Sonic the Hedgehog

Takashi Iizuka returns to America

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Director of the Sonic series since Sonic Adventure up to Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Takashi Iizuka has served diligently as vice president of product development over in Japan since Sonic Team USA’s closure in 2008. However, he seems to now be leading a charge of some sort at SEGA America, a quote provided from Gamasuta attributed to Tatsuyuki Miyazaki states: “Plus, the Sonic business team, with Ivo’s strong leadership and the addition of renowned Sonic Team creator Iizuka in the Los Angeles office, SEGA of America is in the best position yet to diversify and grow its business. SEGA of America is entering new age of publishing[sic], and going back to the road to prosperity.” This news coincides with SEGA finalizing their acquisition of Atlus USA, whose CEO, Naoto Hiraoka, seems very excited to be working with the company.

It’s likely no coincidence that these two events happen alongside each other. Nor is it a coincidence that Iizuka returns to America at the new Los Angeles office just as things start rolling for Sonic’s 25th anniversary. There’s very little to speculate on what it could all mean, however. The press release is vague about exactly what Iizuka’s plans are; strengthening the ‘global brand’ is something brought up a couple times, but that’s about it. It could just as well mean he’s back in the US to oversee the 25th Anniversary project, or perhaps get directly involved. He could also just be stopping by to appear at events, many of which are in the coming months, both official and fan-sponsored. Whatever the case, we’ll keep you all posted on any news bits surrounding Iizuka or Sonic that appear.

(Img. from Aaraon Webber)

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Game Symphony Japan SEGA Special Event to focus on anniversary titles

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Game Symphony Japan, a Japanese concert that focuses on creating orchestrated music from varies video game titles, will host a special SEGA themed event as part of it’s 17th line of concerts, which will focus on the anniversaries of Sonic the Hedghehog, Puyo Puyo, and NiGHTS into Dreams…. This is the second time a special SEGA event will be hosted on Game Symphony Japan, with the 14th line also including a SEGA event last year that focused on varies classic SEGA titles.

The concert will open on July 17th 2016 at 17:30pm (5:30pm) Japan Standard Time at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space Theater Concert Hall, with the price of submission ¥8,500 ($76), ¥7,500 ($67), or ¥6,500 ($58) depending on seating. Tickets can be purchased from PIA Japan, ePlus, or I-tike.

[Source: Game Symphony Japan official site]

 

 

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SEGA Announces Sonic 25th Anniversary Party in July during San Diego Comic Con

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Sonic25thAnniversaryPartyDuring SEGA’s SxSW panel, which was filled with Sonic the Hedgehog alumni including series developers Yuji Naka and Takashi Iizuka. SEGA announced that they will be having a Sonic 25th Anniversary Party on July . The party will be held in San Diego and tickets are already on sale! Tickets cost $25 dollars and can be purchased online at Universe.com/Sonic25.

This was the announcement that Sonic the Hedgehog teased for the event, even if Sonic fans want it to be the Sonic 25th Anniversary game instead. Who knows, maybe that’s what will be shown at the Sonic 25th Anniversary party?

After the break, read the full event description.

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Sonic and SEGA print collections from Iron Gut Publishing announced for the UK, art event revealed

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Iron Gut Publishing has announced via a press release that they will be creating art prints for SEGA’s Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, as well as other SEGA IPs including Shinobi, Golden Axe and Streets of Rage. The collection is timed to release alongside Sonic’s 25th anniversary, and Iron Gut Publishing promises an art event which will feature the upcoming prints. At the moment, this is UK only. No word on if those from outside the UK can import the prints.

It is also worth noting that “art collaborations” were revealed last month at Tomy’s booth at New York Toy Fair. This seems to be what that Sonic poster was referring to.

Iron Gut Publishing, the company that specialises in creating limited edition art collections for global brands have signed a UK license with SEGA® Europe Ltd.

The art collection will feature the iconic video game character Sonic the Hedgehog, as well as a host of other classic brands from the SEGA video game portfolio including Golden Axe™, Streets of Rage™ and Revenge of Shinobi™.

2016 is the 25th anniversary year of Sonic and we will be organising an art event to celebrate this which will showcase the collection to fans. The event will allow us to drive awareness and increase visibility of both the brand and collection available.– Anthony Marks, M.D Iron Gut Publishing.

