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Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony have announced a “Sonic Anniversary sale“ on digital downloads via the eShop, Playstation Store, and XBox live for Sonic the Hedgehog titles, including Team Sonic Racing!
Continue reading Anniversary Sales On Sonic Titles Via Nintendo eShop, XBox Live, Playstation Store
In an update to his blog, Xbox Live’s Major Nelson has revealed that Sonic Generations was added to Xbox Live Marketplace’s Games on Demand yesterday. The game is available to download for £24.99/$29.99/29,99€/$49.95AU, with a demo available to try before you buy. Oddly, SEGA hasn’t said a word about this on their blog or social media sites.
If you missed our review, you can check it out here.
Source: Major Nelson
Xbox Live Avatar Award items have been revealed online for the upcoming HD port of Sonic Adventure 2 on Xbox Live Arcade …and they aren’t much different to the ones released with the first Sonic Adventure. Even the tasks to unlock them are the same. The items include a Sonic Adventure 2 shirt and Sonic’s shoes that he wears in the game. You can check out pictures of the items after the jump.
Continue reading Sonic Adventure 2 Xbox Live Avatar Awards Revealed
Xbox Live’s Major Nelson has just posted the latest Xbox Live Marketplace release schedule detailing all games and other items being released over the next couple of weeks. Among them are Sonic Adventure 2 Avatar items planned to be released June 5th, which, conveniently, is when E3 begins. Could SEGA be planning to unveil an Xbox Live Arcade port of Sonic Adventure 2 soon?
The Dreamcast classic was featured in a leaked list of XBLA games back in early April, and as you may recall, that list outed Harmonix’s Rock Band Blitz game before it was announced.
We’ll keep our eyes open for any further developments.
Source: Xbox Live’s Major Nelson’s Blog
Thanks to kmurphy91 on Twitter for the heads up!
Gone live a few minutes ago, Sonic 4: Episode II is now available for purchase off the Xbox Live Marketplace. The game is priced at 1200 points and should be available worldwide.
Those who are away from their consoles at the moment can reserve a downloadable copy of the Sonic 4 saga’s second entry right off the game’s Xbox Live Marketplace product page and start the download immediately when they get home.
A selection of Sonic 4: Episode 2 avatars have been put up for sale on the Xbox Marketplace this week. The selection of items include your usual suspects such as clothing and toys. However also included in the selection is an Episode 2 cartridge and Special Stage half pipe avatar prop.
See a full selection of whats on offer after the break.
Continue reading Sonic 4: Episode 2 Avatar Items Now Available on Xbox Marketplace
Fans of cosplay and Xbox Live Avatars will be happy to hear that Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 will include unlockable Avatar Awards. While Episode 1 allowed you to unlock parts of a Sonic the Hedgehog costume, Episode 2 will challenge fans to unlock a costume based on his nemesis Dr.Eggman.
Check out the rest of the costume in both male and female variants and the requirements to unlock them after the jump.
Continue reading Sonic 4: Episode 2 Xbox Live Avatar Awards Revealed
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 now has a product page on Xbox.com and in it there is yesterday’s trailer up for download to your Xbox 360 console as well as a few more details about the game. It seems the game won’t feature multiplayer or co-op, despite Tails’ inclusion. Online leaderboards are returning and the game will also support full 1080p resolution and in-game Dolby Digital.
The product description reads:
The Sonic 4 Saga continues in Episode II, with the return of Tails and Metal Sonic! In the follow up to Episode I there are surprises in store with the arrival of Sonic’s legendary sidekick Tails! Race across all new zones and defeat the evil forces of Dr. Eggman and fearsome rival Metal Sonic. The wait is finally over when the game releases in 2012
Source: Xbox.com
As part of the Xbox 12 Days of Deals, you can grab a range of Sonic the Hedgehog titles at a whopping 60% off on the Xbox 360 Xbox Live Marketplace for today only. Almost all of Sonic’s Xbox Live Arcade releases are included in the offer, with the exceptions being Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic CD.
Here’s the list of games and discounts:
Sonic 4, Episode 1 Was: 800 Now: 320
Sonic Adventure Was: 800 Now: 320
Sonic Adventure Upgrade Was: 400 Now: 160
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Was: 400 Now: 160
Sonic the Hedgehog Was: 400 Now: 160
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Was: 400 Now: 160
Source: Xbox Live’s Major Nelson Blog
SEGA has revealed that they will be releasing some Sonic Generations themed content for sale to style your PS3’s XMB and Xbox 360 Avatar with this week. On December 7th (tomorrow), European PS3 fans can purchase a Classic Sonic and a Modern Sonic Dynamic Theme, each costing £1.59/€1.99. On December 8th, Xbox 360 owners worldwide will be able to buy items to dress their Avatar with, each ranging from 80 MSP to 240MSP.
