The first day of E3 is always exciting… but today was another level of excitement. We’re thrilled to have had Danica Patrick in our booth, and to announce that she will be appearing alongside Sonic the Hedgehog in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. Known for her talents behind the wheel, Danica will be a playable character with customized vehicles in the game. That means you’ll get the chance to test your racing abilities as Danica against an All-Star cast of SEGA characters including Sonic, Knuckles, AiAi and others.

“It’s a very exciting experience since I’ll be sharing the screen with such an iconic character,” said Danica Patrick. “I cannot wait for gamers to jump into my customized, transformable vehicles and give Sonic a run for his rings this holiday season!”

“Danica Patrick is one of the most popular athletes in the world and her accomplishments both on and off the track make her the perfect partner for Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed,” said Masanao Maeda, President and COO, SEGA of America. “Danica’s involvement showcases the broad appeal of this title – everyone from casual gamers to hard core racing fans will be able to enjoy the fun.”

To further enhance this partnership, Danica will be racing in a custom No. 7 Sonic the Hedgehog Chevrolet, fielded by JR Motorsports, during the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge on November 3at the Texas Motor Speedway (to be televised live on ESPN). The race, part of NASCAR’s Nationwide Series, marks Sonic the Hedgehog’s NASCAR debut. The customized race car was revealed today in our E3 booth, and will be on display for the rest of the show. Additionally, Danica will be integrated into the national marketing campaign for Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed.

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed will be available on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system, PlayStation Vita, the Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo’s Wii U, and PC Digital Download this holiday season.

We’re here! The E3 show kicks off today and the Aliens Colonial Marines booth has been slammed all day. We’ve got a lot of fun stuff to show off and it’s great to see everyone having a lot of fun with the game. Today we’re showing off the multiplayer with a new map featuring some outdoor sections – it’s actually one of my favorite maps.

Attendees get a chance to play against the Gearbox developers for a chance at personal glory. The demo features four loadouts to dispatch the Alien threat, including the Pump Shotgun, Pulse Rifle, and Assault Rifle – all with their own underbarrel options. The Pulse Rifle is rocking the grenade launcher, and the Assault Rifle has a shotgun – it makes for some interesting encounters. On the flip side we have our Aliens, deadly with melee it is all about gaining ground on the Marines, causing confusion to break up groups, and taking them out.

It’s super fun to play and everyone that’s had a chance has loved it.

We also have our Powerloader on display and it’s been almost as popular as the game. It’s actually even more awesome when you realize it’s built after the statue in our Collector’s Edition. In fact, it’s exactly the same model, just made bigger through the marvels of modern technology. Seeing it in real life is something else, it’s really a treat.

New Screenshots

E3 is here! The show is now officially open, which means we can give you your first glimpse of what our booth looks like this year. Let’s start at the reception desk.

This is the nerve center of the booth. It’s here that people come to check in for appointments, to ask questions about SEGA and our games, and to see people in our booth. It’s also where the giveaway items will be (we have the SEGA magnets and candy we had at PAX East, along with some new buttons for Hell Yeah! and some sweet Jet Set Radio lanyards), and where I’ll spend most of the show on my laptop, looking after the blogs and social media.

From here, go to the left and you’ll see Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown. We’ve got 6 stations, each equipped with fighting sticks.

On the opposite side of Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown is the Hell Yeah! lounge. Camille from Arkedo will be here to help show off this fantastic game. Eagle-eyed fans may note that this space looks familiar, and you’d be right — this space was used to show off Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II at PAX East.

Next to the Hell Yeah! lounge is what we’ve dubbed “The Cave cave” which may not be terribly original, but it is fairly accurate. This is an enclosed space, giving people coming to see the demo a fitting environment. Ron Gilbert will be here to show off the game throughout the show.

Next up is our multiplayer setup for Aliens: Colonial Marines. This is the first time we’ve shown the game in an open environment, where people can walk by and get a glimpse of the action — previously, it was only shown in an enclosed theatre.

We’re super excited to have the original Alien Queen prop from the movies in our booth. This is a beautiful piece of cinematic history that we hope everyone in our booth will enjoy.

The power loader is back! This was a huge hit at PAX East, so we brought it back. Attendees can get their photo taken in the power loader, thanks to our on-site photo booths.

We’ve also got this car in our booth. Wonder what that’s about?

In the Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed section, we’ve got some awesome swivel chairs so attendees can play the game in style.

We also have a 16 foot Sonic in our booth!

Next is our video wall. It’s huge, and our trailers look amazing on it.

We’re showing Super Monkey Ball Banana Splitz on Vita.

Finally, we’re showing Jet Set Radio on Vita as well.

That’s it for our booth! We’re going to have lots more coverage of E3 in the coming days. Stay tuned!

Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown launches today! Based on “Version A,” the first version out the door is the Playstation Network release, with Xbox 360 and European releases coming tomorrow! The full game is available for $14.99/ £9.99/ AUD$6.25/ €12.99 for PSN and 1,200 Microsoft Points for XBLA.

Tutorial Video

To help get you started on your fighting journey, we have a tutorial video! The video features beginner to advanced technique, perfect for both new players and older veterans. See you online!