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Why Not Throw The Whole Thing Out and Start Over... - WB 12:20 am CST, 9-17-99 |
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Year after year after year after year people that don't like the Sonic comics ask the question "Why not just throw the entire current Archie Sonic continuity out and start anew with Sonic Adventure, or base it off the games or something? Why not just start over?"
Well, today someone posted about this on Ken Penders' messageboard and he finally spoke out as to what goes on about dealings with Sega on the comic adaptions, story structure, and other things...
Posted By Amy Rose
Ok, I'll probably get flamed for this, but in my opinion, most of the characters in the sonic the hedgehog comic are just plain annoying, and the plot is, well..kind of pathetic. What i think they should do is throw the whole thing out, and start over fresh from the beginning. They should forget about the freedom fighters, and base the comic on Sonic adventure in my opinion. Ive noticed that the personality of Sonic in Sonic adventure is much better than his personality in Archie. And Dr. Eggman is different too. In the archie version he looks like a giant lord of evil, and in SA, well, hes evil of course, but not like the Archie version. I like the SA eggman better. They will probably never do this, but i wish they would throw the whole plot they have going out and base it on Sonic Adventure, and just build an entirly new series.
People that don't like the comic have asked and wondered that time and time again. This is Ken Penders' response which is rather interesting...
Posted By Ken Penders
We've known for over a year what was going to be in Sonic Adventure, at least in regards to the Japanese version. The graphics alone had everyone at Archie excited about incorporating the Sonic Adventure characters and plots into our series. However, we ran into a big obstacle, and that was Sega itself. They wanted us to do a game adaptation, but they didn't cooperate with us in the slightest. We had to go out and find someone to translate the Japanese version because no one at Sega saw fit to share anything with us. The video I had was made by Spaz, who recorded his gameplay.
I understand why many people would want us to start over after seeing Sonic Adventure, but that wouldn't be fair to the large number of fans who already love the current cast of characters. Besides, as you'll see, our version and the Sonic Adventure are really not that incompatible. In fact, Justin was amazed how easily I incorporated the ongoing storyline in Knuckles with the game adaptation itself.
What i find interesting is the debate whether Sonic is getting too anime in style versus whether he is anime enough.
What do you think? We'd like to know. Listed below is the link to Ken Penders' messageboard, if you wish post your opinions there and on Sonic HQ's "Mobius Forum" as well.
It could make for an interesting topic...
Source: Ken Penders' Message Board
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Sonic Adventure Makes Top Two! - WB 3:00 pm CST, 9-23-99 |
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The NPD group, the company responsible for those TRST reports you keep hearing about, has released U.S. software sales figures for the period of September 5th to September 11th.
The Dreamcast, despite being released on September 9th, midway into the tracking period, was well represented on the list, with seven titles appearing in the top twenty.
The national list of Top Five Games Is As Follows:
1. Final Fantasy 8 (Square)
2. Sonic Adventure
3. Soul Calibur
4. NFL2K
5. Ready To Rumble
In addition to these figures, the NPD has also provided some interesting information for the entire week from September 5th to the 11th. Sales for the video game market, including hardware, software, and accessories, were up a full 133% from the previous week, with the Dreamcast responsible for 88% of the growth. 546,000 consoles were sold during the week, as opposed to 223,000 from the week before (before the DC's release). Finally, the DC captured 60% of the next-generation console business during its first week of business, although Nintendo 64 and PlayStation weren't affected too much, both combining for only an 8% dropoff in sales.
Source: IGN.com
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Half A Million and STILL GOING !!! - WB 3:00 pm CST, 9-23-99 |
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SEGA DREAMCAST TOPS HALF MILLION MARK IN UNITS SOLD,
BESTS RECORDS SET BY SONY, NINTENDO, APPLE AND DVD
SAN FRANCISCO (September 23, 1999) -- Sales of Sega(R) of America, Inc.'s 128-bit, Internet-ready Sega Dreamcast(TM) videogame system continue at a blistering pace. The company announced today at the Intelliquest Brand Tech Forum in San Francisco that in just two weeks, Sega Dreamcast has topped the half million units sold mark. The advanced videogame console has sold through a total of 514,000 units since it launched on 9.9.99. In contrast, Sony PlayStation(TM) reached the half million mark in four months in 1995 and Nintendỏ 64 reached the same number after two months at retail when it launched in 1996, according to the NPD Group of Port Washington, NY.
Sega Dreamcast's record-breaking launch also beat sales milestones set by other high-profile consumer products. The much-touted Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iMac personal computer took six weeks to sell 278,000 units. And, DVD in its first year only sold 430,000 units.
Today's announced sales figures for Sega Dreamcast well surpass the company's previous projections of hitting 400,000 in the system's first month of availability at retail. Since its introduction, Sega Dreamcast has been a sales leader, capturing more than 60% of all new console sales, according to NPD. In addition to hardware, software for Sega Dreamcast is also selling at a brisk pace. NPD research shows that four of the top five games for the week ending September 11 were Sega Dreamcast titles, including Sega's "Sonic Adventure(TM)," Sega Sports' "NFL 2K(TM)," Namco's "Soul Calibur(TM)" and Midway's "Ready 2 Rumble Boxing(TM)."Consumer demand for Sega Dreamcast is continuing at a record pace," said Chris Gilbert, senior vice president of sales, Sega of America, Inc. "All of our retailers are reporting huge sales for the system and we are working very closely with them to meet the massive demand we are anticipating for the holiday season."
Sega Dreamcast's 128-bit architecture makes it the first console with evolutionary capabilities, allowing it to grow and change to match advances in technology and the needs and desires of the consumer. Sega Dreamcast is also the most powerful video game console ever created and the first to offer Internet connectivity including e-mail, browsing and chat using the Sega Dreamcast Network. It is 15 times more powerful than a Sony PlayStation, ten times more powerful than a Nintendo 64 and has four times the graphics processing power of the fastest Pentium II processor. In addition, Sega Dreamcast is the first console to utilize hand-held gaming through its Visual Memory Unit (VMU), which allows players to swap games with friends in the home, arcade or head-to-head using two VMUs.