Super Sonic Avatar Costume – 240 MSP
Classic Sonic Avatar Costume – 240 MSP
Classic Amy-Rose Avatar Costume – 240 MSP
Sonic Generations T-Shirt – 80 MSP
Sonic Generations Cap – 160 MSP
You can find two videos of the PS3 Dynamic Themes at the SEGA Blog link below.
Source: SEGA Blog
Will you be downloading any of this content? Let us know in the comments section below.
Xbox360Achievements.org has released the Xbox Live Achievements list for the upcoming port of Sonic CD. The twelve tasks range from collecting rings and Time Stones to getting a hug from Amy Rose, all for a total of 200G.
You can view the full Achievements list below:
Source: Xbox360Achievements.org
Microsoft has sneakily put up an Xbox Live product page this week in the US for SEGA’s upcoming Sonic CD port on Xbox Live Arcade and many other digital platforms. There’s no new information to be found, but there are six new screenshots from a bunch of the game’s stages and the Xbox Live Arcade ‘box art’. You can view all of the images in our gallery below.
Source: Xbox.com
According to an Xbox Live Marketplace schedule on Xbox Live’s Major Nelson’s blog, SEGA will be releasing Sonic Generations themed Avatar content next week on Tuesday November 8th. There are no details about what the actual Avatar content is or what the pricing will be, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see the above promotional Avatar outfits made available.
We’ll update when we know more.
Source: Major Nelson’s blog
UPDATE: It appears SEGA made a mistake with the earlier date for Xbox Live and EU PSN users. In an update at the SEGA blog and the SEGA Twitter feed, community manager Clumsyorchid says the demo will release tomorrow, not Wednesday.
Original article:
Following SEGA France’s announcement, SEGA Europe and SEGA of America have re-affirmed a second demo for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Sonic Generations. The demo will consist of both Classic Sonic and Modern Sonic’s Green Hill Zone acts and will be available to download October 19th via PlayStation Store in Europe and Xbox Live Marketplace in Europe and the US. SEGA of America has revealed via the SEGA Blog that US PS3 fans will get the demo October 25th. The publisher has also re-affirmed a late November release for the Nintendo 3DS version and the retail version of the PC version.
Check out the press release below.
SONIC GENERATIONS™ CONTINUES TO CELEBRATE SONIC’S 20TH ANNIVERSARY WITH DEMO #2!
LONDON & SAN FRANCISCO (October 17, 2011) – SEGA® Europe Ltd. & SEGA® America, Inc., today confirmed that a second demo is being released prior to the launch of the highly anticipated Sonic Generations™ game for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system.
The first demo, released on June 23rd 2011 – the anniversary of Sonic’s 20th year – allowed fans to play as Classic Sonic only. Now the second demo means fans can finally play as Modern Sonic – as well as Classic Sonic again – in the stunning environments of the iconic Green Hill level from Sonic Generations™. Demo #2 for the game will be available via XBLA and PSN on 19th October for Europe.
Gamers will be able to get their hands on the full game on the 4th November when Sonic Generations™ finally hits stores for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PC digital download. Sonic Generations™ PC boxed product and the Nintendo 3DS™ system will be released later in November 2011.
Source: SEGA Press
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJNZtcslSlc&feature=channel_video_title[/youtube]
UPDATE: French Sonic fansite Eversonic has also confirmed the translation, so we’re now reporting this as confirmed.
Original article:
SEGA France has reportedly confirmed a new demo for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Sonic Generations during their public presentation at last week’s Micromania Games Tour in France we told you about last month. YouTube user bastien061301 was there and recorded SEGA’s Sonic Generations demonstration and we’ve been told that the SEGA rep on stage confirms (at 06:13 in the video) that a new demo is coming to PlayStation Network and Xbox Live on Wednesday October 19th.
Astalavista at the SEGA Forums has the full translation:
French
Il y aura une autre demo qui va sortir le 19 octobre sur ps3 et xbox 360 …
English
There will be another demo of Sonic Generations in the 19 october for the PS3 and Xbox 360
Source: bastien061301 at YouTube
Thanks to nick1996 for the heads up and to Astalavista for the translation!
