other video a look if you don’t care about the details.
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It’s Official, More Women Like Sonic Than Men
Well this is really interesting, because if these results are to be believed that everything we think we know about Sonic, including Sega’s own market data is completely wrong.
YouGov recently ran a poll to see which was the top 16 favourite video-games of the British public, coming in at number 1 was Candy Crush (no surprise there),with GTA coming in at number 2. Sonic manages to get on the table at number 13.
What’s more interesting is that the YouGov poll breaks down the results into percentages, and one thing is very clear…
Sonic is more popular with the ladies.
This is, really unexpected, for the following reason, Sega still markets and promotes Sonic as a ‘boys’ franchise. Even when Boom was announced, Sega’s own marketing material had boys as being the primary demographic for Sonic with girls as a secondary. Yet this poll shows that Sonic is nearly twice as popular with women over men.
However, there is one consideration to take with this. The poll doesn’t register the views of anyone aged under 16. Which is Sonic’s primary demographic. There is this huge lie which does the round a lot, that being, Sonic sells best on Nintendo? Erm no… Sonic sells best where the kids are. Which this poll doesn’t recognise, where-ever the kids are, that’s where you’ll find Sonic’s biggest sales.
But this is really interesting, since if it really is an accurate reflection of views worldwide it changes a lot of what was considered Sonic’s primary target demographics. Lets speculate for a moment that both this poll and Sega is correct and Sonic is more popular with boys (males aged under 16), after the age of 18, Sonic’s primary gender demographic shifts over to women. This isn’t the natural assumption to make for a character like Sonic, especially since there is little active female representation within the series (generally speaking), there is much more appeal to males.
Or.. and there is no way to independently verify this, Sonic actually has more appeal to girls than boys at all ages.
The full results of the YouGov poll can be found on their website, as well as what was the better console, the MegaDrive or the Super Nintendo, and who was a better character, Mario or Sonic… I’ll let you look that one up yourself.
Source: YouGov
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3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Releases on July 22nd in Japan
So now we finally have news about 3D Sonic 2 after its announcement back in April! We have the Japanese website, and thanks to Nintendaan, we have the info that the game will support co-op play, but each player will need the game. Continue reading 3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Releases on July 22nd in Japan
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Sonic Motocross iPhone Game Proposal Discovered
The Sonic Stadium has today discovered a proposed Sonic game for iPhone on the resume and portfolio of illustrator Eric D Simmons. The game was being developed by 2XL Games and judging by the above artwork it was to be a motocross type of game set in familiar Sonic stages. A quick look on 2XL Games’ website shows that genre to be their speciality on mobile devices. No reason is given for this game not seeing release, but if we had to guess, it’s likely due to clashing with the mobile release of vehicle racer Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing and/or its sequel.
Would you have liked a motocross Sonic game or are you glad it was never released? Let us know in the comments.
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SEGA Europe Appoints CPLG to Handle Sonic Licensing in Europe
SEGA Europe has appointed CPLG (Copyright Promotions Licensing Group) to handle its Sonic the Hedgehog licensing business in Europe. This deal will see the agency promoting both the Sonic Boom and Classic Sonic brands across all major European territories, utilizing the Sonic Boom TV series and by launching exciting new products.
CPLG is a big player in licensing and responsible for some major brands, like Tony Hawk, Jurassic World, Minions, Skylanders, Kiss, Sesame Street and more. No doubt it will be interesting to see what promotions and products we will see develop from this deal.
Source: Licensing.biz
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Sega Release A Gorgeous Animation for Sonic’s 24th Birthday
Today marks 24 years since Sonic the Hedgehog was first released, to mark the occasion Sega of Japan posted something very special, roughly translated, a designer at Sonic team was tasked with “drawing Sonic,” Well not only did they draw Sonic, but they also release this rather well done animation of the process.
The animation was posted to Sega of Japan’s official Vine account, unfortunately it was uncredited so we don’t know who we should be thanking directly for this excellent piece of work.
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Rouge Voice Actor Karen Strassman Lists ‘Sonic II’ on Resume
UPDATE 2: Thanks to the Wayback Machine we can see there were no Sonic listings on Strassman’s resume on March 14th 2012, but there are in the next capture on September 5th 2012, including ‘Sonic II’.
