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Sonic Xtreme Blueprints have been found and have been uploaded to my website Sonic PC

Source: Sonic PC

Planetweb has released an updated version of the Dreamcast Web Browser, which now adds Instant Messaging and Broadbad Support to it's list of capabilities.

"Planetweb is proud to continue our support for Dreamcast fans by delivering an updated browser including broadband support and the latest in Internet technology," said Ken Soohoo, president and CEO of Planetweb. "We maintain a long-standing relationship with Sega and will continue to provide the latest and most advanced features to the Dreamcast community."

The new browser can be purchased directly on the net from Planetweb.

Source: FGN Online

Sonic Team has a new shop called Sonic Character's Item that has opened on their site. They only deliver in Japan, but you can check out the three Sonic items currently on sell right here.

Source: Sonic Team

You can order the SA2 Song Collection (8 vocal songs) for $23.99 and/or the SA2 Original Soundtrack (2 CD Set) for $29.99 from Tokyopop.com. Ordering and shipping info can be read here if you've never ordered from them before.

Out of the blue, Sega has redesigned their website to go with their new 3rd party look. There's tons of new sections including a section for each console Sega supports (i.e. all of them) and a large history section on what Sega is and was. They haven't forgoten Sonic either, just check out the backround. There's so much new, you'll just have to see it yourself at
Sega.com

Apparently we will hear Robotnik's voice again! Read this email directly from Ryan Drummand:

"There's mis-information all over the Sonic web right now about the passing of Steve Broadie. Steve did the voice for the President and a couple other little things in SA2. A man named DEEM BRISTOW is the voice of Eggman/Robotnik. Everyone seems to think that the guy who did the voice of Eggman was the one who passed away. I'm trying to clear it up on Deem's behalf so that people won't think he's not with us anymore."

AJ Freda has announced that his site, SSNTails.Org, will cease to exist:

SSN is not returning in any shape or form. In addition to the $325 a month for 256k, my telephone company wanted $10 per additional IP address.

Another thing they failed to tell me was that the DSL is running off their central office, which is about 5 telephone-miles away instead of the nearby hut. DSL is supposed to max out around 3 miles, but they said they've had it work as far as 6 miles at 512kbps. Well, he came to install it today and ran into problems with it being recognized/finding a suitable frequency. I don't want to stick a server on a connection that's probably going to bomb out intermittently.

And besides, I couldn't even raise 1/3rd of the money to cover it from the people I was hosting. I'm tired of playing Santa Claus to people who want lots of bandwidth usage but don't want to pay for it, which results in me having to foot the bill.

If you wanted some content from any of my sites, please don't bother me. You had two years to grab what you wanted. Goodbye.

Right now, some fans fear that this could put SAGE in jeopardy, but we are told that Smidge does have a backup server ready. Still, new information should be known later on today.

I recieved this email today from Lions Gate:

"Thank you for your interest in Sonic The Hedgehog on DVD, that will be release in the first quarter of next year! Keep an eye out for it.

Thank you,

Deborah Schonfeld

Home Video Coordinator

Lions Gate Entertainment

dschonfeld@lgecorp.com

310.664.3996"

So, we have to wait till NEXT year now.

Some words from Naka-san come from Core Magazine:

Sega subsidiary director Yuji Naka appeared at Nintendo's Spaceworld pre-show event this afternoon in Tokyo and briefly agreed to speak about Nintendo's new console. Therein, he was asked about the appeal of the GameCube and what impact he believes it will have on the market. He responded, "The gaming industry is in a depressed state, but I think the GameCube will trigger a resurgence of players. Nintendo is focusing on fun original software with multiplayer compatibility, and I think people will be delighted with the GameCube. In terms of Sega software, Super Monkey Ball will be available at launch. We believe the GameCube could trigger an industrywide turnaround, and we're proud to be a part of it." Sega and its subsidiaries have emerged as Nintendo's strongest third party developers. Do they believe in Nintendo's claims of easy software development on the GameCube? Naka-san contunued, "I believe it's true. If today's showing is any indication, we've been able to transplant Sonic Adventure 2 and Phantasy Star Online easily to the GameCube. The short translation time is allowing us to focus on adding new elements to both games." Speaking of Phantasy Star Online, when can players expect Sega's network RPG on the GameCube? Naka-san revealed, "Because it involves the modem which Nintendo has control over releasing, I can't give a specific release date yet. However, we've been working with Nintendo on the online aspects and scheduling a release date. On the development end, we've been focusing on adding new elements lately, and we look forward to bringing network gaming to the GameCube in the near future."

Source: Core Magazine

The good Sega related news just keeps coming in for Nintendo and their next-gen system. The following is from SegaWeb:

When the news hit last week that Sega would have eight titles for the GameCube at Space World it set off speculation of a new team working on the system. Today that news has been confirmed as IGN spoke with Wow Entertainment, the developer of the House of the Dead series among others, and they confirmed two games are in production for the Cube.

No specifics were offered, but they are expected to be announced, if not shown, by Friday at Space World. In the past Sega has confirmed that ten GameCube titles are currently in production, raising the possibility of yet another team working with the system. Expect the trickle of news leading up to the show to build to a flood by the weekend.

Gotta love this....

Source: SegaWeb