Congrats Sega America on a job well done! ^_^
Source: Dreamcast HQ
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Sonic And Knuckles Comics Spoilers - WB 3:00 CST, 9-23-99 |
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This is interesting, even though Ken Penders himself announced Knux's cancellation, spoilers were still given on the next issue.
At any rate, its unsure how things will go or even if this book will see print, but here it is nonetheless:
Sonic the Hedgehog #80
by Bollers, Fry, & Pepoy
A special issue inspired by the popular new Sonic Adventure game for the hot Sega
Dreamcast system! After their amazing journey in issue #79, the Freedom Fighters find
themselves in an ancient city that is a brave new world to them. Filled with five-fingered
Overlanders who call themselves "humans," the furry friends are given a warm welcome
a la "Escape From The Planet Of The Apes" - the heroes receive a tour of the city, Amy
goes shopping, Tails flies his plane, etc. But all is not right here, and true to form, Sonic's
restless spirit finds him on night patrol, where his curiosity inevitably leads him to
trouble and feats of daring do! The action continues in Sonic Super Special #12, shipping
January 2000!
Knuckles the Echidna #33
by Ken Penders
A special issue inspired by the popular new Sonic Adventure game for the hot Sega
Dreamcast system! Knuckles really has his hands full this issue, as the wretched
Robotnik and his horrid horde of Shadowbots descend upon the Floating Island! It's all
part of Robotnik's quest to find "Perfect Chaos" - a hibernating dragon-like monster
made of living water! In order to revive it, Robotnik needs a major power source - and
he's got his evil eyes set on the Floating Island's "Master Emerald" - even if he winds up
destroying a portion of the Chaos Chamber and its surrounding land mass to get it! As if
things couldn't get any worse, Mammoth Mogul escapes in all the mayhem, and the Cat
People aren't too happy about that land mass that's suddenly entered their coast!
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Sonic R Network Patch at last-- Sonic HQ
Exclusive! - DocZac/Tails 8:30 pm GMT, 9-22-99 |
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A.J. Freda, owner of SegaSonic.net has finally done it! While you're waiting for the DC Online gaming, try downloading the Network Patch
for Sonic R PC! We've even uploaded it to our own server in case you're having problems
downloading it:
segasonic.net mirror
Sonic HQ
mirror
Source: Segasonic.net
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'Net News - Tristan 7:05 pm CST, 9-22-99 |
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First off, we apologize for the lack of news yesterday, as we were having technical difficulties with the HTML format.
Now, on to the news: The Sonic Saga has released a press statement regarding the state of the fan comic. Look at it here.
Soneec has responded to Sonic HQ News regarding the shutdown of Sonic Pandemonium:
I'm going to start all over again because people seemed to have lost a lot of
interest in SP. I will be making a new website still Sonic based but
without hoaxes and WYTS unless someone is willing to run those pages for me.
As of now, I don't know when it'll be up, but hopefully, at least I'm
shooting, for sometime this week. |
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Knuckles Toy Revealed! - WB 2:30 pm CST, 9-17-99 |
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Resaurus has recently released the picture of the Knuckles toy viewable below:
Knux actually looks pretty good, but I think his eyes are a bit off. Other than that it looks pretty cool. all thats left now is Tails!
Source: Resaurus Toys |
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Online Gaming Not Delayed - WB 2:30 pm CST, 9-17-99 |
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Over the past few days, there have been plenty of stories regarding Sega's Dreamcast network plans. Mostly, the news has been bad, with reports that Sega had delayed online gaming until the third quarter of the year 2000. We found this to be just about the worst news imaginable, and we cried and cried until our faces were blue. Then, we called Sega and got the official word on the state of online play for the Dreamcast. The story is slightly different from what's been reported.
First off, Sega's official word since August has been "online gaming will be introduced over the next twelve months." So, basically, we've known since August that online gaming would be available on the DC no later than August of next year. In our conversation today, Sega added to this statement, saying "Online gaming will be active before Q3 2000." Q3 2000 begins in July, so it seems that we may actually see online games by mid year of 2000 (which, in case you're unfamiliar with the modern calendar, is before August). Finally, Sega made another comment: "The only news that was announced in Tokyo was that we would have roughly 12 online games by Q3 2000. Such games as Half Life will be included in this list."
The picture doesn't look nearly as bleak with these new statements by Sega. Not only does it look like the DC will have 12 online games by mid year (assuming that Sega lives up to its statements), but the possibility still exists for actual online gaming to be introduced earlier in the year (we're going to assume that Sega won't be throwing out twelve online games on the same day). Of course, the question of how long we'll have to wait for true online gaming still remains, but Sega's statements point to the fact that we won't be waiting for as long as we originally thought.
Source: IGN.com |
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Hope Springs Eternal - WB 2:30 pm CST, 9-17-99 |
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Is there any hope of Knux EVER getting his book back? Ken Penders had this to say...
While letters of support ARE helpful, there is ALWAYS a CHANCE that KNUCKLES COULD RETURN if...and I'm talking BIG IF... sales show IMPROVEMENT!
We HAVEN'T seen sales figures from any of the issues since I first told everyone the book was in trouble, so there is considerable room for HOPE.
Even the publishers at Archie aren't talking like the book is dead and buried forever, leaving themselves room to manuver just in case they do decide there's sufficient support for revival.
Source: Ken Penders' Message Board
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New Sonic Fancomic: Other-M - Ian The Potto 2:30 pm CST, 9-17-99 |
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The new fan-comic, Other-M, launched today with a presumeably
unprecidented 14 pages! Each pages is kinda big, but the creator says that the size will
be reduced soon.
Other-M sports the idea that they "take everything you know about the
Archie Sonicverse, and twists it. Hard."
Other-M can be be found at:
http://www.fortunecity.com/rivendell/chronos/615/otherm.html
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Sonic Pandemonium: "Down Until Further Notice" - Tristan 11:45 am CST, 9-19-99 |
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It's happened again, but this time, Soneec herself has shut down Sonic Pandemonium for an undetermined amount of time.
She says that Andre Dirk and HQ staffer Zac had nothing to do with this, ans she asks that no one point fingers at them.
If you can recall, SP was shut down by XOOM after some troubles with several people. We'll see what happens soon.
