Further out on the Spiral, deeper into the Clockworks: We have new updates for Spiral Knights!

First, in case you missed it, you can mosey on into the game and purchase yourself an Elevator Pass. This is just about the best deal in the game, and they are — at present — available for just a limited time. The Elevator Pass reduces all elevator costs to zero for an entire month, meaning you can adventure to your heart’s content!

Here’s what’s new in the update for today:

• Featured Auctions: Featured auctions will be run by the Haven Treasury itself, and will often contain unique or rare items. They are in limited quantity — savvy Knights, here is your opportunity to upgrade your arsenal with some very special options! There are a number of items being offered up with the Featured Auction debut, check the official patch notes page for a list of what’s up for auction right now!
• Personal Colors: Knights may all serve the common purpose — defending Haven and exploring the depth & mysteries of the Clockworks — but that doesn’t mean they have to all look the same. Make a visit to Vatel in the Bazaar district of Haven, who now peddles options to recolor a Knight’s pallet, featuring all the options available from Knight creation.
• More!: Yes, there is more — for example, and after many requests, Spiral Knights on Steam now features the Push-to-Talk option (default: set to V). There’s more, including some bug fixes  – again, check out the official patch notes, by clicking here!

Photo by Rob Kim/WireImage for SEGA of America

I was lucky enough to spend Thanksgiving (which was coincidentally my birthday) in New York City with the Sonic balloon at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was a fantastic experience that I won’t soon forget.

The Day Before the Parade

The day before the parade, the balloons are blown up outside the American Museum of Natural History for the public to come by and see. The Sonic balloon, like many of the balloons, are blown up laying on their sides. They are then held to the ground with netting and heavy cement blocks so they don’t float away before it’s time.

That evening, Macy’s had a party inside the museum for the sponsors. The model for our balloon was on display, and Sonic himself was there to greet the kids and fans of all ages.

Sonic also helped some kids out while they played Sonic Generations.

Parade Day

We had to be up early. Like, EARLY early. Team SEGA met in the hotel lobby at 4:45 AM, and after a quick breakfast and a (terrible) cup of coffee, we were inside the New Yorker hotel to get our balloon handler outfits on. Once that was sorted, we made our way to the bus that took us to the starting line of the parade.

This is us — (L-R) Marcella, Kellie, and Aaron — in front of the Sonic balloon before it was un-netted. Once they took the net off, we had to hold the balloon for about an hour while they took the nets off all the other balloons. Because we were first in the parade, our net was removed first… so then we had to wait.

Photo by Rob Kim/WireImage for SEGA of America

The balloon is massive. To give you a sense of just how massive, here’s a photo taken with all the handlers in place, before we put the balloon in the air.

Then the parade kicked off, and we guided Sonic through the streets and skies of New York City. The parade route is 2.5 miles, and Herald Square (where the TV cameras are) is right at the very end. So if people look tired when they get there, it’s because they’ve just walked over 2 miles!

Photo by Rob Kim/WireImage for SEGA of America

Photo by Rob Kim/WireImage for SEGA of America

Photo by Rob Kim/WireImage for SEGA of America

Photo by Rob Kim/WireImage for SEGA of America

And now… my favorite non-Sonic photo from the parade.

Photo by Rob Kim/WireImage for SEGA of America

Want more photos from the parade? We’ve got them on our Flickr.

Food!

As is tradition around here lately… here’s some of the food we ate on our trip.

After the inflation party the night before the parade, Aaron and I went over to Junior’s to get our cheesecake. I had the plain (it’s the best, IMO) and Aaron had the pumpkin swirl. How festive!

On Thanksgiving, after the parade, Aaron and I went to Marc Forgione for Thanksgiving dinner. We started with some ravioli with lobster and sage. It was yummy!

Aaron had turkey, but not being a big fan of it myself, I had the fish. It was cooked perfectly — the fish was creamy, and the skin was crispy.

We also had some roasted veggies, some brussels sprouts (they’re good if cooked right, I promise), and some maple sweet potatoes. We also had cranberry sauce, which didn’t make it into the photo.

For dessert, we each had an apple souffle with salted caramel sauce. It was so good that we wished we had more!

The next morning was our last one in New York, and I still had one NYC food fix that I hadn’t gotten yet. Remembering how great the smoked salmon bagel I had from Russ & Daughters was when we were in town for New York Comic Con, I went down to get sandwiches for Aaron and I to have for breakfast. Since I already posted a photo of the bagel and salmon sandwich itself, I snapped a photo of the uncut salmon sides.

Thank You!

