Articles By Bumper

IGNPocket brings us some new Sonic Advance movies. Check them out by clicking here.

Sonic fans, now hear this:

Q: What could possibly be better than a brand new copy of Sonic Adventure 2 for Dreamcast?

A: A copy of the game signed by legendary designer Yuji Naka, the man responsible for the creation of all things Sonic.

Yuji Naka will be at Software Etc. in San Jose form 11AM on June 30 to sign copies of the recently shipped game. The first 100 people at the store will receive a free gift, and Sega personnel will be on hand to help everyone celebrate Sonic's 10th Anniversary by serving up slices of a big Sonic Birthday cake at noon.

The Store Address is as follows:

Software Etc.
3600 A-Stevens Creek Blvd
San Jose, CA 95117

Hello, hello... I thought you might be interested. :)

Source: FGN Online

Now would you look at this...

IGNDC has reported the existance of a soccer team called F.C. Sonic in the arcade version of Virtua Striker 3. You can get more details and screens by clicking here.

Some VERY good news to pass along from GameSpot:

Sega of America has announced that it will release the new maps from the Dreamcast version of Quake III: Arena to PC players. The so-called Dreamcast Map Pack includes a collection of 23 maps from the Dreamcast version of the game, and it can be downloaded from Sega of America's official Web site. The pack also includes slightly altered versions of existing maps.

Additionally, the Dreamcast Map Pack will allow PC players to play in the new maps against Dreamcast players. The only criteria are that PC players must have a 1.16n or lower version of Quake III: Arena available and use the GameSpy 3D or PingTool utilities to browse the Sega Dreamcast servers.

Quake Arena players will certainly be pleased...

Source: GameSpot

From SegaWeb...

Sony will be publishing Sega's first seven PlayStation 2 titles in Europe, the two companies announced jointly today. Sega will turn over the publishing, advertising, and distribution reigns over to Sony in the territory, who will distribute the titles in five languages. The titles include the previously announced Virtua Fighter 4, K-Project, and Space Channel 5 games; the four new games are Ecco the Dolphin, F-355, Head Hunter, and a second Space Channel 5 title.

At least two of the seven titles will be released this year, though which ones were not specified. It is unknown if the confirmation of Head Hunter coming to the PS2 will impact the Dreamcast version of the title.

The partnership was made for a number of reasons, not the least of which being logistics. "Since we do not have our own marketing network in Europe, we decided to have SCE to handle distribution of our games for PlayStation 2," a Sega spokesman said. While Sega will continue to distribute their own Dreamcast titles in Europe, the additional titles will not put a strain on the company, which is currently undergoing a major reorganization. Whether the partnership will be renewed after these seven games are released was not addressed.

This is the third major partnership between Sega and Sony this year. In February they announced plans to co-develop a network of arcades using Sony's PS2-based arcade technology, and earlier this month announced plans to create cross-platform online titles for consoles and PC. The latest announcement was made after the stock market had closed in Tokyo, though Sega's share price rose nearly 2 percent prior the announcement, following weeks of declines.

For those keeping track, Sega has also announced a Sakura Wars title, two 'Let's Make a Sports Team' games, an online horse derby title, Guru Guru Onsen 2, and two Sega Sports games (NBA and NFL) for the PS2, bringing the total number of announced Sega games coming to PS2 up to 14.

Source: SegaWeb

IGNDC has released new SA2 media. Check it out by clicking here, and prepare to see the word 'grind' a lot.

Sega, naturally, is looking at new ways to handle their expertise. From Gaming Age:

Sega is looking towards non-game areas to boost profitability. The new strategy should help the company spread its wings to gain revenue on top of traditional videogame sales.

Munehiro Umemura, a general manager for Sega's future entertainment division, told a news conference that Sega's computer graphics technology and know-how in content development and in managing arcade facilities should present opportunities.

Non-game ventures include educational software that uses computer graphics, and training software such as computer simulations of earthquakes. The new businesses are expected to make up more than 10% of sales in the next five years.

Source: Gaming Age

Many people have now reported getting their hands on copies of Sonic Adventure 2, and SegaDojo, with no doubt a lot of other sites, have confirmed Sega's shipping of the game.

As I said on the Mobius Forum, 'Let the Chao(s) begin...'

The following is from SegaDojo:

A few interesting tidbits that was recently put into public (although not surprising). It seems that Sega Corp. has become the largest shareholder in CSK along being the second largest investor in NextCom KK. This news was recently posted in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun Saturday morning edition. After Isao Ohkaw, the company's former President and Chairman, passed away in March, he donated his stakes to the company. With Sega holding 4.4 million shares (or 5.9% in stake) in CSK along with 19.88 million shares of it's own company (or 12.2% in stakes), it will be very interesting to see what the financial state will be for them in the near future.

Probably not particularly interesting for most folks out there, but this is worth noting, nonetheless.

Source: SegaDojo

Gaming Age has provided more news to make us envious of Japan... I guess the Sonic crew's gonna be in the PSO Ver. 2 lobby between June 16-30 over in Japan... follow this link to more info, including screens.