Japan is around 8 hours ahead of the UK, which means that as we write this right now, it’s already January 1, 2020 in the country. Sonic Team and SEGA has wasted no time in celebrating the turn of the new decade, with a cool new graphic and a new hashtag campaign that may be used to promote new Sonic projects over the next year. Continue reading Sonic Team Celebrates New Year With New #SONIC2020 Campaign
Hero of Legend’s Look Back – Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut
This year is the 20th Anniversary of the Western release of the Sega Dreamcast and flagship launch title Sonic Adventure (its European anniversary was actually yesterday)! But, while everyone can talk about the game’s original release until the cows come home, a lot less remembered is its Gamecube/PC port, Sonic Adventure DX. Let’s take a Look Back at it! Continue reading Hero of Legend’s Look Back – Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut
SEGA Trademarks new potential NiGHTS into Dreams project
It appears Sonic Team’s NiGHTS into Dreams… series may be getting a new entry, if a recent trademark filed by SEGA of Japan is any indication. Continue reading SEGA Trademarks new potential NiGHTS into Dreams project
Phantasy Star Online 2 Finally Coming to North America for Xbox and PC
Today’s Microsoft press conference had a surprise for long-time SEGA fans: Sonic Team’s Phantasy Star Online 2 is finally coming west, exclusively to PC and Xbox One. The game is scheduled for release in the US and Canada Spring 2020. The game has not yet been confirmed for release PAL regions. Check out the reveal trailer below: Continue reading Phantasy Star Online 2 Finally Coming to North America for Xbox and PC
Ex-Sonic Team Sonic Adventure Artist Hiroshi Nishiyama Rejoins SEGA
The Official Sonic Twitch channel had a surprise guest appearance last week, as Sonic Community Manager Aaron Webber introduced Ex-Sonic Team artist Hiroshi Nishiyama to the stream, announcing his return to SEGA. Continue reading Ex-Sonic Team Sonic Adventure Artist Hiroshi Nishiyama Rejoins SEGA
Happy Birthday Naoto Ohshima!
Video game legend and former Sonic Team character designer Naoto Ohshima turned 54 today. Ohshima is best known for designing Sonic the Hedgehog and Dr. Eggman, as well as directing Sonic Team classics like Sonic CD, NiGHTS into Dreams and Burning Rangers. After leaving Sonic Team following the completion of Sonic Adventure, Ohshima formed Artoon, where he would go on to create Blinx the Timesweeper (an attempt at creating a platforming mascot for the original Xbox) and act as a producer for a few Yoshi games.
These days, Ohshima serves as the Vice President of Arzest, a Japanese video game studio he helped form after leaving Artoon in 2010.
From all of us here at the Sonic Stadium, happy birthday Naoto Ohshima!
Check out some art from Ohshima below:
Various Sonic games for Xbox 360 are on sale worldwide for up to 50% off
Microsoft just held their weekly sale and among the games on sale are a bunch of Sonic’s titles for Xbox 360 for up to 50% off. While the games below have their US prices listed, the sale should be available worldwide and presumably the same discounts should apply. The sales for these games below shouldn’t require XBL Gold as well. Continue reading Various Sonic games for Xbox 360 are on sale worldwide for up to 50% off
Sonic Generations Finally Hits Xbox One Backward Compatibility
About friggin’ time!
Microsoft held their second episode of Inside Xbox yesterday, in which they share a behind-the-scenes look at the company’s inner workings, and today’s livestream held a special announcement regarding backward compatibility on Xbox One.
The gaming giant revealed that a handful of backward compatible Xbox 360 games will become Xbox One X-enhanced, a beefy update through which last-gen titles receive a substantial performance boost on the most powerful home console on the market, after the presentation. Among them is none other than Sonic Generations, which also means that the 20th anniversary title celebrating Sonic’s history has also been finally retrofitted for the Xbox One family of systems as of today!
