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DRM

Community, Fan Works

Guest Editorial: In Which I Rain on the Sonic 2 HD Parade

(The following is a guest editorial written by forums member Guess Who, because frankly, someone needed to say it.)

Starting in the late nineties, a sizable community formed around reverse-engineering Sonic games. Thanks to the work of this community and its extremely talented individuals, amazing feats have been achieved. The original Sonic titles have been disassembled into their raw Motorola 68000 assembly code and thoroughly documented, allowing for substantial modifications; Sonic Adventure DX has similarly been torn apart, allowing for the creation of useful tools such as level and model editors; even the brand-new Sonic Generations has already been hacked wide open for creating custom levels, porting levels from Sonic Unleashed, and importing music. One thing all of these accomplishments have in common is that all of them are the result of collaboration. Many people worked for days, weeks, months, and sometimes even years to acquire and share the knowledge necessary for all of these technical marvels to come to fruition. Sonic Retro has always fostered a collaborative environment thanks to its forums, wiki, and Mercurial repository, and consequently has become the de facto hub for all things Sonic hacking.

So in March 2008, when Sonic 2 HD was announced, it was hailed as a shining example of the collaborative community environment that’s been so crucial to the Retro community. Media outlets like Kotaku covered the game’s announcement with great anticipation. It was given its own forum where members could contribute their own assets to the game, whether it was art, music, programming talent, or just general feedback. The engine, coded primarily by long-established community member LOst, was built using the disassembled code of the original Sonic titles (you know, that code collaboratively reverse-engineered and documented by a number of community members?) as a basis for its physics. The original Sonic 2 HD board received a whopping 14275 replies, mostly from members offering their own work or feedback for the product.

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Game News

Sega of America Begins Digital Download Service, However…

 

Courtesy of forum user RGamer2009, Sega of America has recently launched their digital download store to make it easy for people to locate SEGA titles for purchase through their own website. Currently the store only offers a line up of PC titles, including DLC, with no known plans for other platforms. The games can either be downloaded through Sega’s website, or if it’s noted, will give you a Steam key to activate on Steam instead. In addition, a network connection is usually required to activate your games online. This means that most, if not all titles, will have DRM enforced. This includes a limit as to how many times a game can be activated, and you must contact Sega directly to gain more activation codes.

With most of the legal hoopla out of the way, some of the games you can expect on the service include Steam activated titles such as Sonic Generations, Renegade Ops, and Football Manager 2012. In addition are non-Steam activated titles including Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing, House of the Dead 2, and of course your usual suspects of Sega Genesis Classic Collections.

There are a few problems with some of the store’s game specifications and logistics. For example, at the time of this writing, House of the Dead 2 was given a rating of Early Childhood. Plus the Sonic 20th Anniversary Pack which includes six Mega Drive/Genesis related Sonic games is offered for $29.99 compared to Sonic Mega Collection Plus, which is also readily available with six Game Gear games, comic book covers, illustrations and more for $9.99. Still, an interesting move to combine games sold through Steam as well as bringing back a handful of respectable PC ports through one service.

 

 

 

Courtesy of forum user RGamer2009, Sega of America has recently launched their digital download store to make it easy for people to locate SEGA titles for purchase through their own website. Currently the store only offers a line up of PC titles, including DLC, with no known plans for other platforms. The games can either be downloaded through Sega’s website, or if it’s noted, will give you a Steam key to activate on Steam instead. In addition, a network connection is usually required to activate your games online. This means that most, if not all titles, will have DRM enforced. This includes a limit as to how many times a game can be activated, and you must contact Sega directly to gain more activation codes.

With most of the legal hoopla out of the way, some of the games you can expect on the service include Steam activated titles such as Sonic Generations, Renegade Ops, and Football Manager 2012. In addition are non-Steam activated titles including Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing, House of the Dead 2, and of course your usual suspects of Sega Genesis Classic Collections.

There are a few problems with some of the store’s game specifications and logistics. For example, at the time of this writing, House of the Dead 2 was given a rating of Early Childhood. Plus the Sonic 20th Anniversary Pack which includes six Mega Drive/Genesis related Sonic games is offered for $29.99 compared to Sonic Mega Collection Plus, which is also readily available with six Game Gear games, comic book covers, illustrations and more for $9.99. Still, an interesting move to combine games sold through Steam as well as bringing back a handful of respectable PC ports through one service.

 

 

 

Courtesy of forum user RGamer2009, Sega of America has recently launched their digital download store to make it easy for people to locate SEGA titles for purchase through their own website. Currently the store only offers a line up of PC titles, including DLC, with no known plans for other platforms. The games can either be downloaded through Sega’s website, or if it’s noted, will give you a Steam key to activate on Steam instead. In addition, a network connection is usually required to activate your games online. This means that most, if not all titles, will have DRM enforced. This includes a limit as to how many times a game can be activated, and you must contact Sega directly to gain more activation codes.

