 |
 |
 |
|
I attended the chat and basically kept a log. Here is all the major stuff said and a whole lot of bombshells were given.
Note: Whatever is in [] are my notes to help understand the discussion. KenPenders: Regarding SONIC #94, Dan [Drazen], it's lucky that story came through even that well, considering everything that was going on behind the scenes. KenPenders: Regarding the Chaos Syphon, what happened there was my fault and that of plain ol' circumstances. I wanted to update the design of the Chaos Syphon, and I was supposed to draw #94 KenPenders: instead of just inking it. When matters changed and Ron [Lim] stepped in to do the drawing, it got lost in the shuffle. KenPenders: Well, the write-ups in Diamond Previews aren't anywhere near able to keep up with everything that's happening these days. KenPenders: First off, SONIC ADVENTURE 2 will be featured throughout the entirety of SONIC #98, interrupting the Sonic storyline in progress and forcing me to switch gears with Knuckles KenPenders: As a result, the Ultimate Villain may or may not (most likely not) show up in SONIC #100 KenPenders: The Chosen One storyline runs in SONIC #95 through 97. It's not a 4-parter, as some have speculated. KenPenders: SONIC ADVENTURE 2 couldn't wait because the book comes out a week after the actual game comes out, so it's tied in with that. KenPenders: James Fry is off the book as of SONIC #97. 96 was his last issue, as I understand it. KenPenders: SA2 is only in SONIC #98. We tried to get it featured as a Super Special, but Archie is no longer publishing those, not even the giant size issues with their own characters KenPenders: due to major problems with the magazine distribution acros the country. It's not just comics that are affected, but major national publications as well KenPenders: Ron Lim is taking his place and we'll see how that goes, since he had to change his style in order to get the assignment. (He's taking lessons from Spaz. :-) KenPenders: Spaz will be drawing the Sonic story in SONIC #98 KenPenders: The Chosen One was affected by the cancellation of the KNUCKLES series. We're talking about whittling a 66-page story down to 24. That's major cutting. KenPenders: I'm finishing inking the Knuckles story for SONIC #97, then I jump onto inking 8-pages of the Sonic story for #97, as various forces have mandated a change in plans KenPenders: While I've written the 8-page back-up story for SONIC #98, I may end up inking some of the Spaz pages, then it's business as usual on Knuckles KenPenders: No, don't blame Sega, as it's a lot more complicated than that [on what is causing the recent problems at Archie] KenPenders: As for SONIC #100, instead of a combined SONIC - KNUCKLES story as originally planned, each will have their own separate stories. KenPenders: The Knuckles story will be 8 - 10 pages, and will feature pretty much what I originally planned for KNUCKLES #50 instead. KenPenders: Julie-Su and the Dark Legion return in SONIC #99 in a story titled "What Goes Around Comes Around!" KenPenders: We don't like it that there are two stories in SONIC #100 as I'd rather do what we originally planned. KenPenders: I'm not saying what was originally planned for SONIC #100, as I'm talking with Justin to see if it can be done by SONIC #110, which would mark 100 issues of my involvement with the book. KenPenders: WB, I can understand your frustrations, but we live in the real world, and you'd have to be in our shoes to see we're not trying to turn out material you're not going to like. KenPenders: To give everyone an idea of what life on the frontlines is like, I'll use myself as an example. When Archie was publishing SONIC, KNUCKLES, and SONIC SPECIAL, there was more than enough work so that I could concentrate strictly on Sonic and nothing but. KenPenders: Since the demise of the latter two series, that has resulted in less work, and thus forcing me to look elsewhere to make up the difference as far as pay goes. It also necessitated long dry spells because Archie had a backlog of stories that had to be published. KenPenders: So when I was working on the KNUCKLES storyline that was featured in SONIC #91 through 94, I was working on Digimon and Pokemon covers for Beckett publications, pencilling an Emperor's New Groove story for Disney KenPenders: illustrating an online comic for www.pajamaman.com and working on preliminary sketches for a romance comic to be published by a foreign company, to say nothing of reworking THE LOST ONES into a graphic novel. KenPenders: Sonic #100 will have a cover similar to SSS #13 more than SONIC #50 KenPenders: I don't write the Sonic stories at this time, but I do know what I'd do if I did. KenPenders: I don't pay much attention to Karl's unless I need to because I don't want him to feel I'm looking over his shoulder all the time. KenPenders: I figured out a storyline that would allow me to address the Sonic - Sally situation as it has never been shown in the series yet. KenPenders: I inked the cover for SONIC #98, and it will be done pretty much like SONIC #100. KenPenders: Any questions about the ongoing Sonic stories are better left to Karl. I'm not going to rain on his parade. KenPenders: That line [Tails' comment in Sonic #94 about Sonic & Sally] addressed part of the problem, Ron, but I don't think it resolved the feelings on the part of many readers for seeing something to develop beyond what we have. KenPenders: Sonic is still a very marketable property, and the comic only reinforces that concept. KenPenders: I've never dealt with the Sonic team. Only Justin has. KenPenders: No Chaotix for awhile longer. Just not sure yet how long. For one thing, starting with SONIC #101, the Knuckles stories will be six pages long as opposed to eight, the trade-off being that it will now take four issues to complete a story. The reason for this is something special. KenPenders: Beginning in SONIC #101, two pages every issue will be devoted to feature pages devoted to either the characters, maps of locations, diagrams, whatever the readers want to see of Sonic's world. KenPenders: Not quite, Dan [Drazen]. The Chaotix will show up on the feature pages. KenPenders: As for KNUCKLES: 20 Years Later, we'll see some of the developments leading up to that story sometime during SONIC #101 - 110, including the first official unveiling of Knuckles' daughter KenPenders: The Survivor concept is part of an upcoming story plot, but it won't be a parody KenPenders: Contrary to popular belief, I am getting ready to upload updates to this website featuring a sneak preview from the Chosen One storyline as well as an advanced look at my Lost Ones graphic novel, to say nothing of other projects in the works. KenPenders: If I told you the title for the KNUCKLES story in SONIC #100, I'd be giving way too much away. Suffice it to say things won't be the same for awhile as the Dark Legion will assume a major role. KenPenders: SA2 has not really influenced anything as we don't know enough about it to incorporate any story elements into the series properly yet. We were only given just enough to set things in motion. KenPenders: Yes, we will see what happened to everyone on the Floating Island, but I'm still rewriting a number of things to make any delcarative statements at this point. WB: So basically it'll [the SA2 adaptation] probably just be a full issue Sonic Shuffle-like preview then. Thats better than it dragging out for 6 months like last time I suppose... KenPenders: Wynmacher is not dead, but Lara-Le may have a surprise. KenPenders: The contests may return now that I'm handling the letters pages, as everyone at Archie would always cringe whenever I suggested the same thing KenPenders: There's a major surprise concerning Tails that will blow everyone's minds. KenPenders: Tails is not a villain. That much I will say. KenPenders: He also doesn't die or anything like that. [on Tails] KenPenders: I really can't say because I don't want to spoil what Karl has planned. KenPenders: That's a very distinct possibility, Aurora, one that receives regular discussion all the time. [on Bunnie or Tails meeting parents] KenPenders: And no, I haven't decided on a color scheme yet. I don't think about such things until absolutely necessary, as I hate to lock myself in until then. [on Lara-Su] That was the chat.
