Monthly Archives

July 2012

Merchandise

Sonic and Hello Kitty Collab is Adorably Scary

SEGA collaborating with toy figure brands isn’t a totally new thing. Last year they had a collaboration with Good Smile Company, which resulted in a Sonic Nendoroid figure. Now SEGA has teamed up with Sanrio to make a Sonic Hello Kitty plushie. The full name of it being the “Sonic x Hello Kitty Super Jumbo Plushy”. It will be available at SEGA’s various amusement facilities throughout Japan in late July.

Do you want this thing that’s either cute or scary depending on your tastes but don’t live in Japan? Don’t worry, SEGA has said that this plushie will be available worldwide by Summer 2013. Though if you really want it you could also try getting it from eBay. Click on the image on the right for a bigger version.

[Source: Andriasang]

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Comics

Archie Comics Confirms 12-Part Sonic and Mega Man Crossover, Details

It certainly didn’t take long for all the details to surface after a little teaser image popped up on Twitter from USA Today writer Brian Truitt.

Archie sent out a press release confirming Sonic and Mega Man will team up for 12 issues of robot smashing and evil doctorate base demolition, as penned by fan-favorite writer, Ian Flynn. In a report by USA Today, the book’s editor Paul Kaminski revealed that Sega and Capcom finalized the deal just before the start of last year’s New York ComicCon, and his first call to begin production went straight to Flynn.

Talking of the phone call to Flynn, “His response was, ‘I have been writing that story since we began the Mega Man title,’ ” Kaminski said. “Of course, I thought he was joking, but not an hour later my inbox was flooded with Sonic/Mega Man story synopses.”

“I’m already living the dream by writing the Sonic titles,” Flynn said. “Then I got to live the other dream of writing for Mega Man. With that many dreams being handed to me, I figured it was only a matter of time.”

Although no date has been confirmed for the first issue’s release, the series will be available both in print and digitally. Look below for the full press release.

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Comics

UPDATE: Teaser Image Hints at Sonic/Mega Man Comic Book Crossover

Image courtesy of @briantruitt.

UPDATE: Kotaku has posted up details confirming the comic crossover. The series will see Mega Man and Sonic teaming up to take down the nefarious duo of Dr. Wily and Dr. Eggman in their combined bid to take over the world.

Just over a year ago, Archie Comics – the comic book publisher behind the well-known Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series (among others) – released a new series based on Capcom’s Mega Man franchise, penned by head Sonic author Ian Flynn and featuring pencils by other Sonic regulars such as Patrick “Spaz” Spaziante and Ben Bates. Due to the overlap between staff members, today’s otherwise surprising news may have been somewhat foreseeable: USA Today writer and self-described comic geek Brian Truitt has tweeted the above picture with the caption, “Hmmm. Just got this in a super-duper top-secret email from @archiecomics. Wonder what this could be about?”

The image, which depicts trademark items worn by both of our favorite blue video game mascots, makes the clear implication that we’ll be seeing the two characters’ comic book universes cross over sometime in the upcoming calendar year. It should be interesting to see how Flynn combines the two series to create one overarching story, as well as how many ill-conceived jokes people can make regarding the state of both franchises. Archie hasn’t released any further information right now, but given the 2013 date hinted at in the image, expect more details on the crossover in the coming months. In particular, San Diego Comic-Con is this weekend, so keep your eyes and ears peeled for any announcements Archie may make at the event.

[Source: Twitter]

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Community, Site News

SoS 2012 – The Seaside Edition

Another year rolls around and like clockwork, it’s time for another Summer of Sonic – my 4th and the event’s 5th. With not just a new venue this year but an entirely new town in Brighton, and with all the tickets selling out in the space of around 5 minutes, the show was even more hotly anticipated than last year. So, what’s the skinny, you ask? Well, dear audience, please read on.
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Game Secrets, Interviews

Pix N Love’s History of Sonic Book in English Arrives this September

In lieu of a major Sonic title coming out, the 300 page hardcover book from French publisher Pix N Love will finally see a release in the Americas courtesy of Udon Entertainment who have issued a press release revealing the book will be made available in September. The book has been put up for pre-order for quite some time on Amazon.com, however Sega’s official blog has put up new scans of the book in English. At least, the big letters can be read in English.

For those unfamiliar, Pix N Love Publishing has been putting in efforts bringing up the detailed history of foreign developers and individuals through print format with interviews, product catalogs and provides an insight on the subject matter’s history. Unlike most other books from the publisher, the History of Sonic is going to be rolled up together into one book. Covering the history all the way up to Sonic Generations, complete with developer interviews and more in one hardcover bound book. In addition, with the publishing deal from Udon Entertainment, it will be guaranteed a wider distribution in the states, as opposed to the publisher sending out books to customers from it’s native country France. Currently pre-orders are available solely through Amazon.com. More information as it develops.

