Game News

Sonic 4: Episode I Priced, Dated

Despite other sites reporting a lockdown on Sonic 4 discussion here, well, this certainly warrants coverage, no?

According to IGN, Sonic 4 is homing in to consoles as early as the early half of next month.

  • Apple’s iDevices will be the first to get the game on Oct. 7, though no price was confirmed at this time.
  • Next up, the Wii will receive the game on Oct. 11 for 1500 Nintendo fake money, translating to $15/£10 / €13/ AU$20.
  • PSN receives the game on Oct. 12 for $14.99 / £9.99 / €12.99 / AU$19.95
  • Xbox Live Arcade will see minecart goodness for 1200 monopoly dollar points on Oct. 13

Pricey? Surprised at how soon the game’s hitting? Sound off; don’t worry, your comments won’t actually be censored.

[Via Sonic Stadium]

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67 Comments

  • Reply

    I thought the iPhone was gonna be the only one to receive “minecart goodness” outside of the end of act two. Regardless, $15 is far too much, and I think I’ll Installous the iPhone version before deciding whether or not to shell out a whole 1200 points on the XBLA version.

    • Reply

      True, but the console versions still get the minecart, but in an obviously less tilting capacity.

  • Reply

    1500 POINTS FOR ONE EPISODE!?
    Not happening. This game has been on my s**t list for a little while now, and I’m not even considering it any more.

  • Reply

    Eh, I think it’s reasonable, but everybody who just shelled out ten bucks for the (semi-)entirety of Sonic Adventure might not be so inclined to agree. If it goes beyond two episodes at that price, though, I might be a little less willing to live with that.

  • Reply

    If this goes four parts, it’ll be $60. At that point, they may as well release it on disc as one game.

    • Reply

      So my Xbox 360 can kill the disc? =V

  • Reply

    Sweet, the Wii gets it first.

    • Reply

      Errr…the ‘ol iPod Touch gets it first, then the Wii.

      =P

      • Reply

        Well, the Wii is the first console to get it.  Iphone = bleh.

  • Reply

    Oh awesome, the XBLA Version is released on my payday!! 😀

  • Reply

    Aww damnit I have to wait until the day before my mother’s birthday?! >.< Curse you Sega, why'd you have to release it last on the 360? (Why do they tend to do this all the time? :\) But damn the release date is soo freaking close yet so far. Dx

  • Reply

    Oh god I’m going to piss myself with excitement.
    Don’t care if it’s slightly more expensive than I’d like it to be.

  • Reply

    Well, it’s about time! Early birthday present for me! XD Have to buy a PSN Card though…

  • Reply

    Oh, Sega, you guys are so cute, thinking that Apple will actually cooperate with your release day plans. You’ll learn in time, don’t worry.

  • Reply

    I love how the 360 is on the short end of the stick. Looks like I’ll finally have a new demo to get.

    • Reply

      Entirely Microsoft’s fault, I think. I’m pretty sure it’s them that choose what day they update their content.

      • Reply

        I’m not that peeved. My birthday is next month, about a week after its release on the 360. Depending on how much money I get, this may be on my ‘to get list’. It’ll be pretty far down there though; got’s me some Magic cards to get.

  • Reply

    OH SHIT! I DON’T HAVE A GAME SYSTEM! I NEED TO FIND A WAY TO MAKE 300 DOLLARS WITHIN 2 WEEKS!

    • Reply

      ME TOO!!!!!!!! BUT MINE WILL HAVE TO BE $700 BECAUSE I DONT WANT TO PLAY IT ON MY 25″ CRT. I NEED AN LCD WIDESCREE TV I DONT CARE IF IT HAS 720 or 1080 GALLONS OF Pee!!!!

      /Oh, look, I found my caps lock (off) button

    • Reply

      Dude, the 360 and the wii only cost about 200 bucks now. Look through your couch.
      XD

  • Reply

    Cool. Most likely gonna pick up the demo on PSN to try it, and buy it later on XBLA when it releases on there. May pick up the iVersion too.

  • Reply

    I don’t think $15 is that bad for 12 acts + bosses of beautiful 2D Sonic goodness.

    And I thought minecart was only iPhone, not 360??

  • Reply

    $15 is a bit steep for an episodic game of this scale, but what the heck.

  • Reply

    Don´t going to buy it. It´s severely overpriced. This game, like Sonic Adventure in this month, just proves us two things: Sega still only cares about money and they will never learn. I´ll wait for the DotW for both of them, and maybe I won´t get Sonic 4 even them. All around it has been a huge retarded joke.

