Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episodes I & II hitting Xbox One backwards compatibility today

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Larry Hryb aka Major Nelson of Microsoft announced via Twitter that Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode ISonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II would be hitting Xbox One Backward Compatibility today, meaning you can play the Xbox 360 games on your Xbox One. The recent additions means that Xbox One owners can now play the original Sonic SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive games as well as Sonic CD and the Sonic 4 duology on their Xbox One… as they truly imagined it! For as much flack as the Sonic 4 games get, they’re worth checking out – especially Episode II and Episode Metal.

Then again, with Sonic’s anniversary party tomorrow, we just may see a game announcement that is so amazing it wipes Sonic 4 from our memories (let’s hope!).

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Discotek Media announces Sonic X seasons 1 and 2 English dub release date

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Earlier today, American based anime and asian films DVD and blu-ray company Discotek Media announced on Facebook details on their upcoming “Sonic X” DVD. First revealed back in April of 2015, Discotek Media plans to release the first two seasons of the “Sonic X” English dub to DVD in a 52 episode collection with a release date of September 27th, 2016. Season 3, containing the remaining 26 episodes, will be released in another collection at a later date. I really love the SEGA Mega Drive inspired cover art, which has been confirmed to carry over to the menus.

It should be noted that there are no plans at this time for the original Japanese version of the show. Discotek Media also has plans to release the complete English subbed “Sega Hard Girls” to DVD, and once we learn more about that release we will be sure to news it.

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SEGA News Bits: Sonic & Friends New Concept Art Revealed Reaction

During the Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary Event in Japan, Sonic Team showed off some never before seen Sonic & Friends concept art prototypes. Some of these previously unreleased designs shows off early ideas for some very famous Sonic the Hedgehog characters. On this episode of SEGA News Bits, George and Barry have a look at each of the newly released Sonic the Hedgehog character designs and tell you their opinion.

If you like our SEGA News Bits content, make sure to subscribe to us on our YouTube channel to get more.

SEGA News Bits: Sonic the Hedgehog turns 25 years old

Sonic the Hedgehog’s 25th anniversary officially kicked off on June 23rd, which was of course the release date of the eponymous game that started it all. In this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry look back on 25 years of Sonic by spin dashing through all the main series Sonic Team developed console games. There are quite a few to get through, so consider this more of a SEGA News Smörgåsbord. Why are you still reading this? Click play and enjoy!

What are your favorite Sonic games? Let us know the comments below and like always thanks for watching! If you like our SEGA News Bits videos, make sure to subscribe to us on our YouTube channel.

First Look: Sonic the Hedgehog’s Lego Dimensions figure

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This morning Mark Warburton, a producer at TT Games Publishing posted the first look at the Sonic the Hedgehog figure in action. If you didn’t know Sonic the Hedgehog will be included in the latest update of LEGO Dimensions. Mark Warburton showed off Sonic the Hedgehog‘s Lego Dimensions figure in a mock race against Superman. You can check out more photos of Sonic the Hedgehog‘s Lego Dimensions figure at the bottom of the article.

We also did a SEGA News Bits episode where we discussed our thoughts on Sonic the Hedgehog joining LEGO Dimensions. What are your thoughts about Sonic the Hedgehog’s Lego Dimensions figure? Tell us in the comments below!

[Via: NeoGAF]

Google makes Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary infographic

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Google AdMob has created a Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary infographic showing neat little facts about Sonic the Hedgehog‘s long gaming history. While its a nice thing that is done by Google AdMob to celebrate Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary, its also to let people know that they provide mobile phone ads. I guess you have to promote your product, even if your blog post is about Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary.

SonicInfoGraphOne of the cool aspects is that we got listed on the infographic under sources used. Thanks for visiting the site, Google AdMob! You can see their inforgraphic here or hit the jump.

SEGA News Bits: New Sonic the Hedgehog game confirmed for 2017

SEGA has officially confirmed, at Sonic the Hedgehog’s 25th anniversary event in Japan, that Sonic the Hedgehog will be seeing a brand new game from Sonic Team in 2017. In this SEGA News Bits, Barry and George discuss what this upcoming game might be based on SEGA’s recent Sonic the Hedgehog marketing efforts and past Sonic game reveals. We also talk about what we could expect for the rest of the year and what we might be seeing at Sonic’s 25th anniversary party in San Diego on July 22nd. So go ahead and click play to hear us get all hot and bothered over a speedy blue hedgehog.