[Source: The Sonic Stadium, Udon, Sega Blog]


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Community, Site News

Pre-Sonic Boom Meetup at Yard House 3 to 5 p.m. Friday

Odds are you’ve been following Summer of Sonic‘s festivities through the magic of Internet streams today–and major kudos to the SoS team on pulling off a smooth convention given every obstacle that came up this year! However, if you’re located in America, you’ve probably been wishing you could attend Summer of Sonic without going overseas. Or at least something vaguely like it. If that’s the case, Friday your lucky day–it’s time for the second annual Sonic Boom during San Diego ComiCon!

We’ll be holding a Sonic Retro meetup from 3 to 5 p.m. Friday, July 13 at Yard House, located at 1023 4th Avenue in San Diego. That’s about a block from House of Blues. I’m also happy to announce that unlike last year, this is an all-ages venue, so anyone is free to show up and grab a bite, something to drink or just chat and goof off with us.

It’s also a great venue because we like beer, and hey, LOOK AT ALL THAT BEER.

Please keep in mind that parking in downtown San Diego is tricky and often accompanied by a fee in a garage, and that you’ll be battling ComiCon attendees for spots, so showing up early may be necessary. As someone who’s now a veteran of these sorts of meetups, I just want to say that we are minimum creepy and maximum fun, so come out and join us!

eta: For some reason the permalink on Facebook says “2 to 5”; this is incorrect and the time is 3 to 5. Thanks.

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Game News

NiGHTS Appears as a Vehicle in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed

NiGHTS Into Dreams getting a re-release isn’t the only NiGHTS-related news this week. SEGA revealed at Summer of Sonic that NiGHTS and Reala will both be playable in vehicle form in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. NiGHTS also appeared in Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing, but only as the flagman. Like all the other vehicles in the game they’ll transform into a plane when in the air and into a boat when in the water. A Nightopian can be seen driving NiGHTS and a Nightmaren is driving Reala.

The game will also feature a NiGHTS stage, one that goes through Spring Valley, Gilwings Lair and Wizeman’s boss arena. Both flying sections and water sections were shown. Gameplay footage can be seen here at this link beginning at 1:17:40. This post will be updated with a higher quality video when it is available.

[Source: SEGAbits]

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Game News

Sega Announces Digital Rerelease of the Original NiGHTS Into Dreams

Things haven’t been that great over at Sega headquarters. With the news of Sega of Europe’s restructuring, not to mention that the west is to see less and less boxed titles on store shelves, the company isn’t exactly instilling confidence in the SEGA faithful. It only makes sense that the company, who has announced their focus on digitally distributed titles, is looking into their back catalog to release gems from a long-ago era to try and make a quick dollar to keep the company going. Even with their current strife, it is hard to argue that Sega hasn’t made some fantastic games over the course of their history. With the recent Sega Vintage Collection packs and the forthcoming Jet Set Radio rerelease, Sega has certainly been putting in the extra effort on presenting their classic titles, something which for years always seemed to be lackluster cash grabs instead of products the public would actually want to repurchase.

While SEGA’s more well-known titles on the Mega Drive and Dreamcast have been enjoying the digital spotlight, there has been one game system that has always gotten the shaft, simply because of its unique architecture making it hard to emulate or port code. That representation in the digital market, however, is finally to happen – at least for what many consider to be the Sega Saturn‘s crowning jewel: Sonic Team’s classic NiGHTS Into Dreams.

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Game News

Sonic Rush Soundtracks Now Available on iTunes

Back 2 back, it’s spinning on it’s back
Back 2 back, on the turn takes back
Back 2 back, it’s spinning on it’s back
Back 2 back, on the back 2 back
Back 2 back, it’s spinning on it’s back
Back 2 back, on the turn takes back
Back 2 back, it’s spinning on it’s back on the turn takesspinnnvfdniofdsion screw it I’m not going to figure out all the lyrics of this thing. Those Youtube videos with the slightly wrong lyrics aren’t helping either.

The point is, the soundtracks for Sonic Rush  and Sonic Rush Adventure are now available on iTunes for $9.99 each. The first of which being the most noteworthy because Hideki Naganuma, known for his contributions to the Jet Set Radio soundtracks, did the music for the game. While he didn’t contribute to Rush Adventure, the soundtrack of that is quite awesome and worth listening to as well. Both have more than 40 tracks so there being too few songs isn’t a problem.

Click here for the Sonic Rush soundtrack.

And here for the Sonic Rush Adventure soundtrack.

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