Author Archives: Barry

Let’s Go to the “Sonic Generation” Art Show in Philadelphia!

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When Gagaman of SEGA Memories wrote about the “Sonic Generation” fan art show in Philadelphia, PA, I knew I had to make the long trek to check it out. Grabbing my old near-broken digital camera (my new one is being repaired), I headed out into the tepid weather and braved the 9 minute subway ride to the Brave New Worlds comic book shop. The show, which is actually rather small despite the spiffy website, features various renditions of Sonic, Tails and Eggman from a variety of artists. Located in the outer lobby of Brave New Worlds, the gallery takes up what usually would have been a blank wall.

Click here for photos and more!

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Five of the Weirdest and/or Worst SEGA Accessories

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SEGA is awesome, there is no doubt about that, but they’re not infallible. Back in the hardware days, SEGA made their fair share of mistakes. I won’t name off the 32X and SEGA CD like a lot of gaming sites do, because to be honest, as an owner of both systems I have to say they have some really great titles. I’ll even defend accessories that only exist for the sake of a few games. Just because the Dreamcast fishing controller is rarely used, due to the limited library of fishing games, does not make it a bad accessory. It’s just highly specialized, and when put to use it is very effective. Same goes for the Samba de Amigo maracas and Virtual-On’s twin sticks. But there are SEGA accessories and add-ons out there that were failures, or were simply too weird to take seriously. This week we’ll take a look at five of these hiccups in SEGA’s history.

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Sonic 20th Anniversary Action Figure Roundup

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2011 has been a huge year for Sonic in a number of areas: we’ve seen the return of the Genesis-style gameplay, Archie’s Sonic series gave us a great adaptation of Sonic 1 and Sonic 2 and the toy company Jazwares has released a number of action figures celebrating Sonic’s 20th anniversary. While I haven’t been posting about the many figures here at SEGAbits, over at SEGA Network affiliate SEGA Memories I’ve been regularly sharing the Jazwares toys. As of this week I’ve collected the full line of 20th anniversary figures, at least until Jazwares releases more which they have hinted at doing. What follows is a handy roundup of all my Jazwares figure posts from the past year, where I review each figure and share photos. Enjoy!

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Review: Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games

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When the first Mario and Sonic title hit in 2007, it was a major deal. Two video game rivals competing in a shared title! Unfortunately, once the novelty of seeing Nintendo and SEGA’s mascots together wore off, what players were left with was a so-so mini-game compilation with the best moments being the Dream Events and remixed music tracks from both series. In 2009 the series returned with Mario and Sonic competing in the Winter Olympics, and while it wasn’t a huge improvement over the first game, it was a better title thanks to improved controls, more characters and more events. Now the Mario and Sonic universes go head to head in a third Olympics, is this time just more of the same or is the third try a charm? Read on to find out!

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SEGAbits Forum Member ribbitking17 Trolls Black Friday, SEGA Style

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While waiting in line outside a Best Buy for Black Friday, SEGAbits forum member ribbitking17 was interviewed by the local news. Was he getting the latest in gaming consoles? Hell no! He wanted something much better:

“This year I’m getting it all. I’ve been saving up, I’m getting it all. I’m getting a TV for my moms, I’m getting all three gaming systems. I’m getting a PlayStation, Nintendo Gamecube, SEGA Dreamcast. I’m getting an LG washer and dryer for my grandma and grandpa. I’m getting it all this year.”

Check out the video to hear which consoles ribbitking17 surely now has in his hands, at doorbuster prices no less.

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Happy Thanksgiving from SEGAbits

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To all the readers of SEGAbits, a very happy Thanksgiving! Even if you aren’t in America, eat some turkey. I’m sure a lot of you are tuned to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, in which Sonic is the main attraction! From what I’ve heard, Sonic was the first float featured, and just moments ago he was featured again floating through New York City accompanied by the Splash Hill music. After the break, check out Sonic’s appearance!

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300 Page Sonic History Book Releasing in France

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The French are such lucky dogs (or should I say, “lucky frogs”? sorry, bad joke), they’re getting a beautiful 300 page book spanning the history of the Sonic franchise. Released by Pix’n Love Publishing, with approval from SEGA of Japan, the initial release touts a blue hardcover with a gold printed logo and a unique serial number. The book is up for pre-order with an expected January 2012 release and Pix’n Love ships worldwide for a nominal fee. I was able to preorder the book for 35.50 euros, that’s 30 euros for the book and only 5.50 euros for shipping, roughly $47. The downside? Most of it is in French, the upside, a bit of it is in English and there are a lot of pretty pictures to look at. Also, Pix’n Love Publishing has an English language site and they have released a few of their more popular French books in English. So if their History of Mario book is anything to go by, there may be a softcover English release of the Sonic book in late 2012. For more images of the book, check out their virtual preview on their pre-order page.

