Articles By Srol

Planet Gamecube has some new Sonic Adventure DX screens up.

Source: *Planet Gamecube*

Sega released the following press release today, announcing that both Sonic Adventure DX and Sonic Pinball Party will be on the shelves in North America this summer. The full press release is as follows.

SAN FRANCISCO - Jan. 31, 2003 - SEGA® of America, Inc. today announced that two new Sonic The Hedgehog® games are currently in development and will be released in the U.S. this summer. "Sonic AdventureTM DX"(working title) will be released in May exclusively for the Nintendo GameCubeTM, and "Sonic Pinball PartyTM" will ship in June for the Game Boy® Advance.

"Sonic Adventure DX" is Sonic The Hedgehog's third blazing-fast quest on the Nintendo GameCube, and the ultimate version of one of Sonic's biggest SEGA DreamcastTM blockbusters. Featuring enhanced graphics, sound and Game Boy Advance connectivity, "Sonic Adventure DX" pits Sonic and his pals against the dastardly Dr. Eggman and his wicked plans for world domination.

"Sonic Pinball Party" for the Game Boy Advance challenges gamers to shoot, tilt and flip their way through Sonic the Hedgehog, Samba de Amigos and Nights-themed pinball tables and party games. The game supports up to four players with one Game Pak via the Game Boy Advance Game Link® cable. "Sonic Pinball Party" will also connect with "Sonic Adventure DX" via the Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Advance Cable.

"SEGA's Sonic The Hedgehog is back just in time for summer in two new action-packed games for the Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance," said Mike Fischer, vice president, SEGA of America. "To date, Sonic has proved to be phenomenally popular on the Nintendo GameCube and we're excited that Sonic is resonating with a whole new generation of gamers."

SEGA® of America, Inc. is the American arm of Tokyo, Japan-based SEGA Corporation, a $3.5 billion corporation by market capitalization, recognized as a worldwide leader in interactive entertainment both inside and outside the home. The company develops, publishes and distributes interactive entertainment software products for a variety of hardware platforms including PC, wireless devices, and those manufactured by Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. SEGA of America's Web site is located at www.sega.com.

Source: *Planet Gamecube*

SEGA and THQ Interactive issued an official press release today confiriming that Sonic Advance 2 will be released in North America this Spring. The press release is as follows:

CALABASAS HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 30, 2003--THQ® Inc. (NASDAQ:THQI) and SEGA® Corporation today announced "SONIC ADVANCE(TM) 2," the sequel to "SONIC ADVANCE(TM)" -- one of the top-selling Game Boy® Advance games of 2002. "SONIC ADVANCE," released in February 2002, has sold through more than 500,000 units in North America alone according to NPD TRST data. "SONIC ADVANCE 2" is scheduled to ship in spring 2003. "With sales in excess of a half-million units, we are delighted with the success of the original `SONIC ADVANCE' on Game Boy Advance," said Alison Locke, executive vice president, North American Publishing, THQ. "SEGA's famous Sonic brand has been a breakout hit on the Game Boy Advance platform and we look forward to the release of `SONIC ADVANCE 2.'"

"`Sonic The Hedgehog' is one of the most widely recognized video game characters of all time," said Shinobu Toyoda, executive vice president of content strategy and business development, SEGA of America, Inc. "Sonic titles have consistently been top-sellers for SEGA, and we expect continued success with `SONIC ADVANCE 2' on the Game Boy Advance platform."

About "SONIC ADVANCE 2"

In "SONIC ADVANCE 2," Dr. Eggman is up to his old tricks again, and the world's fastest hedgehog must put a stop to it. Sonic, Tails and Knuckles are back with new character Cream the Rabbit, racing through new environments and battling new foes. "SONIC ADVANCE 2" features multiplayer fun for up to four Game Boy® Advance systems using the Game Link® Cable. Players can raise their favorite Chaos and play mini games within the Tiny Chao Garden. Players can also play with their Chao in "Sonic Adventure(TM) 2 Battle" on Nintendo GameCube(TM), by connecting their Game Boy Advance to their Nintendo GameCube console.

Source: *Planet Gamecube*

Sonic HQ is proud to present an exclusive interview with the creator of one of the most successful Sonic fan comics on the internet. The one and only Ian Potto.

Source: *FULL Exclusive Sonic HQ Interview*

Segas stock reached a new low today with the revelation that their North American sales had come in extremely under expectations. While Sonic Team titles sold extremely well, Sega only sold 400,000 copies of NFL2k2, a title which they expected to sell 1.5 million copies.

This could be a serious hitch in Sega's plan to become the number one publisher in North America.

Source: *Reuters*

Joyride Studios is currently advertising their line of action figures based upon video game characters. They recently deployed a 30 second advertisement on Cartoon Network showing them off. Sonic is in the commercial, where he is seen briefly, trapped in a glass cage.

Source: *Joyride Studios*

IGN recently did an analysis of Sega's sales since entering the third party market. They report that among Sega's console games, Sonic Adventure 2 Battle has far and away sold the most copies, while most of their other gamecube games have flopped. Unfortunately, there was no mention of Game Boy Advance sales, and how Sonic games on that platform had sold.

Graph of Sega's sales

Source: *IGN*