Sega is going to sue K-Mart $2.2 million dollar's because they did not pay that much from Dreamcast System's sold.Read the bottom from Ign.com for full story. From the great site
You heard me right, Sega Smash Pack 2 [Featuring Sonic 2 and Flicky] and Sonic CD have been dumped, and they don't require emulators.
From The DaNz WeBz Message Board: Sega Smash Pack 2 & Sonic CD for you all! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.gibnynex.gi/home/danny/roms/warez/segasmashpack2.zip http://www.gibnynex.gi/home/danny/roms/warez/scd.zip Dan has also dumped the Sonic R PC version and you can find it at sonicroms.org
Other-M, the internet's most successful Sonic fan-comic to date, has announced that issue #8 will be released on Wed. the 28th.
Okay, maybe most of you already know and even signed that, but here you can sign a petition to Sega about continuing support Dreamcast. There are about 7517 signs so if we all sign it *maybe* we have a chance to convince Sega...
I knew the previews were late for this month but dang....Two In One DOUBLE PREVIEWS !!! Well now THIS is just nuts - Geoffrey St. John, Tails The Fox, Uncle Chuck, A Sonic Adventure 2 Cover, Missing Overlanders, An undercover Sonic The Hedgehog, Sally sneaking away from Knothole to find Sonic whose trying to find Tails, Tails whose busy somewhere off with Knuckles but has some link to Dr. Robotnik (?????), And Mina finally being acknowledged as Sally's rival????
Attention Tails The Fox fans! You're gonna have a lot of fun tryng to decipher THESE previews....  Sonic The Hedgehog #97 "My Secret Identity" "The Chosen One - Part Three" Writers: Karl Bollers & Ken Penders Pencilers:James Fry & Ron Lim Inkers: Andrew Pepoy & Pam Eklund Geoffrey manages to piece together half of Uncle Chuck's message from the damaged Shadow-Bot, and he and his secret service team embark on a mission to Robotropolis to retrieve it. Meanwhile, an incognito Sonic begins his quest for Arachnis and Tails, but is sidetracked by Geoffrey's mission. The intrigue thickens when both the secret service and Sonic are captured by Overlanders, and Sonic does his best to maintain his anonymity in the midst of his cellmates. Can Sonic aid in their escape without blowing his cover? Plus, surprising unexpected revelations about Robotnik and Tails. And what's with all the missing Overlanders? Also: another Knuckles back-up story, this time guest-starring Sonic's buddy Tails.
Sonic The Hedgehog #98 Okay - say it with me. "Damn." ^___^ Where do I start on THIS one? First of all Tails is getting a LOT of recognition lately...More attention than he's gotten in a long time. Hmmmm. That, AND Tails and Dr. Robotnik (???) now seem to have some sort of connection? Plus it seems that the Chosen One saga is being extended to 4 parts. THIS is a good thing. ^^ Maybe Tails The Fox is the rumored "Ultimate Villian" ^__^ But Archie wouldnt have Sonic fighting Tails, his own sidekick and "psuedo-little brother" on the 100th issue anniversary - would they? ;D Sonic's incognito identity makes him look like an X-Man with that cape and X gloves. Hehehe. ^__^ But the biggest shocker (to me anyway) was the cover of Sonic #98. Juct click on it for a sec, and tell me if you see the same thing I saw. Does that cover say Sonic Adventure 2 in the background? We know its not gonna be in the book in time for Sonic #100. Archie's already gotten that and the first few issues after it planned out. But I think that after #100.... Plus - something I noticed, but its amazing that the June cover sports SA2. Especially since thats the release date for America. But not to worry or anything. Like I said - #100 and the first issues past are probably already planned out, so theres no need to worry about Sega intrusions on the big "UV Story" for now. But at least we know that theres a large possibility that its coming... And last but not least, those spoilers. Whats with the all missing Overlanders? Its ABOUT TIME we finally saw Sally take some initiative again. Perhaps she wont be playing second fiddle for a while, but it looks like a meeting between her and Mina and Sonic is imminent. Uncle Chuck returns, Geoffrey's proabably still gonna be a prude with Elias on puppet strings, and I'm still trying to figure out just what this link is between Tails and Dr. Robotnik... One more issue to go....Hmmmmm...... ;D
...will be held on Tuesday evening, 8:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, February 27, 2001. Since we're on the new system, we have nothing to worry about as far as system crashes go, unlike if this were being held on my old ISP's servers. That said, I hope to see you there.
