SEGA News

Sonic Mania physical version coming to Nintendo Switch, hints ESRB

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Sonic Mania has been out for a few months and while the game got physical collector’s edition, the game itself was never available in a physical medium. There is still a pool of gamers that are hoping SEGA does a physical version of the game and that might be happening. Earlier today, the ESRB twitter account posted a updated ESRB rating for Sonic Mania. If you look into the replies, someone already asked what we are all thinking: Why re-rate a game that has been out for months? ESRB’s reply:


When the ESRB account was pressed more on its reply, it said they don’t know if Sonic Mania is going to be released physically and that they only rate games. But they did say that all physical games need a ESRB summary, which is why the rating had been updated. We could be seeing a physical version of Sonic Mania, at least on the Nintendo Switch. Would you buy Sonic Mania again and if so, how much are you willing to spend on a physical version of the game?

Update: According to Sonic the Hedgehog social media manager Aaron Webber, this ESRB update actually has to do with the Collector’s Edition. Still not adding up why they would update the ESRB summaries months after the game released.

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Sonic Team producer expresses interest in making a new Samba de Amigo for Nintendo Switch

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Sonic Team producer, Shun Nakamura, was recently interviewed by Eurogamer discussing Sonic Mania and its impact on future Sonic titles. When asked about the Nintendo Switch’s features and his time working on Samba de Amigo for the SEGA Dreamcast, the producer expressed high interest in making another title in the franchise for the console. Here’s what he had to say in the matter:

“I really, really want to make it! This is coming from someone who had to make physical items you had to buy and plug into your console in order to play Samba de Amigo at home. When the Wii came out, there was only one Wii Remote, and you had to buy another one. You could still do it, but it’s a bit of a hurdle to get over. The first time I saw the Switch, I thought oh my god – this is it! You don’t have to buy another peripheral, you don’t need to buy another controller. I’m really, really interested in that.” – Shun Nakamura

Samba de Amigo made it’s latest outing on the Nintendo Wii with the help from Gearbox. What are your thoughts if Sonic Team themselves can produce another game in the franchise for the Switch?

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Japanese Sonic Forces “Introduction” trailer gives us our most comprehensive look yet at the upcoming game!

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If you follow our SEGA News Bits videos, George and I have been quite critical of how little SEGA has been showing of Sonic Forces. The latest trailer to release from SEGA of Japan, however, abates this feeling some as in over three minutes we get a good look at the game. From the three playable characters to the Sonic and avatar combo mode to switching avatar characters on the fly to peeks at new stages and cutscenes, there is a lot to take in! Most notably, we get a good look at Modern Sonic’s Green Hill stage, with open spaces (exploration?) as well as an outer space stage.

What are your thoughts on the trailer? Sound off in the comments below!

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Knuckles and Silver team up in second Sonic Forces prequel comic, titled “Stress Test” – Read it now!

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The Sonic Forces free digital prequel comics from Ian Flynn and Adam Bryce Thomas continue with the surprisingly enjoyable “Stress Test”. It seems our guesses were wrong, as each prequel comic is not focusing on a different custom hero. Instead we see Knuckles and Silver battling Chaos. What is so exciting about this one is all the Sonic Adventure plot elements, including a jump back in time to the echidna village and the appearance of Eggman and The Phantom Ruby, last seen in Sonic Mania. It’s exciting to see the various Sonic games tying together and hopefully some of these plot elements are referenced in Sonic Forces.

After the break, read the full issue!

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SEGA News Bits: SEGA Opens Official Online Shop in America

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SEGA has officially launched their SEGA Shop store in the Americas, allowing the company to extract even more of your hard earned cash in exchange for more SEGA goodness. On this episode of the SEGA News Bits we discuss our thoughts on the SEGA Shop, we talk about some of our favorite items and discuss IPs we would like to see represented on the online store in the near future. Give the episode a listen and let us know what you think of the newly launched SEGA Shop in the comments below!

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us: Give us a sub and give this video a like so it shows up on more like minded fans YouTube recommendations. You know, how that YouTube algorithm is.

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SEGA Shop is open for business!

