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 –
Yeow95:
3 Questions, Ruby….
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.
Ruby Eclipse:
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.
Yeow 95:
But what about the iPad thing? I don’t get Clumsyorhard’s “iPad nano” joke.
Sorry about putting the new characters, my mistake, but this:
We confirmed Sonic being the exclusive playable character there long ago.
So does that mean Tails and Knuckles WON’T BE IN SONIC 4?!
RubyEclipse:
I can’t speak in detail on your iPad question, so I’ll have to wait on that one until I have a definitive answer for you.
No worries on the new characters part! You’re partly correct though, Sonic will be the only playable character in Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I.
Note how RubyEclipse bolds the title, perhaps a hint at playable characters in future episodes?
RubyEclipse again:
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.