On another note, the new e-mail addresses are working great, except for the fact that I can't send out yet. Bob is working on it and hopes to have the situation resolved withing the next day or two, so anyone looking for responses from me, i ask you to please be patient. Thanks. There you have it. Source: Ken Penders' Message Board  Special thanks to Typhoon of the GHZ Message Board for finding this info! This is what I get for being late on this... :P Ladies and gents - the longlost hidden mystery that is Sonic Arcade (or better known to the our Japanese friends as "SegaSonic The Hedgehog" is now playable as a ROM. Its not that great a ROM, but hey, beggars can't be choosers. ^__^ The game is playable on an Emulator called "Modeler". What makes SegaSonic The Hedgehog so interesting and flat out _RARE_ is that it was the only Sonic game that was not available to any Sonic fan even via the internet till now. It was never brought to the states at all and it was even more scarce since it was an arcade game. :P Its the one that basically NO ONE knew anything about and its the Sonic Game that introduces Ray The Flying Squirrel and Mighty the Armadillo into SegaSonic continuity. The "Drano Cookie Monster" Green Gibbon (of the GHZ) has played the ROM of the lost game and had this to say about Sonic Arcade on the GHZ Message Board: Okay, it's not that good. The emulation sucks monkey nuts. You can only see about half the graphics at any given time (the blank spaces being represented by flashing gibberish and pure whiteness), it's slow as a sloth on Prozac, and the music is choppy. But regardless...this is as close as I've yet come to actually playing Sonic Arcade, so I'm not complaining. Too much. I didn't actually play as Ray. I couldn't figure out how, or even if it's possible, to select the character, so I just used Sonic. I only played about fifteen minutes and got through a couple of areas, but it's actually pretty cool. The whole object is to escape...there's something chasing you down every corridor, whether it's an avalanche, spiky steam-roller thing, or twisted gears, the object is to keep moving. It's fast and although (or maybe because) it's simple, it seems like it could be alot of fun. The control is quite slippery. Think Marble Madness meets Sonic Spinball. The levels are laid out as corridors from a 3/4 perspective like Labyrinth or 3D Blast. Sonic has a power bar and Rings replenish it. What I could make out of the music sounds really good...I'm actually still remembering a piece of what I heard. I bet the graphics were awesome by 1993 standards, especially if I could see them... Actually, it's almost like a dumbed-down Sonic Labyrinth. It moves, though. I can imagine playing this thing in an arcade with two other people building up a sweat with the trackballs would have an almost Samba de Amigo-esque quality to it. I'll sit around and play it some more when I don't have to get up for an 8:00 A.M. class followed by a day of homework and wrapped up with an evening of work. And there you have it! I'll post some more if GG gets wind of it. In the meanwhile you can access the post which can get you to Modeler and the Arcade ROM below:  First things first: MORE Sonic Adventure 2 News or: How to get an A Ranking In City Escape ^__^! Been playing the demo and wondering why you keep getting C Rankings over and over? How do you get a Grade Of A, let alone a B? Well I'm here to tell you that Sonic Team has officially gone insane. :) Replay value's gonna be BIG in SA2. Get this: To get an A, you need to get 2/3's of all the rings, land at least 4 Awesome Tricks, and NEVER a Trick worth less than 300. You need to HIT every trick (even when running from the truck) and you need to kill everything you see (in the game). FYI 2/3's of all the rings in the level is 290 or so. Also (one last thing) you need to beat the level in under 3:10. There you go. The "impossible run". Looks like the dificulty levels have been upped a huge notch since Sonic Adventure 1 in the replay department. And in case you've played the demo already, its not as easy as it sounds, especially since you cant see the ramps until you get square on them during the truck sequence! Have fun! ^__^ Now for the Phantasy Star Online News which is in a way, connected to Sonic. One of the most identifying details that set characters apart in Phantasy Star Online is the MAGs. For those not in the know, MAGs are those hovering robotic "pets" near the back of each character. By feeding the MAG different utility items you either find or buy in PSO you increase the MAGs abilities and additionally, you also help the MAG evolve into different forms. So, how many forms are there to the MAGs? A quick "E-Lingo"-ing of the PSO Jazz japanese website has revealed the numerous MAGS located in PSO! Theres the Opa-Opa MAG (from Fantasy Zone) and the NiGHTopian MAG (from NiGHTS of course). And supposedly, there is a Omochao MAG (from Sonic Adventure 2) as well as a Sonic MAG though both aren't shown on the webpage. If you wanna see the full list, check out or source links below. Source: IGN Dreamcast and PSO Jazz (Japanese)
http://www.figures.com/Features/index.html?show_article=17922&domain=figures.com&dom=fig&domain_id=4
Mike WB Edit: OMG !!! I _HAD_ to add an addendum to this one! ^__^ Ladies and gents - the "Nails The Bat" rumor is _DEAD ON_. The difference however is that the bat is named "Rogue" and has white and pink suit on. Her design looks kinda dark and neat. Speculation, but PERHAPS she is why Tails hasn't been mentioned in SA2! I mean, think about this for a second. If you have a bat that can fly, then whats the need for a fox that can fly in the game as well. My guess is that Rogue The Bat is going to play an interesting part in the game.... Also, the name of the "Dark Sonic" has finally been revealed as Shadow! Looks like Segasonic just got another female character (hooray!). Plus I think the Dark Sonic's name sounds pretty durn cool, dont you? ^__^ These are the first "clear" pictures of the new SA2 characters that anyone has managed to find. Even the websites dont have this one! Thanks Mike! ^__^ Plus we now know that Resaurus is doing a Series 3 toy line as well. Suddenly the futures looking a whole lot sweeter! ^___^ Shadow The Hedgehog, Rogue The Bat, and G.U.N. .....Is it just me or has Segasonic gotten just a bit darker? :)  Well I can't very well say I'm surprised at the matter after the brouhaha of the last two weeks BUT...but it seems ODCM is officially dead. :P According to IGN, with SEGA's changes to its business strategy, it's been a tough time for the Official Dreamcast Magazine. First comes the loss of the demo disc, then SEGA goes third party only, and when SEGA decides to cut off from the hardware race, that means less third party titles, and that means less coverage for ODCM. It was inevitable, but after more than a year of delivering some of the most interesting Dreamcast coverage, the Official Dreamcast Magazine is officially gone. According to inside.com, the Future/Imagine company that publishes various magazines announced that it will lay off 350 employees or slightly more than 17 percent of the company workforce. Publications that are effected include the digital music magazine Revolution, the gadget magazine T3, and a few others totaling 20 different publications in the U.S., U.K., France, and Germany. However, the one that hits us home ODCM. Sad to see em go. :( The final issue is the one out now, with Spider Man gracing the front cover.
