Articles By True Red

According to Gamers.com, Sonic Heroes and Sonic Battle are scheduled to be released in Winter 2003 in Japan.

This from Gamespot, is follow-up to this earlier report:

Sega has announced that it will be releasing a series of interactive toys that will be packed in with McDonald's Happy Meals. These games will be based on the Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Monkey Ball franchises. One of them, Sonic Speedway, will put players in a simple race to the finish line, while the other, AiAi Banana Catch, will have players catching bananas that fall from the sky.

"The characters of the Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Monkey Ball franchises are some of the most recognizable icons in video games today," said Mike Fischer, vice president of marketing, Sega of America. "This relationship with McDonald's allows Sega to further reinforce those character brands with the younger gamer through a never-before-seen premium vehicle."

Look for the toys this summer.

Source: Gamespot

From Gamespot:

The two arcade giants are apparently in talks over a possible merger.

According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Namco has reportedly engaged in talks with Sega over a possible merger. A merger between Sega and Namco would result in the largest video game company in Japan, with sales totaling 350 billion yen ($3 billion), topping Konami's sales figures, which are currently at 250 billion yen ($2 billion). Namco said that the merger would be necessary in order for the company to remain competitive and that a merger would let Namco consolidate many of its current facilities as well as improve its business in international markets. In addition, Namco believes that combining the intellectual properties and development teams of the two companies would also be highly beneficial.

Sega is scheduled to hold a meeting to discuss mergers with three of its current suitors, including Sammy and Electronic Arts, which are reportedly interested in investing in Sega or at least doing some sort of tie-in with the company. Sega's board members are reportedly less interested in merging with Sammy due to its focus on pachinko machines, which has delayed talks with that particular company. Sega is expected to make an announcement as soon as the end of this month.

We'll have more as it develops.

By Giancarlo Varanini

Source: Gamespot

Archie's Sonic The Hedgehog #122 is out in comic shops today.

Source: Diamond Comics

According to Electronics Boutique, Sonic Adventure DX has a June 10 release date.

Source: EBgames.com

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: THE BEGINNINGS
Ships 7/2
96-page, full color squarebound paperback
$10.95 US; $15.95 CANADA.

In 1993, Sonic the Hedgehog sped his way from video games to comic books. Hundreds of issues later, "the blue blur" can lay claim to having the most successful comic book career of all video game heroes! Now you can enjoy his earliest comic book adventures with this special edition that reprints his first, difficult-to-find mini-series, Sonic #0 through #3. Collected together for the first time are the first appearance of Tails, Princess Sally, Antoine, Rotor, Uncle Chuck and Muttski. Put on your favorite pair of sneakers, grab a chilidog and see where the legend began!
SCRIPTS: Michael Gallagher. ART: Scott Shaw! and Dave Manak.


SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #126
Ships 7/23
32-page, full color comic
$2.19 US.

"Tossed in Space, Part 1": After last issue's pulse-pounding events, Sonic finds himself on a strange planet on the other side of the universe. While seeking a way home is his initial priority, his heroic instincts soon take over as he helps defend an alien race from their aggressors. By issue's end, Sonic will be forced to fight the last person he ever expected to face! You'll have to read it to believe it!
SCRIPT: Benny Lee. ART: Steven Butler (pencils), Jim Amash (inks).

ALSO!: the Off-Panel strip graduates from the letters page to become its own five-page story in "Better Read Than Dead": Read in awe as Sonic and The Editor face the evil of... Deadline! Can they get the issue done on time before Sonic is erased from existence?
SCRIPT: Mike Gallagher. ART: Dave Manak (pencils) and Josh and Aimee Ray (inks).

Source: Silver Bullet Comics

From Swirlvision:

Sega has revealed the Japanese release dates for two of their highly anticipated Sonic games. Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut for Gamecube will see release on June 19th for 6,8000 Yen. Sonic Pinball Party for Gameboy Advance will see relase on July 17th for 4,800 Yen.

The U.S. release dates for both games will be around the same time frame.

Source: Swirlvision

From Swirlvision:

Sega's annual GameJam event will be held this weekend (April 4th - 5th) in Japan. To be held at the Ariake Hall, this year's exposition will be broadcasted live and be seen across many of Sega's various amusement locations, such as Club Sega (Hokkaido), GIGO (Ikebukuro), High Tech Land (Shibuya), and many more. In addition, this broadcast will also air over the Internet at specific times.

This year's GameJam Storm will give Japanese gamers the opportunity to sample some of Sega's recent and upcoming console titles. Among them: Initial D: Special Stage (PS2), Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution (PS2), Virtual-On: Marz (PS2), Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut (GC), Panzer Dragoon Orta (Xbox), and dozens more.

Source: Swirlvision

From Gamespot:

Sega Europe announces that it is setting up its own publishing operation with offices in both London and Paris.

Sega Europe has today announced that it's making a return to publishing, and is currently in the process of setting up the operation with offices in at the company's headquarters in London and in Paris. In addition to European countries, Sega Europe is responsible for other PAL territories such as Australia and New Zealand for which the company is currently negotiating distribution deals.

"Sega Europe is now in a position to get closer to the European games market, with its own publishing operation," said Naoya Tsurumi, president and COO of Sega Europe. "The transition from hardware manufacturer to software publisher is now complete, and we see the next few years as an incredibly exciting time for growth for Sega Europe."

The first game to be self-published by Sega Europe will be Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II in May, closely followed by Sonic Adventure DX and Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution, which are both scheduled for release in Europe in June. New screenshots of all three games released today can be viewed by clicking on the above links.

Source: Gamespot

Following up the first report, some more details about what to expect have been given.