UPDATE: We have since found an old copy of Strassman’s resume from 22nd January 2012 that still lists ‘Sonic II’. Either work had already started on the new game back then, it’s a cancelled project or this is an error.
Original story: The Sonic Stadium has today spotted a listing for a video game titled ‘Sonic II’ on the resume of current English Rouge the Bat voice actor Karen Strassman’s resume. A Google search shows Strassman’s resume was last updated 20th May 2014 and the game is listed after Sonic Free Riders and Sonic Generations, her last roles as Rouge, so it’s likely this is an upcoming unannounced game.
The title is strange, considering we had Sonic the Hedgehog 2 back in the 90s, but then again, we did have a new Sonic the Hedgehog in 2006. However, with such negative feedback, we don’t think SEGA would create a sequel to that game, especially if it performed as poorly. There’s also the possibility this could be a remake of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, but SEGA kind of did that on mobile devices not too long ago with the help of Taxman and Stealth.
We recently reported about another unknown title with a 2 in its name ‘Sonic Mach 2’, which we spotted on German Orbot voice actor Romanus Fuhrman’s resume. Could they be one and the same? We’ll have to wait and see…
If we get any updates, we’ll be sure to let you know.
Sources:
Karen Strassman’s website resume
Karen Strassman’s voice acting site resume
Google search results
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UPDATE: The Spin: A look into Sonic’s history with Nintendo
UPDATE: I just found out and added that Marvelous (then known as MarvelousAQL) helped with Mario & Sonic London 2012 3DS!
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Hello again! 🙂 Over the past while I’ve made lookbacks covering two Sonic games on Nintendo systems, specifically Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity and Sonic Unleashed, both for Wii, and I thought, you know what, why don’t I just cover the whole history? Of course, the opinions in this article reflect my own thoughts and may not reflect the thoughts of the other Staff members. With that, let’s start from the very beginning…
A rivalry past, comes friendship to last
Continue reading UPDATE: The Spin: A look into Sonic’s history with Nintendo
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3rd set of Sega 3D Classics coming to Nintendo 3DS, including Sonic 2!
Although SEGA suggested previously that the 3D classics line for Nintendo 3DS would be closing with Thunderblade, a further three 3D Classic titles have been confirmed by SEGA to be on the horizon.
At this time, the third set in the series only contains 3 titles. One title in particular however is certainly of interest to TSS; Sonic 2! That’s right, that means 3D special stages!
The other two games are the aforementioned Streets of Rage 2 (due in July) and Gunstar Heroes (due in August). Sonic 2 will be out in September. All will be priced at MSRP $5.99/€4.99/£4.49
Are you excited for Sonic 2 or perhaps the other two games? Have you bought any of the previous games yet? Let us know!
Update: We also have screens and transparent logos for you all!
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Sonic and Caliburn join the hunt in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate
There’s no denying that Capcom’s Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate has taken the world by storm on 3DS. Placing you in the shoes of a brave hunter, you seek out huge creatures and pit yourself against them, learning their ways and finding the best method to slay each beast. With critical acclaim and commercial success behind it, what more could this game possibly need? Well, Sonic the Hedgehog, of course!
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fLGd30tAeE[/youtube]
Released today as free downloadable content, you can now access an additional mission called “Super Sonic Seregios” – emerge victorious and you will be able to craft special Sonic themed gear for your Palicoes, including Caliburn from Sonic and the Black Knight.
There’s plenty of other crossovers in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate – The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario, to name but a couple – but this is definitely one of the coolest looking ones so far. With this and the Sonic Amiibo suit coming to Mario Kart 8, April is set to be filled with bonus Sonic content for Nintendo games!
If you own Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, will you be taking on the DLC and equipping your Palicoes with Sonic and Caliburn? What other Sonic crossovers would you like to see? Let us know in the comments!
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Sonic Amiibo Racing Suit coming to Mario Kart 8
Ever since Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing came out in 2010, people have been clamouring for the blue blur to take to the track against his rival and undisputed king of the go-kart. Thanks to the wonders of Nintendo’s Amiibo figures, that fantasy is now one step closer to becoming a reality!
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJwVNhaZYyA[/youtube]
Announced in the most recent Nintendo Direct, an update for Mario Kart 8 on 23rd April will allow players to gain access to a brand new set of racing suits for their Mii character, provided they have the relevant Amiibo… and among them, Sonic the Hedgehog himself! It may not be the real deal, but that Sonic costume is looking pretty snazzy – and if nothing else, it adds a bit more value to your figure outside of Super Smash Bros.!
