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SAN FRANCISCO & LONDON (July 21, 2008) –SEGA of Europe Ltd. and SEGA® of America, Inc. today announced Sonic™ and the Black Knight, an all-new Wii-exclusive adventure.  Part of the storybook series of games that began with Sonic and the Secret Rings, this new title brings Sonic into the world of Arthurian legend and offers the worlds most infamous blue hedgehog the chance to become a knight.  Using the unique Wii control system, this exciting game will take advantage of both the Wii Remote and the Nunchuk to offer an interactive experience that any Sonic fans will love.

Created by Sonic Team in Japan, this innovative game takes Sonic into a medieval world and arms him with a sword to aid in his effort to save the day. Sonic and the Black Knight will provide Sonic fans with an irresistible cast of characters and teach them all what it takes to be a true hero and the ultimate knight. With a series of missions taking place in stunning Arthurian-inspired locations, Sonic and the Black Knight promises to offer a fast-paced adventure that gamers of all ages will enjoy.

“After the success of Sonic and the Secret Rings we’re delighted to announce a second title in the Storybook Series,” said Gary Knight, European Marketing Director, SEGA Europe, “Following Sonic on his way to knighthood will excite players of all ages.”

Sonic and the Black Knight, exclusively for the Wii, will be out in Spring 2009. 

So yes, this is part of the series started with Secret Rings, which is a seperate entity from the main Sonic series - more details on the game will be revealed soon. - AAUK

After everything with Unleashed/Sonic World Adventure it turns out that the game WILL be called Sonic World Adventure in Japan after all.  Hey, I was told it was going to be Unleashed in Japan, but the new Japanese game website shows the SWA logo. (It’s still different to the one I mentioned before). Oh well people can change their minds can’t they? NO that doesn’t mean we’d consider removing the werehog.

The Sonic movie rumour has been doing the rounds again. Guys. Seriously….

And finally from the Summer of Sonic website:

I pity the poor soul who has to make all sixty-ish of them! -_-*

Have a good weekend!

Numero Uno - Sonic Unleashed

Okay so all heck has broken loose on the Unleashed news front with the teaser at the end of last week and now a new trailer for E3 which shows a lot more footage from the game.  In fact it shows new areas such as China, complete with Chinese dragon loop sections and most importantly it shows the first night time action of a certain Werehog.

Yes, Weresonic has been unleashed with the trailer showing interesting snippets of Sonic in battle against hordes of dark creatures (“…steel clouds floating in the air…”) and amassing combos as you solve puzzles and explore the rooftops and alleyways.  Weresonic is also seen to be able to run pretty fast when needed but on all fours and has rather stretchy arms.

The music for Sonic Unleashed has also been unveiled, the track called “Endless Possibility” featuring Jaret Reddick of group Bowling For Soup.

 A load of new screenshots have also been made available highlighting the Werehog play and other normal Sonic stages. 

Numero Dos - Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood

Not much in the way of new details came out for Sonic Chronicles but a new bunch of screenshots are available which show character artwork on the upper screen mid-battle. Super character move perhaps? Hmmmmm….

Numero Tres - ….wait for it….…

 Waaaaaait for it….

…. 

Yes your eyes are not in the wrong way, Sonic is making an appearance as Amigo is going to take a trip down to to Green Hill Zone! Thankfully it is devoid of any angry creatures unlike Chronicles, but does at least have Chao and Sonic there to strut their fun-kay stuff.

You can see the proof of this below:

Play That Monkey Music Maracas-Boy

Will anyone else appear in the game? We’ll have to wait and see - but oh if only there was some sort of video of this Samba wonderment that people could see at some kind of “event” as an exclusive….

 EDIT: Okay, its gone 2AM and I’ve just uploaded the video to YouTube, see below.

Check it out at http://www.summerofsonic.com.

Admittedly this is not really news but its a very head pounding experience setting up a convention when you’ve not done such before.  Anyway I’ve had lots of feedback recently on everything, and various questions/points have come up that need to be answered.

Q: “How much does it cost to get in?” / “I’m going to attend!”
A: The event is free to enter, however you must, must, MUST sign up and state your intention of coming on the Summer of Sonic website.  If you do not you may well find you are not allowed in due to the great demand on the hall - websites and press peeps need to do this as well! You will have to pass through a “checkpoint” where we’ll be checking you on the list - you’ll also (whilst stocks last) be receiving some goodies as well as a raffle ticket. More on this soon.

“…SEGA has organised…”
No. SoS is a concept not of SEGA’s but of the fans, SEGA are backing the fans and showing support by partly bankrolling/organising this event I say partly because the fans involved in the event themselves have invested their own monies into this in order to hire the hall, misc systems, etc.  Remember SoS was happening with or without our (SEGA’s) involvement!  Its got a lot of help from SEGA admittedly but there are a lot of fans out there bending over backwards to make it a success for everyone else and they deserve acknowledgement.  Because as you all know Sonic fans are THE BEST.