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I'm Back, but Sonic 2000 Won't Be - Tristan 11:30 am CST, 9-19-99 |
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On Monday, the Webmaster of Sonic 2000, one of the most thought out fan game projects ever, posted the news:
The FTP server is down due to a server move, so I can't edit the website. Basically, Mark has given up on the project due to lack of interest and enthusiasm. Makr currently wants to drop it all to regain his sanity. Anyhow, where an exerp of what he ICQed me.
I'm ready to cancel Sonic 2000. I've known what the problem with the speed is for a couple of weeks now, but haven't had the energy to fix it. I'm going to work on an animation for a little while, not for comercial purposes, or even for publicity, just to relax. I doubt I'll get more than two or three seconds done (since I'm going to do it by hand), but I need a little vacation.
And don't bother emailing him on why the project has been canceled. He won't be at his computer either.
This is some rather sad news, since this was to be a 3D fan game, one of only two to be made so far.
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Sega Otaku Taking a Backstab at Defunct SegaNet - Tristan 11:30 am CST, 9-19-99 |
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Sega Otaku and SegaNet have been long time rivals in the Internet community.
Now that Fernando has moved on to Game Fan, and his site and affiliates have been left in the dust,
SO Editor in Chief Lee Rogers is taking full advantage of it. Click here
to read his somewhat nasty article on the situation.
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And the Number Stands At.... - WB 6:00 pm CST, 9-17-99 |
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410,000 - THAT is the number of Dreamcasts currently sold in America. And its still rising!
Peter Moore, senior vice president of Sega of America, announced last night in Japan that Sega has sold through 410,000 Sega Dreamcast systems in just one week. As we previously reported, the company had sold about 300,000 after just 24 hours. Sega promises another sales update in October
Source: Next Generation Online
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Sonic Ideal - The Launch Date! - WB 6:00 pm CST, 9-17-99 |
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Write down October 14th Sonic fans - thats when Sonic fan David Bulmer and the rest of many talented Sonic fans from America to England launch the HEAVILY anticipated Sonic Ideal online fan comic! We've seen pictures of the stuff and we can guarantee that its quite up to par - follows the SegaSonic storyline, and has excellent drawings. Not only that - but this is ONE fan comic that they DO plan to keep going. >;)
We have heavy expectations on this comic from how much its been talked about on the lists so keep your eyes out for it. By Sonic fans - for Sonic fans!
Source: David Bulmer (Sonic Ideal Addy witheld due to request)
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Happy Birthday Yuji Naka! - WB 6:00 pm CST, 9-17-99 |
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Ladies and gents - everyone wish a happy birthday to Sonic The Hedgehog's very own creator Yuji Naki - leader of the Sonic Team - who has his birthday today! We don't know how old he is, but at the same time the least we can say is thank you! >;)
Source: Neo Green Hill Zone
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Benjamin Hurst on SU - WB 11:30 am CST, 9-17-99 |
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For those that don't know, we just began our cartoons page yesterday. But in my haste to get the page up after seeing Mr. Hursts comments on AFSH I forgot to actually put them on the news page! >;)
Ben Hurst was the premier writer for Sonic SatAM - this is what he had to say concerning SU:
To tell you the truth, I'm not positive who did the development on SU - I was sort of swept into it on the fly. I'm not familiar with the "Sheriff" moniker, but with my memory, that's not surprising. :) In SatAm, I didn't think of Robotnik as anything but just that, Robotnik - and tried my best not to add to the title. Single names have such a great wicked feeling and I think "Doctor" dilutes that. Just my opinion.
Pat and I didn't start as story editors. We wrote the leadout episode and someone upstairs decided we had a good handle on the characters and decided to oust the story editor and replace him with us. Then, instead of having the time to plot the arc of the series, we had to hit the ground running. On top of that, a fair number of the episodes were given over to another story editing team. These guys were good, but the continuity of the series suffered, since they had a different "take" on the overall series. As you know from SatAm, I tend to take these stories seriously. I try to build an emotional arc, creating great tension and action - and bring out the humor in both the situations and the characters. I succeeded in doing this in a more than a few of the SU episodes, but the pace (two scripts a week) forced many compromises and that's why I said that we fell short of the mark. Fortunately, many of the episodes were still pretty good, but for the reasons mentioned above, the consistency and the overall "feel" of the series is not as developed as SatAm.
Thats interesting to know. SU has gotten SERIOUSLY mixed reviews from Sonic fans saying that they either hate it, a few love it, or others just cant find it at all on television (myself included).
Source: alt.fan.sonic-hedgeog
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Sonic Corner Closing For Good... - WB 11:30 am CST, 9-17-99 |
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Today we found out from checking his page, that JD Harding has finally decided to close the doors on the Sonic Corner, one of the webs largest Sonic music sites on the net. Here's what he had to say:
The Sonic Corner has closed down. Let me explain why. I've been working on this site for two years now. I've done a fairly good job keeping this place looking great, and up till now it's gotten a fairly large ammount of visitors, and I have no complaints about the site. The problem lies with me wanting to move on. I've lost interest in Sonic the Hedgehog. The games are still great, but my interest when I first started this site, and my interest now are two totally different things. My interest before was a desire, a want to make the greatest Sonic the Hedgehog site online. My wants and wishes now are more concerned with my life outside of this site.
I've gotten a new job going now. I'm currently a Website designer. I would like to devote all of my time into work, and less time with this site. The rest of my time is devoted to my friends, and my music. What little time I have left is for myself, which leaves zero time for me to fiddle with TSC. I'm sorry about this. I know you all love this site, and come back regularly, and I'm grateful for your loyalty to TSC. You still can come and visit TSC. I'll keep the site up for a couple more years. I just don't have the time to update it.
I want to thank all of the people who have made TSC a great site. The composers, artists, writers, the people who visited my message boards, and even just the people who came here to listen to a few Sonic MIDIs, and then left. It's great to have you all here, and even though this site won't be updated anymore, I hope you all keep coming back.
Anyway, have fun with TSC. This is JD, signing off for the last time. Ciao! ^.^
Sonic HQ would like to wish JD good luck and happiness in his endeavors. If you'd like to check out his page, check our source link below.