It was so amazing to walk down the street with the Sonic balloon and hear people chanting Sonic’s name. It was also a treat to check Twitter after the parade and see all your tweets about how excited you were to see the balloon on TV. Thanks to all of you, and a special thanks to all the Macy’s employees who helped us with the balloon handling duties for Sonic. We couldn’t have done it without you!

I know that you’ve all been clamoring for a way to listen to your favorite Sonic tunes. I also know that some of you have gone to great lengths to get your hands on Japanese versions of the 20th Anniversary soundtracks (*cough Sonic CD from our forums cough*). So today I am very happy to let you know that several soundtracks and Crush 40 tracks are making their way to the US, Europe and Japan iTunes stores today!

The Sonic Soundtracks that are available today are:

• Sonic Adventure Original Soundtrack 20th Anniversary Edition – US, Japan 
• Sonic Adventure 2 Original Soundtrack 20th Anniversary Edition - US, Japan
• Sonic Heroes Original Soundtrack 20th Anniversary Edition – US, Japan
• Sonic The Hedgehog CD Original Soundtrack 20th Anniversary Edition – US, Japan
• Super Sonic Songs – The Best Of Crush 40 – US, Japan 
• Song Of Hope – Charity Single from Crush 40 – US, Japan
• Jun Senoue – The Works – US, Japan

To celebrate the final events of the 2011 Tennis calendar the ATP Champions Tour: Masters Tennis & the Davis Cup World Group Final, we will be running a competition to win a Virtua Tennis 4 Canvas (120x120x4cm).

To win all you need to do is answer both of the following questions, emailing your answers to VirtuaTennis4@sega.co.uk

Congratulations to the winner of the Virtua Tennis 4 competition – Fayaz Kattungal

• Who won the Davis Cup 2010 final?
Ans) : Serbia crowned Davis Cup Champion

• Who won the final of the 2010 ATP Champions Tour: Masters Tennis?
Ans) : IVANISEVIC CROWNED AEGON MASTERS FINAL

SEGA Virtua TennisTM 4 Canvas Competition

Official Rules – UNITED KINGDOM

THERE IS NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROMOTION OR TO WIN ANY PRIZE.

(1) Description of Prize Draws SEGA Europe Limited (the “Sponsor”) is offering a “Prize Giveaway”, (the “Promotion”) and will award prizes via a random selection from eligible entrants. The Promotion begins at 18:00 Greenwich Mean Time (“GMT”) on 30th November 2011 and concludes at 18:00 GMT on 4th December 2011, (“Promotion Period”).

(2) Eligibility – The Promotion is open to legal residents of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), who are 13 years of age or older at the time of entry. Promotions are void anywhere it is prohibited by law, rule or regulation. Any entrants who are not eligible for the Promotion can be disqualified at the Sponsor’s discretion. Employees, officers and representatives (and members of their immediate families and those living in the same household of each) of the Sponsor, its parent, subsidiaries, affiliated companies, advertising and promotion agencies, and any other company involved in the design, execution or production of this Promotion are not eligible (the “Promotion Entities”).

(3) How to Enter – To enter the Promotion the eligible entrant must send an e-mail to virtuatennis4@sega.co.uk with answers to the following questions:
• Who won the Davis Cup 2010 final?
• Who won the final of the 2010 ATP Champions Tour: Masters Tennis?

You can only enter the Promotion once in order to be eligible to win a prize from the Sponsor. Any attempt by any entrant to obtain more than the stated number of entries by using multiple/different/duplicitous e-mail addresses, the use of a sweepstakes service, the use of multiple identities, registrations and logins, or any other methods will void that entrant’s entries and that entrant may be disqualified. Entries that are incomplete, contain irregular or invalid information, are corrupted, are late, lost, or postage-due are void and will not be accepted. Entries received for a given promotion are eligible only for that drawing and will not be “rolled forward” for inclusion in any subsequent promotion.

By entering, you agree that you are giving Sponsor the right to post your Submission on its website and/or public websites where it maintains accounts and you are assigning all ownership and usage rights to your Submission to Sponsor in exchange for no compensation of any kind.

(4) Prize – The Promotion will have one (1) winner who will be randomly selected from eligible entrants to receive one (1) Virtua TennisTM 4 Canvas (120cmx120cmx4cm). There is only one (1) prize available for this Promotion. The odds of winning depend upon the number of eligible entries received for any given Promotion.