Q: “In which case why do you have a headache then?”
A: Because if you say the organisation of the event is a third Sonic Stadium, a third Sonic Wrecks and a third SEGA then two thirds of that is me! -_-*

Q: “When should I/we turn up?”
A: The numbers attending is expected to be large, so if you all turn up at once and stay for the whole thing we might have a problem.  Things won’t really start kicking into gear for at least an hour after the doors open anyway.  Once you get in we will mark you so you can leave and come back a bit later if you want to go off into town and get some lunch.

Q: “Ah yes lunch…”
A: There will be a selection of food available, but it won’t be a full scale banquet.  It’ll be lots of snack and nibbly bits.  If there isn’t a cheese and pineapple hedgehog I’ll be officially upset, considering.  A ready supply of soft drinks will be available.

Q: “Will I be able to show people just how good an artist I am / how much I OWN at game X?”
A: There will be contests in gaming and art, we’re inviting people to bring along fanart and we’ll have a mass wall of the stuff at the back of the hall in the Art section.  The art contest on the day will be to draw a subject matter within a strict time limit.  The best one will win a prize!

Q: “Will the prizes be good?”
A: Is Shadow a bit angsty?

Q: “If I need to ask someone for details at the event, who do I ask?”
A: “It should be pretty clear who’s doing what… however at the individual sections there will be at least someone around acting like the centre of attention. You can be sure by looking at the back of their hand as it will have been branded with the Sonic City logo by myself and/or Dreadknux.  This is someone you can trust to help out or who will be able to point you in the direction of someone who will be able to answer your questions.

Q: “Will I be able to play Sonic Unleashed at SoS??!?!”
A: Unlikely.

Q: “Is Richard Jacques coming?”
A: Alas, no.

Keep checking http://www.summerofsonic.com for details, more details should be going up soon.  We’ll probably do a supporting podcast at some point and we can go through all the sections and whats happening.  If you have any further questions, leave a comment on this blog and I’ll answer them next week.

Until the next blog - whatever that may be!

AAUK

Its available in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Dutch - go to www.sonic-chronicles.com now!

First thing I want to advertise is the Summer of Sonic - the very first full fledged Sonic convention (or SoniCon) which is something I have a rather distinct hand in being as it is a sort of joint organising venture between The Sonic Stadium, Sonic Wrecks and SEGA. If you are a big Sonic fan and want to meet other such fans the event is in London on AUGUST 9TH.

We’ve got people coming from as far away as Australia and America already and a vast array of fans all ready to decent on the hall in question. There’s going to be interactive displays, games contests, prizes and much much more. Special Sonicy guests are rumoured to be possibly making an appearance including Sonic and who knows if you turn up you MIGHT just get the chance to play a certain game that’s won’t be released for nearly two months after SoS! That and the odd World Exclusive, y’know, just saying…

The full program is still to be finalised, but if you are interested you will need to check out http://www.summerofsonic.com/ for full details and to register your intention of coming - if you do not you may not be let in by security!

Phastasy Star Universe time now, you may recall that the other year PSU had a Sonic event on his birthday with complimentary massive statue and Sonic and Tails mooching around the lobby for you to interact with. A similar event is happening today so check out http://www.phantasystaruniverse.com/community_events.php?item=20080619a

You may have missed the most recent Sonic Unleashed trailer, which also revealed the final logo. You can check this out below:

SEGASonic Radio bring three days of special birthday celebratory livecasts to an end tonight at 8PM BST.

The Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhoodwebsite is scheduled to launch very soon - keep an eye - beady stylee - out for it.

The mix-up is understandable most certainly, so I’ll explain the base details.  The rumour started when a guide appeared on an online store for the game “Sonic World Adventure”,  keen-eyed Sonic fans spotted this and reported it and so the snowball began.  Sadly this is neither a new name nor a new game but infact an old name. You’ve got it the wrong way round fellas!

Unleashed was indeed, at an early developmental stage, going to be called Sonic World Adventure, it even had a WIP logo of sorts that featured on a verrrrry early cut of a promo video for the title.  Who knows maybe in some dim and distant future said video will appear, but no - Unleashed Sonic is so Sonic Unleashed it shall be.

So there we have it, the name simply hadn’t been updated yet which is how the mix up all occurred.

If you ask us to comment on a rumour we generally won’t - because 9.5 times out of ten its rubbish. Always take such things with a pinch of salt until we confirm or announce it officially, else you’ll only end up confused and/or disappointed when said rumour doesn’t happen: e.g “NiGHTS 3 is going to exclusively be announced at SEGA Gamers Day” anyone?

So in the words of a notorious band who had dealings with Sonic way back when, the irrepressable Right Said Fred - “There’s no truth, in the rumour - that’s all I wanna say.”

AAUK

PS: Contrary to several sources the word “World” is not the sole gaming property of Mr. Plumber for Tikal’s sake…