What are your thoughts on the upcoming game? Is 2017 too far out? Let us know the comments below and like always thanks for watching! If you like our SEGA News Bits videos, make sure to subscribe to us on our YouTube channel.

Archie Comics reveals Sonic the Hedgehog origin story arc – could classic Sonic be making a comeback?

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Over the past few days, the Archie Comics Twitter account has been revealing pieces of a cover for an upcoming issue of Sonic the Hedgehog which features the 25th anniversary logo and classic Sonic doing his iconic Sonic the Hedgehog ending pose. Archie, knowing fans were most interested in the issue number and the name of the arc, kept those two details hidden until the final reveals. But now we have confirmation that following the completion of the “Panic in the Sky” arc, which is the conclusion of the larger Shattered World storyline, Archie will be jumping way back to the origins of Sonic the Hedgehog with issue 288 in the arc titled “Genesis of a Hero”.

SEGA 3D Classics is 30% off on Amazon

sega3dclassicscollectionDidn’t pick up SEGA 3D Classics when it came out a few months ago? Shame on you! But its OK, you can now make it up to us by picking up SEGA 3D Classics for only $21.97 on Amazon (does have Prime shipping). That is pretty damn cheap way of playing classics like Power Drift, Puyo Puyo 2, Fantasy Zone II, and many more on the go. I do know that first print copies came with awesome SEGA stickers, don’t know if that is still the case but most likely it does.

You can buy a copy here. 

If you already have SEGA 3D Classics, good, now you can get a copy for your Nintendo heathen friends. So what do you guys think of the game going on sale out of nowhere? Good price?

Sonic the Hedgehog and Friends concept art revealed

SonicConcept1During the Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary event over in Japan, Sonic Team presented early concepts for Sonic the Hedgehog and Friends. Some of the weirdest early prototypes included rabbit Sonic the Hedgehog, headband wearing Silver the Hedgehog and scarred up Shadow the Hedgehog. If you are a hedgehog, you started out with some weird designs.

Check out the concept art for Sonic the Hedgehog and Friends below. Tell us what you think of these early concept art prototypes and if they did right with the final designs. Of course, these are just more of the popular Sonic the Hedgehog and Friends designs as they didn’t show a lot of the more niche characters (Fang, please Sonic Team).

[Via NeoGAF]

New Sonic the Hedgehog game confirmed for 2017

SonicTeamSonicGame2017The Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary event took place over in Tokyo, Japan yesterday and Sonic Team time lord Takashi Iizuka was there. At the event Takashi Iizuka finally announced ‘officially’ that a ‘new Sonic the Hedgehog game’ will be coming out next year.

While people are freaking out over not having a Sonic Team developed Sonic the Hedgehog game this year, I do want to stress that everyone wait for July 22nd, when the game will be shown off at the Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary party in San Diego, California. We will be there covering the event live and there will be a lot of surprises that will please fans of the blue blur. I guarantee it. I have seen some crazy conclusions fans have come up, so just relax it will all be shown in less than a month!

SEGA confirms quality a huge emphasis for future titles

SonicBoomFireIceSonicAmy-894x375Sonic the Hedgehog is a huge deal for SEGA, its one of their biggest selling brands. But have they given the series the development focus that it deserved? I would say no, for example even if a game starring Sonic the Hedgehog is good, you can always tell it was rushed out the door. Seems SEGA knows its future survival in the game software industry will rest on how they treat Sonic and they’re making good on their promise by delaying September’s Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice which was mean’t to be out last fall.

MCVUK talked to Sonic Chief brand officer Ivo Gerscovich who had this to say:

“Sega is really – as of this last year – putting a huge emphasis on quality. One of the things about Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice is that we held the title for a year, which is not something Sega has traditionally done, but this focus on quality is really about trying to take Sonic back to where it used to be.”