The question that arises now though… which blue spiky thing will be the most notorious on the circuit? Sonic or the Spiny Shell? If it’s anything like how Sonic treats Mega Man in the trailer above, we may have a new contender!
Will you be dressing up your Mii racers in the Sonic suit later this month, either for a leisurely lap or to pelt the residents of the Mushroom Kingdom with Koopa shells? Let us know in the comments!
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Nuremberg Toy Fair Shows us New Sonic Toys
Following on from the London Toy Fair, Nuremberg held it’s annual toy fair too, as with London, there was a decent Sonic presence there too.
Spindash.de managed to attend the event and were able to spot the following products.
First up is the ABYstyle booth which had a bunch of the Paladone Sonic toys along with these new items. A T-Shirt which is likely going to be the subject of a number of jokes in the comments for some people and a classic Sonic & Tails mug.
The Tomy booth was very similar to the booth which was photographed at London, only we now have some better images of the new action figures which appear to be variants of the original toyline.
First up is Tails covered in oil, pictured next to the original Boom Tails.
Next is what appears to be Battle Damaged Knuckles, looks like this might be from an upcoming episode of Sonic Boom.
Edit: I have no idea if that’s the official name, just that typically action figures usually end up being called ‘Battle Damaged’ when they look like they’ve been in the wars.
Here we can see a new Sticks figure which was also at London Toy Fair, we can now clearly see that she’s covered in the green slime from the episode in which she gets the robot dog as a pet.
Sonic with light up feet, I have no idea why it happened, it just did.
Next up is the light up mask from Tomy, we even get a look at the reverse side.
Other products noted were the Sonic Saves the Day pack which we spotted at the London Toy Fair and a few other figures which appeared at London.
In addition to the above news, the following bits of information was also confirmed.
- The Sonic Boom Toy Line will launch in Germany the moment the TV-Show begins.
- Jazwares also confirmed that they are no loner making Sonic toys.
Finally, this document was also revealed which seems to show in-store packaging designs as well as some initial launch toys for Europe.
Check out the full report at Spindash.de
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Early Big Red Button Sonic CryEngine Test Scene Found
I’ve spoken quite in length of the development of Sonic Boom and how Sega were apparently really impressed with what Big Red Button were doing with regards to the CryEngine & Sonic. Now, we’re not sure if this was one of those experiments, tests, concepts which were shown to Sega, but what we do know is that this was made by someone at Big Red Button during/just prior to the development of Sonic Boom. I think some of you are going to be shocked at what you see.
A former Big Red Button employee, Ryan VanMeter who was a technical artists has posted what he calls “Screenshots of a small scene rendered in cry engine. Hedgehog-inspired, but unrelated to Sonic Boom.”
You can clearly see traditional Sonic elements present in the scene, it looks nothing like what we got in Boom at all and the graphical fidelity is vastly superior.
You can find all the images in the gallery.
Source: Ryan VanMeter’s
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The 1994 Sonic Super Hedgehog Russian TV Quiz
I don’t know all the details on this one. But back in 1994, there was a Russian TV Quiz show about Sonic the Hedgehog, no idea if it was a special one off or a regular thing, but one thing is clear… it’s hilarious.
For starters, it begins with this very dodgy animation in which Sonic is seen escaping a road traffic accident, before hitching a ride on a helicopter whilst escaping gunfire from a futuristic fighter jet. The jet is able to shoot down the helicopter and Sonic somehow crashes out of a TV screen.
The first video then begins with this guy dressed up like a spaceman complete with a fake laser rifle who opens the show with all the emotion and enthusiasm of a 1970′s Dalek.
Throughout the show, a random Sonic cartoon animation appears in the corner of the screen and talks to the audience, sometimes showing his teeth and doing little gestures
The show also includes what appears to be Russian Sega MegaDrive adverts in which we see Ecto one driving through the streets of Russia to cure a sick boy by giving him a Sega MegaDrive
Theres prizes which are given out which include Sonic 2 themed watches and even a Sega MegaDrive 2.
They also consider the “Nissyo Iwai Corporation” to be Sonic’s creator, in English this means The Nissyo Potato Corporation.