Framed products will be available from bricks and mortar stores and unframed for mail order and online sales. The range will be available from Q2 2016.

[Via: GoNintendo]

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Sonic the Hedgehog 25th anniversary events detailed, and more!

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The Tomy booth at New York’s Toy Fair was seemingly plastered with signs detailing Sonic information, as evidenced by our past two news posts. We’ve received word on game release dates, learned that Sonic Boom the TV series will be receiving a second season, and learned about several upcoming events planned for Sonic’s 25th anniversary. Upcoming events include a Game Developers Conference Party hosted by SGN (who we assume are these guys), with celebrations planned for Sonic Dash 2: Sonic Boom, as well as 25 years of Sonic as well as art and music. Expect this event to be held in mid-March as GDC runs from March 14-18. Next up, Sonic will be at SXSW with a History of Sonic panel. Details of the panel can be found online, with the panel taking place on Saturday, March 19th from 3:30PM-4:45PM and will be hosted by Sonic social media manager Aaron Webber, SEGA director of product development Austin Keys, voice actors Mike Pollock and Roger Craig Smith, Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka, and Sonic co-creator Yuji Naka. Wait, and they are only giving these guys 45 minutes? Sounds like a great panel that could easily run another hour.

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SEGA News Bits: Sonic the Hedgehog Movie to Release in 2018

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We ran the story about how SEGA-Sammy’s CEO Hajime Satomi confirmed that the Sonic the Hedgehog movie was coming out in 2018. Now listen to two grown men talk about the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie, our thoughts and reactions to waiting until 2018 for the full film. Not only that, we go over all the details we already know about the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie.

If you want more SEGA News Bits, make sure to follow us on our YouTube channel and never miss an episode.

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Sonic the Hedgehog Movie To Release In 2018

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real_life_eggman_by_sonicblaster59.jpg[Photo by: sonicblaster59]

SEGA-Sammy Holdings’ CEO Hajime Satomi sat down with The Wordlfolio for a interview discussing many things including the latest restructures and entertainment resorts. But he did let slip that Sony Pictures’ Sonic the Hedgehog movie would be coming in 2018. Could he be mistaken? Doesn’t sound like it, this is what he said about the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog film:

“Sega Sammy Group is currently planning with Sony Pictures to create a live-action and animation hybrid “Sonic the Hedgehog” movie scheduled for release in 2018. Like with this CG animation production, we would like to expand our business into other entertainment areas beyond what we are currently involved.” – Hajime Satomi, CEO of SEGA-Sammy Holdings

They did ask about rebuilding SEGA’s brand image and he slightly touched on it but basically didn’t give any new information . Why? It’s his son, Haruki Satomi, that is the CEO of SEGA Games which is trying to repair SEGA’s brand image. One of the ways is obviously reaching a new audience through new mediums, hint why Sony Pictures’ Sonic the Hedgehog movie is important aspect to the future of SEGA’s brand.

As for Sony’s Sonic the Hedgehog movie, is 2018 too long of a wait?

[Via: Sonic Stadium]

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SEGA News Bits: Sonic the Hedgehog Amiibo outsold Mario in North America

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Even though 2015 wasn’t a big year for Sonic the Hedgehog video games, fans still flocked to Sonic the Hedgehog merchandise and according to Nintendo’s Amiibo sales report the Sonic the Hedgehog Amiibo was one of the top selling Amiibos in America for 2015. It was so popular that it beat Nintendo’s own Mario and Pikachu Amiibos! Don’t let your friends tell you that Sonic isn’t popular anymore because sale numbers say otherwise. Who would have thought that Sonic could sell on a Nintendo platform, just had to make it a Sonic the Hedgehog Amiibo?

So click play and listen to grown men talk about plastic video game toys. If you like what you saw don’t forget to like, share and subscribe. Thanks for the support. Tell us in the comments if you have a Sonic the Hedgehog Amiibo!

