Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 6 Comments

Various Sonic games are now on sale through the North American Wii U and 3DS eShops. You can save on 3D Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, Sonic Lost World, and more.

The full lineup is as follows:

3DS

3D Sonic the Hedgehog – $2.99 (was $5.99)
3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2 – $4.19 (was $5.99)
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed – $11.99 (was $29.99)
Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal – $14.99 (was $39.99)
Sonic Generations – $11.99 (was $29.99)
Sonic Lost World – $14.99 (was $29.95)
Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble – $2.49 (was $4.99)

Wii U

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed – $11.99 (was $29.95)
Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric – $14.99 (was $29.99)
Sonic Lost World – $14.99 (was $29.95)

These deals are valid until 8:59 AM PT / 11:59 AM ET on July 28.

Source: Wii U / 3DS eShops

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Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 35 Comments

Nintendo and SEGA have formed a close relationship over the past several years through Sonic. The character appeared in Smash Bros., teamed up with Mario in multiple games based on the Olympics, and more.

Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka spoke about Sonic’s link to Nintendo in this week’s issue of MCV. Here’s what he had to say about that:

“When SEGA stopped making hardware and just started doing software, the first platform that we released Sonic on was a Nintendo console. We felt from the very beginning, that the Nintendo platforms were where the passionate Sonic fans were. Historically that is where our relationship started with Nintendo. Unfortunately, the Wii U didn’t manage to get as many gamers on the hardware as we would have liked. That was unfortunate for Sonic because we didn’t get the mass of people to enjoy the content. But Nintendo has always been a great partner, we have Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Sonic in Super Smash Bros… we really appreciate the work that they do.”

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Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 20 Comments

Over the past year, SEGA has often spoken about wanting to ensure that the series returns to quality. This is something that Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka and Sonic chief brand officer Ivo Gerscovich reiterated in the latest issue of MCV.

First, Iizuka said: “We want to release good titles to all the players, and that is the challenge for us moving forward – making sure our games are great.”

Gerscovich spoke about the Sonic franchise as well, offering the following comments:

“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.”

“We are really focused on turning Sonic into an entertainment icon, not just a games icon. We want to go across all platforms and elevate his status even further, which explains why we are doing so much.”

Gerscovich also said that there are a “lot of new announcements” to come for Sonic.

Source

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Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 30 Comments

Depending on who you ask, Sonic’s main antagonist goes by one of two names. We’re referring to Dr. Robotnik, who is also known as Eggman.

Game Informer caught up with Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka and asked why everyone began to call Dr. Robotnik as his other name “Eggman”. His explanation is as follows:

When the game was originally developed in Japan, they called the character Eggman. That was the name of the character, but when the game got localized and ported into the Sonic the Hedgehog that we know in the West, they decided to, without confirming with the development team, change his name to Ivo Robotnik or just Robotnik. That’s kind of when everyone first learned about the character. Of course, this was without consulting the people who made the game. They just kind of went off and did it. It became super popular and everyone in the West kind of learned about the character as Robotnik. That went on through the “classic” series in the Genesis/Mega Drive era, but as far as the developers are concerned – the ones who made the character and the leaders of what this character is doing next – we really didn’t want to have anyone in the universe with two names. To us, he’s Eggman, but in the rest of the world he’s called Robotnik. We wanted to unify that into one name moving forward. This is something I actually did in the Sonic Adventure series. I made it so that we understand the character’s name is Robotnik, but his nickname is Eggman, and as far as everyone is concerned in the world now, we’re just going to call him Eggman as his official name.

Source

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Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Videos | 14 Comments

Sonic the Hedgehog’s 25th anniversary is today. Of course, SEGA hasn’t forgotten, and they’ve prepared a new video in honor of the occasion.

Here it is:

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Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 57 Comments

SEGA has dropped plenty of not-so-subtle hints that a new Sonic game is in the works. As if any other confirmation was needed, Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka told Famitsu this week outright that “a completely new game” is happening. That’s in addition to a new movie from Sony and the ongoing Sonic Boom show.