Thanks to SSMB member Crystallize who sent this in.
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Atop the Fourth Wall Reviews Sonic Super Special #7
Oh boy we’re cooking on gas today! Long running comic book review series Atop the Fourth Wall has just updated, and it’s a Sonic comic! Getting the AT4W treatment this week is Sonic Super Special #7 along with a certain Mr Penders.
Unfortunately, TSS doesn’t like trying to embed blip.tv videos, so you’ll have to head over to the AT4w website in order to watch it (see link at the end of the post).
Sonic Super Special #7 is a story in which it’s a cross over with Sonic an Image comic’s characters which even features a cameo by Mulder and Scully from the X-Files… what could possibly go wrong?
Source: Atop the Fourth Wall
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New Sonic Boom: RoL Details Revealed, Chaos Crystals, Time Travel & More
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVT93XgmRME[/youtube]
An E3 2014 demo and interview with Big Red Button’s Mark Vernon has revealed some new details on Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric for Wii U. The previously seen crystals are called ‘Chaos Crystals’ and there are nine of them to collect through the game’s story. Vernon also goes into more detail about the game’s time travel element and reveals that players will go to the past and the future, seeing areas in both times.
The name of the underwater base level played is ‘Ancient Template’ and in this demonstration we get to see some of the hidden areas of the level. Vernon gives us a look at the collectibles menu and a ‘Freeze Rod’ weapon that, as you guessed, freezes enemies in ice. It’s clarified that while these weapons are obtained from enemies, the enemies can’t actually use them and they are one-time limited use only. You can’t store them.
Vernon also explains that collectibles will earn you upgrades, which aren’t just for making your characters stronger, but also unlock new abilities. When asked about a release date, Vernon says he can’t remember the exact date, but it’ll probably be the first half of November. Finally, merchandise fans will want to stick around until the end to have a close look at some of the upcoming Sonic Boom action figures.
Source: The Family Gaming Team
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SEGA Games for the Sonic Gamer, Part 1
Like many SEGA fans, I started out as a fan of Sonic the Hedgehog more so then SEGA itself. As I became more invested in SEGA hardware, though, I was encouraged to begin trying out some of SEGA’s other franchises. I’ve since grown to love a variety of SEGA franchises and as part of the #Sonic23on23 celebration, I’d like to share some of my favorites with other Sonic fans on behalf of SEGAbits! All of the titles I’ll be talking about in this series tickle my fancy in the same way Sonic games have for years, that any Sonic fan ought to experience. These titles are not necessarily platformers, or involve cute and furry animals, but they do share at least one key element with Sonic games.
This series will divide the different games into categories and let you know which title you ought to try fist. I hope you’ll try some of these games!
Rail Shooters:
After Burner
Before Sonic, SEGA had another adrenaline inducing game called “After Burner”. Here, players take control of the iconic F-14 Tomcat and blast through stages at sonic speed…literally. The After Burner games are all about memorization and twitch game play. Players have to be fast and at least somewhat familiar with enemy formations in order to succeed. All of the After Burner games produce a great sense of speed that is impressive even these days.
The original After Burner is not the most easy game to pay these days, and the best versions of the game available were made for the SEGA 32X and Saturn. SEGA has released a version of the game for the 3DS, which I do recommend picking up if it ever comes over. More accessible is After Burner Climax, which is currently available on Xbox Live and PSN.
If you want to know more about the game franchise, I recommend heading over to SEGAbits and checking out our content from After Burner Week.
Panzer Dragoon
In Panzer Dragoon, players take flight on top of a big laser breathing dragon. This franchise is slower and more methodical then the After Burner games, but makes up for that slower pace with deeper game play and longer levels. Just like any great rail shooter, Panzer Dragoon is all about twitch game play, as players get constantly attacked on all sides by waves upon waves of enemies as they blast through beautiful, creative levels. Panzer’s world and music also possess an exotic charm that sets the series apart from other rail shooters.
Panzer Dragoon Orta is easily the most accessible game in the series, as it is the most affordable and is playable on both the Xbox and Xbox 360. It is also my personal favorite game in the series and has probably aged the best out of all of them thanks to the Xbox’s capabilities. The original trilogy is currently only available on SEGA’s Saturn. Of those, Panzer Dragoon Zwei is easily the best rail shooter of the bunch, though the original Panzer Dragoon is also pretty good. The franchise’s magnum opus, Panzer Dragoon Saga, is unique and excellent RPG, though is quite expensive and doesn’t really possess the qualities that would lead me to recommend it to Sonic fans.
