NEWS: Poster Suggests New Sonic Game In 2015

A new Sonic game will release in 2015 on Xbox One, PS4, and Wii U according to German toy convention.

Toy company Jazwares who are responsible for releasing various Sonic toy ranges has displayed a poster at a convention in Germany which details a number of Sonic games - some already out such as Sonic: Lost World and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games.

But the most significant piece of information shown is that a new title is to be released in 2015 with no specific date or further information as of yet. 

With the recent partnership Nintendo made with Sega, we already know there's to be at least one more title released on either the 3DS or Wii U (or both) as this was part of the agreement by both companies.

A good guess for the 2015 release could be Sonic Generations 2 or even Sonic the Hedgehog 5. See the mentioned poster below.

NEWS: MegaDrive History Book Exceeds Kickstarter Goal

A comprehensive look into the MegaDrive's complete history has been set for a 2014 release.

After reaching its initial goal of £30,000 on the Kickstarter website, Darren Wall has confirmed the project will be going ahead, whilst offering massive amounts of insight into what the book will offer.

Although the goal has been reached, the current total stands at £79,324 with almost 1,800 backers supporting the project. Depending on the amount pledged, certain people will get special versions of the book.

Wall claims the book, titled 'SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works [[ セガ メガド ライブ／ジェネシス：作品集成 ] will "be the definitive volume on the landmark console", going on to say "the book is officially licensed by SEGA and celebrates the 25^th anniversary of the console's release"

Over 20 interviews with the original SEGA team members will be included, in which some have "never been interviewed before", as well as a 10,000 word piece focusing on how the console changed gaming, which will be written by Keith Stuart, the Games Editor for Guardian, who also contributes to Edge magazine from time to time.

Noticable interviews will include the likes of Naoto Oshima (Sonic the Hedgehog), Yuzo Koshiro (Streets of Rage), and Toru Yoshida (Phantasy Star II).

Expect practically every game to be covered in the book, as it will "showcase a wealth of SEGA's 16-bit titles, from blockbuster games such as Bare Knuckle/Streets of Rage, Sonic the Hedgehog, Phantasy Star, Gunstar Heroes, The Super Shinobi/Revenge of Shinobi and Golden Axe through to cult gems such as Rent-a-Hero, Vectorman and DecapAttack."

The book itself will be published June 2014. This seems like an extremely interesting read and a must for any gamer out there. Will you buy a copy? Leave your comments below.

NEWS: SEGA 3D Classics Announced

A total of eight classic Sega games will be remade in 3D for the Nintendo 3DS, including fan favourites Streets of Rage and Sonic the Hedgehog.

It was announced on the official Sega blog that throughout November and December of this year, a number of memorable Sega games will be remade in 3D to cater for the Nintendo 3DS - Sega said the following:

"Today we are very excited to announce details on the highly anticipated 3D remake of iconic and arcade classics for the Nintendo 3DS."

A full list of games and the release date can be seen below.

3D Space Harrier - November 28 (originally released 1985)

3D Super Hang-On - November 28 (originally released 1987)

3D Sonic The Hedgehog - December 5 (originally released 1991)

3D Altered Beast - December 5 (originally released 1988)

3D Ecco The Dolphin - December 12 (originally released 1992)

3D Galaxy Force II - December 12 (originally released 1988)

3D Shinobi III - December 19 (originally released 1993)

3D Streets of Rage - December 19 (originally released 1991)

Each game will retail at $5.99, €4.99, and £4.49 - are there any other classic Sega games you'd like to see on the 3DS? Comment with your suggestions below.

NEWS: Super Smash Bros. 4 - Sonic Confirmed

Sonic spins his way back to Super Smash Bros. 4, making his second appearance in the series.

Just last week, "Toon Link" was announced as a fully playable character, today it has been confirmed that Sonic the Hedgehog will making his way onto the roster, for both the Wii U and 3DS versions of the game.

The announcement was made through the Nintendo Direct broadcast, in which president of Nintendo Satoru Iwata said:

"The blue blur is back for Super Smash Brothers for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, continuing on from Super Smash Brothers Brawl, Sonic will join the fight for the second time."

Skip to timecode 8:13 to see footage of Sonic and to hear the official announcement.

FEATURE: Retro Gaming Making A Comeback

Honestly, I don't think the popularity of retro games has really ever declined, what with people actively going out of their way to create emulators, modded retro consoles, and ROM files - however, as "hollywood" budgeted games are being released more frequently, sometimes it's possible to dismiss the games that started it all.

However, even with games such as Grand Theft Auto V and Call of Duty: Ghosts, there still seems to be a generally large market for retro gaming, especially when it comes to the remastering or creating a completely new game using the ideologies of retro games.

Examples of this include:

• Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episodes 1 and 2
• Megaman 9 and 10
• Duck Tales: Remastered
• Double Dragon Neon
• Castle of Illusion - Starring Mickey Mouse HD
• Street Fighter X Megaman
• Sonic Generations

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I reminds me of
the old days playing MegaDrive, but with a modern twist.

I put Sonic Generations on there because whilst it still contains elements from the more recent Sonic games, it still has a lot of content that relates to the original games, which to me is something Sega should have done years and years ago before Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). I'm still waiting for Sonic Generations 2, Sega!

Games such as Duck Tales: Remastered and Castle of Illusion HD were a huge success, this is probably due to the older generation of gamers who remember playing the original versions who wanted to enjoy those games again, or it could have been that these games simply appealed to gamers in general.

With Duck Tales Remastered and Castle of Illusion HD, I'm sure Disney
will be bringing more games back to life in the future.

There are so many reasons but the success of games like these definitely reminds me that retro gaming is making a comeback and I'm sure they'll be many more remastered incarnations of our favourite childhood games, or even completely new games all together.

Let's not forget freeware gaming - Freeware Remakes specialise in creating new content that follows in the footsteps of true retro gaming.

As I see it, all of these games are completely free to download, however you can purchase the games in bundles to simply keep the website going but that's up to the consumer - my point is, people are willing to spend their own time creating retro-style games to distribute freely, which reinforces the fact that people are still heavily into the retro gaming scene, and I personally hope this will go on for a long time to come.

Above is a screenshot of 7th Swarming of the Machines, which
 can be downloaded for free at the Freeware Remakes website, this is
 just one example of what's available.

Will we see a remastered version of Super Mario Bros or Ninja Gaiden?, there are plenty of retro games I'm sure people would love to play again, whether it be if they're remastered or completely remade whilst maintaining that retro feel.

What games would you like to see again? Leave your comments below. Feature1