Well, it seems that after 4 long months after the interview I had with Ryan Drummond (A.K.A, the Voice of "Sonic the Hedgehog"), he finally signed my guest book. What does that have to do with anything? In the signing he had stated that he had finished recording the voice of Sonic, in Sonic Adventure 2, last week. Thus being that the US version of Sonic Adventure 2 for Dreamcast looks like it's coming soon. We'll all see what happens. :)
Source: The Floating Island  Remember that laughable old tidbit that was rumored ages ago that everyone scoffed at? You know - the one that said Sega and Nintendo were thinking about a joint RPG together? Well it may not be so laughable anymore...Sega is playing chums with Nintendo and the impact could be significant. An RPG is a good start, eh? At one time it would be too far-fetched to imagine Nintendo and Sega walking hand-in-hand, smiling happily together as they slap competitors in the face. Since Sega's recent departure from the hardware industry, however, the vision of these former "enemies" has become all too real. Sega has willingly admitted to its support for both Game Boy Advance and GameCube. It even admits to having GameCube development hardware since as early as last November. (Shock! Horror! Hehehehehe - WB) What everyone wants to know, though, is exactly what Sega is working on for GameCube. Well, you may want to sit down for this one, because the plot has thickened greatly. Last year there were reports that Sega and Nintendo had talks about doing an RPG together. Whether the supposed title uses Sega and Nintendo-branded characters or not is unknown, but the thought of the two most talented developers on earth teaming up for an RPG is unbelievably delicious. Since then Nintendo's Peter Main has smirked at the possibility, and just recently in a GameWeek interview Sega of America's Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communications, Charles Bellfield, confirmed the existence (in a roundabout way) of the RPG and praised Nintendo. Here is the excerpt from the interview courtesy IGN.... GameWeek: Let me get right to it: was there any truth to the reports Nintendo was looking to buy? GW: Can you expand on that? GW: Theoretically, Sega could be a difference maker in the upcoming console wars, depending on what franchises are delivered to each particular platform. Any thoughts? GW: You probably know a lot more than we do; Nintendo is the most quiet company we've ever dealt with. It's scary. GW: Yes, they have the one key ingredient that Sega has: content. They really are self-sufficient. GW: Charles, can you confirm or deny the existence of this so-called "top-secret RPG" being worked on by Sega and Nintendo? GW: You know, Peter Main had the same suspicious grin when I asked him this question two and a half months ago... The comments are even surprising to IGNcube, who is all too aware of Sega's support for GameCube. It seems that Sega and Nintendo have banded together to show the industry how it's done. Consider the above comment again. When Charles was asked if he thought Sega could make a difference in the upcoming console wars, the first thing that came to his mind was GameCube. The interviewer didn't ask this Sega head figure if he liked GameCube, he willingly touted Nintendo. We're not sure what Nintendo and Sega are up to, but this is just short of an official confirmation that there is a Sega/Nintendo RPG underway. We ask that you do keep in mind that the quote could be taken a few ways. Nontheless, what a truly astounding possibility this is. If Sega is backing Nintendo's GameCube so much, how should we view the exclusive Virtua Fighter 4 on the PS2? You can't straddle the fence too much, and it seems that Sega is definitely leaning towards Nintendo. The PS2 may be getting VF4, but it now seems obvious that Nintendo and Sega have far bigger plans for GameCube. As each day goes by, Sega's withdrawal from the hardware business gets sweeter and sweeter. Life is good. Source: IGN Gamecube  And its about friggin time too..... >:P The dates careened all over creation and theres never been a SOLID pinpointed date on it till now....Sega of America has informed IGN that Sonic Adventure 2 has finally been tagged with a tentative date for June 21, 2001. While the date isn't set in stone, sources indicate that things are looking good for our blazin' blue buddy, and that the demo was but a taste of the action that lies ahead. Source: IGN Dreamcast
KP just spoke on his messageboard about the latest concerning his website, LO, the upcoming Sonic storyline, and other stuff. here's his message reprinted below:
If you see the words YOU ARE HERE! above the photo of me on the home page, your browser is accessing the site on our new server. If not, you're receiving the transmission from the old server while able to still access this message board on the new server. It may all sound confusing, but trust me, Bob's got it all worked out as far as the tech stuff goes. Needless to say, until the transition is totally complete, the site updates have been delayed until then. However, in the interest of giving you some idea of what's in store, besides a sneak preview of pages from THE CHOSEN ONE storyline, I'll touch base on a number of topics. For a long time, I've been looking to make this site more interactive, and this year looks like I'll finally achieve that. One of the concepts I've been exploring is conducting an online course of drawing as well as a course on creating a comic book from initial concept to finished publication. Because of the time and resources involved with doing this right, the size of the classes will be limited and there will be a cost. I hope to have all the details finalized within the next couple of months and begin conducting the first classes come September. Another thing I'm looking to initiate is more original online comics, new material that hasn't been seen before. To that end, pages from THE LOST ONES graphic novel will begin showing up before long, as well as the first installment of CAPTAIN HAZZARD. There's a lot of new art to be uploaded, including a sneak preview of pages from the upcoming THE CHOSEN ONE storyline that begins in SONIC #95. I guarantee a major shocker where this one is concerned. Also, check back later this week for confirmation of when my next online chat will occur, as I'll discuss these and many other subjects as well. Finally, in regards to the Knuckles story in Sonic #93, I'd like to say a few words. Some people have criticized my use of photos with the artwork. To that I say... this is how you learn. I've been wanting to experiment with the concept for some time. The problem was that I didn't end up having the control over the finished look like I was originally supposed to have. I was supposed to color the story on Photoshop, which would allow me to do the color seps at the same time. Due to contractual obligations with a third party, the editors at Archie informed me that they would be doing the work. Thus, I found myself essentially creating a road map for them to interpret what I wanted. To say the results were unsatisfying would be an understatement of epic proportions. Would it stop me from doing this again? Not if I was given the control I was originally supposed to have. But that's for another time. Another final thing... yeah, I know.... :-) ... I'm going to be closing down my AOL account within the next 30 to 60 days, so from now on, until I get all the e-mail links on this site changed, if anyone wants to send a message or ask a question, please e-mail me at the following address: KenPenders@kenpenders.com Thank you. And THAT is THAT. ^__^ Source: Ken Penders' Message Board
The Interactive Digital Software Association, which includes every major game publisher in the industry, has made a proposal to the the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. It includes restrictions on the marketing of M-rated games. Some restrictions have been summarized on GameCenter.