With most of the legal hoopla out of the way, some of the games you can expect on the service include Steam activated titles such as Sonic Generations, Renegade Ops, and Football Manager 2012. In addition are non-Steam activated titles including Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing, House of the Dead 2, and of course your usual suspects of Sega Genesis Classic Collections.

There are a few problems with some of the store’s game specifications and logistics. For example, at the time of this writing, House of the Dead 2 was given a rating of Early Childhood. Plus the Sonic 20th Anniversary Bundle which includes six Mega Drive/Genesis related Sonic games is offered for $29.99 compared to Sonic Mega Collection Plus, which is also readily available with six Game Gear games, comic book covers, illustrations and more for $9.99. Still, an interesting move to combine games sold through Steam as well as bringing back a handful of respectable PC ports through one service.

 

 

 

Courtesy of forum user RGamer2009, Sega of America has recently launched their digital download store to make it easy for people to locate SEGA titles for purchase through their own website. Currently the store only offers a line up of PC titles, including DLC, with no known plans for other platforms. The games can either be downloaded through Sega’s website, or if it’s noted, will give you a Steam key to activate on Steam instead. In addition, a network connection is usually required to activate your games online. This means that most, if not all titles, will have DRM enforced. This includes a limit as to how many times a game can be activated, and you must contact Sega directly to gain more activation codes.

With most of the legal hoopla out of the way, some of the games you can expect on the service include Steam activated titles such as Sonic Generations, Renegade Ops, and Football Manager 2012. In addition are non-Steam activated titles including Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing, House of the Dead 2, and of course your usual suspects of Sega Genesis Classic Collections.

There are a few problems with some of the store’s game specifications and logistics. For example, at the time of this writing, House of the Dead 2 was given a rating of Early Childhood. Plus the Sonic 20th Anniversary Bundle which includes six Mega Drive/Genesis related Sonic games is offered for $29.99 compared to Sonic Mega Collection Plus, which is also readily available with six Game Gear games, comic book covers, illustrations and more for $9.99. Still, an interesting move to combine games sold through Steam as well as bringing back a handful of respectable PC ports through one service.

 

 

 

Courtesy of forum user RGamer2009, Sega of America has recently launched their digital download store to make it easy for people to locate SEGA titles for purchase through their own website. Currently the store only offers a line up of PC titles, including DLC, with no known plans for other platforms. The games can either be downloaded through Sega’s website, or if it’s noted, will give you a Steam key to activate on Steam instead. In addition, a network connection is usually required to activate your games online. This means that most, if not all titles, will have DRM enforced. This includes a limit as to how many times a game can be activated, and you must contact Sega directly to gain more activation codes.

With most of the legal hoopla out of the way, some of the games you can expect on the service include Steam activated titles such as Sonic Generations, Renegade Ops, and Football Manager 2012. In addition are non-Steam activated titles including Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing, House of the Dead 2, and of course your usual suspects of Sega Genesis Classic Collections.

There are a few problems with some of the store’s game specifications and logistics. For example, at the time of this writing, House of the Dead 2 was given a rating of Early Childhood. Plus the Sonic 20th Anniversary Bundle which includes six Mega Drive/Genesis related Sonic games is offered for $29.99 compared to Sonic Mega Collection Plus, which is also readily available with six Game Gear games, comic book covers, illustrations and more for $9.99. Still, an interesting move to combine games sold through Steam as well as bringing back a handful of respectable PC ports through one service.

 

 

Courtesy of forum user RGamer2009, Sega of America has recently launched their digital download store to make it easy for people to locate SEGA titles for purchase through their own website. Currently the store only offers a line up of PC titles, including DLC, with no known plans for other platforms. The games can either be downloaded through Sega’s website, or if it’s noted, will give you a Steam key to activate on Steam instead. In addition, a network connection is usually required to activate your games online. This means that most, if not all titles, will have DRM enforced. This includes a limit as to how many times a game can be activated, and you must contact Sega directly to gain more activation codes.

With most of the legal hoopla out of the way, some of the games you can expect on the service include Steam activated titles such as Sonic Generations, Renegade Ops, and Football Manager 2012. In addition are non-Steam activated titles including Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing, House of the Dead 2, and of course your usual suspects of Sega Genesis Classic Collections.

There are a few problems with some of the store’s game specifications and logistics. For example, at the time of this writing, House of the Dead 2 was given a rating of Early Childhood. Plus the Sonic 20th Anniversary Bundle which includes six Mega Drive/Genesis related Sonic games is offered for $29.99 compared to Sonic Mega Collection Plus, which is also readily available with six Game Gear games, comic book covers, illustrations and more for $9.99. Still, an interesting move to combine games sold through Steam as well as bringing back a handful of respectable PC ports through one service.