So, with Apple Arcade launching today, we’re finally getting our first in-depth looks at both Sonic Racing and Chu Chu Rocket! Universe. With no official footage being released, we decided to record our own footage of these games.
It should be noted that both of these games are being recorded off of an iPhone 7, which could only achieve medium graphical quality for either game. This footage is not representative of how the games will look on more advanced hardware.
For Sonic Racing, I recorded the tutorial and a few races in the default vertical orientation, before later recording some footage horizontally. Check them out below:
I actually found it more difficult to play this game with the landscape orientation. Here’s hoping the Apple TV version has controller support:
For Chu Chu Rocket! Universe, I recorded the opening minutes of the game, including some bits of story mode, then recorded another puzzle separately to show off how arrows are selected (and because it was the first puzzle I had some trouble with).
You’ll find those recordings below:
Be sure to stick around for more news on these and other games!
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Two Sonic Team franchises have launched new entries today as part of Apple Arcade’s launch line-up. Sonic Racing brings a version of Sumo Digital’s Team Sonic Racing to Apple’s platforms, letting players race as a variety of Sonic characters in a team-based racer. Chu Chu Rocket! Universe brings back the classic puzzle action of the Dreamcast original, where the player has to direct mice through a course to their rocket ship, without letting the cats eat them. Both games were made by SEGA HARDlight, the same developers behind the Sonic Dash games.
Apple Arcade is a subscription-based game service for Apple platforms, including iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Macintosh. For $5 a month, you gain access to every game on the service, without needing to deal with ads, in-app purchases, or other kinds of micro transactions. Every game on the service is exclusive to it, so it’s unlikely these games will be appearing on other platforms (or at least mobile platforms) any time soon.
If you want to try the games now, you can take advantage of a 30-day free trial after downloading iOS 13 for iPhone. Unfortunately, only iPhone users can currently access Apple Arcade, as the updates for Apple’s other platforms are arriving until September 30.
UPDATE: We have been able to confirm that both games boast controller support, including support for PS4 and Xbox One controllers. To sync a PS4 controller, hold the share and home buttons to put it into pairing mode. For Xbox One, hold the sync button. Afterwards, each controller can be linked to your iPhone from the phone’s Bluetooth menu.
SEGA has also released a trailer showing off both games, which you can check out below:
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Tech giant Apple unveiled its subscription-based gaming service last night, titled ‘Apple Arcade’, and surprisingly SEGA has already been confirmed as a key partner in the upcoming platform, with a ‘Sonic Racing’ game being prepped for release later this year. Continue reading SEGA Hardlight-Developed ‘Sonic Racing’ Announced for Apple Arcade
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Looks like Sonic Boom won’t be the only game starring everyone’s favourite blue blur at E3 this year! Just revealed via an announcement trailer on SEGA Europe’s YouTube channel, Sonic Jump Fever – a sequel to the original Sonic Jump mobile game – will be bouncing its way onto iOS and Android devices at some point in the near future.
Originally released in Canada earlier this year, the core gameplay in Sonic Jump Fever will be very similar to its predecessor, only this time with more dynamic action, more combos… and of course, more fever! The question is though – will it be a real leap forward? (sorry, I’ll get my coat…)
Little else is known about the game’s release outside Canada beyond that shown off in the trailer, but be sure to stay tuned to TSS for any further updates on the game – and in the meantime, let us know your thoughts on this announcement in the comments!
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Talk about a bolt from the blue! Completely out of nowhere, a brand new version of Sonic Dash, curiously titled Sonic Dash S, has hit iOS and Android devices in Japan. While it doesn’t appear to differ too heavily from the current edition of the game available elsewhere across the globe, this iteration does bring with it some new features and refinements.
First up, Sonic Dash S actually seems to have some sort of plot to it. No longer is Sonic just aimlessly running for the sake of running – now he’s on a high speed chase to stop Dr. Eggman, who has once again made off with the elusive Master Emerald (Knuckles just can’t catch a break, can he?). Sonic Dash S also sees the return of the Chao who, in a similar fashion to their appearance in Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, provide Sonic and his friends with special abilities to boost their skills. That’s not the only thing bumping up the blue blur’s stats in this version either – you can upgrade the characters themselves by acquiring bonuses and levelling up. Essentially, it sounds like the same Sonic Dash experience, but padded out with a few additional elements to spice things up.
SSMB member SwiftWinds also notes that characters have their own special abilities when they reach a certain level – for instance, Tails can fly out of a pit, Knuckles can overcome bombs and spikes, Amy increases your banked ring count, and Shadow increases the rings you earn at the end of a run. Additionally, characters can be unlocked using normal rings in Sonic Dash S rather than the red rings that are otherwise required in the standard version of Sonic Dash.
There is no word yet on whether Sonic Dash S will hit any other regions, be it as a brand new download or as an update to the existing game – but stay tuned to TSS and we’ll keep you in the loop! Thanks to SSMB member Woun for bringing it to our attention in the first place.
