News

*throws stuff* I can't believe someone beat me to some SatAM news... err wait, I mean

There are Sonic X plushies for preorder on Ufo Catcher.com. For some reason Cream and Cheese are $20 each but the others (Including Chris) are only $12.99. These are for pre order and should ship around July/August 2003.

I received an Email from John Stewart of Dic Entertainment with info about the new Sat-AM DVDs.

Flash Star (a Brazilian Video company) released the first Sonic DVD in Brazil.

From XenGamers:

THQ has begun shipping Sonic Advance 2, the latest installment in Sega's handheld platform game series for the GameBoy Advance, to retailers in America. In the game, 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 play for up to four GameBoy 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 Chaos in Sonic Adventure 2 Battle on Nintendo GameCube, by connecting a GameBoy Advance to the Nintendo GameCube console.

"We are delighted to publish this sequel to the 2002 smash hit, Sonic Advance," said Alison Locke, executive vice president, North American Publishing, THQ. "Sonic Advance 2 exemplifies Sega's talent and devotion to the Sonic brand and THQ is thrilled to be bringing this triple-A Game Boy Advance title to North America."

Source: XenGamers

On March the 9th Sage, Sonic.Amateur Games Expo, returned. Up for a while, all the sonic fan gamers show of their products and get them rated, and available to all us public.

Many returned products, not just Sonic but fan games are available. From Sonic team Junior, Blazefire and Poulto all return alongside several new Sonic, Mighty, Metal Sonic and many fan characters in the fan gaming event of the year.

Check it out, its good, link is here: http://www.sagexpo.org/

Sonic Cult and Sonic Hacking Community are having a contest for a universal hacking program. Here are the details:

We are looking to develop a fully functional universal studio tool for hacking Sonic games. With the current status of hacking guides, we feel it's time to develop more universal tools to hack Sonic games. We are looking for a SINGLE program. Not multiple programs. This tool should be based on the 16-bit Sega Genesis/Megadrive games. But the further you branch, the more score you receive. So if it edits Sega CD, 32x, SMS, Game Gear, and other games, the more you receive. Current programs and editors are allowed to enter, however they will be stripped of 15-30% of their final score, due to the head start they receive and depending on what they do to begin with. The prize awarded to the best tool will be a Sonic Adventure 2 store display, signed by Yuji Naka himself!

For more information visit Sonic Cult

N-Gage Sonic

An excerpt from the IGNPocket article:

Sonic the Hedgehog, or Sonic N, is just a scaled down version of Sonic Advance. The levels are pretty much exactly what GBA owners can already play. What's more, the Nokia version is severely letterboxed, squashed, and distorted when it's fit on the vertical LCD screen, making the text and score very, very hard to read. The game's speed is equal, but the refresh is not...and this limitation is noticeable when Sonic blazes at top speed, and the screen's refresh makes the scrolling look a bit choppy.

Source: IGNPocket

From XenGamers:

Sammy president Hajime Satomi recently revealed preliminary details regarding the proposed structure of his company's merger with Sega. Under the terms of the deal, both companies would retain their own brand identities. However, the merger would call for the integration of properties held by both Sega and Sammy. Specifically, Sega would support Sammy's low-cost arcade platform AtomisWave with several of its popular brands of software. Likewise, Sammy would release Pachinko products that would be branded with Sega characters. The ideal scenario, according to Satomi-san, would be a merged company that allowed for a fusion of product lines and retained brand identity. For reference, Sega's proposed merger with Sammy is expected to be complete by October 2003.

Source: XenGamers

From Swirlvision:

Sega's annual GameJam show will play host to a bevy of titles this year. To be held at the Ariake Hall in Tokyo, Japan, Sega will displaying such titles as Initial D: Special Stage (PS2), Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution (PS2), Virtual-On: Marz (PS2), F-Zero (Arcade/GC), Sonic Adventure DX (GC), Panzer Dragoon Orta (Xbox), and many more which will be playable.

In addition, Sega will hosting competitions for some of their arcade titles, like Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution, Initial D: Arcade Stage - Version 2, World Club Championship Football 2, and more.

The GameJam Storm event will be held from April 5th to April 6th.

Source: Swirlvision