Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I Message Board

Sega announced plans to support the Android-powered Ouya console after its public launch later this month with a trio of Sonic the Hedgehog releases.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1, Sonic 4: Episode 2, and Sonic CD will be released in the Ouya Store on June 27 for $7 each. All three games were previously released for iOS and Android devices, though the Ouya ports are optimized for the console's Tegra 3 processor, and will have free trial versions available in the Ouya Store.

Speaking to GamesIndustry International, Sega of America Director of Mobile Business David Zemke praised Ouya's "disruptive technology," and expressed the company's desire "to see what these technologies can do and be a part of it from the beginning."

Zemke also addressed the potential for future Ouya releases. "We're always looking for other titles and there may be some future titles that we'd like to bring over," he said. "For us, we're always trying to bring the best gaming experience to the right platforms. It's a delicate mix of how and when to do it."

The Ouya will launch on June 25.

#showus There was a time when mines and minecarts dominated video games. If a platformer or RPG didn't have a mine stage or a mine-themed dungeon, it wasn't a game. We felt like mines—where actual mining was eschewed in favor of racing around on minecarts—were the most natural things in the world, just as common as forests. More »

If you own Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1, you'll be able to unlock extra content in Episode 2. Owners of both get free access to "Episode Metal," which adds four new levels and a playable Metal Sonic character.

This functionality recalls the "Lock-On" technology in Sonic & Knuckles, which allowed Sega Genesis owners to connect previous Sonic games to the cartridge and replay them as Knuckles the Echidna. The difference now, of course, is that there's no cartridge to connect.

For some, Valentine's Day is a sweet occasion. Happy couples the world over will be lounging back, nibbling on an array of chocolate delights before partaking in the annual somersault contest that ensues. You know, like how our parents used to do before they got all old and stuff.

For us loners, the holiday is a day of self-indulgent sobbing and darkness, but it doesn't have to be. If you're in the market for some iOS or Android games, you can snuggle up to Sonic and company through Sega's Valentine's Day sale starting today and running through the 14th.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 1 and Sonic CD lead the charge of discounted downloads for iOS and Android users, both half off, while iDevices also see considerable price cuts down to $.99 on Streets of Rage, Golden Axe and Super Monkey Ball. Gunstar Hero, Altered Beast and Virtua Fighter 2 are also on sale for a buck each.

For the full list of what's on sale, hit the source link below.

The two games couldn't be more different, yet today they set aside those differences and unite on the Android Marketplace. Both 11 bit studios' tower offense title, Anomaly Warzone Earth, and Sega's latest downloadable addition to its tower of Sonic games, Sonic 4 Episode 1, are available on the Android Marketplace today.

Both games will set you back $3.99, though if your particular device is running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) you may want to hold off on Sonic 4 Episode 1 until Sega's ironed out some bugs. Sorry, one of those bugs is not the physics -- you'll need to wait for Sonic 4 Episode 2 for that.

The ninth day of Xbox Marketplace holiday deals rings in several Sonic the Hedgehog discounts. The blue mammal's escapades in Sonic 4 and Sonic Adventure are 320 MSP ($4) each, a 60 percent savings, and his Genesis games are down 60 percent, at 160 MSP ($2) apiece.

The discounts are only available today, so run and catch 'em before they're gone -- just don't run like an idiotic Sonic.

This time of year, you can count on two things: long lines anywhere you can purchase goods and/or services outside of your home, and sales at those capitals of consumerism. Sega's hitching itself to the sales star now by slashing prices on its digital wares across PSN, XBLA and iOS starting this week.

PSN's lineup includes healthily-discounted classics, added savings for PlayStation Plus subscribers and a smattering of newer stuff on the cheap until January 3: Daytona USA, Sega Rally Arcade, Sonic Adventure, Renegade Ops and more. On the iOS side, classic titles make up the majority of what's on sale for $.99; Golden Axe 2 and 3, Chu Chu Rocket, Streets of Rage 2 and 3, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, and Sega's newest iOS game, Brick People, are on sale until January 9.

Xbox Live Arcade users get the least amount of variety -- only Renegade Ops and After Burner Climax are on sale. You can download each at their reduced price of 800 MS Points ($10) and 400 MS Points ($5) respectively until January 2.

If Sonic 4's original price point of 1200 Microsoft Points ($15) was a little too rich for your blood, you can cancel that transfusion you set up with your obscenely wealthy uncle. Sega will drop the price of the game to 800 Microsoft Points today, and to $10 on PSN next week.

Sega has apparently joined the effort forged by Valve to change the rules of how long you can go between episodic releases, while still being allowed to call said releases "episodes." In a recent interview with Eurogamer, Sonic Team's Takashi Iikuza talked about Sonic 4, explaining, "This year, 2011, is the anniversary, so we're focusing on the celebration title." He later added, "But moving forward to 2012, Sonic will still be going, so I'd hope to provide Episode 2 then."

In other news, have you guys seen this new show, Best Buds Living It Up In New York? It's this great new NBC sitcom. The first episode aired last night, and the next episode is going to air in about eighteen months.

Speaking of iPhone ports of classic console games being discounted and the profits directed toward Japanese earthquake relief ... Sega has knocked down the prices on its iOS Sonic the Hedgehog games, including (App Store links) Sonic the Hedgehog ($1.99), Sonic 2 ($2.99), Sonic 4 ($3.99) and Sonic Spinball ($0.99), with 100 percent of proceeds going to the Red Cross through March 20. Additionally, proceeds from the $10 Football Manager Handheld 2011 will also be donated.