Print (including game publications): Ads for Mature-rated games may not be placed in magazines where 45 percent or more of the readers are under 17.
IGN.com recently interviewed Satoshi Kayama, a big man at Sega of Japan, who revealed some suprising details about Sonic, and Sega's hardware future.
Here's what IGN gathered: "Sonic for Game Boy Advance will arrive in celebration of Sonic's 10th anniversary. Sega hopes the game will spur interest in Sonic Adventure 2 for Dreamcast. Sega is also considering doing other things besides games, including the release of a possible anime using CG." and sadly... "When asked if Sega will put out hardware in the future, Kayama responded with a strong no, and a laugh. Sega consulted with its creative team first before making the move to software only." So Sonic may be getting a computer animated move/video, and Dreamcast 2 is already dead :( Source: IGNDC
a quick Elingo-ing and this is what it has to say about the title: Sale schedule in autumn of 2001. It also notes that Sonic The Hedgehog Advenace is the working title, and this will be one whole brand new adventure (unlike Sonic Pocket Adventure, a re-release of Sonic 2), and uses the power of the GBA Palette to the full. Lets hope it uses some of that Mode 7 goodness too, eh? This was the only picture, and a work in progress one at that (Just like the Sonic 2 pictures, like Hidden Palace and Dust Hill)
Sale schedule on March 21, 2001. Exciting Puzzle Game appears from Sonic Team to the Gameboy advance. Let's make it induce lovely rats and escape by the rocket. Battle with a friend will be alot of fun! New roulette event and 2600 question puzzle, etc. A new element only of the Gameboy advance version is also fully loaded. What is also very interestiong is the fact that it claims to use 5 different languages! Japanese, English, French, German, and Spanish! This make an even bigger hope for it to be released in the US and Europe! More Pictures are also at the Source. Source: Sonic Team.com View the page here View the E-Lingo Translation here.
**laughs at title**
Any longtime Sonic fan in the game scene will remember the name - Simon Wai, the guy who helped Sonic fans everywhere discover the longlost Sonic 2 Beta. Well guess what? He's baaaaaaaaaaaaaaacck.... ^__^ So just where did he vanish to? This was the post made yesterday to the Sonic 2 Beta Messsage Board... Hey guys (anyone here?), It's Simon Wai here. It has been a loooong time... Looks like lots of things have changed. How are you guys? You probably have many questions to ask, but let me clear up something first. I seemed to vanish because of the heavy workload (okay that does sound way too familiar LOL). I promised to myself to explain to you guys my departure of the Sonic scene, but being such a lazy guy, I kind of postponed the announcement day by day. And I ended up never made the annoucement at all. So if I made a mess (and it seems so), I'm willing to apologize. Sorry guys. So what makes me suddenly come back.... I was downloading some MP3s on Napster and someone popped up and asked me if I'm "THE Simon Wai" (my username is simonwai). That reminded me to explain what has been going on to you S2Beta fans. Thanks to Pelord for maintaining the site. I'm sure lots of Sonic fans have been helped. I'm afraid I can't contribute anymore to the Sonic scene, as any Sonic-related data have been wiped out of my hard drive long ago. I also won't have enough time (remember?). And no, I didn't find any Sonic 1 beta etc when I was in Hong Kong ;) Thanks for listening, I am sure that clears up lots of "clouds" inside you head. Also thanks to everyone who supported me during the old days. Oh one more thing, I dumped @home and am now on Bell ADSL. My e-mail is simonwai@sympatico.ca. If you want to ask anything, or simply want to confirm my identity, feel free to send me an e-mail (I WILL reply this time, hehe). P.S. Are Sonique, Dezmond, Andre, Kulock, etc still around? I never knew Simon at all, but I know Sonique and sometime Kulock visit here at the news page so hopefully they'll get this message and respond. As for Andre Dirk he vanished a long time ago as well if I remember correctly and I never knew Dezmond. But if you knew him, pop by and say hi - message link below. Source Response:Simons Welcome Back Message - Sonic 2 Beta MB  EGM's latest issue has come out! And guess whose on the cover again...... :) This time its Sonic with the cast of Phantasy Star reflected from his eyes. Included in this issue is an article celebrating 10 Years Of Sonic The Hedgehog and an SA2 Blowout at the end! The issue is selling for $4.99 and you can click the cover for a larger view. :)
 Care to get your hands on Sonic Adventure 2 before everyone else? If so you can import the Japanese verion from Express.com! Description: The hedgehog is back, running at the speed of sound heading toward a TV screen near you!! Super crisp graphics, the mysterious black hedgehog, Sonic grinding on his board down a handrail...you've probably seen or heard a lot of stuff about this game. As he reaches his tenth anniversary, gamers are goint to receive a big surprise when this game is released. More adventure, more action, more speed!! Experience a storyline that Sonic fans never have witnessed ever before. It will truly amaze you. Coolness! ^__^ You can preorder the Japanese version of the game for 58.99 or view the order from the Source Link below. Source: Preorder Order SA2! (import)
The Color Cover for Archie Sonic's Sonic The Hedgehog #96 has been released. Spoilers included below....