  • Reply

    So close to my birthday. Sadly I have no consoles.

  • Reply

    PRICEY?!!

    …You people must be dirt poor…

    I pitty whoever say’s it’s pricey…

    My god… -_-;

    • Reply

      For the content, replayability and quality inside it, yes, it´s pricey. Only the best Arcades cost 1200 points, and nearly none of them are episodic. I´ve bought around 100 Arcades, and I can tell you the few ones that were 1200 points had a lot more content, replayability and quality. So yeah, it´s pricey.

  • Reply

    You people are sad… I swear…

    I however look forward to this game!!!

    HAPPY 19th SONIC!!!

    The saga begins anew…

  • Reply

    Oh! I am definately excited for the game finally coming out soon. I can’t help but feel they are trying to push it out before Sonic Colours does, because the internet hype has been in favor of Sonic Colours over Sonic 4 – They want to get it in the market and noticed in fear it’d be over-shadowed. I will end up getting the game, it’s not TOO steep of a price. I can only start to wonder when Episode II will come out.

  • Reply

    I eagerly look forward to Retro tearing and hacking the game to pieces and recreating it into Sonic Retro’s Sonic 4. 😛

    I’ll still buy the game though.

    • Reply

      By that you mean Sonic 4 as we truly imagined it? Nonono, Ken assured us the retail game was that.

      • Reply

        that was possibly the funniest thing i’ve heard in a while

  • Reply

    The iPhone/iTouch/iPad version comes out next Thursday? Sorta want. I mean, having a new Sonic game on iOS devices that isn’t just an emulator port is what “we truly imagined it”, right? I for one just hope that Sega doesn’t jack up the price to $9.99 like what Square-Enix does for all of the Final Fantasy-based games on the iPhone/iTouch/iPad App store.

  • Reply

    Well, this tickled my fancy! What I wanna know is why so early? I was expecting a November release. Nonetheless, this game is gonna be great. Aside from some rather interesting music, the gameplay seems like a throwback to the Genesis days while still adding some features implemented in the new Sonic games. But I’m getting this game for the shear fact that…..Well, I’m just getting the game! 😀

  • Reply

    I think this is a fair price, considering the extra lengths that SEGA went into.

    • Reply

      I’d agree with you if it looked like the physics had been fixed, but I’m still a bit iffy on that point.

  • Reply

    THANK YOU SEGA!

    • Reply

      You’re quite welcome money … I mean Ryan. – Sega

  • Reply

    Now I have a reason to bring my 360 to Uni. 

  • Reply

    Stupid cross-platform releases, I never know which version to get.

  • Reply

    Wow, you let us leave mindless comments here, but we have to wait to discuss on forums? I’ve been a pending member for 7 months wtf.

    • Reply

      My guess is the forums are more “srs bsns” or something. I can only ever really speak for the front page and not how the higher up staff operate the site.

  • Reply

    What slays me is all of these people slamming a game THAT THEY HAVEN’T PLAYED. 

    • Reply

      I’ve played it. There have been plenty of opportunities TO play it (E3, SoS, Comic Con, etc).

  • Reply

    I can’t wait for the release day! I was saving up for a Ipod Touch 4G before I heard of this (Being on a Ipod). With it being early means Sonic 4 will be out before I buy my Ipod. Oh well! I’ll just get it on my Wii and get it on my Ipod when I get. Yes $15 is fine.

  • Reply

    I hope they’ve made significant improvements from the leaked version. Otherwise, I’m done with Sonic.

    I was bad and tried the leaked version. I won’t discuss what I’ve seen in fear of getting in trouble, but I thought a lot of the elements of the game sucked.

    Splash Hill Zone was pretty decent, though. I hope they improved the rest.

  • Reply

    Damnit, I was hoping for an 18-year anniversary of 19921124. Well, I guess they can still use that date for Colors.

  • Reply

    Price check on aisle derp:

    Sonic 2 (MD): $50 MSRP / 11 zones == $4.55/zone
    Sonic 4 E1: $15 MSRP / 4 zones == $3.75/zone

    When you do the math, it becomes fairly obvious that Sonic 4 is a bargain compared to when the originals were released in the 1990’s.