Source: The Sonic Corner
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Ken Penders At Comic Con 99 - WB 11:30 am CST, 9-17-99 |
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For all of you in the Buffallo New York area, Ken Penders will be appearing at the Queen City Comic Con. Here's what the promo had to say:
KEN PENDERS - Now this is one man you should stop and see. Ken Penders
will be premiering his book the Lost Ones in October. This is Ken's
first book out as a self-publisher. He is well known for his work on
Sonic The Hedgehog.
Source: Sonic Comic Mailing List
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Tails Sculpted Base! - Tim 8:00 pm CST, 9-14-99 |
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Thanks to Tim Bernsten we've managed to find the Resaurus 3D Tails base! And it looks quite nice:
This means that all that Resaurus has left to do is sculpt Knuckles and paint Tails. These hot toys are coming in fast!
Source: Resaurus Toys
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Do NOT Send News to Me Thursday-Sunday - Tristan 6:45 pm CST, 9-15-99 |
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I have to be very prepared for Hurricane Floyd, as it will hammer New Jersey sometime over the next 24-36 hours. Therefore, I have to take the next four days off as a major safety precaution. We wouldn't want anything happening to me, would we? So, until Sunday, please send the News to WB or other HQ News staff. Thank you.
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SegaNet Kaput - Tristan 5:45 pm CST, 9-15-99 |
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One of the big time Sega fan sites on the net, SegaNet, is gone. If you try and get there via its domain, you'll get the main Gamers's Republic page.
What does this mean? Well, the site and all of its affiliates, with the exception of Perfect Zero, formerly Chupamedia (currently located here) are gone. When they will return is something no one can answer.
How did this happen? Current reports indicate that Fernando Mosquera, SegaNet's webmaster, left his job at GR for a position at GameFan magazine. So, whether he will bring back the site is still left in the air.
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Two New Polls ! - Knuckles And The PSX 2 - WB 9:00 pm CST, 9-14-99 |
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Hi everyone! We're starting this week off with not just one poll - BUT TWO !
The biggest news stories have been the announcement of the Knuckles comic cancellation and the announcement of the PSX2 in the wake of Sega's launch. So today we ask you your views on both issues! Answer the questions on the right
and we'll post the results in two weeks!
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Like A Broken Record... - WB 9:00 pm CST, 9-14-99 |
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After mutilating the record set by Star Wars, The Phantom Menace, Sega today released the final tally of its record launch. The bottom line for the first four days - over $132 million in sales and 372,000 Dreamcast units sold. This was more than the N64's 350,000 units sold over its first six days. Sega said it sold an average of three games per unit, a very solid number.
Several retialers reported very strong numbers. For example, Electronics Boutique and Babbages beat their previous sales records, and Toys R Us sold out its Dreamcast units by Friday.
"There is simply no comparison to the launch of Sega Dreamcast," said Daniel DeMatteo, president, Babbage's, Etc. "This launch easily surpassed our expectations and we expect consumer demand to get even stronger as we head into the important holiday shopping months."
Joseph J. Firestone, President and CEO of EB, commented, "Traditionally, our strongest day of the year coincides with the Christmas holiday. To have sales of this magnitude in September is truly an event. Many of our stores opened at midnight on the 9th and experienced heavy traffic flow. Our Sunset Galleria store in Las Vegas pre-sold more than 700 units, making it our top performing store on the initial release day."
Source: Gaming Age
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So What About The Chaotix? - WB 9:00 pm CST, 9-14-99 |
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Someone brought up a REALLY good point - with Knuckles now being cancelled, where does this leave everyone's favorite Chaotix (not to mention the long lost Charmy Bee) other than comic book limbo? Ken Penders had this to say:
Espio still will have his 3-parter in KNUCKLES #30 through 32, and I'm hoping to work in a All-Chaotix SONIC SUPE SPECIAL down the road, very similar in format to the all-female special coming out soon. All I ask is for everyone to have patience. Thanks.
So thats all we have to go on. At least an integral part of the Knuckles book isn't lost - namely the Chaotix, but this DOES severely limit thier appearances to a nub. At least it will be a full Super Special which we can look forward to. And at least those aren't in any danger at all.
Source: Ken Pender's Message Board
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Sonic HQ Special: Site News And Apology - WB E-Mail 2:26 am CST, 9-14-99 |
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Sorry for the no-updates yesterday gang. Its really late as I type this so bear with me. The Emu Zone servers were down so we could not access any of the site material, which explains why news wasn't updated. At any rate Andy Wolan has graciously fixed the problem so I'd like to use this space to adress some site news now that we
are slowly getting back on track with things, before I hit you all with the barrage of regular news below. ^_^
The Cartoons Page - Our most asked about page: Scheduled to go up on YESTERDAY, server problems hindered this. All that is left is for all 26 RM files to upload to the Emuzone servers. Expect the full release date of our new cartoons page with Anime, Sonic Underground, SatAM, SatAM cartoon downloads, and just about EVERYTHING Sonic cartoon related that we can get our hands on this Wednesday night GUARANTEED.
And if its not up on Wednesday send all personal flames here! No jive! >;)
Expect some new stuff to be added soon to our overall staff page as well as a "Sonic HQ Mission Statement". Basically the staffers, Vector and I will be preparing a statement about what we're about, what we plan to do, why we created this page was created for the Sonic fanbase and just what you can expect from us in the future. Basically, what our "vision" is all about. Consider it a way of us getting more personal with you.
No we're not hiring right now, but who knows what may come in the future. Those of you that have sent in ideas, requests, and whatnot rest assured that I have read your letters Vector and I will be getting back to each and every one of you soon. But I'm already telling you right now - we're not looking to hire just yet >;)
After this Friday if things go smoothly, the main Sonic HQ staff email will be re-routed to sonichq@emulationzone.org. For those of you that have our old sonichq@yahoo.com address saved - delete it. We will no longer be using it after this Friday. >;)
Thanks to those people that have sent in kind words of encouragement. Its really meant a lot to me be you a staffer or a regular joe that visits here. We check our guestbooks and email periodically so if we don't respond just remember that we're busy and have real lives outside of Sonic too, but we DO try to read everything you say. So keep on sending in those compliments and complaints.