Iizuka’s words in full:

We at Sonic Team – are developing a completely new game, as well as developing a full movie, actively done by Sony Pictures, and animation on Sonic Boom. We are also ready to improve sponsor ties. The most important thing is not the fact the series survived for 25 years, but how many games was developed. Our goal – add something new and overcome any potential hardships.

Many are anticipating that the new Sonic game will be unveiled during a 25th anniversary party on July 22.

Source

More: interview, SEGA, Sonic the Hedgehog, Takashi Iizuka

Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 4 Comments

Global License’s May issue has an article dedicated to Sonic. Chief brand officer Ivo Gerscovich along with SEGA of America’s Kisten B. Zimmer had plenty to share about the character.

One topic discussed is SEGA’s interest in bringing Sonic into theme parks. Specifically, there’s a quote from Gerscovich in which he states, “The [Sonic] brand is a perfect fit for theme park partnerships.” There have been other recent hints about this before, so it seems quite possible that it’ll happen at some point.

Global License also indicates that Sonic will have a presence at E3 next month. The article states that “SEGA has a lineup of events planned for the Beloved Blur Blur’s anniversary that started with a Twitch panel at SXSW and will be followed by events at PAX, E3, San Diego Comic-Con, New York Comic-Con and a 25th anniversary party at the House of Blues in San Diego.” Much of this we knew about previously, but the E3 part does appear to be new.

Other than that, Global License’s article talks about merchandise, YouTube, and Twitch plans. There’s nothing in there about a new Sonic game, but any news on that front would come from a big event like the 25th anniversary party, which will have “surprise announcements”.

Source

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Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Videos | 11 Comments

IGN spoke with Sonic creators Yakashi Iizuka and Yuji Naka about some of their memories when working on the series at SXSW a couple of weeks ago. See what they had to say in the video below.

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Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, DS, GameCube, General Nintendo, News, Wii | 2 Comments

During the 25th anniversary Sonic panel at SXSW earlier today, attendees were treated to a history lesson of sorts. The session looked back upon some of the franchise’s more notable installments as well as the Blue Blur’s appearance in other games – including the Mario & Sonic series.

Here’s what Yuji Naka, one of the creators of Sonic, had to say about those initial conversations with Nintendo:

“So yes it is true. Back in the day I did go to Kyoto to visit Nintendo and wanted to have a meeting with Mr. Miyamoto and figure out could we make a game maybe with Mario and Sonic together. Although those original conversations happened about three years before the Olympics game came out, we weren’t able to really make a game that featured Sonic and Mario back from that original conversation, but because we had those conversations, it kind of kicked off future conversations with Nintendo which afterwards led to the Olympic game coming out.”

After these comments, SEGA’s Aaron Webber asked if it’s because of Naka that we have Sonic in Smash. In response, Naka noted the following, as relayed by his translator:

“The original Sonic becoming a part of the Smash Bros. game was also part of that conversation. During the GameCube development for Smash Bros., he really wanted to get Sonic into that game, but it was just too late in the development process and couldn’t get it in for GameCube, but they did move forward and put Sonic in for the Wii version.”

More: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, top, Yuji Naka

Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 5 Comments

A panel just wrapped up at SXSW for Sonic’s 25th anniversary. You may recall that a “special reveal” was planned for the event. There were a few announcements such as the final release date for Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice. In addition to that, a Sonic 25th Anniversary party is now confirmed.

SEGA’s big event is set to take place on July 22 in San Diego. Tickets can now be purchased here.

Here’s what fans can expect from the event:

If you’re a Sonic fan, this should be the party to go to. The event will have “very special announcements,” and SEGA’s Aaron Webber also teased: “… if you are looking forward to a game announcement, I’m not saying there’s going to be a game announcement at this party, but you should totally come to this party.”

Celebrate 25 years of Sonic the Hedgehog at our official party at the House of Blues, during San Diego Comic-con! Special guests, musical performances by Crush 40 and Hyper Potions, exclusive 25th Anniversary merchandise and more await!

Food is provided by the venue, and your ticket price also covers limited edition merchandise we’ll be giving away at the show.

Join us as we celebrate the past, and give you the exclusive first look at the future of Sonic!

More: SEGA, Sonic the Hedgehog