    • Reply

      price per zone is the wrong way to look at it imo.
      if you do price per act:
      Sonic 2 (MD): $50/20 acts = $2.50/act
      Sonic 4 E1: $15/13(?) acts = $1.15/act
      and for shits and gigglez
      Sonic Advance 3: $30/23 acts = $1.30/act

      considering the “perceived” quality of Sonic 4, that’s a pretty solid price I suppose.

      • Reply

        In the almost 20 years that’s gone by, the value of the dollar has gone down as well due to things like inflation. However, the quality of the gameplay means more to me than the quantity of zones.

         Also, I feel a bit cheated by Sega this time around because

        1) I want to buy the game as soon as it is released

        2) When the whole game is finished, you just KNOW Sega will release the entire 4 part series as a single game

        3) I really want to play this game, as a single game.

        Essentially, my desire for Feng shui is going to cause me to buy the entire game twice. My OCD creates major fail.

  • Reply

    @Gerbil

    Back in the day 16-bit graphics were considered state of the art. What was once considered price appropriate is no longer applicable to this generation of gaming. I wouldn’t pay full retail for a game like Sonic 2 if it were released brand new this year.

    • Reply

      Considering everyone’s been complaining about how “$15 for four zones is too much” and not about graphics, I think my point stands. The point was comparing the price per zone for each game when they were released, and Sonic 4 is clearly cheaper than Sonic 2, especially if you count for inflation (which I didn’t).

      • Reply

        My point was about comparing two different generations of gaming. Graphics were just an example.

        In this day and age, I would not pay full retail ($50-60) for a game as short and simple as Sonic 2. As much as I love the game, I can get much bigger, richer experiences for the same price. The market is a different place now. Just as 16-bit graphics have become outdated, so have games that are less than 2 hour experiences.

        • Reply

          Ah ha, it’s the classic “I want to pay for a 100-hour game that consists of 100 hours of doing the same thing over and over again” argument. Game length doesn’t mean quality. You claim that Sonic 2 takes 2 hours to complete. Sonic’06 might take the average player 30 hours to complete. Does this mean Sonic’06 is a better game?

  • Reply

    alright, finally a date ^^
    “homing in to consoles” iseewhatyoudidthere.jpg

  • Reply

    Brilliant! Price is not surprising, but I’m shocked about the release dates! I’ll be buying the iDevice version first then, and afterwards on the Wii. Despite some glaring changes or ‘issues’, this is the most highly anticipated game for me within the last few years. Crossing my fingers that this’ll be a good’s!

  • Reply

    (opens door.) (as Robotnik) Sonic the Hedgehog 04… Oh, joy! Sonic the Hedgehog, my old game character. And his little pal, Tails, too. What a pleasant surprise. Come in, come in.

    • Reply

      Yeah. Almost everybody should know where I’m getting this from.

      • Reply

        Yes. Almost!

        If it’s a Sonic reference, how dare I miss it.

  • Reply

    Well then, seems like I’ll be buying an xbox points card shortly then.

    • Reply

      Good to know. Thanks for the update. I guess I’ll have dinner later tonight and watch some TV.

  • Reply

    What the hell? This game is overpriced. The only game I’ve ever paid $15 for is Braid, and that game was actually good. No, I don’t expect to judge the quality of a game that hasn’t been released yet, but it’s definitely not as good as Braid or any other expensive title with groundbreaking or innovative gimmicks and concepts. Not to mention, this game s episodic. Nobody wants to shell out 80+ for some bland sidescroller with “meh” music and nothing unique or innovative about it. Combine this with how expensive SA1 release No. 3 is and I’m convinced SEGA gives themselves too much credit.

    • Reply

      Again, let me remind you about the actual cost per zone.

      Sonic 2 (MD): $50 MSRP / 11 zones == $4.55/zone
      Sonic 4 E1: $15 MSRP / 4 zones == $3.75/zone

      Sonic 4 is *cheaper* than Sonic 2 overall. $15 for Episode 1 isn’t a big deal.

  • Reply

    Fuck you Sega.

  • Reply

    Its fair to me, this business after all 🙂

  • Reply

    They better clean up the f*$#ing animations and glitches(in a months time) for that price.

    Oh well, it’s a new Sonic, and the next installment at that. I’ll be paying up in hopes of a better polished Ep. II. If Ep. II isn’t better I just won’t buy.

    I expect a cleaned-up professional game, Sega, if I’m going to shell out that much for 4 levels.

    Oh and screw Sonic Adventure, that game sucks hard. I just tried replaying it the other day and I was not impressed(again).

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