Summer of Sonic UK fan convention attempts a revival via Kickstarter

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Having taken a break since the last event in 2013, the Summer of Sonic organizers are feeling revitalized and ready to bring the event back for 2016 – and they need your help! Dubbed the largest fan run officially recognized Sonic the Hedgehog event in Europe, Summer of Sonic is relying on a Kickstarter campaign to fund their 2016 convention. With a goal of $28,675, and $20,842 already raised with 28 days to go, it should be no difficult task to fund the event. The planned location is the ILEC Conference Centre in Earls Court, London, and the proposed date is August, 6th, 2016. Activities at the event are said to include meet and greets with the special guests, competitions in art, gaming and cosplay, Q&A sessions with guests, and fan showcases.

If this sounds like the event for you, head on over to their Kickstarter and show your support!

SEGAbits & Sonic Retro to host Too Many Games 2015 “The Sonic X-treme Files” panel on Saturday, June 27th in Oaks, PA

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We’re excited to announce that SEGAbits and Sonic Retro will be returning to Too Many Games to host a panel on Saturday, June 27th at 4:50pm in Oaks, PA! Last year we uncovered the secrets of Sonic the Hedgehog 2‘s Hidden Palace Zone, and this year we return to the topic of Sonic mysteries with “The Sonic X-treme Files”. The panel is to feature Sonic Retro admin and writer David the Lurker and SEGAbits admin and writer Barry the Nomad as they embark on a chronological behind-the-scenes look back at the never released SEGA Saturn game Sonic X-treme!

Also appearing at the panel is creator of the YouTube series “Hit Reset” Adam aka Gunstar with the premiere of his latest Hit Reset episode which shines the spotlight on Wild Woody for the SEGA CD. The video is to feature special guests including Wild Woody composer Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal and Woody voice actor Joe Kerska!

We’ll also be giving away some rare SEGA prizes at the end to ensure that you don’t walk out at the halfway point!

Register today at TooManyGames.com and we hope to see you there!

SEGABits At Magfest 13: The Write Up

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So, for my first article proper on the site, I figured why not talk about my favorite gaming event of the year, MAGFest, which just wrapped this past weekend at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. In its thirteenth year, this gaming festival was primarily started as a celebration of music in gaming and all the video-game inspired bands that have risen up in the past decade or so, but has grown to become an all-encompassing celebration of gaming culture at large. From gaming developers, artists, journalists, personalities, and even other aspects of geek culture, it truly has something for everyone.

SEGAbits at Weston Super Sonic 2015: The Write Up

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It was that time again, this morning of January 17th 2015; to go on another 3 hour drive for a Sonic convention! Perfectly fine by me of course… but then, I wasn’t the one driving. This time, I was heading down to Weston Super Mare, a town right next to the British coast; and I was right next to the British coast, as today at the Grand Pier, Sonic fans arrived for one awesome convention; Weston Super Sonic ’15!

And don’t worry folks, my convention photography is still pants! 

As I arrived at the venue and greeted a few friends, I found myself already caught up in an event for the day; watching the first round of the quiz! For those unaware, JonoD of VGMAwesome and Jamie Eggeman of the Sonic Show (yes, Eggeman!) have had a long running rivalry in Sonic trivia quizzes; such led to the unfortunate destruction of a First4Figures Knuckles statue, somehow. Anywho, the questions got more challenging than I thought they would; particularly when “what corner of the box is the barcode for Sonic 1 in?” was asked. Fun times overall; that said, since I was a bit late the first round was soon over.

Once that was over, I bought my first piece of merchandise; an A4 print from Duncan Gutteridge, the incredible artist that produced artwork for some of the Sonic Adventure Gamebooks in the 90’s, as well as the Sonic 1993 calendar; the print I bought was from the book “Metal City Mayhem,” and is easily one of my favourite pieces of Sonic artwork; I’ll need a frame ASAP! I later returned to Gutteridge to buy an A3 print; both prints were signed, to boot!

Duncan Gutteridge is attending Weston Super Sonic 2015

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Upcoming UK Sonic convention Weston Super Sonic has announced another guest, this time in the form of Duncan Gutteridge! 

Duncan’s work for Sonic goes as far back as 1993, as he illustrated every single piece of artwork in the official Sonic the Hedgehog calendar for that year; this artwork was later used in various pieces of Sonic merchandise throughout the 90s, and it’s now rather iconic! If that wasn’t awesome enough, he’s also the man behind the cover art for the SEGA Mega Drive hit, Streets of Rage II! 