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The SEGA Shop is open for business at shop.sega.com! As we reported last week, the SEGA Shop is a new online retail destination for the Americas (and in the future additional territories) serving the various SEGA brands. At launch, the shop features Sonic, Shinobi, Golden Axe and SEGA Genesis brands with plans to expand. Currently, the shop primarily has wearables like shirts and hoodies, but there are plans to add exclusive items like pins and other items.

Currently, the store has a cool exclusive Sonic Forces shirt, SEGA Genesis blankets, and an Eggman and Metal Sonic mug.

Check the SEGA Shop out for yourself, and in the comments below tell us what you think of their selection!

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Sonic Forces “Rental Avatar” hero mode, boss battle and Space Port gameplay footage released

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New Sonic Forces details have been released today by way of gameplay footage, screens and a press release detailing the “Rental Avatar” Hero Swapping feature. The new mode – which may be a sly nod to the classic SEGA Mega Drive game Rent-A-Hero – allows players to swap out their hero avatar character with a hero avatar character created by another player, seemingly pulled at random from players worldwide. This allows you to see their unique designs and utilize their wispon weapon. This allows you to use your own selected wispon weapon and the one set by another player. You can see the “Rental Avatar” mode in the Infinite boss battle footage above.

Also released is B-roll gameplay footage of the hero avatar in the Space Port stage which takes place in the frigid north of Sonic’s world where a chemical plant is supplying a space port. You can see the footage, as well as Infinite boss battle screens, after the break.

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Creative Assembly shares rejected Halo Wars 3 concept artwork

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If you didn’t already know, SEGA owned studio The Creative Assembly (Total War series), was the developer behind Microsoft Studios’ Halo Wars 2 on the Xbox One and PC. It seemed that the team was ready to move on to Halo Wars 3, at least according to Brad Wright, senior concept artist for Creative assembly who posted rejected art work for the project on his ArtStation account (now removed). Originally the site’s discription said:

“Surprisingly I got the all clear from Microsoft to show this cancelled pitch material. We did some proposals for Halo Wars 3, I had to introduce space battles into the game style, as well as having your capital ship as your home base, to prep your ground forces.” – Brad Wright, Senior Concept Artist The Creative Assembly. 

Oddly enough it has  changed to a generic description of “Halo Wars 2 additional work done for Creative Assembly for Halo Wars 2. Property of Microsoft”, then after deleted. Brad has yet to explain why the sudden change, but I assume that maybe Microsoft had a change of heart with him sharing unfinished concepts for a unannounced sequel. I hope Brad Wright doesn’t get in trouble for sharing the concept artwork, because it looks really awesome. What are your thoughts on the Halo Wars 3 concept pitch? Intergalactic space battles? Yes, please.

[Source: Eurogamer]

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Sonic Forces: Speed Battle behind the scenes video showcases game’s development

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SEGA Europe has released a development video showing a behind the scenes look at the upcoming mobile tie-in to Sonic Forces, titled Sonic Forces: Speed Battle. Developed by Hardlight Studios, creators of the Sonic Dash games, Sonic Forces: Speed Battle is an online multiplayer version of their endless runner and takes place in Sonic Forces settings. Interestingly, the game was initially tested using a multiplayer version of Sonic Dash 2: Sonic Boom. The game is currently soft launched in select territories, but a wide release should be happening soon.

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Sonic Forces prequel comic PDF contains hidden art – Infinite unmasked!

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Opening the Sonic Forces: Moment of Truth digital comic PDF files in Photoshop reveals an interesting behind-the-scenes look at the production process, and reveals some hidden art – including a peek at Infinite without his mask! It seems when saving the files out, the layers weren’t flattened and hidden layers weren’t removed. As such, it is possible to remove word balloons, line art, colors and characters.

Also, the cover art contains what appear to be alternate cover art sketches featuring Eggman, The Phantom Ruby (as seen in Sonic Mania) and an unmasked Infinite with a dagger. Other art includes an alternate cover sketch of the Custom Hero and Chaotix, art of Knuckles and Silver looking surprised and art of Shadow, Omega (confirming his inclusion in the game?) and Infinite.

Check out the hidden art after the break!