Got a news tip? Send it in to thesonicstadium@googlemail.com, shadzter@sonicstadium.org or via Twitter at @Shadzter and we’ll credit you for the find.
Following our report on yesterday’s random discount on the Xbox 360 version of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1, SEGA has announced early this morning on their blog that the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game have been/will be given permanent price drops. The Xbox 360 version has already received its 400 MSP cut worldwide from 1200 MSP to 800 MSP and the PS3 version will drop from £9.99/€12.99/AU$19.95 to £6.29/€7.99/AU$12.95 in Europe, the Middle East and Africa later today. The PS3 version will also get a price cut in North America next week on Tuesday October 18th.
Source: SEGA Blog
Got a news tip? Send it in to thesonicstadium@googlemail.com, shadzter@sonicstadium.org or via Twitter at @Shadzter and we’ll credit you for the find.
SEGA has revealed that Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 on Windows Phone 7 is this week’s Xbox Live Deal of the Week in all territories. For one week only, you can grab the game for just £2.29, down from £5.49. Oddly, SEGA says the game has dropped from $6.99 to $4.99 in the US, while the Marketplace lists it at $2.99.
You can buy the game from the UK Marketplace here or the US Marketplace here.
Source: SEGA Blog
Got a news tip? Send it in to thesonicstadium@googlemail.com, shadzter@sonicstadium.org or via Twitter at @Shadzter and we’ll credit you for the find.
An update to Sonic Generations‘ product page at the official Xbox website Xbox.com has confirmed the Xbox 360 version’s Xbox Live features. The game will feature online leaderboards and support downloadable content, though whether the downloadable content support will extend beyond the Casino Night Zone pinball mini-game being given away through pre-orders in the US and via Special and Collector’s Editions in Europe is unclear.
Source: Sonic Generations Xbox.com product page
Thanks to SSMB member K.K. Driller for the heads up!
Got a news tip? Send it in to thesonicstadium@googlemail.com, shadzter@sonicstadium.org or via Twitter at @Shadzter and we’ll credit you for the find.
In today’s ‘‘Heads-Up’ Game Store Update’, the EU PS Blog has revealed that three new Sonic Generations themes will be made available free of charge today on the EU PS Store for you to decorate your PS3’s XMB with. The themes are listed under the Dynamic Themes section, so they should be more than just background wallpapers.
Sonic Generations
* Sonic 20Th Anniversary (free)
* Sonic 20Th Anniversary Modern Theme (free)
* Sonic 20Th Anniversary Poster Theme (free)
The Sonic Generations E3 City Escape trailer is also now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace and US PS Store. EU PS3 users will be able to download it later today when the EU PS Store updates.
Sources: EU PS Blog, US PS Blog and the Xbox Live Marketplace
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHAjkSw_u0Q[/youtube]
In celebration of Sonic the Hedgehog’s 20th Anniversary, SEGA’s offering discounts on digital Sonic titles for a limited time only on the Xbox Live Marketplace, PlayStation Network and the company’s own PC Download service.
Here’s the full lineup, prices and dates of availability:
Xbox®LIVE Arcade
Available from 23 – 28 June
Sonic the Hedgehog™ – Was 400 points Now 240 points
Sonic the Hedgehog™ 2 – Was 400 points Now 240 points
Sonic the Hedgehog™ 3 – Was 400 points Now 240 points
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG™ 4 Episode 1 – Was 1,200 points Now 800 points
Sonic & Knuckles™ – Was 240 points Now 120 points
Sonic Adventure™ – Was 800 points Now 400 points
Sonic Adventure™ DX upgrade (add on) – Was 400 Now 240
Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing™ add-on offers:
Metal Sonic & Death Egg Zone (add on) – Was 560 points Now 320 points
Ryo Hazuki / Forklift Truck (add on) – Was 320 points Now 240 points
Unlock All Characters & Tracks (add on) – Was 400 points Now 240 points
PlayStation®Network
Sonic 20th Anniversary bundle only £13.99/$19.99 /€17.99
Available from 23 June to 12 July
Sonic the Hedgehog™
Sonic the Hedgehog™ 2
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG™ 4 Episode 1
Sonic Adventure™
Sonic Adventure DX Upgrade
Dynamic Theme for SONIC THE HEDGEHOG™ 4 Episode 1
PC Download
Sonic 20th Anniversary bundle only £11.97/$14.97/€13.47
Available from 23 – 30 June
Bundle includes:
Sonic 3D Blast™
Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine™
Sonic Spinball™
Sonic the Hedgehog™
Sonic the Hedgehog™ 2
Sonic 3 & Knuckles™
UK Store
U.S. Store
France Store
Germany Store
Spain Store
Sources: SEGA of America’s website and the official Sonic Facebook page
The Sonic Generations demo has been made available for Xbox 360 and PS3 users today on Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Store. As reported yesterday, just Classic Sonic is playable and only in one Act of Green Hill Zone, but with plenty of routes to explore, it will keep you busy for a few replays. Don’t forget, the demo will only be available for 20 days and all downloaded copies will expire after 20 days too. As with all retail game demos, Xbox 360 users will need an Xbox Live Gold Membership to download the demo for the first week. Free Members will get the demo next week.
