Got a breaking news story we haven't reported yet? If you do, feel free to e-mail the info (along with a credible source) to any of our news staff. Except Popcorn; he doesn't want to hear it.
Not only will there be a fee of $8.95 per month on top of the annual $50 fee for X-Box Live service, but you'll have to have an active X-Box Live account just to play the game offline.
In addition, due to "security reasons" North American players will be unable to play with players from other regions, thereby defeating the purpose of the entire game.
Sonic Pinball Party has been confirmed for a June US release. The surprise here is that it will be published by Sega of America and not THQ.
Also, the game will feature four player modes with one Game Pak, and GameCube connectivitiy with Sonic Adventure DX, which is supposedly due out in May.
"Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog is back just in time for summer in two new action-packed games for the Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance," said Mike Fischer, vice president, Sega of America. "To date, Sonic has proved to be phenomenally popular on the Nintendo GameCube and we're excited that Sonic is resonating with a whole new generation of gamers."
Apparently, this promotional NATPE ad for the new Sonic anime has been released in several animation industry magazines. The animation of the new series is being done by the greatly hailed Tokyo Movie Shinsa. Contact numbers have been blurred out for privacy reasons.
Also, according to TMS's US offices, the show is still in development and there are no available production sketches or footage available at this time.
Big thanks to "AstroboyX" for scanning this image and uncovering the info.
Is it just me, or is Rouge even bustier than usual?
I snooped around and found some interesting stuff. Check out this image:
Apparently that is the final Japanese box art for Xbox PSO. I guess it's the same image as the one seen here at Sonic Team's wholly uninformative PSO Xbox site.
The full page with the Japanese Xbox Live promotion and images is here.
Some other details on that site that we didn't know for sure are that PSO will carry a monthly fee on top of the Xbox Live subscription, at least in Japan. 600 Yen a month.
Also, PSO will come with a USB adapter that will allow you to use any standard USB computer keyboard with the game. Cool. I guess.
And also confirmed (I think, what with the crappy translator I used) is that it includes everything the GC version did, which means 4Player offline play (w00t!). I think the other message is saying that you can't play multiplayer while connecting online. Which makes sense. Duh.
Thursday, January 9 2003
Sonic Adventure DX and Sonic Pinball Party to be released in 2003
Sonic Adventure DX, the long thought to be canned Sonic Adventure port for the Nintendo GameCube, has finally been confirmed for a 2003 release on Sega of Japan's official website.
A new Sonic title for the Game Boy Advance, Sonic Pinball Party, has also been slated for a 2003 release at SoJ.
No details have been given about a North American release for either title.
EBGames.com has PSO for Xbox's release date and price set. Right now PSO is scheduled for a 2/25/2003 ship date, and if you pre-order the game now from EBGames, you can get it at the nice price of $39.99, as opposed to the standard $49.99. Enjoy.
Edit by Green Gibbon!: I would also like to point our dear readers and my fellow PSO seekers to GameStop.com, who have the same offer. Furthermore, by shopping at GameStop, you ensure the continued livelihood of everyone's favorite green ape.
Edit by Segaholic2: Why does your implied superior source have its release date set to May 2nd? SOMEONE'S WRONG.
You've probably already heard about this someplace else, but here's all the info that's accumulated over the past week on the possibility of new Sonic animation projects. This news all comes straight from posts Ken Penders at, the most ego-centric writer of Archie's Sonic comics, made at his message board. It seems that the possibility of a movie based on the Archie comics and original Saturday morning cartoon has, once again, resurfaced.
No Third Season But....
... there IS a Sonic Animation Project currently in development. A story has been worked out, but beyond that I really can't talk about much at this point.
The only other thing I can say is that we intend to compete on the level of a Monsters Inc. That means whatever is developed has to be done with the general audience in mind beyond Sonic fandom in particular, so don't be surprised if the overall plot is more in line with what you'd expect from the first film of a series, rather than something you'd expect from a third season or later entry in a film series.
So, it will be more based on the Archie continuity than that of SatAM. And Ken also seems to be dreaming in CGI, suggesting that the film will take no less than 3-4 years to complete.
Ben [Hurst] has gone on record as saying he recognizes the Archie continuity as being just as official as his SatAM version, acknowledging not only have we been faithful to the work he and his co-horts have done, but have been the major force to keeping Sonic before the public on a regular basis.
Ben and I have discussed working on an animated Sonic film previously, and made some initial contacts with Sega, but nothing much came of them for various reasons. As he has worked in the industry for some time, Ben was/is able to make his own pitches to various studios to see if there's any interest in such a project a lot easier than I can, as he has way more industry contacts than I do at the present time.
My involvement was due more to a variety of factors owing to my connections in the comic industry and is not meant as a slap in the face to Ben or anyone else. It's just the way things work in this crazy business.
Just so things don't get out of hand with the rumors, I'll add these details to the mix:
The project is being conceived as presenting Sonic in CGI-animation ala Monsters Inc.