Episode 2 of Inside Xbox also revealed a ton of new original Xbox games being added to the backward compatible library, including SEGA’s own Panzer Dragoon Orta.
Now that leaves only Sonic Unleashed and Sonic ’06 as the remaining mainline Sonic games to become Xbox One backward compatible… I’ll certainly be keeping my fingers crossed.
The Spin: How SEGA is Ignoring the Middle Children of Sonic’s Legacy
2010 was the year Sonic the Hedgehog came back. Yes, we all heard the stories about how the franchise had declined not long after the jump to 3D, how gaming news outlets and critics even now would begin their pieces with some variation of “Sonic has had a rocky history,” and how every new Sonic game released around the “dark ages” period couldn’t shake off the dreaded “Sonic Cycle.” Continue reading The Spin: How SEGA is Ignoring the Middle Children of Sonic’s Legacy
Super Sonic DLC to Remain Free for Sonic Forces Forever
Crisis averted!
Last month, the long-awaited inclusion of Super Sonic had finally come to pass for Sonic Forces, but there was a nasty catch: the Chaos Emerald-powered hedgehog would have only remained free for a limited time.
Continue reading Super Sonic DLC to Remain Free for Sonic Forces Forever
Super Sonic DLC Crashlands into Sonic Forces, Free for a Limited Time
A series staple since Sonic the Hedgehog 2 over twenty-five years ago right up to the recent Sonic Mania, either earning the seven Chaos Emeralds or clearing the game’s story often yielded the highly coveted reward of Super transformation. From there, simply collect fifty rings mid-stage, transform, and blast off with ring-fueled invincibility and faster speeds.
While oddly absent from the game’s initial release over a month ago, Sonic Forces is finally bringing in this long loved franchise staple at long last as free downloadable content… unfortunately, with a catch that is already drawing community backlash.
Continue reading Super Sonic DLC Crashlands into Sonic Forces, Free for a Limited Time
Sonic Talk 49: Unstoppable Forces vs. Immovable Objections
Sonic Forces has come and gone and the Sonic Talk crew of Jason, Alex, GX and special guest (and occasional header artist) Cory Holmes weigh in on the game. We go in and critique every detail of this new 3-D outing from Sonic Team. Is it as good as we’d hoped or as bad as we feared? Listen in to find out. Continue reading Sonic Talk 49: Unstoppable Forces vs. Immovable Objections
Sonic Forces demo now available on Switch and PS4 Japanese Digital Storefronts
If you’re a Switch owner who’s been wanting to try out the upcoming Sonic Forces game, today is your lucky day: SEGA has released a demo on the system’s Japanese eShop.
Continue reading Sonic Forces demo now available on Switch and PS4 Japanese Digital Storefronts
Sonic Team Details Sonic Forces on Switch: 30fps and 720p in all modes
New info on the Switch version of Sonic Forces has emerged from an interview DualShockers did with Sonic Team.
Continue reading Sonic Team Details Sonic Forces on Switch: 30fps and 720p in all modes
Morio Kishimoto is Directing Sonic Forces, No Boom Sonic, Will Be At E3
The director behind Sonic Colors and Sonic Lost World will be taking the helm once more for Sonic Forces, it has been revealed – and if you were hoping for that ‘third playable character’ to be Boom-universe Sonic, prepare to be disappointed. Continue reading Morio Kishimoto is Directing Sonic Forces, No Boom Sonic, Will Be At E3
HQ Gameplay Video and Screenshots of Sonic Forces Released
As promised, Sega have uploaded the HQ gameplay of Modern Sonic that was shown last night at SXSW onto YouTube for all to see. Also we have two high-quality screenshots straight from Sega to share as well!