What are your first thoughts on Sonic Dash S? Let us know in the comments!
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SEGA’s newest mobile game, inspired by endless runner titles such as Temple Run, pits Sonic and his friends against an infinite obstacle course where you jump, avoid, spin, and dash through enemies and objects.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucbhL3kubVQ
This is exactly the kind of game I expect to become addicting really, really quickly. The graphics, the music, and the fitting nature of the game… it’s gorgeous!
Screenshots have also been uploaded on Sonic Dash‘s New Zealand iTunes page, which you can observe after the jump! Eh? Eh? See what I… okay.
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Sega has officially announced Sonic Dash for all iOS devices and is coming “soon”. Hardlight Studios, the team behind Sonic Jump, is once again at the helm of this Sonic game (so expect micro transactions.) Not many details have been mentioned so far, but it sounds very much like a 3D infinite runner not unlike Temple Run and it’s expected to include leaderboards as well. Read on for Sega’s full press release. Continue reading Sega Officially Announces Sonic Dash for iOS
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Pocket Gamer has revealed that Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is coming to iPhone and iPad, however, Sumo Digital’s Gareth Williams says it won’t arrive until “after Christmas”, likely meaning a 2013 release. Pricing is still up in the air, with the developer in discussions on whether to charge a small amount or even give the game away free and let people buy the characters they want.
“Do we sell it for two or three dollars, and have a few little in-app purchases?” Williams says. “But maybe we should give it away for free and allow people to buy characters.”
For the full interview, head over to Pocket Gamer at the link below.
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SEGA has just given some big news on their blog regarding the upcoming Sonic CD re-release. From today, those who purchase a GameStop branded Android tablet will get Sonic CD as a pre-installed game way ahead of the game’s newly announced December release on all platforms. Finally, SEGA has revealed that Sonic’s two-tailed friend Miles “Tails” Prower will be an unlockable playable character. Players will be able to take control of Tails and his flying ability on their second playthrough of the game.
SEGA also released 9 new screenshots of the game, which we have for you below.
Sonic CD will be re-released in December on Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, PC, iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad, Android Phones and Windows Phone 7.
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SEGA Europe has released a new trailer for their upcoming port of classic Mega CD/SEGA CD title Sonic CD. Like the last trailer, this one teases a connection to the Sonic the Hedgehog 4 saga, but doesn’t give any new hints away. There’s also still no clearer release date than ‘Late 2011’.
We’ll pass on more details as and when we get them.
Thanks to fluttersoard and SSMB member Scott for the heads up!
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Four days later and the new port of Sonic CDrevealed on Monday has been made official. The Mega CD/SEGA CD title will be making its way to many platforms this Holiday season, which include Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad, PC Download, Windows Phone and Android Phone.
The game is said to feature widescreen graphics, the original Japanese soundtrack, special iOS features, Xbox LIVE Achievements, PSN Trophies, PC Achievements and more. Interestingly, SEGA also says this game is a prequel to Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1. A trailer, press release and artwork have also been released, which we have shared for you here.
Check out the press release below:
METAL SONIC! AMY-ROSE! ROBOTS! IT CAN ONLY BE SONIC CD
LONDON & SAN FRANCISCO — 25th August, 2011 —SEGA® Europe Ltd. and SEGA® of America, Inc. today announced that Sonic CD™ will debut on mobile phones and consoles everywhere. Originally released for the MEGA CD™ system in 1993 and with Metal Sonic and Amy Rose making their introduction, Sonic CD is coming to digital platforms with music from the original Japanese soundtrack. The beloved prequel to Sonic The Hedgehog 4 ™ Episode I is coming to iPhone® and iPod® touch, iPad®, Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation® Network, PC Digital Download, Android and Windows Phone 7 and will be available for download this winter.
“Ask any Sonic fan to name their favourite games, and Sonic CD always ranks near the top of their lists,” said Haruki Satomi, Vice President of Digital Business at SEGA. “Sonic CD marks an important chapter in Sonic’s history, bridging the gap between his oldest adventures and his new digital exploits like Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Episode I. We’ve made sure the re-mastered edition has everything that Sonic fans want to see with all of the original colourful classic zones.”
Following the classic story of the original, Sonic CD sees Dr Eggman plan to cause chaos and take control of the future by stealing Times Stones from the Little Planet. Sonic must speed through levels and travel through time whilst fending off Eggman’s robots to recover the Time Stones, and save Amy Rose from his mechanical twin, Metal Sonic! This fast-paced game will return with brand new features including enhanced widescreen graphics, iOS features, Xbox LIVE Achievements, PSN Trophies, PC Achievements and more.
Thanks to Jemma in our comments section for the heads up and to Woun for the YouTube upload!