And lastly Brian has returned from his two week trip to Disney World. So the Q&A page will be reopening soon. Once cartoons is launched Samanfur and Zachary begin work on the Fleetway page, while Vector and I will be hard at work bringing you the MUCH NEEDED Sonic Games List Revamp AND....THE SONIC ADVENTURE WALKTHROUGH. yes you heard it right. I plan on helping to compile a thorough SA walkthrough from Chao to Chaos to Super Sonic himself! >;)
All in all we have A LOT of things planned for you guys and this is just the beginning! Stick with us - the best is yet to come!
Your webmasters
Jonathan "WB" Gray and
J. "Vector" Lazor
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Sonic Adventure Gets the Gold !!! - Aaron Max E-Mail 2:20 am CST, 9-14-99 |
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It seems that in the latest issue of EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthy #123 - Spider Man on cover) Sonic Adventure is shown as getting the EGM Editor's Choice Gold Awards (which is rivaled only by the Editor's Choice Platinuim Award)! It got a scoring of: 9.5, 9.0, 9.5, 9.5 out of ten possible totals for each review. Two Dreamcast games DID already recieve a Platinuim (Ready 2 Rumble and Soul Calibur).
Congratulations on an award well deserved Sonic Team! ^_^
Source: The Sonic Foundation
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The DC Launch Party Hits Station Square! - WB E-Mail 2:20 am CST, 9-14-99 |
The DC Launch party has managed to leak into its mascots videogame? Its seems so!
Sonic Team celebrates the US Dreamcast launch with a Sonic Adventure download that adds banners and balloons in Station Square. Once you get your Dreamcast internet ready just pop in SA and choose the net option. Follow the links to get the DC launch download (40 blocks are required)
Source: Dimension S
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What If Sonic Ran On Windows 98? - Munkee E-Mail 2:20 am CST, 9-14-99 |
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Not exactly Sonic news, BUT it is Sega related and VERY noteworthy. Ladies and gentlemen - Bill Gates may have his eye on the videogame industry. Take this article for what you will of it, but it seems
(believe it or not) that Microsoft may be making their own game system to compete with Sega, Nintendo, and Sony. It is currently codenamed "The X-Box".
I try not to make it a habit to put up too many unconfirmed rumors on this newsboard, but this may not be true considering the fact that Microsoft is a big partner with Sega on the Dreamcast. But who knows where Bill gates is concerned. >;) Check it out for yourself and you be the judge:
Source: ZD Net
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Phantasy Phorever - WB E-Mail 2:20 am CST, 9-14-99 |
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Attention RPG fans, in Sonic Team related news, According to videogames.com the new issue of Dreamcast Magazine alludes to the fourth project from Sonic Team. It will supposedly be an online version based on a revitalization of the old Genesis Phantasy Star RPG series. Hmm...that would mean Dreamcast would be the first system with a sci-fi based RPG, in fact with TWO sci-fi RPGs with Turbine Entertainment (the guys behind the up and coming Asheron's Call) creating one with SoA. We'll know for sure if Phantasy Star Online is definitely coming in a couple of weeks.
Source: Dimension S
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Suneet At DC Launch Party - Rlan E-Mail 2:26 pm CST, 9-12-99 |
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On September 8th, Suneet Shah visited the DC Launch Party in San Jose, and he has a huge report about it at his site, The Sonic Zone. Click here to read it.
Source: The Sonic Zone
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NiGHTS 2 Confirmed - Rlan E-Mail 1:48 pm CST, 9-12-99 |
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In an interview in the latest issue of the Official Dreamcast Magazine, Naka confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt what many have suspected since the release of Sonic Adventure, which contained more than a few instances of foreshadowing.
Nights 2 is coming to Dreamcast.
Source: DC.IGN.COM
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Follow Up: Knuckles Cancellation - WB 7:30 pm CST, 9-11-99 |
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After someone made a rather mad post about the cancellation of Knuckles (news report below), Ken Penders had this to say:
Poster: How do I get my money back? I just renewed my Knuckles subscription using the 12 issue subscription form and I sure as heck am not going to pay for no product.
: Paying extra to support the Knuckles comic doesn't bother me, but there is a difference between paying $16 for 12 issues and paying $16 for 3.
Ken Penders: In the event of a cancellation, Archie will either refund your money or ask if you wish to transfer the subsubscription to SONIC.
NOW BEFORE YOU OR ANYONE ELSE JUMPS OFF THE DEEP END....
...PLEASE PAY ATTENTION.
I said the BOOK was getting cancelled. I DIDN'T SAY IT WAS THE LAST OF KNUCKLES.
For one thing, the stories that were scheduled for KNUCKLES #33 through #35 WILL BE APPEARING in SONIC #79 through 85! Same stories, same characters, same writer, just different book, okay? The story scheduled for KNUCKLES #36 WILL BE APPEARING in the SONIC SUPER SPECIAL #14. Stories I HAD PLANNED for FUTURE KNUCKLES KNUCKLES ISSUES WILL BE APPEARING in an altered form in the back of SONIC THE HEDGEHOG BEGINNING WITH ISSUE #86.
Instead of going around saying KNUCKLES is dead, how about acknowledging we're still in there fighting the good fight and keeping the series going, albeit in a different format?
Acting like Chicken Little does no one any good.
This is not Orwellian speak coming from me. I stated the facts plain and clear, so let's not distort them any further, okay?
Well thats reassuring somewhat. It means that while Karl Bollers will still be doing the front, Ken Penders will have complete control over the back, doing the previously planned Knuckles material. It will be interesting to see how this will affect the Sonic series as a whole after issue 86....Its still not reassuring concidering the Knuckles book has been cancelled since its been a favorite since it came out,
but at least the subscription bit is cleared up. We'll post more on this information as we find out. Remember - if you have any questions post them to Ken Penders MB linked below.
Source: Ken Penders Message Board
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Knuckles Base Emblem - WB 6 pm CST, 9-11-99 |
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Check out the sculpted base for the upcoming Knuckles figure from the ReSaurus Sonic Adventure line. These figures are expected to hit stores in November and each comes with its own unique base. Stay tuned for more Sonic news! And remember to go get your Dreamcast this week! We can't wait! Bring on Sonic!
