Posted by Ben on May 18th, 2013
Details on Sonic’s latest Nintendo-exclusive adventure remain scarce, with a single concept photo among our only clues for where the Blue Blur’s next journey will take him. Today we’ve received a slight bit of info courtesy of Sega of America President John Cheng, who divulged some vague teases to the Associated Press.
“With ‘Sonic Lost World,’ we’re going to introduce new gameplay and enemies, which is always fun,” Cheng said. “In terms of Sonic and his friends, he’ll have his same friends there, and I think there’ll be some new ones as well. It’s not a reiteration. It’s going to be all new.”
We’re going to introduce new gameplay and enemies, which is always fun”- John Cheng
Sonic’s last major title, Sonic Generations, was mainly a throwback, taking place in re-imagined levels from the series’ past and featuring gameplay similar to its immediate predecessors, Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Colors. It’s currently unknown if Sonic Lost World will continue to feature the same mix of 2D/3D Sonic gameplay present in those games, whether it will use the Hedgehog Engine, or whether it will be starting things entirely from scratch.
Sonic Lost World is the first of three Nintendo-exclusive Sonic titles, and it’s said to see release this year for the Wii U and 3DS. For the latest news on the title, keep it glued to SEGAbits.
Posted by Barry the Nomad on May 17th, 2013
The official Nintendo Magazine has revealed that SEGA’s digital rerelease of Space Harrier, dubbed 3D Space Harrier, will be shown off at the Nintendo Unleashed tour which makes its first stop at May 24th’s MCM London Comic Con. This is the first sign we’ve had that the game will be released outside of Japan. The 3D Classics series also includes 3D Hang-On and the recently revealed and released 3D Sonic the Hedgehog (no relation to Sonic the Hedgehog remastered).
Posted by Barry the Nomad on May 17th, 2013
Via (shudder) Kotaku comes news that Yakuza 1&2 HD is making its way to the Wii U in Japan. Already released to PS3, the collection will be hitting the Wii U in August, and will utilize the GamePad by way of in-game maps and GamePad-only play. No mention has been made of a Western release, and given that the PS3 version has not made its way West, a Wii U Western release would be a bold move for Nintendo. Given the recent Sonic exclusivity announcement, making such a bold move isn’t such a crazy possibility for Nintendo and SEGA.
Posted by Barry the Nomad on May 17th, 2013
During today’s Nintendo Direct, the latest Sonic title was announced: Sonic Lost World. Iwata stated that Nintendo and SEGA have entered into a “worldwide partnership in the Sonic franchise”, and as such, Sonic Lost World will be exclusive to Wii U and 3DS owners. No date was revealed, but November is a safe bet.
Update: It was also announced that another title in the Mario & Sonic Olympic Games series is in the works. Check out a video after the break.
Update 2: The Japanese SEGA site is up, and while it doesn’t offer much, it does confirm a Fall 2013 release date as well as the title being styled as Sonic Lost World.
Update 3: According to The Wall Street Journal SEGA and Nintendo have entered an exclusivity agreement, stating that the next three Sonic titles will be Nintendo exclusives:
SEGA(R) of America Inc. and SEGA(R) Europe Ltd. today announced details of an exclusive partnership with Nintendo of America Inc. and Nintendo of Europe GmbH for the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. The new agreement will make Nintendo consoles the number one destination for Sonic gaming over the next three titles with more details of the individual games being revealed in the coming weeks.
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Posted by Shigs on May 15th, 2013
Deefy on our forums has done some sluthin’ and found out that Sega of Japan has registered the trademark “Sonic Lost World”. Meanwhile, TSSZ discovered that Sega of Europe has registered the domain soniclostworlds.com. So which is it? Lost World or Lost Worlds? Is this a new, Next gen game? An iOS mobile title? A new chapter in the Storybook series? With E3 right around the corner, we should hear more about this title very soon.