 "The Messenger" "The Chosen One - Part Two" Writers: by Karl Bollers & Ken Penders Artists: James Fry, Ron Lim & Ken Penders The answers to many questions are revealed - and a few new ones are raised...Has his Majesty's Secret Service learned of Sonic's heroic, secret trip to Robotropolis? Will Princess Sally and Sonic finally see each other again? And has Dr. Robotnik finally figured out a way to get back into Knothole Village? And in the Knuckles back up - the Chosen One arc continues... Cool. But what did they mean by will Sonic and Sally ever see each other again? O_O My guess is that thier building up the breakup we've heard rumors on. I wonder who will break up with who first - Sonic or Sally? In the meantime I can now comment on the cover since it doesnt look all gibberishy now. ^__^ Either Doc R.'s Shadow Swatbots have learned how to cloak themselves OR theres a new brand of clear Swatbots (the color cover releases are never fully accurate - so I'm guessing) but either way Sonic and Mina reflected off the surface of the bot is pretty cool. Click the cover for a larger view. ^__^  This is CERTAINLY NOT Sonic news, but I know a lot of you are still wondering about this - so I figured I'd post it and inform you guys. Even though Bleem! has made it clear that there has been no set date for their upcoming PlayStation emulator on the Dreamcast, DCemulation.com decided to fire off an email to the company anyway, wondering what the holdup is with Bleemcast! Here below is the reply they received: The good news is, there are something like 6 million Dreamcast consoles out there that will be able to play bleemcast! with no problems. The bad news is, (for the time being at least) bleemcast! will only run on those machines, until we can figure something out for the new units. However, we anticipated this change when we first heard about the system being cracked and our projections have been based on the installed base of MIL-CD compatible Dreamcasts, so it doesn't affect our product plans in the slightest. And now that the new machines have hit the streets, we're looking to see if there's a way to make bleemcast! work without putting the platform at risk by exposing another backdoor for the pirates to exploit. In the meantime, we'll do what we can to help potential customers determine whether bleemcast! will work with their DC. Frankly, we can't blame Sega for killing support for the MIL-CD format, given the explosion in piracy in recent months. It's a pity that the information was put out there so irresponsibly and so much piracy has sprung up so quickly - Sega made a great console at a great price, and offers some of the most creative and innovative content out there. What's sad is that many of the same people who steal Dreamcast games will also be the first to bash Sega if they drop out of the market because they can't make any money. Of course, it's good to know the reason why we haven't seen this emulator grace our Dreamcasts yet given the fact that we were expecting it back in October. With the recent announcement that Sega will be reducing the console price to $100, smart shoppers may benefit from buying the Dreamcast and Bleemcast, getting the best of both Sega and Sony. Hopefully the Feburary or March release date will stick this time. Source: Sega X  Think Sonic Advance was it huh? Think again... It seems the Game Boy Advance will be getting a LOT of the classic Sega Genesis games as well - and hopefully there may be a few classic Sonic's thrown in there as well! After Sega's big announcement, IGN got in touch with Charles Bellfield, vice president of marketing communications for Sega of America to talk about the company's future plans with the Game Boy Advance. While he couldn't go into specifics about what the company has in the works for the system, he was genuinely excited for the future with the handheld. The big question was asked – will Sega dig into its classic Genesis library and revive some of the best titles of the 16-bit days? "It's a natural thing to do," he told us. "Just look at the backlog of titles Sega has…there is plenty to work with." Unfortunately, other of the hit games published by Sega may have to be left in the past, as many of them utilized licenses that weren't directly owned by Sega itself. Six big titles from the Genesis era: Mickey Mouse: Castle of Illusion, Aladdin, and Donald Duck's Quackshot were Disney titles, Gunstar Heroes and Dynamite Headdy are Treasure property, and Toejam and Earl is owned by…well, Toejam and Earl Productions. While Sega could work its legal magic with the respective companies, it may be easier just to work with what Sega has. Nothing is known if the games listed above will end up being ported. Time will tell. "But we wouldn't just rehash our old software just to sell," Bellfield told us. "If we didn't add to the original as an incentive to buy it, we wouldn't do it." In other words, for those who remember it, you might not see >b>Altered Beast on the Game Boy Advance unless it was updated or enhanced in some way – such as new levels, new graphics, or new gameplay elements. Or, at the very least, included in a compilation pack similar to what Sega recently released on the Dreamcast as the Smash Pack. Something that would make the game less of a "shovelware" -- something to give the title an incentive for folks to buy itIf the company doesn't increase the value of the game with new elements, then folks might not buy it. It's the "been there, done that" syndrome. While Sega Enterprises (the Japanese branch) is responsible for the production of the first three games for the Game Boy Advance, Sega of America will also actively produce titles for the GBA down the road – just as it had for the Dreamcast, Saturn, and Genesis. The company's both a publisher and a developer – and nothing has changed in this transition – several titles produced by Sega deserve a return, and with this recent turn of events for the company, the possibility has turned into a probability. Source: IGN Pocket
Though the Official Dreamcast Magazine will stop releasing a Dreamcast demo disc, don't fret dear readers... you'll still be able to get a demo disc full of all the future SEGA titles as SEGA has unveiled its replacement, the new Dreamcast, Ltd. The demo disc will be released quarterly from SEGA, similar in style to the PlayStation Underground Discs you see in places like Electronics Boutique and Software Etc.. The first volume will release on March 27th, 2001 nationwide at a suggested price of $4.95.
“The ‘Dreamcast, Ltd.’ program lets us showcase the unparalleled quality of content coming to Dreamcast,” said John Golden, director of product marketing, Sega of America. “By making the discs available at a very low price point at retailers across the country, every Dreamcast owner will have the opportunity to experience the very best of what’s coming up for Dreamcast.” On the first volume of Dreamcast, Ltd., the disc will feature demos of: and other hot titles. Addtionally, there's also this great interview with Yuji Naka (the creator of Sonic), where he talks about the development of Sonic Adventure 2 as well as a good look at whats new in the game! Oh what about the demo of Shenmue 2? Oh, it's in there, too! ^__^ Source: IGN Dreamcast  One of the loyal Sonic fans just discovered something interesting. Sonic The Hedgehog 2 and the game Flicky (what the Flickies in Sonic 3D Blast are based on) are now available as a PC Port in Japan. He discovered this while browsing Sega PC Japan's website: (it's in Japanese, but you can translate to English with an Japanese to English Web Translator) Apparently they have 3 software packages available, called "Sega Archives from U.S.A." Volumes 1, 2, & 3. Volume 1 is what we know in the States as the "Sega Smash Pack," and Volume 2 is the "Sega Puzzle Pack." (which includes Doctor Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine) But Volume 3 doesn't seem to have any American equivalent (at least to my knowledge -- anyone?), and that's the one that contains Sonic 2. There does seem something rather odd about this though: Wasn't it Steve Snake, et al, who put together the Smash Pack & Puzzle Pack (see sega.com's PC section)? I would assume that the same people put together the 3rd collection in the series; but if so, how come it wasn't released in the States first? And, am I right in assuming that these people are Americans? If you have any idea at all, post on the Station Square Newsboard (link to the right) and look for the post titled "Sonic 2 on PC"! Later!!! ^___^
IGNDC recently did an interview with Yuji Naka, the man behind PSO, and all things Sonic. He commented on add-ons for PSO, SA2 plans, and he hinted that Sonic Adventure 2 may not be the last Sonic Team game on Dreamcast. Read the full interview at IGN.