Continue reading HQ Gameplay Video and Screenshots of Sonic Forces Released
Shun Nakamura is The Producer On Sonic Forces
If Sonic Forces is leaving you with a bit of a Sonic ’06 vibe, what with it’s burning, apocalyptic cities and all, it shouldn’t surprise you. After all, the producer of Sonic Forces is none other than Shun Nakamura, the director on Sonic ’06 as well as Samba De Amigo, Billy Hatcher and The Giant Egg and the well-reviewed, but often overlooked, Rhythm Thief & The Emperor’s Treasure. Nakamura himself posted his involvement on his Twitter account.
This news comes just shortly after the game’s title reveal as well as the announcement that Tomoya Ohtani will be composing the game’s music. An official gameplay reveal video is expected to arrive sometime tomorrow.
Sonic Forces is due on Nintendo Switch, PS4 and Xbox One this holiday season.
SEGA: Project Sonic 2017 Will Introduce a New Character and a New Gameplay “Component”
SEGA held a livestream event to celebrate the recent launch of Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice in Japan, with series director Takashi Iizuka in attendance among others playing the latest Boom instalment and the upcoming Sonic Mania. However, a pair of bombshells has dropped since the event, this time concerning the far-flung Project Sonic 2017 launching next holiday season.
With translations provided by Source Gaming’s PushDustIn, it is confirmed that SEGA has plans to reveal “a completely new character in Project 2017.” We also now have a better idea of the gameplay, which is expected to follow the formula established in Sonic Generations with classic 2D and modern 3D levels – however, a “brand new component” is also going to be introduced.
UPDATE: Sonic CD Becomes Free-to-Play on iOS, Forces Users to Pay to Remove Ads
UPDATE: SEGA has reached out to us with their statement on the error, telling us that the issue has been resolved!
As part of a special promotion, Sonic CD is now free with ads (regularly priced at $2.99) from the App Store. For players who previously purchased Sonic CD, ads were mistakenly added to their game. This was not intended and the issue has now been resolved. Players will need to update to the latest version of Sonic CD (2.0.1) on the App Store. We apologize for the error.
Original story continues below.
Continue reading UPDATE: Sonic CD Becomes Free-to-Play on iOS, Forces Users to Pay to Remove Ads
HoL’s Musings: Sonic’s Future and Potential on the Nintendo Switch
What seemed to be an eternity of waiting since its announcement on March 17th, 2015 has finally passed on October 20th, 2016, as Nintendo had at long last lifted the curtain on the “NX,” or should I say the Nintendo Switch. Even before that day, Sega officially announced that Sonic would indeed be making an appearance on the system. It won’t be just any game, but the even longer-awaited next main game from Sonic Team called Project Sonic 2017, provided the Switch version is the same as the PS4/XBO/PC versions. Continue reading HoL’s Musings: Sonic’s Future and Potential on the Nintendo Switch
Japanese Sonic 25th Anniversary Website Launches
SEGA of Japan have today launched their 25th Anniversary website, and have already begun to populate the page with events and items set to be released for this year.
Continue reading Japanese Sonic 25th Anniversary Website Launches
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
Sonic Runners hits 4 Million Downloads, Free Red Rings for All
This is starting to become a bit of a regular thing now isn’t it? Sonic Runners has reached 4 million downloads worldwide, to celebrate this, players who login between September 19th – September 23rd will receive 10 red rings for each day that they log in. Continue reading Sonic Runners hits 4 Million Downloads, Free Red Rings for All
Sonic Runners getting worldwide release on June 25
続きまして、ソニック ランナーズの全世界配信が、6/25に決定致しました！ 続報をお待ちください #ソニックランナーズ
— ソニック ランナーズ 公式 (@SonicRunners_JP) June 20, 2015
Sonic Runners, Sonic Team’s first mobile Sonic game, will finally be debuting worldwide on June 25. Just in time for Sonic’s 24th birthday!
This was revealed minutes ago on the official Sonic Runners twitter account. The tweet promises more details in the coming days. Sonic fans have been waiting for a worldwide release of the game since its limited release in Canada and Japan back in February.