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SEGA has today re-released Sonic’s Mega Drive/Genesis pinball outing Sonic Spinball on the iTunes App Store for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Sonic Spinball features four levels, three bonus stages and is played using touch screen button controls like all other classic Sonic games available for the devices. The game is priced at $2.99 in the U.S. and £1.79 here in the UK and weighs in at 4MB to download. One new feature in this release is the option to play both the U.S. version and the Japanese version, but the only notable difference is a couple of different music tracks.
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SEGA has announced permanent price drops on most of their iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad games, including Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1. All three games have been jumping up and down in price in recent months, but now you can grab them pretty cheap without worrying about special sale time limits (and just in time for Christmas, too). The two classic Mega Drive/Genesis titles Sonic the Hedgehog & Sonic the Hedgehog 2 have been reduced to £2.99/$4.99 each and Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1, which is barely 2 months old, has been dropped to just £3.99/$6.99.
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SEGA Europe has announced that the classic Dreamcast puzzle game ChuChu Rocket is now available to download from the App Store on the iPhone/iPod touch at €3.99 /£2.99 / AU$5.99 and in HD – on the iPad for €5.49 /£3.99/ AU$8.99. In other news, a Halloween Sale has been announced, with discounts across five titles, including Sonic’s latest classic revival Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1.
Here are the full list of titles and prices:
Shining Force Was: $2.99 £1.79 Now: $0.99 £0.59
Ecco the Dolphin Was: $2.99 £1.79 Now: $0.99 £0.59
Streets of Rage Was: $2.99 £1.79 Now: $0.99 £0.59
Sonic 4 Ep 1 Was: $9.99 £5.99 Now: $6.99 £3.99
Football Manager Was: $4.99 £4.99 Now: $2.99 £2.99
The sale is only for a limited time, so grab those bargains while they’re there.
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After it’s earlier Australian and European release, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 is now available to iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad users in the U.S. for $9.99. If you’re on the fence on wether to buy it or not, two gameplay videos giving a glimpse of all 4 zones are now available for you to view, courtesy of GameTrail and IPGN.
Will you be purchasing the game? If so, let us and others know your thoughts about the game in the comments section.
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According to a report from IGN an iPad version of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 has been confirmed by SEGA and will be appearing in playable form at E3 alongside the other versions. With the iPhone and iPod Touch versions recently confirmed it would make sense to add support for Apple’s new device during the extra time acquired by the delay of the game to Late 2010, the more the merrier as they say. Since iPad can load iPod Touch and iPhone games could this be a specific version for iPad, perhaps in HD?
In other news SEGA of America Community staff member RubyEclipse has been doing a little Q&A at SEGA’s official forums with forum member Yeow95, here are quotes from the conversation –
1. We know that Sonic 4 will be available on the App Store, for the iPod Touch and iPhone….but does that include THE iPAD?!
I don’t even HAVE an iPad, but I know that Sonic 4 with it’s high-def, colorful graphics and gameplay would look GORGEOUS on that thing.
2. Will you guys start updating the website weekly again? We want to see new timers, and see them reveal new badniks, new concept art, new zones, and new sections of the website again! BTW the Splash Hill page still says new video coming soon, may want to fix that! And I know we DO NOT want to wait ALMOST 3 MONTHS for “big” info again!
3. So what have we covered here?
a. 4th platform revealed – App Store for iPod Touch and iPhone
b. Sonic 4 delayed for extra development time to “enchance” the game.
c. JUST ADDED: Project needlemouse T-Shirt.
That’s not really big news. Is there anything else than that? I mean any footage of the other zones, announcements of DLC, playable characters, future episodes, a new Sonic game, etc.? Because I bet I can speak for the whole fanbase that at least some or one of these most of us were expecting.
I’m a bit late to the party here, sorry, but I’ll go ahead and answer the questions I can speak to.
2 – Yes, the website will be updated again soon, though it may not be weekly. Instead, since the wait will probably be just a little longer, the updates themselves may be slightly larger than before. We’ll be able to confirm the time between updates soon.
3 – I think point B is huge news, personally. Part of that might be because I’ve seen some of the specific things that are being changed, as opposed to the somewhat vague statements that have gone out, but regardless I really do think the action itself speaks volumes.
There won’t be any announcements of “new characters”, as we confirmed Sonic being the exclusive playable character there long ago. The other Zones, however – those we will be talking about more in the near future.
Sometimes, even the smallest of changes can make really big (and positive) impacts.
I’m not able to tell you guys specifically what is being changed just yet, but from the small stuff to the fairly big stuff, I think it will all play a part in making the final experience for the fans worthwhile.
So we could possibly be seeing playable characters in future episodes and Sonic 4’s official website could be seeing more larger updates but in smaller doses than the weekly entries we were once used to. RubyEclipse also gives the impression that changes to the game during the extra development time will be quite significant and a vast improvement on what the leaks have shown us. Hopefully we’ll see some of these changes at E3, we’ll keep an eye out for new info and media during the show then keep you posted on everything that surfaces.
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