Ha! That's right up there with my old "Sonic Jam" piece! Okay, way down there...don't bother me with details. It seems that we missed a couple of new Sonic Shuffle things while our eyes were plastered to the Fall Festival's live webcam for the past ten days. Here's the final US cover:

   Pretty slick, innit? Sega Japan also opened the official Sonic Shuffle page. There's nothing much on it... just the storyline, brief character descriptions, and some teeny tiny screenshots. But here's a good quality pic of the logo, as well as a nice chunk of character art:

   Meanwhile, in UFO Catcher land, this latest batch of cheap Samba swag based on Samba de Amigo Ver.2000 swings onto the scene. Amiga's an obvious addition, but the maraca-shaking stick figure who guides your moves may be just a bit too much... Amigo comes in two flavors: an almost serene-looking version that proves once and for all that he can close his mouth, and a more natural-looking version obviously constructed after Amigo had his daily dose of amphetamine. Linda and, for whatever reason, Bongo also make it into the set. (When do they plan to give Chumba and Wamba their props?)

   Well, Aki Matsuri may be over, but the online goodness does not stop there. Head on over to headquarters for a streaming video of the complete, 28-minute "Next SONIC TEAM" event at Sega's recent show at Tokyo Joypolis. I didn't watch the whole thing yet, but it starts off with some irritatingly energetic Japanese chick delivering a bubbly introduction, then the man himself walks onto the stage and begins going off about PSO in the sacred tongue. He's then joined by another fellow who, off-the-cuff, I think is Takao Miyoshi, director of PSO. Don't quote me on that, though. The video apparently also goes on to show some new footage of Sonic Adventure 2, which includes a segment where our man Doc 'botnik is running around in his new improved Egg Mobile blasting some mecha ass ala E-102. As old as Sonic (older, technically) and playable at long, long last? Oh yes. He is the Eggman!

   Oh yeah, one last thing...it's been announced that "Livin' La Vida Loca" and "The Cup of Life" will be included in both the arcade and Dreamcast versions of Samba de Amigo Ver.2000. Looks like the boys were able to negotiate something with the suits at Sony Music. Olé!

   -- Green Gibbon!

Compiled and arranged by Jared "Green Gibbon!" Matte. Hosting provided by Emulation Zone and Emulation World.