Posted by Barry the Nomad on May 15th, 2013
Via our broniks at Sonic Retro comes news that Taxman and Stealth’s remastering of Sonic the Hedgehog is releasing to iOS today and tomorrow! While some fans have bemoaned the fact that its the same game we’ve seen released again and again, Sonic the Hedgehog remastered has more than enough goodies to warrant a purchase. The game offers up Time Attack modes, remastered music, spin dash feature, slightly updated boss patterns, smoother motion in the Special Stages, and… unlockable characters! We’ll give you a hint as to who they are: one is red and the other is orange. Given Taxman’s work on Sonic CD, there are surely more surprises to be had, but we won’t know of them until the game arrives. Owners of the original Sonic the Hedgehog iOS App will receive the game as a free update. Android owners take note, according to Taxman on the Sonic Retro Forums: “Thursday 16th PST for Android, US & Canada so you’ll have to wait a bit longer sorry.”
After the break, sweet screens of the game and the cool new menus.
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Posted by Kori on May 15th, 2013
Capcom-Unity in collabration with Namco Bandai Games and SEGA West are hosting a fan art contest for Project X Zone, which is set be released on June 25 in the US and July in Europe, to have your favorite Capcom character dressed as another character from Namco or SEGA. Will someone draw Jin from Cyberbots in Ogami Ichiro’s outfit from Sakura Wars, Frank in Bruno Dillenger’s attire from Die Hard Arcade (Dynamite Deka in Japan), or go all out drawing Felicia with Sonic the Hedgehog’s gloves and shoes? The possibities are endless! The contest runs from today through Friday May 31, 9pm PST and Capcom-Unity will pick up to 3 winners for the limited edition of Project X Zone. There’s also another contest if anyone is attending MCM Expo this year for cosplaying as one of the cover characters in Project X Zone.
Posted by Nux on May 14th, 2013
For much of the last 6 years, SEGA’s stock price has been known as a “penny stock”, or a stock traded below five dollars a share. In recent months, however, this has begun to change. The stock price has been soaring, finishing on a new fifty-two week high every week, if not every few days. Today, SEGA’s stock price has reached its highest point in six and a half years, closing at exactly $7.
Now, keep in mind that a stock price typically says very little about a company’s health. From my very limited experience, I find it says more about investor confidence then anything else, not just in a company but in the stock market in general. Nevertheless, I’m sure SEGA’s recent fiscal report, an improved forecast and promises to pay out dividends have not hurt their stock price’s speedy rise. It should be interesting to see where it goes from here.
Posted by Barry the Nomad on May 13th, 2013
While most SEGA fans, myself included, spend much of their time focusing on the home console releases, it’s important to remember that another important side of SEGA exists: the arcade developer and distributor Sega Amusements. That’s right, SEGA is still producing physical hardware! You just have to leave your home to experience it. Over in the SEGAbits forums, we’ve been lamenting the fact that SEGA.com (home of the home console and home/handheld games of things) has done a poor job of directing fans to SEGAarcade.com (home of Sega Amusements). While SEGA has over a million Facebook likes and over 500,000 Twitter followers, Sega Amusements has only 10,000 Facebook likes and a mere 700 Twitter followers. You’d think that SEGA’s arcade division, which predates the home console and games side of SEGA by nearly four decades, would have more love! It would be fantastic if SEGA.com allowed Sega Amusements to make the occasional blog post announcing a new arcade game or a look back at a SEGA arcade classic, or SEGA dedicated a week to directing fans and followers to also like their sister site Sega Amusements on Facebook and Twitter. Share the love.
Rant over, now onto the point of this article. Despite these missteps, Sega Amusements have done a great job on their own increasing their social network presence by way of sharing archival arcade adverts, holding contests and, most recently, starting up their own features by way of a brand new interview series on their own site entitled “Meet Team Sega”. Each entry will profile a member of the Sega Amusements team, and first up is UK Sales Manager Phil Mander. Head on over to the interview and check it out and make sure to like, share, follow, and tweet Sega Amusements to show your support!
Posted by George on May 12th, 2013
Wait, SEGA has the license to make Transformers arcade games? That is new to me. SEGA’s Chinese studios will be creating this title, they have made other arcade titles like SEGA Golden Gun and K.O. Drive. Now the team is ready to start testing their next arcade title, Transformers: Human Alliance. Seeing as how Transformers is now a huge brand again, with those Micheal Bay movies, I would not be shocked if they do bring over this arcade title later in the year (and neither is the guys over at Arcade Heroes).
Not too much information is available about the game yet, but it seems to be a shooting game where humans fight along with autobots to save planet earth. Could this be a light-gun game? Third person shooter? I guess we will see when footage starts hitting the internet.
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