Sonic Runners, as the name suggests, is a free-to-play endless running game, where the player tries to get as far as possible before dying. The game will be launching on both iOS and Android.
Sonic Runners PuyoPuyo Quest Details Revealed
Sonic Runners has been running for a few months now and in the coming days a new event will be held. Sonic Runners & Puyo Puyo Quest will be combining to produce a special event for Sonic Runners players. Continue reading Sonic Runners PuyoPuyo Quest Details Revealed
First direct-feed look at Sonic Runners
A user at NeoGAF named HUELEN10 (thanks!) uploaded a 4 minute video showing a first look at a level and mid-level fights with Eggman being played on an iPad Mini 3.
How you find the game to look so far?
Sonic Runners out now on Android… sort of (Update: And iOS)
Update: It’s also seemingly out now on iOS.
Well isn’t this a surprise. Sonic Runners is actually out now on Google Play in NA (actually was dated for yesterday on February 25th, 2015). However, some phones don’t seem to be supported (my Samsung Galaxy Ace II x GT-S7560M seems incompatible). And some who have got it to download have gotten this error message of maintenance:
The Google Play page has this info:
Play Sonic, the world’s fastest hedgehog, in the all-new side-scrolling endless runner. With all-new mobile friendly controls, just tap the screen to run, jump, and spin your way across lightening fast Sonic world.FEATURESTRUE SIDE-SCROLLING SONIC ACTION
– Run and spin at lightening speeds with mobile friendly controls
– Designed by TEAM SONIC, the original Sonic development team
– Super fast and challenging levels with loop-de-loops, retro design, hidden rings, and classic enemies
– Unleash Color Powers: LASER POWER for hi-speed movements, ASTERIOD POWER for destroying obstacles, and DRILLS Power for burrowing undergroundPLAY AS SONIC AND HIS FRIENDS
– Unlock Tails and Knuckles as player characters
– Master their Speed, Aerial, and Power attributes
– Evolve your character’s powers with collected ringsRUN WITH COMPANIONS
– Run with the power of Companions
– Complete stages and enhance your character’s abilities
– Select the best Companion for the job depending on your character and the levelCOMPETE IN ALL-NEW RANKING BATTLES
– Reign in four ranking categories: Rival League, Friend, World, and Historical
– Fight against your friends and the world for the “Sonic Record”
– Compete with up to 50 players in a white-heat competition in the Rival League
– Win the top of the “”S league”” to claim the supreme honor!COMPETE AGAINST FRIENDS
– Log into Facebook to activate the Friend Invitation and Friend Ranking features□■What’s New■□
[Facebook account] will keep you updated on the app! Some info may only be available on Facebook!!□■App Price■□
Free *IAPs available□■Recommended Devices■□
Android OS2.3 or later *excluding certain devices
—-
We want Sonic Runners to be played by as many people as people,
so we’re planning on increasing the amount of supported devices.
We apologize if you cannot download Sonic Runners on your current device.
Please wait for further announcements.
—-
We’ll update you guys as more info comes!
Tomoya Ohtani is composing music for Sonic Runners
Sonic Runners’ music has Unleashed its inner Colors.
Ahem. Tomoya Ohtani, who most know as the main composer of Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Colors, confirmed on twitter that he will be composing for the game. Now does that mean he is again the main composer remains to be seen.
Thanks to TimmiT at NeoGAF for the heads up!