Sonic Team Games
NiGHTS into Dreams
Kind of obvious, but NiGHTS needs to be included all the same. NiGHTS once had a tendency to pop up often in Sonic games, and with good reason: outside of the Sonic series NiGHTS probably stands as the best thing Sonic Team has ever made. It shares some of Sonic’s qualities: it is simple, yet inventive. Each stage has its own theme and gimmicks that make them stand out and memorable. Many of the stages have unique topography that really do look like they came out of a dream.
NiGHTS isn’t exactly adrenaline inducing, but it’s still a fast game. Many of the game’s best moments come when your quickly zooming through loops and collecting blue chips, racking up huge links and points in the process. NiGHTS is all precision and memorization, perfecting your runs through the game’s stages so that you can improve your scores and A rank all the stages. NiGHTS into Dreams in many ways invokes many of the best elements of Sonic’s best games.
NiGHTS into Dreams HD is available on Xbox Live, PSN and Steam. If you’re feeling up for playing it old school, it’s also available on the Saturn. There was also a sequel released for the Wii version called Journey of Dreams, but that isn’t really as good and shares flaws with many of Sonic Team’s modern Sonic games.
Ristar
Though it doesn’t bear the Sonic Team name, many Sonic Team alumni apparently worked on the game. In fact, this was character designer Yuji Uekawa’s first game. He would soon go on to become the character designer for the Sonic games starting with Sonic R in 1997.
Ristar itself is considerably slower than your standard Sonic game, but features the kind of cute character design, creative level design and unique character abilities Sonic Team was once known for. Ristar is all about swinging and bouncing around stages and adapting to the unique gimmicks each stage throws at you. One musical stage has you carrying around metronomes and bringing them to song birds that, when activated, add their voice to the stage’s background music, which slowly becomes more elaborate over the course of the stage. Another has you springing traps meant for you by throwing miniature Ristar models. Even the boss fights are varied, and can range from a cute little snow ball fight with a small child to an epic confrontation with a giant robotic mole during a freefall.
If you want to know more, you can check out the content I wrote for Ristar Week, which I ran for SEGAbits earlier this year. Ristar itself can be played on the Wii and Wii U through the Wii’s Virtual Console service. It can also be found on numerous compilations including the SEGA Genesis Collection, Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection and Sonic Mega Collection (as an unlockable). The original game can be played on the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive.
I’ll be back later with more recommendations, so stay tuned!
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License! Global: New Sonic Mobile Apps Coming 2014
In the latest issue of License! Global, there is a small section on Sonic Boom’s appearance at the Vegas Licensing Expo later this year. In the paragraph they mention the following.
“New video games for the Wii U system and the Nintendo 3DS handheld system, and a new mobile app games“
Now this might mean previous mobile apps such as Jump or Dash, however it’s odd that they didn’t just name those, also the fact they call them ‘new’ since they’ve been out for a long time.
So want more Sonic mobile apps, let us know in the comments.
Source: Global! License
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[UPDATE] Is SEGA Searching For a New Sidekick For a Future Sonic Game?
UPDATE: We have learned that while the Sonic page wasn’t archived at Google until April 17th 2014, the images were uploaded to Michael Nagy’s site July 15th 2013. It’s now very likely that this is a scrapped project.
Thanks to Gatestormer at the SSMB for the heads up!
ORIGINAL ARTICLE BELOW:
It appears SEGA may be on the hunt for a sidekick for a new Sonic game they’re working on behind the scenes fronted by a new worldwide campaign titled The Search for Sonic’s Sidekick. In slides discovered by The Sonic Stadium at ad agency DDB Tribal artist Michael Nagy’s website there are images of an online mobile game SEGA will use in a competition to get fans involved in the new campaign. DDB Tribal are responsible for major campaigns for events such as The Queens Diamond Jubilee and advertisements for a variety of big brand companies.
The aforementioned mobile game sees players in twelve cities around the globe create a character and then race their character around their city using Google’s Street View technology. You then log your best time onto the leaderboard and the player with the fastest time at the end of the competition will see their character in the next Sonic game. The competition will run for eleven months and visit a new city every month.