Source: Resaurus Toys
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Sonic the Hedgehog - The Action Figure! - Tim 6 pm CST, 9-11-99 |
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What does everyone want to see? A picture of the proto type Sonic the Hedgehog action figure! Thanks goes to tSf (Sonic Foundation), for digging up this pic:
Personally, I think it came out good, but it needs some work. Sonic's shoes could be a little bit bigger, and something about his head looks kinda weird, but other than that, it looks way past cool!
Source: The Sonic Foundation And Resaurus Toys
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Sad News Knuckles Fans - WB 6 pm CST, 9-11-99 |
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As of Knuckles #32 - The comic book Knuckles The Echidna has officially been cancelled.
Coming straight from Mr. Penders, this is what he had to say on the subject of the cancellation, the Sonic Adventure crossover, and the future of the Sonic Super Specials.
Sadly, the KNUCKLES series will end for now as of issue #32. The good news is that he isn't going away. The material developed for issues #33 through #35 as part of the SONIC ADVENTURE game adaptation will be appearing in the pages of SONIC starting with issue #79 of that series. The story scheduled for KNUCKLES #36 will now appear in SONIC SUPER SPECIAL #14, which then leads into the KNUCKLES 8-page back-up series that begins in SONIC #86. It'll be a regular feature for the forseeable future, unless sales of the last few issues show enough of an upward climb to encourage Archie to restore Knuckles to his own series once again.
At this point, KNUCKLES: TWENTY YEARS LATER will appear in SONIC SUPER SPECIAL #16. If there is further news, please refer to this website, as i will keep everyone updated with the latest developments.
So what does this mean? It means that ONCE AGAIN we're gonna have backup stories in the Sonic book in the near future >:| How this will affect the coherency of the SA crossover is another thing but lets not get into now.
It seems that the specials aren't in any danger, but at the same time we're back at square one.
So what does this mean for those that have renewed thier subscriptions for the book? Well, we're not really sure yet. Someone asked Mr. Penders as this newsbyte was just released but he hasn't responded yet. If you have any questions we suggest that you post them on Mr. Penders board located below.
Source: Ken Penders Message Board
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DC European Launch Titles: 14/10/99 - DocZac 5PM GMT, 9-11-99 |
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Here are the titles for the Dreamcast launch in Europe and UK, 14/10/99 (and four to be launched soon after, indicated by their release date):
Dynamite Cop
House of the Dead 2 (29/10)
Incoming
Ready 2 Rumble
Red Dog (12/11)
Sega Bass Fishing (5/11)
Sega Rally 2
Snow Surfers (12/11)
Sonic Adventure
Toy Commander
Virtua Fighter 3TB
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Fan Movie Voices Needed! - Holli E-Mail 1:51 am CST, 9-11-99 |
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There may be a shortage of voice actors for the fan-made Sonic movie, A Super Sonic Destiny (Page down until after September 20th). If you're interested in joining the cast, please email RazorG about available roles.
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Sonic HQ RA News - Tristan 5:35 pm CST, 9-10-99 |
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Here I am, with the first Sonic HQ RA News. Yes, this was to be done yesterday; we weren't hit by the 9.9.99 bug, instead I got bitten by the "Back To School" bug, so that, combined with the existing hectic activity here at the HQ caused a delay. But it's here, and you need RealPlayer 5.0 to get in on the listening. Get it here. Please note, the location is on Wheres, is under 2 megs, and I should have a streaming version ready by tomorrow. Also, in the actual broadcast, there is no music (however, we should have a theme composed by Ergon soon), no script, so there may be a few pauses, and is being done in conjunction with my site, TSSZ, so I am not forced to do double duty. Enjoy.
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Mystery Of The Defective Dreamcasts Solved - WB 4:30 pm CST, 9-10-99 |
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As announced by Tristan, one of HQ's news reporters, the mystery of the defective dreamcasts popping up all over the country has finally been figured out and is NOT located only in California as I so wrongly pointed out yesterday.
Here is IGN.com with the full story and what to do should you have a defective DC, web browser, and/or game:
Among the thousands of insanely pleased e-mails from new Dreamcast owners across the country, we've also seen a trickle of reports that indicate all is not well in launch land. Reports of everything from consoles overheating to titles refusing to boot at all have made their way to various sites across the web, so we decided to dig a little deeper into the situation and give you guys the full story.
Charles Bellfield, Director of Marketing Communications for Sega of America, was kind enough to give us a call and fill us in, and while he admits the DC launch has hit a few snags, the problem is not what many are making it out to be, and has also provided multiple solutions for replacing faulty materials.
The problem apparently stems from a faulty software run, which has been isolated to product shipped from a single distribution house. Several first-run titles, including small numbers of Sonic Adventure, Blue Stinger, Ready 2 Rumble, Hydro Thunder, and in particular, the Dreamcast Web Browser, have had issues booting up, but Sega insists it's not a hardware issue.
Additionally, Sega is on top of the problem, offering numerous solutions to DC owners. Said Bellfield, "As part of our commitment to our consumers. Any software that does not boot, will be replaced at the retailer where the title was purchased."
As for the web browser, Sega has several outlets to replace faulty disks, including:
E-mail support@sega.com, with the subject line "DC web browser," including in the mail body your name, address and phone number, and Sega will send a new one out by Monday or Tuesday.
Or, call 1-800-USA-Sega. An operator can then take your information and send out a disk directly.
There will also be an additional toll-free number sent out to help deal with the volume of calls. Sega will be releasing the number shortly.
Lastly, consumers can go to Sega.com and fill out a customer support form in the Help section.
Sega was quick to emphasize that the problem is software related, and that gamers should not return hardware units without first investigating the known software issues associated with the Midnight Madness shipment. We'll keep you posted should any more information surface.
Hope this helps anyone that was having problems.
Source: IGN Dreamcast
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Ken Penders Running The Archie Letters Page - WB 4:30 pm CST, 9-10-99 |
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Ken Penders, premier Archie Knuckles The Echidna writer, had this to say concerning the letters page on the comics of Knuckles and Sonic Super Special:
I may be foolish for doing this, but I am going to be handling the letters pages for every issue of KNUCKLES and SONIC SUPER SPECIAL from now on.
