Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles XBLA coming this summer

[Detective Shadzter]

SEGA have confirmed that Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles are indeed coming this summer to Xbox Live Arcade. The games will feature hi-def, online leaderboards and network play. Sonic & Knuckles will also have lock-on if you have Sonic 3 and Sonic 2.

Off topic:

Other games confirmed for this summer are -

Gunstar Heroes(XBLA, PSN)

Comix Zone(XBLA)

Shinobi (Arcade) (XBLA)

Phantasy Star II (XBLA)

Altered Beast (XBLA)

Link -

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=214705

EDIT:

Videogamer.com have been told by SEGA that Sonic & Knuckles will be arriving late summer -

http://www.videogamer.com/news/sega_classi...o_xbla_psn.html

EDIT 2:

SEGA article confirms these games as SEGA Vintage Collection 2 and the late summer release for Sonic & Knuckles -

http://www.sega.co.uk/news/?n=3220

[SuperLink]

Hi-def upscaling of course. They probably aren't even made to work with widescreen :/

I guess it's good, but XBOX users can just as easily get Sonic Mega Collection Plus, a better idea if you ask me, even if it lacks network play and leader boards.

Although I guess achievement whores would be there in a flash

[ShadiWulf]

it's probably HD the same way Sonic's ultimate genesis collection is, yes it does support Widescreen

[Gabz Girl]

It's not really hi-def, just pixels which are "washed." -.-

Shame really, I would've liked to see a real HD S3&K.

[SuperLink]

Is that widescreen proper widescreen? Or does it just chop off the top and bottom to make it appear widescreen?

[ShadiWulf]

its widescreen when you play it, but theres all kinds of options =P like you can play it as 4:3 if you want, and you can turn off the pixel bluring.

[Carbo]

I don't care about Ultimate Genesis Collection. If Sonic & Knuckles will have lock-on thats enough of a reason alone for me to get those two gems again.

[Eileanach]

I have the MegaDrive collection and I think it is great although it practically throws achievements at you for doing very little. I do not play on Live but I think a lot of fans will be overjoyed by the whole lock-on thing and score boards being put into play.

[Phos]

The "wide screen" is them just stretching it to fill the screen.

And I wish they'd use an RF filter instead of that hq4x stuff they keep using. It makes most things look like they're made from toothpaste.

[Shiny Gems]

Thanks for the news, Shadzter!

So, Sonic and Knuckles will have lock on? Sweet! With a feature like this, who needs that Genesis Collection?

[Chris]

Would it kill them to redo the titles they consider their best with some new graphics? They're getting as bad as Atari.

[JezMM]

This is pretty cool news.

I imagine doing PROPER HD might require them to do a lot of recoding from the ground up though surely? The physics could be a little "off" or something, maybe they're just paranoid and want to leave the classics untouched like that.

...I dunno really.

Anyway, it's good news. Wonder if Sonic and Knuckles will come to Wii VC too with similar lock-on programming. Even if it's simply a case of Wii Shop Channel recognising that you own both games and giving you the option to download the standalone rom of Sonic 3 and & Knuckles/Knuckles in Sonic 2/Blue Sphere for free as seperate roms, that'd be better than nothing.

[Blacklightning]

Would it kill them to redo the titles they consider their best with some new graphics?

Considering the last classic title they retouched ended up in one of the biggest flops of the franchise next to Sonic '06, I'd understand they'd be a little nervous to go that way twice. Hell, some people get butthurt at the prospect of these games being altered at all, period.

[Yong]

Would it kill them to redo the titles they consider their best with some new graphics? They're getting as bad as Atari.

Yes it would. Cause that would take actual work and effort.

[SuperLink]

The "wide screen" is them just stretching it to fill the screen.

That's what I thought... Very cheap really.

Also, they could hand draw everything and maybe not even need to change the engine. It worked with Street Fighter II HD. Gotta say though I don't know my stuff when it comes to the relationship between visuals and gameplay :/

[ovarloard]

Considering the last classic title they retouched ended up in one of the biggest flops of the franchise next to Sonic '06, I'd understand they'd be a little nervous to go that way twice. Hell, some people get butthurt at the prospect of these games being altered at all, period.

I'm not sure what you mean by this other flop, but if you're referring to Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis for the GBA, that's not the same. The hardware is a lot more limited.

The sheer amount of glitches was unexcusable, though.

[Blacklightning]

I'm not sure what you mean by this other flop, but if you're referring to Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis for the GBA, that's not the same. The hardware is a lot more limited.

The sheer amount of glitches was unexcusable, though.

I think you're missing my point here. This is more a psychological issue than a technical one - they know their last attempt to remake a game failed miserably (regardless of what the cause was), so they're unlikely to try again on the basis that they may again fail to turn a decent profit based off past trends and images. You know, kinda the same reason why the mainstream games regurgitate a new gimmick every iteration.

For that matter, though, even the hardware isn't much of an excuse, considering the GBA is more powerful than a Genesis. At least to my recollection anyway.

[ShadiWulf]

I dont see why everyone whines when they release a port, just dont buy it. They are giving people options who want to buy it. SEGA are busy making other games that they will eventually show off. They dont make just Sonic games.

[DaBatGuy]

Sounds awesome but since I'll only be able to play Gunstar Heroes and most of these titles are already on the SG/MDUC I'll just get that instead.

[Tailer]

Lol, still waits until they release Sonic adventure 1/2 in HD, now that would be awesome.

Plus what is lock-on anyways?

[Blueblur1]

Lol, still waits until they release Sonic adventure 1/2 in HD, now that would be awesome.

Plus what is lock-on anyways?

"Lock-on" is a reference to the lock-on feature the original Sonic & Knuckles cartridge had. It's detailed here. Also, the lock-on feature will only work if you own both Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles XBLA releases.

I know everyone would love actual HD versions of all the Genesis/MegaDrive Sonic games but its an endeavor that Sega probably isn't going to consider. The games could be virtually the same but the amount of assets (read: sprites and background images) required is a huge amount of work. Its much easier to just re-release the classic games at little cost therefore maximizing profits. Maybe with the success of Capcom's HD remakes (see Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix and Bionic Commando Rearmed), Sega will churn out an HD remake but I wouldn't hold my breath.

[Detective Shadzter]

Sonic 3 is now on Xbox Live Marketplace

The game is 19.23mb in size and costs 400 MS Points.

Link -

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/games/me...5-d802584109a3/

Online multiplayer is in like they said it would be, yayz! Co-op is only local though :-/ Oh well.

[Ferr]

Online mode seems broken like Sonic 2. The 2 player (me) have a huge delay. Someone can confirm it or is just an issue of mine?

[Detective Shadzter]

Online mode seems broken like Sonic 2. The 2 player (me) have a huge delay. Someone can confirm it or is just an issue of mine?

I tried online multiplayer when I played earlier but there wasn't anyone online to play. I'm going to try again tonight after work. I was hoping it wouldn't be broken this time around, surely Backbone Entertainment would have learnt from last time >_<

[BlueFox]

I tried online multiplayer when I played earlier but there wasn't anyone online to play. I'm going to try again tonight after work. I was hoping it wouldn't be broken this time around, surely Backbone Entertainment would have learnt from last time >_<

I've tried the online (With the appropritly names "Sayonara Shadow" and "Miles Prowler", matching avatars too) and I will say that yes, if you join a multiplayer game the delay is horrible, it's about half a second before it responds (Saying that I still managed to win one match)