We have created an online game using Google Street view where you compete to become Sonic’s sidekick. Your online avatar will be in the next game that is produced for Sonic. The competition will run for 11 months and move to a different city every month across the globe. The cities include Tokyo, Hong Kong, Berlin, Paris, London, Cape Town, Toronto, New York, San Francisco, Rio De Janeiro and Sydney.
The description doesn’t mention whether this is a console or mobile title, but for a campaign this big, it’s likely this could be for the next big console game from Sonic Team after Sonic Boom. We checked on Google and this page was archived just last week on April 17th 2014, so it’s very recent. The website http://www.runthestreets.com isn’t live yet, but the domain does appear to be up for sale and a Whois check doesn’t show any ownership by SEGA or Google just yet.
It’s also worth noting that there is no mention or indication of the new character replacing Tails as Sonic’s sidekick, so don’t panic, Tails fans. This new character could likely be playing a sidekick role similar to Chip in Sonic Unleashed or Yacker in Sonic Colours. Whatever the role, the character will obviously be important to the new game.
The images are currently still live on Michael Nagy’s website, but you can also find all of them in our gallery below.
What do you think of this campaign? Is it a good idea to get fans involved in the creation of a new character?
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Sonic Spotted During London Marathon TV Coverage
Last week we brought you news of Lewis Griffiths’ efforts to take part in this years London Marathon, well… he’s there’s, and he’s been spotted on TV too.
During a race side interview with The Ultimate Warrior. Sonic was able to just edge into shot as he overtook the famous wrestler. Based on various tweets and other comments on social media, Lewis has also been spotted by a number of other spectators and is causing a bit of a stir as he powers by.
![soniclondon](http://www.sonicstadium.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/soniclondon.jpg)
From all of us here at The Sonic Stadium, Good show Lewis! Keep it up.
Also if you want to donate to Lewis’ charity (Leukaemia Care) you can do so via his donation page.
Special thanks to SSMB member Lucky for the tip and for spotting lewis in the half a second he was on screen!
P.S. Based on current TV Footage, Sonic is ahead of the following… Iron Man, Spiderman, The Ultimate Warrior, Charlie Chaplin and a man carrying a giant tiger whilst dressed as a robot…?
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So this happened in Rio the other night…
They’re coming to get you Barbra…! They’re coming for you!
LOOK! Here comes one of them now!
So over in Rio, the people there love to party! And, as part of this years Rio Carnival, one school group decided to party on mass as Sonic. From what little knowledge I know of the Rio Carnival, there seems to be a ‘theme’ each year, but there’s also various sub themes that carnival schools can chose to do.
Well one school decided it was going to go to the carnival as Sonic… … I don’t know why, but it’s awesome!
Why can’t this kind of thing happen near where I live?
Source: Folha De S.Paulo
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Mario & Sonic 2014: 30% off on EU eShop until Sunday
Heads up European Wii U owners! To coincide with the start of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Russia this weekend, Nintendo have announced plans to reduce the price of the latest Mario & Sonic game by 30% if you buy it from the Wii U eShop or through the Nintendo UK Online Store.
The offer will run from tomorrow (7th February) to 23:59 on Sunday, 9th February. If you’ve yet to pick up the game or have been itching for a discount on the digital version, now might be the time to take the plunge. If you’re still on the fence about whether or not to spend your money, check out our TSS review of the game to help you make your mind up.
This offer is currently only announced for Europe, but we will update you if it becomes available for any other regions.
Source: Twitter
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Sonic Themed Doodle Jump Figures Spotted at London Toy Fair
Based on photos taken by toy website Idle Hands, it would appear that the gift company Paladone are making figures based on the popular game Doodle Jump. And one of the more interesting photos taken was this…
That is the ‘Doodler’ wearing a Sonic costume. Well I wasn’t expecting to see that today but alrighty then. So you might be asking, is this official? Well it would seem so, Paladone have a huge banner above their booth displaying the Sonic the Hedgehog logo and from another photo taken have several other items on show at their booth too.
Which then begs the question, is there going to be some kind of Sonic Doodle Jump cross over? Or is this one of those one off bits of fan service?
No details on when these will be available yet or prices, but stick to TSS and we’ll update you with more information when we get it.
Source: Idle Hands