That means if you send your thoughts, comments and questions to me via either posting it on this board (link located below) or e-mailing directly to me at KenPenders@aol.com, I'll select the best ones and include them on the page.
As of now, I'm putting together the column for KNUCKLES #31, which will feature comments concerning KNUCKLES #27. I need to have it completed by Saturday, so you have until noon Saturday, September 11, to submit your comments.
If more than one ask the same question(s), I may batch them together so more people get mentioned, so please also list your city, state and age to make my job easier. Thanks.
So Ken controls the letter pages now.
The link to Mr. Penders board is located below if you wish to make input on the comics for letters page from now on. This probably wont make Archie Comics email addy obselete, but this is probably a better way of trying to get your letter in the comic as this is the writer himself doing it.
Source: Ken Penders Message Board
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Dreams Come Forth And Dreams Delayed - WB 4 pm CST, 9-7-99 |
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Ladies and gentlemen - 9.9.99 HAS ARRIVED !!!! Whereas some places may have been delayed as Tristan reported, some places DID get thier entire DC lineup in time. I just got back from my local babbages to pick up a Dreamcast, VMU, Sonic Adventure and a copy of Power Stone. I'll post my first impressions of the game along with any other news tonight after I'm through wasting my mind away on the DC! ^_^
In other news, confirming the scarreed 9.9.99 release date Gamefan had this to report:
What happened?! Early Dreamcast adopters in the Southern California area were in for quite a surprise after waiting in line for the 128-bit super system this morning. Nine out of the ten retail stores we contacted (ranging from Toys R Us to Software Etc...) still have not received any first-party titles or peripherals.
While shipments are rumored to arrive later today, the reason for the delay is still not known.
For those in that area - sorry you had to get delayed for a day, but for those NOT in that area, what are you waiting for? Go get your Dreamcast and Sonic Adventure! The wait is over...
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Dreams Defected? - WB 4 pm CST, 9-7-99 |
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Whats going on? Are defective dreamcast systems popping out on the long awaited launch date?
Gaming Age recently had this to report going from other peoples testimonies...
Click here to take a look.
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BREAKING NEWS: 9.9.99 COULD BE SPOILED - Tristan 6 pm EST, 9-8-99 |
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Sonic HQ News has learned via the DC Tech Pages that some stores have NOT RECEIVED THEIR DC SYSTEM AND GAME SHIPMENTS!!! This could mean serious problems for some people across the country, as for a pinpoint location, I really don't know, as this seems to be widespread. I've heard reports of some retailers getting the DC as late as Friday afternoon! Stay to Sonic HQ News as tomorrow could become a spoiled launch day for many.
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UK Dreamcast Media - DocZac 9 pm GMT, 9-8-99 |
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Tomorrow is the big day for all you lucky Americans-- unless you've been living under a rock for five years, you should know that 9/9/99 (tomorrow) is the day of the American release of the Sega Dreamcast and Sonic Adventure!
Unfortunately it's not all that simple for those of us who live in Europe. Here DC and SA don't get released until 14th of October-- that's over a month away! However, there is already media building up on the DC launch. For example, there are various new DC mags, such as the official one (the preview issue of which is almost identical to the US version, only not quite as many features), with a special DC preview video; and others such as DC-UK and DC Monthly. All that is said about SA is that it's coming our way! ^_^
Also, there was recently a special DC launch in London this last weekend, to which many big stars (don't ask me who; I haven't a clue) turned up to try it out. The main attraction of the DC is, apparently, its internet capiabilities, rather than its amazing 128-bit specifications! ^_^
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Sonic Adventure Review - WB 3 pm CST, 9-8-99 |
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IGN.com has placed a very interesting final review of the American version of Sonic Adventure on thier website and its not all happy. Going indepth about the good points as well as bad points in the game, click here to read it.
Source: IGN.com
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Sonic HQ: New Webmasters - WB And Vector 12 am CST, 9-7-99 |
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Hi all! For those of you that don't know, Zifei resigned as president of Sonic HQ. Taking his place will be the new joint webmasters WB and Vector!
No big changes are planned for HQ (we like it how it is for now) so we are FINALLY back on regular update status.
For the time being, the news page will be maintained by WB, Tristan, and Zac! Vector and I hope that you all will be patient with us as we settle into this new position and I hope that we can be everything that you all expect us to be. Thank you for your time - lets get on with the news! ^_^
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SegaSonic Sweepstakes - Win A Dreamcast! - WB 12 am CST, 9-7-99 |
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Sega.com begun a Sonic Trivia contest today, with the Grand Prize Winner getting a free Sega Dreamcast unit and a copy of Sonic Adventure. The nine runners-up will receive a copy of a Sonic Adventure game.
So if you can answer questions like "What two new characters appear in Sonic Adventure?", and "Tails uses his two tails for which purpose?" then why not click here to enter.
Source: Sega Of America
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More European DC Delays? - WB 12 am CST, 9-7-99 |
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Word has been sweeping around trade show floors in both England and Germany that Sega could delay Dreamcast in Europe again.
At a recent trade show in Berlin, Germany, industry scuttlebutt towards a second delay for Dreamcast in Europe began to surface. On August 27, the company announced that Dreamcast would not meet its European launch date of September 23, instead being pushed back to mid-October release. As if that wasn't bad enough for hungry European Sega fans, many people are now preparing themselves for another delay, this time until November.
Speaking about a second delay for Sega's live-or-die console, one ECTS attendee said, "The rumors began in Berlin and it wouldn't surprise me if Dreamcast slipped again in Europe." However, Sega says it still expects to launch on October 14.
Source: FGN Online
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Japan Finally Gets Sonic Blast! - WB 12 am CST, 9-7-99 |
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Although reported that Travellers' Tales produced Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island (once again, that's Sonic 3D Blast to us Americans) was released on January 14th in the Land of the Rising Sun, it turns out that it's only just about to hit. The new date is set on October 14th, meaning it'll ship simultaneously with Sonic Adventure: International. S3D:FI hit the shelves with a retail price of ¥3800, and will be the last in-house Saturn game released in Japan.
Source: Neo Green Hill Zone
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Sonic The Hedgehog: The Movie - WB 12 am CST, 9-7-99 |
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The famous Japanese Sonic anime has finally been released in stores as of today! You can pick up a copy of it at any Suncoast Motion Picture Company, Electronics Boutique or Babbages at your local mall.