(5) Prize Awarding:
Winners will be selected in a random drawing conducted approximately three (3) business days after the ending date of each Promotion Period. Potential winners will be contacted within two (2) business days of the drawing by the e-mail address associated with their Registered User account to confirm prize acceptance and determine a mailing address for the prize. Potential winners will have five (5) business days to respond to the prize notification e-mail with the requested information. Failure to respond within this time frame or without the requested information will result in disqualification, forfeiture of the prize and the selection of an alternate winner. Return of prize notification e-mail as undeliverable will result in disqualification, forfeiture of the prize and the selection of an alternate winner.

Acceptance of a prize constitutes permission for Sponsor to use winner’s name and likeness for advertising and promotional purposes as Sponsor so determines without notice or further compensation, except where prohibited by law. Prize recipient shall not be permitted to (a) replace his/her designated prize with another prize or item, (b) transfer or assign his/her designated prize to another person, or (c) substitute any prize or prize component for cash. In the event of unavailability, Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value. All cash prizes will be issued in GBP Pound Sterling via cheque or bank transfer. ANY AND ALL TAX LIABILITY RESULTING FROM A WINNER’S RECEIPT OF THE PRIZE IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WINNER.

(6) General:
(i) Sponsor reserves the right to discontinue this Promotion at any time and without notice following the conclusion and complete fulfilment of all prizes associated with any given (and then current) Promotion. In the event of a dispute regarding the identity of the person submitting the winning entry, the prize will be awarded to the authorised account holder of the submitted Internet e-mail address regardless of the individual who submitted the entry. The authorised account holder is the natural person who is assigned to the e-mail address by an Internet Service Provider or other organisation that is responsible for assigning e-mail addresses or the domain names associated with e-mail addresses. Sponsor reserves the right to void entries, which in its sole determination, are irregular, incomplete, inaccurate, do not comply with these official rules or have been generated with abusive and/or duplicitous intent including but not limited to false or multiple e-mail addresses.

(ii) By entering, you (a) agree to comply with and be bound by the official rules and the decisions of the Sponsor which are final and binding in all respects; (b) agree to release Sponsor and its employees and agents from any and all liability, loss, damage or injury resulting from participation in this Promotion or from the awarding, receipt, possession use and/or misuse of any prize; (c) acknowledge that Sponsor, and its employees and agents have neither made nor are in any manner responsible or liable for any warranty, representation, or guarantee, express or implied, in fact or in law, relative to any prize including, but not limited to, its quality, mechanical condition or fitness for a particular purpose; (d) consent to use of your name, photograph and/or likeness, written or oral statements, biographical information and voice for advertising and promotional purposes in all media worldwide and in perpetuity without additional compensation, unless prohibited by law;

(iii) The use of machines, computers or any automated technique (“Automated Cheats”) to enter the Promotion is prohibited. Sponsor has the right to invalidate any entry if its sole opinion Registered User has engaged the use of Automated Cheats at any time. All decisions of the Sponsor are final.

(iv) Sponsor is not responsible for any lost, late, delayed, misdirected, garbled, illegible, incorrect or inaccurate information or entries that are misdirected or misrouted as a result of interrupted or unavailable network connections or internet transmissions for any reason, or any failure of the website during the Promotion Period, or for any computer, phone, phone line hardware or software malfunction, failure or error of any kind, whether mechanical, human or electronic. Any attempt by an entrant to interfere with the operations of this Promotion is a violation of criminal and civil laws; Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such entrant to the fullest extent permitted by law. If, for any reason, any Promotion is not capable of running as planned, including, without limitation, infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorised intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of Sponsor which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the Promotion, Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Promotion and select winners in a random drawing from among all eligible entries received prior to the cancellation. All entries are the property of the Sponsor.
(6) Release: By participating in the Promotion, all Entrants release and hold the Sponsor and its indirect and direct parent companies and their respective affiliates, partners, subsidiaries, officers, directors, agents, employees, representatives, shareholders and all entities associated with the development and execution of this Promotion harmless from and against any and all losses, damages, claims, liabilities and actions of any kind with respect to and in any way arising from (i) participating in this Promotion; (ii) acceptance, possession, use of misuse of or defect in the prizes; (iii) any injury or damage to an Entrant’s or third person’s property related to or resulting from the Promotion, the Entries and/or its prizes; (iv) damage to a user’s computer system (including, without limitation, any server failure or lost, delayed or corrupted data or other malfunction) due, either directly or indirectly, to an Entrant’s participation in the Promotion or downloading of information in connection with the Promotion; and (v) publicity or privacy rights and/or defamation. NOTHING IN THESE TERMS SHALL EXCLUDE OR LIMIT THE SPONSOR’S LIABILITY FOR PERSONAL INJURY OR DEATH CAUSED BY ITS NEGLIGENCE.
The Sponsor reserves the right to modify or cancel the Promotion in the event that any portion of any website used to administer any aspect of the Promotion becomes technically corrupted.
(7) Data Collection – Sponsor collects personal information from you when you enter the Promotion. By entering the Promotion, you agree to all of the terms and conditions of Sponsor’s Privacy Policy. For information about how personal information may be used, see Sponsor’s Privacy Policy, which is available at http://www.sega.co.uk/legal/privacy.php.
(8) Law and Jurisdiction: These terms are governed by English law and any claim or matter arising out of these terms shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of England.