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Sonic the Hedgehog amiibo outsold Pikachu and Mario in North America

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amiibo-store-shelf.jpgSEGA’s blue blur is very popular not only in North America but also with Nintendo gamers, so much so that he ranked in number five on their amiibo sales chart in North America. Sonic beat the likes of Mario, Pikachu Pac-Man, and Mega Man. The most popular Amiibo in North America? Link. Surprised?

Here is the North American sales of amiibos:

1. Link
2. Bowser
3. Toon Link
4. Mewtwo
5. Sonic
6. Pikachu
7. Classic Mario
8. Pac-Man
9. Mega Man
10. Ganondorf

These charts come from Nintendo themselves . They have announced that they have shipped over 31 million amiibos, including 9.9 million in the third quarter alone. Check the best selling amiibos from Japan Europe after the break.

[Source: NeoGAF]

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SEGA Games That Are Celebrating Big Anniversaries in 2016

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SEGA has created some highly popular and cult classic series of games that have stuck with people over the years. While most of you guys already know that Sonic the Hedgehog is celebrating his big 25th Anniversary this year, many other games get ignored because they aren’t as relevant as they used to be. Today we will list those mostly ignored video game franchises we all love. Did your favorite game make our list?

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Fastest Food Alive: A look back at the 1994 Sonic the Hedgehog 3 McDonald’s Happy Meal promotion

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As we near 25 years of Sonic the Hedgehog, I wanted to kick off a video series looking back at an aspect of the franchise that has always been a favorite of mine – food promotions! From McDonald’s to Topps to Carl’s Jr and beyond, SEGA has teamed their flagship franchise with some of the greatest, and at times weirdest, food companies. In this first installment, I take a look back at the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 McDonald’s Happy Meal promotion which ran worldwide in 1994 and 1995. Everything from the commercials to the in-store displays is covered, and I even clear up some misconceptions about that whole Tails recall situation and figure out just what that yellow Tails ball was. Special thanks to The Gagaman for additional information.

If you enjoyed the video make sure to like, share and subscribe to us on YouTube if you haven’t already. Thanks for the support!

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SEGA News Bits: What to expect from SEGA in 2016

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SEGA is getting ready for a whole new year, while 2015 saw a limited release of titles and had the company going through ANOTHER restructure; this year we will see some of the bigger budget SEGA games finally hitting the retail market. On this episode of SEGA News Bits, we talk about what YOU can expect from SEGA in 2016!

During the episode I talk about our article we wrote about why SEGA refusing to localize Phantasy Star Online 2 is a bad sign, you can read that here. If you like what you just saw please don’t forget to like, share and like always subscribe. We appreciate your support.

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SEGA News Bits: Sonic Fan Event 2015 Recap

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SEGA has held another Sonic Fan Event this year announcing a few surprises for Sonic fans, especially those that are huge fans of Sonic music. On this episode of the SEGA News Bits we recap the event, give you our thoughts on the announcements.

Like always if you like our recap make sure to like, share and subscribe to us on YouTube if you haven’t already. Thanks for the support!

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Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 details released including the character roster

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Nintendo has opened the official Japanese website for Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, this was for the 3DS version of the game. The page detailed various things including the sporting events, character roster, amiibo support, and various modes.
There are a total of 14 Olympic sports included in this handheld title. This includes soccer, golf, 100m dash, 110m hurdle, long jump, javelin throw, 100m freestyle swim, archery, boxing, table tennis, beach volley, equestrian, BMX, and rhythmic gymnastic hoop. This will also include 14 extra competition events which are basically one of these with gimmicks added from the Mario & Sonic series.

Local play is only possible if each person has a copy of the game, but the game will feature ‘Download Play’ mode which will let you play with people that don’t have the game but these users will have a limited selection of characters to play as.

Talking about characters, hit the jump to see the 40 characters (not including Miis) that will be in the game.

[Via Nintendo Everything]

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Tails and Knuckles Mii costumes coming to Super Smash Bros

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Tails and Knuckles in Smash

Bayonetta wasn’t the only Sega surprise announced for Super Smash Bros yesterday, as Tails and Knuckles also enter the fray! Errr…sort of. They will be included as Mii Fighter costumes. Tails will be used for gunner fighters while Knuckles can be used for brawlers. Now you can have a real Sega vs. Nintendo match online! Bayonetta and Mii costumes arrive in February 2016.

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