While the animation is on par with Sonic CD's anime intro's needless to say, the voice acting is getting mixed reviews. One Sonic HQ person quaintly described the voices like this:
"Imagine Tails voice as a young kid with a snotty cold"
Sad to say - that statement is very true...
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Dreamcast Destroys Star Wars? - WB 12 am CST, 9-7-99 |
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Sega announced today their anticipated early sales records for the Dreamcast. It is currently predicted that the system will generate nearly $45 million in sales within its first 24 hours of availability, breaking the previous record set by Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. The George Lucas epic managed to take in $28 million in its first days in the theater in May of 1999.
Peter Moore, senior vice president (and apparently the company spokesperson since Bernie Stolar's departure), had this to say. "Sega Dreamcast is making video game history with a long string of firsts and superlatives. Topping the retail sales record set by a movie as celebrated as Star Wars: The Phantom Menace would prove that all the hard work over the past years to get the right retailers, third party publishers and technology partners on the board has paid off in spades."
Source: IGN.com
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T-Minus 36 Hours -Tristan 12 pm EST, 9-7-99 |
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We're 36 hours and counting to the Dreamcast launch. Stay with Sonic HQ News for the latest information and coverage of the big launch come 9.9.99.
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SU in Canada - Mike Deckard E-Mail 6:00 pm CST, 9-5-99 |
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SU will be shown in Canada on Teletoon beginning Monday @ 5:30. Check out the
show's listing here.
Teletoon, being a Canadian Specialty Cable Channel, would only be available
in the U.S. to people with satellite dishes. SU, combined with a series
adaption of Brian Jaques 'Redwall' books, should make for Teletoon's best
season since its founding two years ago.
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Zifei Resigns - Tristan 3:30 am CST, 9-4-99 |
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It's a sad day here at Sonic HQ; for Zifei has resigned as President of Sonic HQ. Taking his place will be Tony.
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Sonic Saga Press Release - Tristan 9:45 am CST, 9-3-99 |
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You can read the article here, but here's what's in it in a nutshell: Several jobs have been cut, and Dash says that the comic will be of top quality from here on in.
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Penders: "SU Was Doomed from the Get-Go" - Tristan 9:45 am CST, 9-3-99 |
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This was bound to happen. First some of the Sonic site webmasters call this latest Sonic cartoon incarnation terrible, now Ken Penders has gone on record saying it as well:
If anyone wants to know where to point blame regarding SU, one need look in the direction of the producers of the series. They're the real villains of this piece. Sega wanted to have a SONIC cartoon on the air, and in order to do that, they either had to go along with the program at DiC or it just wouldn't have happened. Subsequently, lots of decisions were made for all the wrong reasons. I myself know a lot of what really happened, but I can't say yet because of promises made.
There's always the chance some other Sonic cartoon will emerge again, because if there is a demand waiting to be filled, someone will always seek to capitalize on it.
If you like SU, fine. If you don't, that's understandable.
These are pretty strong words, and that combined with all the negative feedback from fans means it's no wonder SU is at an "Off the Air" status in the UK.
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The Full Story About SU - Vector 1:07 pm CST, 9-2-99 |
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The release of SU has been rather confusing, thanks to numerous delays and the fact that it doesn't seem to be showing on the same time and channel in any 2 areas. I'm hoping to clear things up with this report.
First, SU is not part of a network. When we say that it's showing on WB or UPN, we mean that it's usually on a local station that is affiliated with one of those networks. Those stations have more open areas in their schedule than a station affiliated with a larger network. SU could show up on a Fox station or a fully independent station, but we've heard no reports of this happening so far.
It seems that the long delay in the United States was caused by Sonic Underground's distributor, Bohbot Entertainment. Bohbot wanted to make SU part of a 2-hour block of programs called BKN2. BKN1 ("action shows" marketed to older boys) and BKN2 (shows with less action, marketed to girls and younger boys) were supposed to be sold to competing local stations in the same time slot. Apparently, things haven't worked out exactly as they planned. Personally, I think this was a stupid idea, because real people's tastes aren't predicted so easily by stereotypes. Fortunately, it seems that SU is showing up in some places on its own, so Bohbot may be allowing stations to buy shows individually, instead of forcing them to buy the entire block.
As Zifei mentioned earlier, you really have to check your local listings to find the show. You can find searchable listings at msn.com, go.com, ultimatetv.com, and tvguide.com. Many (if not most) areas don't seem to be getting SU yet, but that may change in the next month.
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SU May Return - Vector 1:06 pm CST, 9-2-99 |
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Dr. Zac told us today that he didn't mean SU was cancelled in the UK, but just off the air. He has a feeling that it's not gone... just in the rotation.
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More SA Toys! - Zifei 9:12 pm CST, 9-1-99 |
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ReSaurus today released 2 more conceptual designs of the upcoming Sonic Adventure toys. Here are Sonic and Knuckles.
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SA International. - Zifei 9:11 pm CST, 9-1-99 |
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As it turns out, one of the four games Sonic Team announced will be none other than Sonic Adventure: International (American, European versions). This means there will only be one unknown game to be announced (the other 2 are Neo Geo Sonic and NiGHTS 2).
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Sonic & Sally Poll. - Zifei 9:09 pm CST, 9-1-99 |
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Remember the Sally/Sonic poll Archie asked for on their website sometimes ago? Well, here are the results directly from Ken Penders thanks to Rick 2Tails:
I talked to Ken on the phone yesterday & he said the results were
roughly
50% to keep the status quo, a little over 25% for Sonic & Sally to
marry,
& a little under 25% for them to split up.
Well, so that's that...
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More On SU. - Zifei 8:59 pm CST, 9-1-99 |
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Dr. Zac is telling us that Sonic Underground is being canned in the UK. The only possible reason is its poor rating.
Mettle Sonic is telling us that Sonic Underground will be showing up in Canada soon.
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Sonic News Press
Welcome to the best Sonic news source on the net, this page will be updated everyday. Please email WB or Tristan if you have any new news to report. As a rule, you must give us a link credit if you want to take news reported by us. Thank you.
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