The main cast of characters consist of Sonic, Sally, Tails, Bunnie, Uncle Chuck, Jules, Bernie, King & Queen Acorn, Knuckles, Julie-Su, Espio, Mighty, Vector, Locke, Lara-Le, Wynmacher, Snively, Crabmeat, E-102 and Dr. Robotnik. As only the main plotline has been worked out, it remains to be seen what other characters will have speaking roles. At present, I envision a number of characters seen in various incarnations of the games, comic book and animated series will be utilized as "extras" throughout.
While I would be inclined to go with the actress who voiced Sally in the SatAM, I think a fresh voice is called for regarding Sonic, and while I already have a particular actor in mind, I'd like to hear your suggestions as well for this or any other part.
In general, while the movie will contain many elements familiar to fans of the comics, games and SatAM, it's being treated like we're starting with episode one of a whole new series in order for the general audience to join in on the fun. To aim specifically for the Sonic hardcore fans in particular would not enable this or any other similar project to get off the ground. That is a business reality that has to be accounted for.
So it seems Ken plans to cater to everyone. Not a good plan.
Before Things Get Out Of Hand...
... please remember that while the fan base is being listened and catered to, if you were to take a vote, you'd discover the results would reveal constituencies for every version of Sonic as far as which one should be featured in the proposed animated film. It is with that in mind that a specific story arc was developed that enabled us to explain who and what Sonic and Knuckles was to a general audience while facing a threat posed by Robotnik that was worthy of a film treatment. By developing the threat, deciding how big the stakes were, and what the resolution would be was how it was decided which characters would be pivotal to the overall arc.
Think of the X-Men movie. There were a vast number of characters that were either hinted at, briefly seen or no mention was made altogether. Why? There has to be something for the sequels. If someone's favorite character doesn't make the cut this time, they have to be optimistic that their character will eventually show up. By my game plan, Shadow and Rouge wouldn't make it until the third or fourth film, as the second would probably lean more towards Sonic interacting with Knuckles against Enerjak.
Because I had to do some initial rewriting - and there will be much more to do in the days ahead - I can at least quell some fears that even if they don't have major parts, characters like Amy Rose, Rotor and Antoine will be seen in the film as the story requires a number of characters at least being seen as the Swatbots round up the citizenry for roboticization. (And no, none of the three mentioned undergo the process. I don't need unnecessary rumors flying wild on the internet, thank you.)
I'll probably do an online chat once all the details are nailed down by all involved parties. For the moment, all I can say is that this is being approached in a very serious manner by all parties concerned, and that the intent is to do a first class film. The producer involved is a major player in animation having been in the business for over 20 years with several Emmys to his name. Anything he's worked on has exhibited his respect for the source material. He's interested in doing something that's action-packed with plenty of heart. The two films he keeps citing as examples of what we want to shoot for are Monsters Inc and Lilo & Stitch.
As far as the budget goes, he knows how to stretch a buck and get the most for his money. Furthermore, the budget for the film doesn't have to be concerned with paying off Michael Eisner's stock options or bonuses for Disney executives, a main reason why Treasure Planet's budget soared north of $100 million.
The process is only beginning, so please have faith.
He seems overly confident if you ask me. I seriously doubt this man knows much about the animation business.
If I am true to the spirit and intent of the characters along the lines of what most fans expect, the film will be a success. Note I do not include ALL fans, because trying to please everyone is not going to be possible. For example, there are those who are going to want this be done in an anime style, and they're bound to be disappointed because that's just not going to happen with this project. Likewise, a number of voice actors who worked on previous incarnations more than likely will not end up working on this project either, for various reasons.
I will listen to what everyone has to say, but in the end, the producer and I will have to bite the bullet and make the tough decisions, otherwise the project will never get done. Already I can think of at least two items that are going to be controversial within fandom, but those two story points are a key part of what provides the emotional drama, and allow us to present Sonic with a wider range of emotions than many feel has been shown in the comic.
Now, I'm not quite sure where everyone around here stands on this idea, but I can say with contempt that this project will not get off the ground. Ken's expectations for this project are way too high. He boasts that his movie will reach a broad audience and, though Sonic comics may be outselling all other Archie titles (which proves that today's youth are really sad) he's placing too much faith in the extremely small fanbase he's trying to cater to.
In his mind, people would see this movie because it has Sonic in it. However, what he doesn't realize is that this isn't 1995; the games are more popular than the comics. The vast majority of people will go to see the film expecting something based on a video game. Instead, they'll get a movie based on a comic based on a cartoon vaguely based on the video game they all know and love.
And the fact that by the time this movie would be finished, international distribution of the new Sonic anime series would be inevitable, he can't possibly expect people to just accept and understand the movie. People aren't going to bother. And sooner or later, Sega will realize the extreme obsurdity of placing more promotion on a comic that's only purpose is to promote the game, than to simply promote the game itself.
Speaking of the new Sonic anime, Ken has also stated that it will be a 52-episode series debuting in Japan in September. I hate to say it, but I would consider Ken to be a pretty accurate source for that information.
Sonic Team announced they do not have plans to develop the sequel of NiGHTs.
Obviously a lot of people took the recent NiGHTS cameo in the recent PSO Episodes I&II quest the wrong way, and the Great Yu2 wants to make sure that people know where he still stands on the subject of a NiGHTS sequel.