The Sonic 20th Anniversary bundle has also been made available for purchase on the PlayStation Store today. An Xbox 360 equivalent is nowhere to be seen, so it appears this is a PS3 exclusive. The bundle includes Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1, Sonic Adventure (and DX add-on), and the Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 dynamic theme. The bundle will be available for 20 days at the reduced price of (£13.99/€17.99/$19.99).
Have you tried out the demo? Share your thoughts on it in the comments.
In an update to their Twitter feed, SEGA reports that Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka has announced a demo for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Sonic Generations at the SEGA of America’s Sonic Boom event. No details have been revealed as to when we can expect the demo to arrive on the PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Marketplace or what stage is included, but when that information is made available we’ll pass it along.
Source: SEGA’s Twitter Feed
Tweet 1 link
Tweet 2 link
SEGA has today made their first Xbox 360 Kinect title Sonic Free Riders available for download on Xbox Live Marketplace among the Games on Demand range. The game is the third entry in SEGA’s Sonic Riders racing series and features full-body control using Kinect to steer, jump, attack and boost your way through the game’s courses. Sonic Free Riders contains lots of new content, such as new courses, more characters (including Avatar support), more extreme gear, leaderboards and both offline and online multiplayer.
If you’re interested in Sonic Free Riders, you can buy and download it for £29.99/$49.99 from your Xbox 360 console, or you can purchase it from the official Xbox website. If you want to give the game a try, a demo is also available to download.
Source: SEGA of America Blog
Microsoft has priced and dated its line-up of what they’re calling ‘Must Have Games’ for Windows Phone. Six titles are planned for release on Xbox Live individually each week from Wednesday May 25th and they will all feature achievements, leaderboards and more. Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 will launch on June 15th and will cost you £5.49/$6.99 to download. Check out an official screenshot and gameplay footage of the Windows Phone version at the 0:34 mark in the trailer below.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkdornqZQis[/youtube]
Here’s the full line-up of Windows Phone games:
Hydro Thunder Go
Microsoft Game Studios
Release date: 5/25/2011
Price: £3.99/$4.99
Doodle Jump
GameHouse
Release Date: 6/1/2011
Price: £2.49/$2.99
geoDefense
Microsoft Game Studios
Release Date: 6/8/2011
Price: £2.49/$2.99
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I
Sega
Release Date: 6/15/2011
Price: £5.49/$6.99
Plants vs. Zombies
PopCap Games
Release Date: 6/22/2011
Price: £3.99/$4.99
Angry Birds
Rovio
Release Date: 6/29/2011
Price: £2.49/$2.99
Sources: SocialTimes.com, Windows Phone UK Facebook page and Xbox.com
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SEGA has announced that last year’s kart racer Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing is now available for download from the Xbox Live Marketplace’s Games On Demand service for Xbox 360. The download weighs in at 3.82 GB and will set you back £14.99/19,99 €/$29.99.
SEGA issued a press release, which you can check out below.
SEGA® of America, Inc. and SEGA® Europe Ltd. today announced that Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing™ is now for sale through the Xbox LIVE® Games On Demand platform for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. The hit arcade racing game, starring SEGA’s eclectic ensemble of heroes and villains, is available for immediate download, allowing players to jump right in to frantic, explosive races with up to four local players, or eight online players.
Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing puts players on the track and in the shoes of a host of popular SEGA characters, from the blue blur himself to AiAi and Dr. Eggman, each with their own unique vehicle. Players must use their driving skills to drift and dodge their way to a checkered flag in a variety of single-player modes, as well as multiplayer races both off and online. The racer is the latest title to appear in SEGA’s growing library of download-ready games through Xbox LIVE Games On Demand, including hits such as Bayonetta™ and Aliens vs. Predator™.
For more information about Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing, visit www.sega.com.
You can grab the full game, a demo, DLC and Avatar items at the Xbox Live Marketplace website or from your Xbox 360’s dashboard.