Normally, we'd recommend against iPhone ports of console games, but when your money goes straight to helping save lives, we couldn't recommend them enough. You get a game that you may derive some enjoyment from, and the Red Cross gets a little more help.

The penultimate day of Microsoft's Xbox Live Countdown to New Year's promotion coincides with the December 30 "surprise" listed by Sega in its winter sale announcement. You can see where this is going -- Sega games are on sale today. Specifically, the sale covers a bunch of Sonic games ... a deal that was somehow hinted by this clue: "One Foe -- A world of good vs evil." Surprise!

Microsoft is offering one-day discounts on Sonic the Hedgehog 1, 2, and 3, (now 200 MS Points each), Sonic & Knuckles (120 MSP), Sonic Adventure (400 MSP) and Sonic the Hedgehog 4 (800 MSP). The Sonic car Avatar prop is on sale for 120 MSP.

Also, The Notebook is discounted today to 380 MSP. We don't think that's part of the theme, but if you're buying all those Sonic games, you should probably go ahead and buy The Notebook to try and spot any Sonic the Hedgehog references in it. Just to be sure.

In a heartwarming, post-ghost Ebeneezer Scrooge-like manner, Sega has discounted a wide array of its downloadable titles from the PSN, Xbox Live and iOS platforms. On top of the recent, permanent price reductions applied to some of those games, purchasing titles featuring impossibly acrobatic rodents and extremely rollable simians has never been so cost-effective.

Check out the full list of discounted games -- which will remain discounted until January 3 -- after the jump.

Look, Sonic the Hedgehog is fast. He can run faster than the speed of sound, but even if he ran full speed through Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1's shortest level, it would still take him longer than 0'00"00 to do it. That's just physically impossible, even for an improbably proportioned and colored hedgehog. And since some hackers have posted those times and impossible scores on the game's Xbox 360 leaderboards, Sega has decided to go through and reset the whole thing.

That means you might have to go back and try to re-earn that record time you picked up on Lost Labyrinth Act 2 (no easy feat). But you might not want to grab that controller right yet -- Sega hasn't actually announced a fix, just reset the leaderboards. So there's a good chance the hackers will still hack, and there will be another reset to come. Thanks for nothing, cheaters. Can't we all just let the hedgehog run?

(Also, cheating at Sonic? Where did our innocence go?)

PlayStation fans happily ignored our review of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1, making it the best-selling game on the PlayStation Store in October. Apparently that wasn't enough to sate your appetite: the Dreamcast re-release of Sonic Adventure jumped to number 4 on the list. Meanwhile, former Xbox Live exclusives, Deadliest Warrior and Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, made strong debuts, with Castle Crashers continuing its strong performance.

1. Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode One
2. Deadliest Warrior: The Game
3. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
4. Sonic Adventure
5. Echoes (minis)
6. Castle Crashers
7. My Aquarium
8. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game
9. Costume Quest
10. Final Fantasy IX (PSone)

#music I didn't realize how much "Do Wop Dow" Sonic the Hedgehog 4: episode 1's music was missing until I listened to Marc Gordon's jazz scat remix of the game's soundtrack. It might even be more "Do Wop Dow" than you can handle. More »

Both Sega and Namco Bandai are out to scare up more sales of their iOS games over the Halloween weekend. The former has slashed prices on the likes of Shining Force, Sonic 4: Episode 1 and three others. The latter is offering nearly all of a 24-title batch for $0.99 each. Full lists after the break.

"It's just such a vital brand for us," says CEO Mike Hayes.

#review Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I is a sequel 16 years in the making. Pitched as the direct descendant of 1994's Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Sega's taking the series back to a simpler time. Does Sonic 4 deliver? More »

The speedy blue hedgehog is back...

Sega is giving the people what they want. Sonic's lips are sewn together tightly, his pals have been laid to rest in a shoebox somewhere in the garden, and the world is nice and two-dimensional again. This is the 16-bit sequel you've been craving for sixteen bitter years, one that sidesteps every pitfall introduced in Sonic's 3D outings. Finally, the cycle is over!

But there's a problem. If you've been on the verge of starvation for 16 years, you might be a tad too eager to swallow any crumb that's flicked your way. And if there's one thing that Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is, it's crummy.

A portion of a GameXplain review… At the least, this game may represent a pivotal point in the Sonic series–a milestone which denotes that Sonic doesn’t always have to star in terrible games. And if the upcoming Sonic Colors is any indication, Sonic may finally be on the path to redemption.

There are stories emanating from the mysterious coalition known simply as "Europe" that Sega -- responsible for some of your dearest childhood memories and, maybe, your first heartbreak -- is busy "delisting" less-than-stellar Sonic the Hedgehog titles from European retailers. Jurgen Post, Sega SVP of EMEA (that's Europe, the Middle East and Africa), told MCV, "Any Sonic game with an average Metacritic has been de-listed," continuing, "We have to do this and increase the value of the brand. This will be very important when more big Sonic releases arrive in the future."

While that certainly sounds ominous, we asked Alan Pritchard - newly instated veep of sales and marketing for Sega US and the man who held Mr. Post's spot until just a couple month's ago - to clarify what it means for Europe, for Sonic and (jingoism be damned!) for North America.

"I think perhaps Jurgen's comments have somewhat been taken out of context," Pritchard told Joystiq. "It's not quite as drastic as what Disney do for example. They bring out Lion King and all of a sudden there's a cut-off date, and you can't buy Lion King for another six months. It's not quite as drastic as turning the tap off completely. We want consumers and retailers to defocus from the back catalog, the older titles and focus more on the new-release titles."