(9) Winners List: An accumulative list of winners from the most recent month is available via email request to competitions@soe.sega.co.uk

Sponsor: SEGA Europe Limited, 27 Great West Road, Brentford, Middlesex
TW8 9BW, UNITED KINGDOM.

(c) SEGA. SEGA and the SEGA logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of SEGA Corporation. All rights reserved

We’re into the home stretch! The Sonic CD Fanart contest is nearly complete, so finish up those entries, check the end times in our rules (seriously, late entries won’t be taken), and email us your art! Ok, for those that are still working on entries and need some pointers, we have a new update from Hoshino-san offering some encouraging words to those working on their last minute entries!

This is an illustration of Amy Rose that I drew in the corner of my sketch book while I was thinking of in-game idling animations! Amy Rose was first introduced in Sonic CD as Sonic’s #1 fan. She only has eyes for Sonic! For her design, we felt it was important to balance both a healthy and active look with cute and ladylike animations. Sometimes inspiration strikes you when you least expect it! Let your creativity flow and you might be surprised by the results!

Sonic CD Fanart Contest Ends Soon!

We would like to thank Hoshino-san for his work in commenting on these art assets and helping everyone with their submissions. There is still time to submit, so don’t delay and get those entries in! Full rules, details, and submission information is right here in this link! Go go go!

We’re delighted to announce a brand new standalone expansion for Total War: Shogun 2. Fall of the Samurai is a huge piece of new content and it’s coming March 2012. The scale of this expansion is significantly larger than anything we’ve produced so far for Shogun 2.

Fall of the Samurai explores the conflict between the Imperial throne and the last Shogunate in 19th century Japan, 400 years after the events of the original game – a dramatic clash of traditional Samurai culture with the explosive power of modern weaponry.

New on the scene will be America, Britain and France, whose arrival incites a ferocious civil war to decide the fate of the nation. You’ll be able to play one of six new playable clans, supporting either the Imperial throne or the last Shogunate.

In Fall of the Samurai, we’ll be supporting features like railway networks, ironclad warships, improved siege battle mechanics (with upgradable tower defenses, each with their own specialty).

There will be whole new land and sea unit interactions, including the ability to call in offshore artillery support barrages. Coastal gun emplacements can conversely target enemy ships, bringing a new synergy to land and sea elements of gameplay. Players can even call in campaign map bombardments – bombarding armies and cities in adjacent coastal areas of the campaign map itself. It’s time to rethink your strategy…

You’ll also be able to get your hands on three new agent types: the Foreign Veteran, the Ishin Shishi and the Shinsengumi.

Multiplayer has also had a major overhaul, ushering in the era of “Multiplayer 2.0”. We’ll be introducing a new Conquest map, reflecting the 19th century setting, bringing with it a brand new Fall of the Samurai avatar, including:

Over 40 new retainers

Over 30 new armor pieces

A new 19th century avatar skill tree

We’re also introducing multiple avatars for the first time, allowing players to enjoy multiple careers and progression across Shogun 2 and Fall of the Samurai.

This huge clash of eastern culture versus western culture promises to bring with it a vast new experience for players. Expect a big campaign to get your hands on. We’ll bring more information on it over the coming weeks and months, so be sure to stay tuned to the Total War blog, forums, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr for more information as it’s released.

This entry originally appeared on our Total War blog, written by our own CraigTW. Interested in more Total War content and updates? Head on over and check out their updates!

Following on from the success of Sonic Generations for XBOX360, Playstation 3 and PC download, 3DS owners are in for a real treat today, as Sonic Generations 3DS is released in Europe.

Choose to play as Classic or Modern Sonic as you battle against a mysterious force which takes Sonic and friend back in time. Relive iconic environments from Sonic’s past which have been re-imagined with stunning results.

This week’s free stuff Friday is Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games themed!

