Classic Sonic Not Returning After Generations

Retro Sonic fans better enjoy their classic Sonic while they can, because it looks like they won’t be seeing him again, at least not for a while.

“Do you know what? There are no plans, to be brutally honest, to bring Classic Sonic back. The reason for bringing him back for this game was because this is a celebration of 20 years of Sonic. It was a real fitting time to do it. He’s really well loved. Let’s see how Generations does. You can never say never in this industry, but at the moment there are no plans.” – David Corless, Brand Manager SEGA Europe

Personally, I don’t see the point in bringing classic Sonic back after this, at least not until the 25th anniversary. Classic Sonic holds a special place in Sonic history. He is all about the 90s when cute little pudgy animals dominated video games. Let him continue to exist as a part of that era, not this one.

New Speed Highway Screens Go Up and Down and All Around

Six days to go until Sonic Generations arrives! In the meantime, enjoy these new screens of the rarely seen Speed Highway while your digital copy of Daytona USA downloads. The screens come courtesy of Famitsu, and show not only the remade Sonic Adventure stage, but also the Sonic and Shadow race plus more screens on the 3DS stage Radical Highway. You’ll note that the above screen seems to be taking place at dawn. Could that mean… at dawn concludes the stage? Also, nearly every Speed Highway screen features a fan service sign somewhere in the background. One screen in particular, you’ll know it when you see it, name drops just about every Sonic character in a cluster of road signs. Pretty funny stuff.

UPDATE: See high res versions of the screens here.

[Source: Famitsu]

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Sonic Generations Original Stage Review

With less than a week to go ’til Sonic Generations, I thought it would be fun to take a leap back and run through the original stages featured in Generations. What made the original stages so memorable? Are they a fitting choice for representation of the game they originally appeared in? Were there better choices that could have been made? Those questions and more will be explored after the break!

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Sonic Generations Early Reviews and More!

With the release just a week away, early reviews are beginning to roll in for Sonic Generations. Thanks to members of Sonic Stadium’s forums, reviews are being compiled and new details from the game are being revealed. Before we get to the reviews, I thought this was an interesting tidbit: Iizuka revealed at Paris Games Week that the original Sonic the Hedgehog will be an unlockable in Generations. As long as the emulation is perfect, I’m all for adding a ninth copy of the game to my collection.

As for early reviews, the Germans have gotten their hands on the finished game. Videogameszone.de rated the game an 85/100 while the magazine 360 Live rated the game a similar 8.5/10. Very respectable scores! After the break, details from the two reviews.

The Weekly Five: I’m Lovin’ Modern Sonic

The second Sonic Generations demo is out, and with it comes the first public demo of modern Sonic! Of course, we’ve had hours of footage and pages and pages of modern Sonic impressions. But none of that compares to actually playing the game. Having finally played the demo, I can happily say that modern Sonic is the best the 3D ‘hog has played in the HD era. Perhaps only being rivaled by the 3D Sonic of the Adventure titles. To celebrate Sonic’s return to form, let’s look at five reasons I’m lovin’ modern Sonic!

Sonic Generations 3DS gets an official release date

Sega has issued a press release to the media announcing the release date of Nov 22nd (USA) for Sonic Generations on the 3DS system.

UPDATE: It has been confirmed for Nov 25th in Europe.

SEGA’s much loved mascot Sonic the Hedgehog™ makes his way onto Nintendo 3DS for the very first time as part of the celebrations for his 20th anniversary. Speeding through many levels designed exclusively for the Nintendo system, Sonic Generations™ allows fans to play as both Classic and Modern Sonic across a range of iconic and memorable levels – all re-imagined for a completely new experience. Sonic Generations for Nintendo 3DS launches on 22nd November in North America.

New Sonic Generations demo on its way

Good news for fans who are eager to get their hands on Sonic Generations; there will be another demo, one that will allow you to play as both Classic and Modern Sonic on Green Hill Zone. According to a somewhat confusingly-worded post on the Sega Blog, the demo will be coming to Xbox Live and the PSN on October 19th (Europe) and to Xbox Live on October 19th and the PSN on October 28th in North America.

Sonic Generations will be released November 4th on both the PS3 and 360.

[Thanks to Sega Neptune]

Update: Looks like Sega has just posted a clarifying comment after the blog post, though to be honest it’s left me a bit more confused:

Just to clarify –

Europe: PSN and XBLA demo will be available on Oct 18th

North America: XBLA Demo will be available on Oct 18th, PSN on Oct 25th.
-Clumsyorchid

So I guess the demo will be available on either the 18th, the 19th, or the 25th depending on your platform of choice, which continent you live on, and whether you’re going by the dates in the Blog Post or the clarifying comment. It’ll be soon regardless.

Update 2: The 18th.