UPDATE: A rep from the UK Pix’n Love shop has said that an English version is coming, and pre-orders should start in a few weeks. Time to cancel that order from France!

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Sonic Generations 3DS: Water Palace looks a lot like Apotos

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Turns out that the little peek we had at the final Sonic Generations 3DS stage was wrongfully interpreted, and not just by us. All over the web, SEGA fan sites thought Sonic Unleashed’s Apotos stage was going to be the modern era stage to join Sonic Colors in the haldheld version. However, a scan from the Spanish Official Nintendo Magazine says otherwise. As it turns out, a handheld game IS getting representation. The 2005 Sonic Rush DS stage Water Palace will be remixed in 3D, and surely we’ll also be hearing a remix of Hideki Naganuma’s awesome “Back 2 Back”. This is great news for fans bemoaning Sonic Team for featuring a first stage from a non-handheld title, as now we’re getting a second stage from a handheld title. It’s just a shame that the Game Gear and Advance titles did not get representation. Oh, by the way, the magazine seen above gave the game a 90%.

[Source: Sonic Paradise]

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The Weekly Five: Sonic’s Next Adventure

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While Sonic Generations is just over a week old, fans from all corners of the interwebs have started to discuss what’s next for the hedgehog. I would say it’s a bit too soon to start speculation on the next game, but even series producer Iizuka has started hinting towards the future. So with Generations considered completed and released, let’s look towards 2012 and beyond, and just what we might expect from the next Sonic game!

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What’s Wrong with Binary Domain’s Box Art?

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Since the reveal of Binary Domain’s box art, I’ve been thinking about just what is it that makes it so… ineffective. I hesitate to use the word “bad”, as artistry clearly went into producing the cover. However, I think the reason for the cover’s failing is that not a lot of thought went into it. Sure they threw a lot into the scene, but perhaps they threw in too much? I’ve been working in the graphic design industry for five years now, so I thought I’d put some of my professional experience to practice and pick apart Binary Domain’s cover art problems, and perhaps find a better solution. Is it worth the time picking apart the game’s cover? Of course it is! As a new IP, the only thing the game has going for it is SEGA’s name when it comes to appearing on a shelf. First impressions are key for a new franchise, and sadly Binary Domain is not making a good first impression.

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Sonic’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Test Flight

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Thanksgiving may be three weeks away, but folks are already at work preparing for the famous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. A cool video surfaced showing the kick-off of the balloon handlers practicing. There are lots of shout outs to Sonic’s 20th anniversary, as well as a fun little “let’s hear it for Sonic!” at the end. This sort of stuff gives me that warm fuzzy feeling last felt in 1993 when Sonic appeared in the parade. Though let’s hope the hedgehog doesn’t pop like he did back then.

[Source: FOX New York]

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Arts & Crafts: Make your own Sonic Generations Genesis box!

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Back in late 2010 I put together a nifty Sonic the Hedgehog 4 mock Genesis box complete with cover art, a cartridge sticker and a fake instruction manual. The project was a mini labor of love for both retro Genesis box designs and my favorite SEGA franchise. Today, as Sonic Generations releases, I’m happy to present another Genesis box design, this time for Sonic Generations. I figured, as the series focuses on both modern and classic, it would be fitting to provide a classic version of the game case. As the actual Generations cases for 360 and PS3 tout 3D support, I thought I’d throw Master System fans a bone and added the “SegaScope 3-D” logo to the case.

Let’s get started! Click here for files and printing instructions!

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Time Eater Pumpkin Says: “Happy Halloween from SEGAbits!”

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Happy Halloween! To celebrate the release of Sonic Generations, I thought it would be fitting to carve a Time Eater pumpkin (code name: Peter Peter Pumpkin Time Eater). I carved this baby up over the weekend, during a very bizarre east coast snow storm. Fitting that the city was covered in white the same day that I carved a Time Eater. I’m kicking myself now for not taking a photo of it in the snow, but if I come across a time hole, I’ll make sure to jump back to Saturday to snap the photo. You can’t see it so well in the above shot, but I carved the lid in the shape of a clock gear. After the break, more Time Eater Pumpkin photos!

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