Source: IGNDC  Sega made history this morning when the company revealed its future publishing plans for 2001 and beyond (see our news story below) – the company is slowly leaving the system business and transmogrifying into one of the biggest third-party publishers for the Game Boy Advance, Gamecube, XBox, and PlayStation 2. The company announced that it has three Game Boy Advance games currently in the works, Chu Chu Rocket, Puyo Puyo and:
Whats important about this is that it will not only be a Game Boy Advance launch title (**@_____________@**) but it will be the first Segasonic videogame on a system that is NOT fully Sega supported AND the first Sonic game on a major Nintendo system. Sonic Pocket Adventure, The SNK-published game for the Neo Geo Pocket Color, was a decent game and took Sonic through a 2D world filled with rings, bursts of speed and graphic splendor. But the game did have some flaws, most of which will be now non-existent on the Game Boy Advance. For example, one complaint from some: "There's no parallax scrolling." The GBA -- the 32-bit RISC processor will be able to handle parallax and depth with little to no problem. And although the Neo Geo game was very similar to the Genesis versions of the platformer, it's almost certain that the GBA Sonic will be superior to the older games, especially since the little handheld has just as much power as the older Sega system. We're not completely sure whether the game will really work like the Neo Geo game, or if it will be a completely different style of gameplay. (Rumor has it that the game and levels will be all new and not remakes of older boards designed differently) Either way - It will likely be Sega's flagship product on Nintendo's new handheld, and it will doubtless have incredibly high production values and endless amounts of fun. So here goes Sonic's next step...The Game Boy Advance... Source: IGN Pocket
The two posts below are prime examples of the latent confusion, reactions, and outbreak of the news that everyones been going on about The Death Of The Dreamcast
You havent see me post any of it on SHQ News because quite frankly I had no idea if any of it was true and neither did many of the sources at the time. So I'm composing this news article to get some facts straight and hopefully inform people as to whats going on.... The source I'm going by is IGN's News Articles (as thier the best to decipher) which you can find here: IGN Dreamcast. The article is being reprinted here in full. Important things to note will be in bold and underlined. The Death of Dreamcast: Sega Confirms Price Drop, Inventory Reduction, and More How's that for an elaborate revenge plot, EA? Come witness the coming shift of power. A great man once said, "It's true, it's true." After months of denial, the house that Sonic built decided to follow suit, confirming what many thought to be unthinkable: Sega of America is calling it quits in the hardware business, and as part of their plans to completely wash their hands of that side of the business, they are dropping the price of the Dreamcast to $99.85 US as of February 4th, 2001. In addition to the price drop, Sega will be offering a number of incentive plans to retailers to help move the excess stock, though details were unavailable at press. Sega manager of marketing communications Heather Hawkins stated, "We'll continue to support the hardware through December 31st, as we anticipate some hardware will still be in retail at that time, but we'll no longer be holding inventory as of March 31st." As reported earlier this week, Sega will be re-focusing its hardware efforts, and will look to license Dreamcast technology to outside hardware manufacturers. While Pace Micro Technology was the first such partner to be announced by Sega, VP of Corporate and Marketing Communications Charles Bellfield did not rule out the possibility of other agreements entering the picture, "Pace is going to be a key partner for us, the main one, but we're looking at other opportunities for the technology, obviously." As hinted at by multiple announcements from Sega of Japan, the company will now approach a new focus as a publisher (WB note: For those that dont understand this - Think along the terms of Square and Capcom and how they are big game producing companies, but develop thier games for multiple platforms - The best examples of them being mega Man and Final Fantasy). This multi-platform strategy, dubbed "platform agnostic," will mean that from this point forward Sega will now be openly and aggressively developing content across all platforms in an attempt to become the world's leading game publisher. Hawkins sees the position as the best route for Sega, stating, "Being platform agnostic means that we will have the opportunity to look at all platforms to determine which one will be the best fit for our content, both from a development/technical side and a demographic one, meaning we won't have to determine the feature set of a title by what by the constraints of any particular system." On that note, Sega has announced several titles already in production for other platforms, most notably Yu Suzuki's upcoming sequel to the popular Virtua Fighter Series, Virtua Fighter 4, which is being developed from the ground up as a PlayStation 2 exclusive for a Fall release. [Ed's note: Pick your jaws up off the floor now, please. Done? OK, good. You may now continue reading.] Sega also confirmed that United Game Artists' Space Channel 5 would make its way to PlayStation 2 from Sega later this year, as well as titles in the Sakura Wars and Let's Make a Pro Sports Team series, though the latter 2 look unlikely for release in the States. Sega finally confirmed the poorly-kept secret of their deal with Acclaim, and stated that the company will release Crazy Taxi, 18 Wheel American Pro Trucker and Zombie Revenge on the PlayStation 2 some time after April 2001. Confirming statements made by Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s president Hiroshi Yamauchi earlier this week, Sega has revealed that they are working on multiple titles for Game Boy Advance, including Sonic the Hedgehog Advance (WB note: This had actually been rumored for quite a long while, before the Sega news ever came into existance), Chu Chu Rocket!, and Puyo Puyo. Sega officials also noted that while they made no announcements with regards to Microsoft's Xbox or Nintendo's other hardware effort, the upcoming GameCube, they are currently in negotiations to provide content to both platforms, with more concrete information undoubtedly on the way. Sources inside Sega also mentioned that the company is looking into bringing some classic Saturn titles to the original PlayStation, though no decisions have been made to that effect yet. All hope is not lost for the Dreamcast platform, however. Bellfield explained that "We're not giving up on Dreamcast. We'll continue to support the platform well into the next 18 months, and beyond that, as long as it is profitable." Now that Sega is moving out of the costly hardware business, this should prove to be a tricky proposition, as the