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Sonic Generation footage shows off classic and modern stages

SEGA has begun to ramp up their hype building for Sonic Generation as the release date comes ever closer. Speaking with preGame in their studio, SEGA’s brand manager Aaron Webber discussed and played through Sonic Generations in an interview roughly over 30 minutes long that featured large amounts of new footage with the above video showing modern Sky Sanctuary.

In it, they discuss about the development process of the game, how various fans have helped with the input in the game and of course, played through modern Sky Sanctuary and Seaside Hill. What is interesting to note from both these modern stages is the amount of alternate paths in 3D and the amount of the stage designed in 3D itself. To see the rest of the videos, click after the break for more!

Sonic Generations trailer showcases bosses and rivals

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayErKdkLrFk
With release of the game only a few weeks away, SEGA has released another new trailer showcasing the bosses from their next mainline Sonic titles. The short trailer has virtually all the bosses and rivals from the title and hints at the final boss in the end. It is interesting to note that classic Sonic only has two boss battles announced thus far into the game, whilst modern Sonic has four boss battles.

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SEGA building a Sonic the Hedgehog themed park in Oakland

 

SEGA is going to keep on celebrating Sonic the Hedgehog’s 20th anniversary. SEGA of America have announced that they are helping design a custom playground inspired by the world of Sonic in East Oakland, California.

SEGA will be working with Youth UpRising and outdoor play non-profit group KaBOOM on the project. The park will be designed to serve up to 400 local kids.

SEGA volunteeres and members of East Oakland community will have a gathering on the 28th  of October to construct the park on a single day. The park will formally open on November 1st, which happens to be the release date for Sonic Generations. Oh, what a nice little promotion!

[Source: GameSetWatch]

This could be the Sonic Generations plot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvTeX_86p0k

Above is a satirical look at what Sonic Generations’ plot will most likely be. Not saying that the game will be terrible, but let’s be honest… Sonic Team isn’t the best at writing video game material.

Sonic Generations: Modern era rival revealed to be Silver

 A new batch of pictures recently released showcases Sonic the Hedgehog’s rival from the modern era, and he’s none other than Silver the Hedgehog. The character’s first appearence was in the critical and commercial failure Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 and is seen to be in the single stage that has been brought back to represent that title, Crisis City.

It is interesting to note that of the bosses and rivals revealed so far, Silver is the only one thus far without a unique boss arena for him to battle in. It is also another boss battle that would require you to control modern Sonic. Click after the break to check out the rest of the images.

Like skating!? Like Sonic?! Looks like SEGA has the event for you.

Venice Beach, CA (one of the coolest places ever) is going to be hosting Sonic Generations Of Skate, an event which will feature 3 generations of pro skaters (including Tony Hawk and Steve Caballero) as they compete for prizes in vert-style competitions. Said to take place throughout what SEGA’s calling “a Sonic-themed day,” attendees will have the opportunity to play Sonic Generations, as well as the chance to, of course, skate, both in open skating sessions as well as in Skate Clinics, where those who sign up will have the opportunity to gain skating tips from various experts. You can order your tickets either for the open skate sessions or the Skate Clinics here, though space is limited and tickets are going fast.

“ASA is always trying to develop events with unique formats and fresh concepts that bring something new to the table— both for the skaters and the crowd. SEGA really understood that mentality and is a tremendous partner for this event. They have such a great history of setting trends in their own industry, as proven by Sonic the Hedgehog reaching his 20th anniversary this year.”

-Rick Bratman, CEO of ASA Entertainment.

Sonic Generations of Skate is set to take place on Saturday October 22nd. Don’t live in Cali? You’ll have the opportunity to catch the event on Fox Sports Network Friday, November 25th.

[Source: Sega Blog]

Steam registry outs Sonic Generation bundle

For those people that didn’t know, Steam stores application data that includes a list of every game that has ever appeared (and will soon appear) in Steam. Even if you don’t own it.

Not only does Sonic Generation have a registry, but so does a pre-order for a bundle, which seems to include every Sonic game available on Steam. Though seems that the original version will include a free copy of Sonic The Hedgehog (Genesis).

To add to the flame, according to Sonic Stadium, the SEGA blog listed the PC version in a post and quickly edited their post.

[Source: NeoGAF]
[Via: TSSZ]

Sonic Generations Modern Era Trailer

Following on from their recent trailer for the Dreamcast era, SEGA has released the trailer for the modern era, three of the most recent console titles in the series. Featured in the trailer are stages Crisis City, Rooftop Run and Planet Wisp and showcasing both modern and classic Sonic as the blast through the various stages at high speed and platforming.

With Sonic Generations less than a month away, this could be one of the final trailers, if not the final trailer, SEGA releases to promote the game. Sonic Generation is set to release 1st November in North America and 4th November in Europe.