Back in 1999, when you thought “SEGA” you inevitably thought “Dreamcast”. With the impending September launch, Dream-hype was seen anywhere and everywhere… except at the Califronia based fast-food chain Jack in the Box. Jack in the Box, oddly enough, had featured a SEGA Kid’s Meal in 1999 that focused on SEGA’s PC games. Guess they didn’t get the memo.
from Gagaman of SEGA Memories
Instead of making a couple huge articles like last year, I’m going to be posting a bunch of shorter articles about last Saturday’s brilliant Summer of Sonic convention. Safe to say they really outdid themselves this year. To kick off, here’s what I brought back from there. A bit silly that I’m starting my coverage with the last photo I took but never mind!
So a bulk of it is from the goodie bag that was given away to the first few hundred entrants with tickets (people without tickets couldn’t even get in until an hour or two after it opened! Sucks to be them I guess :E). My girlfriend also got a ticket just before the registration ended because she wanted to tag along even though she’s not that big into Sonic (she enjoyed it though, so that’s a relief lol) and when we entered from the HUGE queue we got the last bag! However they did have hundreds more of the highlight of the bag; the Metal Sonic figure, to give away to people that entered (tickets or not I believe) right through till about 4pm. More after the jump..
As you may know a well know theme park in the UK, Alton Towers has a new ride based around Sonic the Hedgehog! The ride is called Sonic Spinball, no relation to the video game of the same name. The ride is similar to a roller coaster but the seats actually spin in a round-a-bout style motion as it goes around for maximum vomit inducing fun.
Sonic himself can often be seen walking around the grounds of Alton Park and having pictures taken with fans. There is also a Sonic UFO catcher on the video with Sonic toys inside.
But most interesting of all, when they go into the Sonic branded room (that is now open to the public) when you open the door Sonic says a few phrases… With Sonic’s new Voice Actor Roger Craig Smith. Give it a listen at the 01:33 mark on this video.
I’m afraid I don’t know who took this video but it’s very interesting so well done who ever it was!
The rumor is correct, the big Sonic news that SEGA has just announced is that Roger Craig Smith will be taking the role of Sonic the Hedgehog. You might remember his voice talent as Chris Redfield (Resident Evil 5), Ezio Auditore da Firenze (Assassin’s Creed 2) and Siegfried Schtauffen (Soulcalibur IV).
He was also the voice for Ted Ustinov, Vyse Inglebard, Johann Oswald Wisen and others in Valkyria Chronicles. That game had good voices, no? Just to make the announcement bigger, they also announced the new voice actors for Tails. Kate Higgins will play tails, she did voices for Naomi and RinRin in MadWorld. Also a ton of voices in Valkyria Chronicles.
It has been confirmed that Mike Pollock will stay as Eggman. Mike Pollock has been voicing Eggman since 2005, after the death of Deem Bristow. Almost every voice actor for the game characters has changed, but we have only seen Sonic and Tails as of yet.
[Source: SEGA]
Today a new wisp power has been revealed, The Orange Wisp is a rocket powered wisp able to blast everyone’s favorite blue rat far into the air.
The press release will tell you everything you need to know.
LONDON & SAN FRANCISCO (May 26th, 2010) – SEGA® Europe Ltd. & SEGA® America, Inc., are excited to reveal the Color Power of the next Wisp in Sonic Colors. The Orange Wisp is ready to help Sonic put a stop to the diabolical plans of Dr. Eggman!
When Sonic absorbs the Orange Wisp’s Orange Rocket Color Power, he blasts into the air in an explosion of color, reaching unparalleled heights at staggering speed. Thanks to the Color Power of the Orange Wisp, Sonic is able to reach secret areas and hidden rings far beyond his normal reach, traveling through the air at a pace never before seen!
orange wisp screen
Each new Wisp discovered in Sonic Colors gives the player a brand new way to play this pure Sonic experience. Look out for more to be revealed soon!
Sonic Colors will be available on the home video game system Wii™ and the Nintendo DS™ system late in 2010 and the Orange Wisp will be available on both platforms.
SEGA is having a big sale on PSN (Tuesday June 22nd to Tuesday July 6th), XBLA (Thursday June 24th, one day only!) and iTunes (Wed June 23rd to Wed June 30th).
The sale will have a ton of content up to get and some of it is great. Getting great stuff for cheap is great. Happy Birthday Sonic! Hit the jump to see the full list of games….
More gameplay of Sonic Colours! This time someone playing that kind of understands how to play a Sonic game and it is direct feed too. Nice!
Not much else to say, looks good, sounds good and I’m enjoying those power ups! The drilling one is very cool and I can imagine some very cool ideas coming out of it. How about an under ground maze to dig though?
Another video, this time of the Cake zone after the jump:
And it looks really, really good!
Graphically, What I can tell from the off-screen video anyway, it looks fantastic for a Wii game. In fact it looks great period. It’s full of colour and detail… The unrealistic art direction looks like a world a blue hedgehog belongs in! (For once.)
But graphics and art direction aside the game looks fun! At the start I was a little worried, the 3D section could use work, it’s looking a bit sparse and linear but as soon as it went to 2.5D I was in my element. Colour me excited. (lol pun)
I also heard a rumour that Sonic doesn’t talk… Which would be a god send.
There is a list of titles for 3DS floating around, showing all the games that publishers will be releasing for the new Nintendo handheld. SEGA has listed two titles, one just called Sonic (not final name) and the other Super Monkey Ball (not final name).
I’m not shocked, Super Monkey Ball is always used on new devices like iPhone and Banana Blitz was a launch title for the Nintendo Wii. Sonic obviously sells well on a Nintendo system and Sonic will also be a launch title on Kinect.
[Thanks Suzuki Yu]
Even though SEGA released their own racing game, Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing, doesn’t mean SEGA characters can’t crash Sony’s Modnation Racers party. Since the game features some pretty deep create a character tools, it was expected that a SEGA fan would create their favorite characters in the game.
Our forum member Monkeroony has done just that. Creating Sonic, Shadow, Beat, Aiai, and even Ryo Hazuki. If you own the game, search for his creations or you can check them out here.
Summer of Sonic is a yearly event for Sonic fans, sponsored by SEGA and ran by the guys over at Sonic Stadium and Sonic Wrecks. I have been told the event has nothing to do with Summer of Sam and that I watch too many serial killer related movies. Sort of disappointed now.
The guys have launched the Summer of Sonic site, which gives you more information on the event. You can’t register yet.
Being a person that likes odd stuff released by SEGA, especially in the early 90’s, I had to post this badge used by MGM, Cannon Cinemas and obviously sponsored by Coca-Cola.
Very odd stance that Sonic has going on here, it looks like he is giving himself the Michael Jackson cock grab. If you are interested in the badge, you can buy it on eBay (auction).
[Via GoNintendo]
Oh, another site with a top 10 feature? Say it isn’t so? This is actually our first top 10 list. I hope you guys enjoy the read.
I want to state, even though the list is set to ‘improve’ on Sonic Team of today, it is mostly a list of what I think makes a great Sonic game. I know this differs from person to person, so I’m always open to hear your input on the matter and what makes a Sonic game good to you.
Another Sonic related update? Yes. Sort of.
That is right, the Nintendo DS Sonic Classic Collection game is getting a special edition version, the problem is that it is only for Spain and Australia. It is a shame since it looks really awesome. It comes with the following:
I will probably import a copy for myself, if I have extra cash I might get a few extra ones to give out? Is that something that you guys would like?