On the Block

Prize 1 – Lanyard, T-Shirt, Pin Badges, Key Rings, Carrier Bag
Winner – @Areica8

Prize 2 – Beach Ball, Ruck-Sac, Lanyard
Winner – @peacemakergirl

Prize 3 – Drawing Pack, Stickers, Notepad
Winner – @Mkdan08

Prize 4 – T-Shirt
Winner – @AEVande

How it Works

1. You must be following us on Twitter to be eligible. (If you don’t have a Twitter account, you can create one by going to http://www.twitter.com and click the green “get started — join!” button in the center of the page.)

2. At random times on Friday, we will announce the prize we are giving away, a word or phrase, and what number of response you need to be to win. Send us a direct message (DM) via Twitter and be that number to win the prize. (@ replies do not count as entries!)

Example:

We tweet “GIVEAWAY: Sonic T-shirt, size L. Be the 15th person to DM “Sonic Adventure” to win!”

You see this, and want to win it, so you send us a direct message that says “Sonic Adventure”. If you are the 15th person to do so, you are the winner!

Quotation marks do not matter, capitalization does not matter, but spelling does matter!

3. All followers are eligible to win all prizes, unless a restriction is noted. Restrictions are usually due to the prize being region-locked. For example, US games that won’t work on UK gaming systems. There may also be age restrictions due to the rating of the game.

4. We will announce the winner on our Twitter feed once eligibility is confirmed.

How to Send Direct Messages on Twitter

Due to a change in our account status with Twitter, you should be able to send us direct messages without us following you.

There are a few ways to send us a Direct Message on Twitter. The easiest way is to go to our Twitter page and select “message” under the “Actions” heading in the side bar. If you do not see “message”, this means that we are not following you. Please send a message to @sega to let us know, and we will follow you. When you click “message” you will be taken to a window where you can type a message and press send.

You may also select the “direct messages” tab from your Twitter homepage, and select SEGA from the drop-down menu at the top of the page. Again, if you don’t see our name there, it’s probably because we’re not following you. Let us know, and we’ll follow you.

There are also many Twitter clients that you can use instead of using the website. These include TweetDeck, Twitteriffic, Tweetie, and Twhirl. Each of these programs works differently, so you’ll want to figure out how to send a direct message on the program you use. If you want to send us a test message, we’ll let you know if we received it or not.

In the wake of some pretty big news in realm of Three Rings, you might ask: what’s the story with Spiral Knights — and what’s on tap for this game?

Spiral Thanksgiving Sale: First off, there’s a sale going on, including 25% off Shadow Keys and the Energy Pack!

Who’s Going Down With the Elevator Man? Recently, Spiral Knights introduced the limited-time Elevator Pass: from the in-game Energy Depot you can now purchase, for a limited time, a 30-day pass which will give you unlimited access to elevators: no elevator energy fees at all to pay, so ride all you want for 30 days!

Shadow Keys: You can now directly purchase keys to the Shadow Lairs, the extra-challenging and elite boss encounters added recently to Spiral Knights!

For more on recent updates, check out this information at the Spiral Knights site!

But wait there’s more: Sprinkled through Clockworks levels are now Arsenal Stations, allowing you to swap out weapons and armor as you make your way through the levels. Maximize your strategy! Also now in-game: Knights who find themselves temporarily felled in battle, needing just a small injection of energy to revive but surrounded by monsters: Rejoice! Knight armor now features the technology to execute Energy Blasts, a shockwave that repulses nearby enemies, allowing the Knight to regain their footing and rejoin the battle.

Emerging Soon from the Clockworks

As to an earlier line, what’s the story with Spiral Knights: what, indeed, is the story with this game? Those who have followed regularly know that there is much more to all this than just a band of knight; the Clockworks itself is a riddle wrapped inside a mystery wrapped inside a churning world of gears and monsters. Three Rings has hinted at more in various updates, and now we get the next step: some of it direct narrative, some of it cryptic.

That would be the Scenario Rooms: tucked away throughout regular levels of the Clockworks, you may find a special bonus, a unique story, or hints of an even larger story …

Much more is falling into place in the future, as well, including servers for our European friends (which should greatly improve the play experience there), Featured Auctions, and a nefarious and sinister-sounding new enemy-type: Drone Class Monsters, recalling the mechanized patrol-bots from video games (and sci-fi serials) of yore.

Like all things not yet emerged from the Clockworks, this information is subject to change — be forewarned, and be prepared!

Sonic Generations 3DS is out now! Check out our launch trailer for a look at 3DS features, including street pass content!

Have you already played Sonic Generations 3DS? What did you think?