This guest announcement is the latest in along line of amazing reveals: Weston Super Sonic previously announced that fellow Sonic the Comic legends Richard Elson, Nigel Kitching, Carl Flint and Ferran Rodriguez will also be in attendance, and that Mike Pollock, the voice of the nefarious Dr Eggman, will be conducting a live Skype Q&A at the event. There’s also activities like speedrun tournaments and art contests taking place during the day!

The event has already been successful, as all of tickets have sold out! However, don’t fear if you can’t make it, as SEGABits will be there, and provide impressions of the day!

Plenty of details are available on the official Weston Super Sonic website, for those who do plan to go!

Sonic the Comic Artist Carl Flint is at Weston Super Sonic 2015

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Upcoming UK Sonic convention Weston Super Sonic has announced the next guest in it’s line-up; and it’s none other than Sonic the Comic artist Carl Flint! 

Carl’s work includes over 50 of the comic’s covers, and was also a regular in producing artwork for the Tails and Amy-centric strips throughout the comic’s run.

This guest announcement is the latest in an impressive roster that Weston Super Sonic has built up; they previously announced that fellow Sonic the Comic legends Richard Elson, Nigel Kitching and Ferran Rodriguez will also be in attendance, and that Mike Pollock, the voice of none other than Dr Eggman, will be conducting a live Skype Q&A at the event. There’ll also be plenty of activities such as speedrun tournaments and art contests to keep you busy through the day!

And as previously stated, SEGABits will be there on the day, and bring you coverage of the event!

Plenty of details are available on the official Weston Super Sonic website, and if you want to go you’d better grab your tickets quick, as the last update on tickets stated there were only 10 left! You can register for tickets by clicking here!

If UK conventions are your thing, why not check out our write-up of the recent Sonic the Comic Con?

SEGAbits at Sonic the Comic-Con 2014: The Write Up

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Today, that being Sunday 26th October 2014 where I am, York here in the UK saw a plethora of Sonic fans descend upon it for an event dedicated to a certain blue hedgehog: or more specifically, his comic book based endeavours.

I’m quite sure a lot of our readers are familiar with the work of Archie Comics, and their long-running series of Sonic comics; in fact, this was the first form of Sonic in print that I discovered, through the Sonic Mega Collection. However, those outside of the UK missed out on another important part of Sonic’s history: Egmont Fleetway’s Sonic the Comic. 

SEGAbits to host Too Many Games 2014 panel on Saturday, June 28th at 12pm in Oaks, PA

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No SEGA Dreamcast consoles were harmed in the making of this panel.

We’re excited to announce that SEGAbits and Sonic Retro will be hosting a panel at Too Many Games 2014 on Saturday, June 28th at 12pm in Oaks, PA! Dubbed “Surviving the Dreamcast Apocalypse: SEGA Fans in the 21st Century”, the panel is to feature SEGAbits admin and writer Barry the Nomad, Sonic Retro admin and writer David the Lurker, creator of the YouTube series “My Life with SEGA” A.J. Rosa, and SEGAbits writer and The Website of the Dead owner Kori-Maru as they discuss that fateful day when SEGA discontinued the Dreamcast, and where both the company and its fans ended up over ten years later.

Highlights of this SEGA celebration include stories from SEGAbits and Sonic Retro, rare materials from the development of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and unseen clips from the “My Life with SEGA” series! Whether you’ve lived and breathed SEGA’s blue skies since you could hold a game controller, or have just recently been welcomed into the next level, this is the panel for you. Scream it with me now: “SEGA!”

We’ll also be hosting a SEGA trivia contest at the panel, with rare SEGA prizes to hand out as rewards for your knowledge!

Register today at TooManyGames.com and we hope to see you there!

SEGA to promote Hatsune Miku Project Diva F 2nd at MomoCon 2014 *UPDATE* Question submissions will end on May 10th!

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UPDATE: Questions submissions will end on May 10th, be sure to leave a comment!
SEGA of America will be attending at this year’s MomoCon, an Anime and Gaming Convention in Georgia, promoting their upcoming game, Hatsune Miku Project Diva F 2nd, which is scheduled to be released this fall for PlayStation 3 and PS Vita in North America and Europe. SEGA will also host a panel for the title. Other titles may also be in the cards at the convention, but none have yet to be announced as of now.

SEGAbits will be attending this year’s MomoCon covering the convention floors and SEGA’s Hatsune Miku panel. We will also have an exclusive interview with SOA’s Associate Brand Manager, Aaron Webber at the convention center about the game.

If anyone has any questions for him regarding the title, please leave a comment for us below or leave questions on our very own forums or Segalization’s.