Sources: Gameplay Monthly and MajorNelson.com
Really, what is there to say about Sonic Adventure? A lot of people love it. Some people hate it. A lot of people seem to forget just how good it was and call it crappy because a successor released in 2006 was utter tripe. This game will hopefully remind them of just how good the original was.
But, more than that, this game has actually made some technical improvements over the original as well. The game itself feels a bit tighter; it’s more difficult to get caught on environments, and I have yet to fall through the floor. The overall collision detection is noticeably better, and I was only able to push myself through one of the white picket fences once. That isn’t to say the game’s collision detection is completely FLAWLESS, of course, but the bugs remaining at this point don’t seem so consequential. I’m not even able to take my short cut near the end of the level, where I shoot myself up the white ramp, move over to the right, and fling myself over to the next island. The frame no longer misses a beat either. I threw myself at enemies a couple times when I was loaded with rings, and the frame rate remained smooth, unlike in past incarnations of the game, where it would often stutter.
The game’s visuals have also seen a noticeable HD upgrade. The colors are more vibrant then they were before, and the Sonic model definitely looks like it has more polys then it does in the Gamecube version.
Overall, SA plays like the original, with minor improvements. I (stupidly) forgot to ask about wide screen, but that’s something I’ll rectify tomorrow. I don’t really think this is worth the purchase for anyone who has already experienced, at least from what I’ve seen. The changes are there, but aside from the minor HD upgrades, they may be hard to notice. We’ll see if there is anything about this game that’ll make it worth a repurchase when it comes out later this year.
Microsoft have detailed the list of upcoming releases to Xbox Live’s Games On Demand service where you can buy and download full Xbox 360 games for £19.99 each.
Here’s the rest of this months releases –
October 13: Grand Theft Auto IV
October 20: Midnight Club Los Angeles, Army of Two, Sonic Unleashed
October 27: Dead Space, DiRT
So if your after a Sonic fix without leaving your sofa and don’t want to deal with the national postal strikes then this is probably your best bet.
The Xbox 360 version of Sonic Unleashed has received a new update for download on Xbox Live this morning in Europe, no news on wether other regions have received this but Xbox Live updates are usually worldwide so other regions will most likely have this too.
The update doesn’t seem to have changed anything about the game(Adabat’s frame-rate is still choppy) although after loading up your game save the cursor on the planet isn’t over the last area you visited like normal but instead the cursor is over an open ocean area. If it’s anything like the last update the game got over Xbox Live and Playstation Network, it will be to prepare the game for upcoming downloadable content and then any fixes to the game will take effect once you have the downloadable content.
We’ll bring you more news on this as it happens.
UPDATE:
Archangel UK over at the official Sonic City Blognik has confirmed that the Unleashed Xbox 360 patch put out today does indeed confirm our speculation that more downloadable content is coming and that current hidden areas in the game people in the research community have been digging into will be opening up.
We’ll let you know more on this when the downloadable content becomes available.
A second downloadable content pack for Sonic Unleashed titled Spagonia Adventure Pack is now available from Xbox Live Marketplace. 2 weeks ago we saw the first pack titled Chun-Nan Adventure Pack which contained extra stages for both Sonic and his Werehog form.
We are currently downloading this pack to investigate it’s contents and will update you soon. The description says four daytime stages and two night-time stages are available, three of them are all new and three are new missions. No word on if this is available on the Playstation Store which in the U.S. and Europe still hasn’t received the Chun-Nan pack.
UPDATE: I’ve had a quick play of the stages and here are my findings. Sonic: The first two are hard mode versions of Act’s 1 and 2 with the other two stages being completely new. One is a tricky platforming stage held in the skies of Spagonia and the other is a chase against some flying bots.
Werehog: The first is a hard mode version of Act 1 and the second is a completely new stage that see’s you travel round the canal’s of Spagonia.
Seem’s a pretty good pack that’s definitely worth the 250 MS Points.
You can download the pack here.
Xbox players looking forward to getting their Hunt on in Phantasy Star Online might be surprised at this news – according to a new report, there will be additional fees for access to the game on Microsoft’s home console.
Continue reading Report: PSO Episode I & II on Xbox To Have FeesLooks like Xbox-owning Phantasy Star Online players will get something a little extra when the online RPG releases later this year. According to a report from TSSZ, Episode I & II will support Xbox Live’s voice chat system in addition to the usual text communications available on the Gamecube version.
Continue reading Report: PSO Episode I & II Will Support Voice Chat on Xbox