This is a huge move for SEGA and the Sonic the Hedgehog series, this might finally launch that highly polished Sonic game that all fans have been starving for. SEGA should be happy having such a loyal Sonic the Hedgehog fanbase, considering hundreds of mascot platformers have come, and went while they delivered some of the worse games in the mascot’s history. But hey, here is to the future and the new team at SEGA. Don’t screw this up!

Celebrating Sonic the Hedgehog’s 25th anniversary with 25 great underrated moments

sonic 25 headerSEGA’s Sonic the Hedgehog franchise turns 25 today, and while we’ve celebrated franchise milestone years in the past, there is something really special about this one. A quarter of a century is a long time, and it is a testament to SEGA’s perseverance and the devotion of the Sonic fanbase that the franchise is still going strong. Sonic Lost World and the Sonic Boom franchise – particularly the games – are often pinpointed as the franchise’s recent weak points and signs that the franchise as a whole needs to be put down or at the very least take a long break. While I am not here to debate the merits of Sonic Lost World and Sonic Boom, I will say that to end a series or take a long break because of either is both incredibly shortsighted and far too extreme a reaction. I would also argue that Sonic is about much more than just the main series games, as fans like to label the major titles, and that there has always been great Sonic things happening even during the franchise’s darkest years.

In celebration of 25 years of Sonic the Hedgehog, join me in looking back year-by-year as I shine the light on great moments in Sonic history that more people need to be talking about.

Sonic 25th Anniversary Humble Comics Bundle now live

Sonic25thComicBundleYesterday we posted about how SEGA teamed up with Humble Bundle to deliver a great deal of games via their Sonic 25th Anniversary Humble Bundle. That isn’t all that is going down, since they are also doing a Sonic 25th Anniversary Humble Comics Bundle!

This is what the Sonic 25th Anniversary Humble Comics Bundle comes with:

Pay $1 or more:

  • Sonic Universe Vol. 6: Treasure Team Tango
  • Sonic The Hedgehog Issues 264-272, 276-279
  • Sonic Universe Issues 45, 55-58
  • Sonic Boom Issues 1-4

Pay more than average (right now $10.91) to unlock: 

  • Sonic The Hedgehog Issues 260-263
  • Sonic Universe Issues 59-74
  • Sonic Boom Issues 5-7
  • Sonic Universe Issues 83-86
  • Another comic coming soon!

Pay $15 or more to also unlock: 

  • Sonic The Hedgehog Issues 226-229, 252-259
  • Sonic the Hedgehog Issues 280-283
  • Sonic Universe Issues 18-20, 75, 79-82
  • Sonic Super Digest Issues 13-16

That is quite a bit of comics if you get the $15 dollar tier. Of course, these are all digital comics, not physical and like most things on humble are DRM free. What do you guys think of the Sonic 25th Anniversary Humble Comics Bundle?

Sonic 25th Anniversary Humble Bundle launches with exclusive shirt

HumbleBundleSonicHumble Bundle has just launched its Sonic 25th Anniversary Humble Bundle which will include a wide arrange of Sonic games for PC including retro and more recent titles.

This is what you get in the Sonic 25th Anniversary Humble Bundle.

Pay $1 or more:

  • Sonic the Hedgehog (SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive)
  • Sonic Adventure DX 
  • Sonic 3D Blast
  • Sonic CD

Beat the average (right now $9.00) also unlocks: 

  • Sonic the Hedgehog 4 – Episode I
  • Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive)
  • Sonic Adventure 2 + Battle DLC 
  • More games coming soon

Pay $10 dollars and also get: 

  • Sonic Lost World
  • Sonic Generations + Casino NiGHTS DLC
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 4 – Episode 2
  • Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (Plus Metal Sonic & Outrun and Ryo DLC)

Pay $35 bucks and get: 

  • Exclusive Sonic 25th Anniversary Humble Bundle Shirt

If you have never used Humble Bundle, the way it works is that its all tiers. So if you pay the $35 dollars for the exclusive Sonic 25th Anniversary Humble Bundle shirt, you also get all the games in the package. All games redeem on Steam.

What are your guys thoughts on this Sonic 25th Anniversary Humble Bundle? What tier is everyone picking up? Let us know in the comments below.