Sonic Runners Announced By Sonic Team, For Smartphones
Yep. You’re getting a Sonic Team made mobile game. So it was true after all, after our ace detectives Hogfather and Shadzter who dug up the web domain and test page over the last month respectively. Continue reading Sonic Runners Announced By Sonic Team, For Smartphones
Sonic Lost World Shipped 710,000 Copies Worldwide
It’s that time again – sales talk! SEGA just released their newest sales data as of March 31st 2014, and with it comes updated numbers for Wii U exclusive adventure Sonic Lost World. Let’s see how well it’s done! Continue reading Sonic Lost World Shipped 710,000 Copies Worldwide
Sonic Lost World Playable at Tokyo Game Show 2013
SEGA Japan has announced their plans for the upcoming Tokyo Game Show that will be held September 19th-22nd and Sonic Lost World will be among the games playable at the event on both its Wii U and Nintendo 3DS platforms. On September 21st Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka and sound director Tomoya Ohtani will be delivering a presentation titled (in Google translate) “Introducing the charm of “Sonic Lost World” The latest series! ” The presentation is scheduled from 11:00 to 11:45 JST, which translates to 03:00-03:45 BST the same morning for us in the UK.
Saturday 21st September
11:00 to 11:45
Introducing the charm of “Sonic Lost World” The latest series!
[Speakers] Takashi Iizuka (Producer), Tomoya Ohtani (sound director)
SEGA will also be giving away the below Sonic fan and Sonic Lost World sticker sheets. A mug featuring Sonic in his Sketchog form will also be available to buy for 1,500 yen.
Source: Gamer.ne.jp (via Gematsu)
Sonic Team to do Internet Live Stream, February 2nd/3rd
On February 3rd 2013, Japanese online TV show Puyo-Puyo will be hosting a live stream event. Their guests? Sonic Team. The staff members joining the Puyo-Puyo team are as follows.
Tadashi Takezaki/SEGA
Takashi Iizuka/Producer
Jun Senoue/Sound Director
Kazuyuki Hoshino/Art Director
It might not be related. But… February 3rd is a day after Groundhog day, a day which Sega have unofficially called ‘Hedgehog Day’ due to their tradition with making big announcements either on or around it. Could it be?
Continue reading Sonic Team to do Internet Live Stream, February 2nd/3rd
Sonic Adventure 2 Avatar Items Coming to Xbox Live June 5th
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!
Sonic CD Developer Diary Video
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEZkrXaBkl0
SEGA has just posted the above Sonic CD developer diary video on their blog. In the video Sonic Team Art Director Kazuyuki Hoshino gives an insight into the creation of Sonic CD‘s logo, characters, enemies, bosses and stages. It’s an interesting watch, and even features some never-before-seen concept sketches.
Source: SEGA Blog
Thanks to StrickerX-mas at the SSMB for the heads up!
Iizuka: “We Will Probably See Sonic Going into Other Genres of Games”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_l5739EElBc[/youtube]
In an interview with GameReactor.eu, Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka talks about where we might see the Sonic franchise go in the future. When asked how he sees the next 20 years for Sonic, Iizuka explains that while Sonic Team will keep a focus on Sonic action titles, they would also like Sonic to reach out to a wider audience. To achieve this, Iizuka says “We will probably see Sonic going into other genres of games and also seeing Sonic in different media.”
Source: GameReactor.eu
What genres and media would you like to see the Sonic franchise explore? Let us know in the comments.
Iizuka: “I would like to make a new standard Sonic”
In an interview with Gamasutra, Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka has explained that he would like to make a new standard Sonic in 2012 and the years ahead. Rather than continue on with the formula built with Sonic Generations, it appears Iizuka would like to develop something fresh in the future.
It seems that as far as current-gen Sonic goes, there have been false starts. The PlayStation 3 Sonic, the first one, was supposed to be a new beginning, and then there was Unleashed, which had good and bad about it. It seems like Generations is yet again starting over; are we at a point where you feel comfortable with the mark you’re making and can move forward?
I wouldn’t say that I think Generations is a new start. Instead, it’s more of the peaks of the past 20 years, is the way we’re approaching this. Generations is about taking the past 20 years of history and rolling it into one really fun product. I think, as a result, I would like to make a new standard Sonic, a modern Sonic if you will, in 2012 and beyond.
You can read the full interview over at Gamasutra.
Would you like to see fresh new Sonic experiences in the future? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Thanks to RUSSTYBONE and interface for the heads up!