system's limited install base will undoubtedly limit sales potential for new software. Sega has confirmed over 30 titles for Dreamcast for the remainder of 2001 (WB Note: Sonic Adventure 2 - which looks to be the final Sega produced Sonic game on a system of thier own, is one of these), many of which we have revealed here, and it appears that Sega will be carefully evaluating where they will focus their content beyond this calendar year, where it will truly begin to expand on its new focus. "Sega is a company that has always dared to be innovate and push this industry forward," said Peter Moore, president and COO, Sega of America. "Sega will continue to do so with its new strategy, and the result for consumers will be what you would always expect from a 'rules-breaker' like Sega – a library of pioneering, jaw-dropping content now available any way you want to play." While the move will obviously benefit Sega, the effect of their new direction will have on Dreamcast owners remains to be seen. Expect the picture to become increasingly clear as we approach E3 2001, where the announcements should surface like baby seals in the wake of the Exxon Valdez. Thier second story on this matter had this to say... Sega of Japan has issued a few statements regarding the discontinuance of the Dreamcast hardware platform. Yes, folks, it's happening even in Japan. Throughout the world, Sega has amassed a surplus stock of 2,000,000 units, and these must all go out the door. Here's what went wrong, according to Sega. Previously, game consoles were sold on the oft-publicized "Razor Principle", where you sell the razor at or below cost and make all your money selling blade cartridges. Similarly, one used to sell game systems at or below cost and make all the money back on software. According to Sega, this strategy didn't work with Dreamcast as the hardware cost was too high. Furthermore, the company was forced to discount the price of its hardware in order to remain competitive, which further added to the problem (WB note: Remember the Dreamcast Price Drop a while back?). Combine this with a difficult software market, and the Dreamcast business model was not able to meet the required returns in software for balancing out hardware sales. It is because of this that Sega has decided to stop Dreamcast production. Additionally, the company mentions that it has suspended research and development on new hardware (WB note: This means that there will ABSOLUETLY BE NO DREAMCAST 2 OR NEW HARDWARE or WHATEVER. Software will continue, but no more hardware. Got it?). Anyone hoping for a new Sega system five or six years down the line when Sega has recuperated its losses are probably in for some disappointment. Sega comments that it will continue supporting the Dreamcast system into the future, as previously mentioned. The company states that it has 30 first party titles in development with third parties accounting for an additional 40. We're not sure how one gets the previously mentioned total of 100 Dreamcast titles from this, even adding in American support, but we have a feeling even the 30 and 40 numbers are being optimistic. So will Japanese-based Dreamcast product and support become hard to find in the future? Sega doesn't seem to think so. Dreamcast Direct and the various Sega partner shops will continue to carry Dreamcast product, meaning if someone in Japan wants a game, they need only turn here. If your Dreamcast should malfunction, Sega promises to have you taken care of. The company will keep various Dreamcast parts in stock for the next six years and will be open for servicing and repairs. But what should happen if you write for a videogame website devoted to the Dreamcast platform? What do you do then? We'll see… we'll see… but I don't know nothin' 'bout writin' 'bout no Xbox! ^_^ And ladies and gentlemen - THAT is THAT. All your questions and whatnot on just what the Death is have been answered. Dreamcast is DEAD, Sega however will continue as a third party platform. Whether or not they will develop for X-Box or Gamecube has yet to be decided (my sheer biasness for the PS hopes that Sonic will end up on one of the two) More news will surface on the up and coming weekend and I'll keep you posted. So what does thsi mean for Sonic? To be honest. No one knows that yet. Sonic Team is independent now and is still doing Sonic Adventure 2. Sonic Advance was talked about ages ago since Sega did not wish to start a new Game Gear, so this was already known by many, but probably forgotten with all of the recent talk. What is known is this - Considering that SA 2 will be a fouth quarter release in America, Sonic Adventure 2 will be the final Sonic Team produced Sonic game _PERIOD_ on ANY SEGA SYSTEM. THIS DOES NOT MEAN that this is the final Sonic game, but rather we'll probably no longer see him after this on a Sega Console. Consider it the end of the second Segasonic era. Its rather ironic really. Sonic began Service Games and kept it going. Sonic will now end out Service Games as its last hurrah and take it into its next step. Sonic The Hedgehog however is NOWHERE near dear. Sonic Advance (appropriate title for the situation) will be the very first Sega Sonic game on a new rival system and will mark the beginning of the 3rd Segasonic Era. I cannot specifically say this, but I think I remember reading somewhere that Yuji Naka had actually liked the X-Box. And perhaps that Sonic/Mario crossover RPG that had been talked about and laughed at for YEARS may now have a way of actually seeing the light. And thats that folks. Hopefully that will clear everything up. And if you have further posts or disccusion the topic (and this news story), like others is free for discussion on Station Square. And is now the Editorial Focus for the month of Feburary. Hope to see you there! Discussion: The Station Square Message Board: Sega's Big Goodbye |
Your Daily Dose Of Sonic! Welcome to the best Sonic news source on the net! This page will generally be updated everyday. As a rule, you must give us a link credit if you want to take news reported by us. Click here to post your own news, rumors, and links to points of interest and we'll copy it to the news page if it checks out! SHQ News Editors     
|
Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on Earth! 
Here's images of 2 of the new character from SA2 in really neat action figure form by Resaurus!
Sonicteam.com have released the first EVER picture of Sonic Advance for the Game Boy Advance! and just looking at the picture will make anybody drool with excitement! **drool**
Also, new pictures of Chu Chu Rocket GBA have been released! Including some new info.
Sonic The Hedgehog Advance. The game is reported to be along the lines of the Genesis 2D sidescroller, with brand new levels unique to the Nintendo system. The game is currently scheduled for a worldwide release with the US system this July. Blast Processing not needed -- just look how well the NeoGeo Pocket Color version measured up. 
 |
 |
Sonic Exchange - Sonic The Hedgehog Banner Exchange!
hits since Apr 11, 1999.
FastCounter by LinkExchange