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An official online SEGA Shop is coming soon for the Americas

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In the latest Sonic Official stream, it was announced that SEGA will soon be launching a SEGA shop which will feature new official merchandise spanning apparel, accessories, collectibles, costumes and home decor. One example of collectibles included limited edition pins. The shop will initially launch with a limited number of SEGA brands, including Sonic, SEGA Genesis, Golden Axe and Shinobi. After the shop opens, brands will expand. So when does this launch? Expect the store to open next Tuesday at shop.sega.com.

Currently the shop will serve the Americas only, but a UK shop is in the works apparently. What would you like to see at the SEGA Shop? Sound off in the comments below!

 

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Sonic Forces four-part free digital comic debuts today, written by Ian Flynn

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This is a surprise! Coming off of the IDW panel last week which revealed former Archie Sonic writer Ian Flynn was heading up writing duties of the new IDW series, fans were wondering if we would see a Sonic Forces adaptation and… we are! Today! SEGA and Sonic Team have announced a four-part digital comic series scripted by Ian Flynn which serves as a prequel to the upcoming Sonic Forces. The first part is titled “Moment of Truth” and stars the Chaotix and the Custom Hero Character, and can be read after the break. More chapters release later this month.

Continue Reading ➜

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Sega Dreamcast: Collected Works Kickstarter nears final hours, adds Yu Suzuki signed edition tier

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The Sega Dreamcast: Collected Works Kickstarter ends today, with the current pledged amount sitting at £122,127 of a £68,000 goal. As the campaign nears its end, an update has been released announcing a new signed edition tier. SEGA legend Yu Suzuki will be signing 15 copies of the book with the new tier priced at £75, and he has been added to the growing list of interview subjects to appear in the book!

The signed tier will release at 6 p.m. GMT, just a few hours before the campaign ends. So if you want Yu Suzuki’s autograph and a great looking book, you can sit at your computer refreshing like crazy. For comparison, the Shenmue 3 Kickstarter had Yu’s autograph at the $300 tier, whereas here it’s around $99. We’ll have more information about the Sega Dreamcast: Collected Works book, including a Swingin’ Report Show interview with Read-Only Memory’s Darren Wall, in the coming months. So stay tuned!

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Beyond Oasis joins the SEGA Forever mobile lineup

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The SEGA Forever lineup expands today as the classic SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive action RPG Beyond Oasis (The Story of Thor: A Successor of the Light in Europe) becomes the latest free-to-play mobile release. Developed by Ancient, with music by Yuzo Koshiro and released in 1994, Beyond Oasis stars Prince Ali in his quest for the Gold Armlet to save Oasis. Beyond Oasis is best played with the six-button pad, and SEGA has not forgotten this as a six-button arrangement is how the mobile port is played. Players can also utilize a rewind feature, which jumps back 15 seconds (at the cost of watching an ad).

Beyond Oasis will release to the App Store and Google Play store later this afternoon.

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Sonic Forces PSN trophies leak early, teases at unannounced in-game content

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It seems that Sonic Force‘s PSN trophies have now leaked via PSN Profiles, a website dedicated to listing PSN trophies for easy tracking. According to the website Sonic Forces will have 46 trophies in total including: 32 bronze, 10 silver, 3 gold, and of course 1 platinum. The trophies hint at the game having more in-game content, including ‘secret stages’ and ‘EX stages’. It seems that the game will also have a lot of things to collect in-game from red rings, number rings, silver moon rings, wispons, parts, and a lot more. Seeing what the trophies are made up of, I’m pretty sure this listing is legit. But since its not 100% confirmed by SEGA, believe at your own risk.

Another interesting thing on Sonic Forces is some of the ‘daily missions’ and ‘SOS missions’ that have been revealed via the trophies. I assume the daily missions will have some sort of online functionality where you get different rewards for completing missions given by the game? It seems that the big three trophies to collect are the gold ones and those are collecting all wispons, beating all challenge missions and collecting all the silver moon rings. You can check out the Sonic Forces PSN trophies over here for yourself. Are you planning on getting a platinum in Sonic Forces?

[Via: PSN Profiles]

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