SEGA News Bits: First Look at the Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary Art Book

Cook & Becker’s Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary art book is now up for pre-order, and on this SEGA News Bits George and Barry share their thoughts on the upcoming book. Take a look at several images of the Special Collector’s Edition of the book and learn some details of what we might expect to find in the book.

Are you a Sonic collector with original official art? Contact Cook & Becker as they are looking for potential rarities to include in the book!

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First look at the official ‘Sonic The Hedgehog 25th Anniversary’ art book from Cook & Becker – available for pre-order

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Thanks to the next-gen art dealers at Cook & Becker, we have a first look at the upcoming Sonic The Hedgehog 25th Anniversary art book via an in-depth gallery of images as well as a full press release. So let’s get down to it! The art book, the first ever official art book and design history for the long running series, encapsulates 25 years of history. The book will be made available in a limited Special Collector’s Edition as well as a Standard Hardcover Edition. The Special Collector’s Edition features an outer box, a special inner sleeve that folds into a display stand for the book and an exclusive newly drawn matted art giclee print by Sonic Team’s Yuji Uekawa. The Collector’s Edition is limited to 2,500 copies and sells for $120/€120 respectively. As a pre-order bonus, Cook & Becker offers a 10% discount on the Collector’s Edition if it is ordered before February 2017. The Standard Edition, meanwhile, retails for $45/€45 and consists of the book itself.

Let’s talk about the book! Officially licensed, the book (310mm H x 275mm W) will feature 200+ pages of images and text, including interviews with key Sonic designers including Yuji Naka, Takashi Iizuka and Yuji Uekawa. As seen in the image gallery below, you can expect to find concept art, promotional art, 3D renders, box art and – as revealed in our recent article – original official art and rare collectibles submitted by fans (pending approval from Cook & Becker and SEGA, of course).

After the break, check out a full press release detailing the book as well as a gallery of several images showing off the ins and outs of the book as well as the Special Collector’s Edition. Don’t forget to pre-order the book today at the official Cook & Becker site!

Pix’n Love Editions announces L’histoire de Shenmue book

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Pix’n Love Editions have officially announced L’histoire de Shenmue. The book, which is entirely in French, covers the history of Shenmue and Shenmue 2, features an interview with Yu Suzuki and 50 illustrated pages. The full book will be 250 pages in length and will be released in a standard edition as well as a special Phoenix & Dragon Edition. The special edition features a jade colored slipcover featuring both iconic mirrors. Each special edition version of the book will come with a certificate of authenticity and will be individually numbered. Both are available to pre-order today, with the special edition costing about 35 euros while the standard book will cost about 25 euros. Both versions are set to release December 20th, 2016.

As mentioned, the book is entirely in French. However, Pix’n Love does have a UK store and have released select books to the US in the past. L’histoire de Sonic, for example, later saw an English translation. No word yet on L’histoire de Shenmue receiving the same treatment, but if it does we will let you all know!

Swingin’ Report Show #84: Interview with SEGA-16.com founder Ken Horowitz

On this episode of the SEGAbits podcast, Barry and George are joined by Ken Horowitz, founder of SEGA-16.com and writer of the upcoming book Playing at the Next Level: A History of American Sega Games. Even if you don’t know his name, any SEGA fan with internet access has stumbled upon SEGA-16 to find a helpful review, interview or retrospective. Now, Ken is using his knowledge of SEGA as well as close to one hundred newly conducted interviews to create a book which looks back on the games developed by SEGA of America during the 80s and 90s.

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Watch our live unboxing of Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works with creator Darren Wall – Tuesday, November 18th at 6PM EST

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SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis fans listen up – we have something very special planned for tomorrow! We will be unwrapping and paging through Read-Only Memory’s “Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works” book live with project lead Darren Wall providing page-by-page commentary.

If that wasn’t enough, we will also joined by Blake J. Harris, author of the book “Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation” who is sure to have some stories of his own to share.

The live stream will appear at SEGAbits.com tomorrow at 6PM EST, so keep your eyes open for a dedicated article with the embedded live stream video and keep up with us on Twitter and Facebook for updates.

The SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works is approved – book goes to print on August 11th!

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Darren Wall of Read-Only Memory has officially announced that SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works has been approved by SEGA and will go to print this upcoming Monday! In a detailed Kickstarter update, Darren shows off the book’s sexy cover, and details the exhaustive (but necessary) process in receiving approval from SEGA. The book will be 352 pages long, with 8 fold-out pages featuring hardware design drawings and jumbo versions of box art from Space Harrier 2, Alien Storm, Super Thunderblade and The Super Shinobi II/Shinobi III. The book will contain 80 pages of developer interviews, a guide to SEGA logotypes, and a chapter devoted to game art totaling 60 pages. The one downside, which is really not that bad, is that the approval process has delayed the expected shipping date. Darren promises “a firm delivery date from the printer very shortly”. To see hear and see more from Darren, check out the latest update.

A big congratulations from all of us at SEGAbits to Darren Wall! We can’t wait to hold the book in our hands.

Atlus’ Quantum Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner novel coming West

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Bento Books has announced that the first of the Quantum Devil Saga novels by Shin Megami Tensei writer Yu Godai will be translated and released in America. The book series has five novels already and is set in the world of the game series. The first book are being titled ‘Quantum Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner‘ and will be shipping on July 31st.

“In the post-apocalyptic Junkyard warring tribes battle to unify all six territories, and thus gain access to Nirvana, the promised land. After one battle Serph, the leader of the upstart Embryon tribe, rescues a mysterious girl and discovers he and his fellow fighters have gained the ability to transform into mystical, demon warriors. But these new powers and the enigmatic Sera threaten to upend the balance of power in the Junkyard, and within the Embryon tribe itself.” – Bento Books

The books are set to retail for $24.99 as a hardcover edition, $14.99 for a paper back and $9.99 for a digital edition on Amazon Kindle. Check out the product page for more information.