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Sonic: Lost World tails off at 710,000 units shipped
Sonic: Lost World sales dried up in 2014; as of March 31, the Wii U and 3DS game shipped 710,000 units total since its launch in October 2013. The figures come from Sega Sammy's fiscal year report, and the company doesn't note if they include download sales or not. Total War: Rome 2 was the company's best-performing game in the fiscal year, shifting 1.13 million copies by the end of March 2014. Football Manager 2014 placed second at 790,000 units, with Company of Heroes 2 not too far behind with 680,000 shipments. In roughly its first month on sale in Japan, PS4 and PS3 entry Yakuza Restoration shipped 390,000 units. Sega Sammy's consumer business posted year-on-year decline for packaged software, with the company blaming low sales on the "harsh market environment." The division shipped 8.73 million packaged games across April 2013 to March 2014, down 18 percent from the previous fiscal year. Sega Sammy expects that figure to rise substantially to 12.78 million for the fiscal year ending March 2015.
Hedgehog visits Hyrule in free Sonic: Lost World DLC
Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog crosses over with Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series in a free Sonic: Lost World DLC level available from the Wii U eShop starting today. Lost World's "The Legend of Zelda Zone" dresses Sonic up in Link's garb and pits him against familiar enemies from Nintendo's classic franchise. What starts off as a lighthearted trek through an approximation of Hyrule Field soon turns deadly, as Sonic must defeat Deku Scrubs, flee rolling Gorons, and face off against the most sinister enemies of all -- Cuccos. This isn't the first time that Nintendo has loaned out its franchise settings for Sega's latest hedgehog adventure. A Sonic: Lost World level based on Yoshi's New Island hit the Wii U eShop back in December, pairing Sega's mascot with Shy Guys and Piranha Plants against a pastel-colored backdrop. [Image: Sega]
Yoshi's Island Zone is one of two Sonic: Lost World DLC stages, out now
Sonic: Lost World will receive two pieces of downloadable content on Wii U, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata announced during today's Nintendo Direct livestream. The DLC stages will be based on Nintendo properties, the first being a level pulling inspiration and elements from Yoshi's New Island, Nintendo's 3DS entry in the series due out in spring 2014. Called Yoshi's Island Zone, the first piece of DLC is available now for free, and has Sonic "speeding through areas filled with pipes, coins, Shy Guys and Piranha Plants." A brief look at the level can be found in the archived Nintendo Direct presentation.
Sonic: Lost World update adjusts difficulty, adds extra lives
Sega has issued a patch for the Wii U version of Sonic: Lost World, adjusting the game's difficulty in response to player feedback and reintroducing the series-standard "100 rings = extra life" mechanic. After applying the update, players will now receive ten lives after getting a Game Over, compared to the five lives that players started out with pre-patch. Our review cited a lack of opportunities to earn extra lives as a major drawback in Sonic: Lost World, as players can easily run out of lives in the difficult later levels, leading to frequent and frustrating restarts. The patch additionally enables analog stick and button control for some of Sonic's Wisp powers, eliminating the need for motion controls and touch screen input.
Sonic Dash gets first-ever boss battle to celebrate Sonic: Lost World
Sonic Dash, the endless runner app for iOS devices, is currently featuring a guest appearance by Zazz, an enemy from Sonic: Lost World. Zazz is one of the members of anti-Sonic brigade The Deadly Six, and uses a flying mech. Players will need to swipe left and right to avoid his projectiles, or swipe up to jump over them. The update that enables Sonic Dash's first boss fight also introduces the Deadly Six Card Collection Challenge. In this challenge, players collect unique cards that will unlock special Lost World-themed prizes when enough have been collected by the community. The card challenge and boss fight against Zazz are only available for a limited time, though the press release announcing the events did not specify at what date the events would end.
GTA 5 extends (hit and) run as UK No. 1
Considering we're knee-deep in silly season, it's surprisingly quiet in the UK charts this week. Grand Theft Auto 5 makes it two weeks in a row and three in all as the country's best-seller, despite a 31 percent drop in sales from last week. Meanwhile FIFA 14 holds on to second place, and below those two it's practically an unchanged top ten. Still, there are some nuggets of interest to unearth. The biggest mover and shaker is Skylanders: Swap Force, the third major outing in the ridicu-lucrative toy-based series. While it doesn't move and shake enough to displace the top two, it debuts in third place ahead of Pokemon X, Y and Beyond: Two Souls. UK sales compiler Chart Track offers a couple of interesting stats on Swap Force, the first that it sold 35 percent less than previous entry Giants. As for the second, have a guess which of the game's gajillion platforms earned the most sales. If you said the Wii - with 37 percent for the record - give yourself a pat on the back and at least one sprinkled donut. Move outside the top ten and you immediately find Sonic: Lost World, just missing out in 11th. That's a combination of the significantly different Wii U and 3DS games, and a peek at the individual formats chart shows the console game in 15th and its handheld sibling in 28th. The blue blur's new adventure doesn't roll into North America until next week on October 29.
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Sonic: Lost World review: An unfortunate discovery (3DS)
Anticipating a Sonic game is like playing an inverted version of Russian Roulette. The encouraging trailer serves as the single vacant chamber, while the memories of Sonic's most disappointing outings haunt those that remain. 2010's Sonic Colors was a surprise victory, managing to marry some enjoyable new mechanics with Sonic's speedy heritage. Initially, the 3DS version of Sonic: Lost World felt like another impending miracle, but it seems that Sonic's recent success has come to its end. Lost World follows Sonic's venture through seven themed areas in an effort to stop Robotnik and The Deadly Six from draining the energy from the world. Clearing levels requires you to successfully navigate platforms, grind-rails and twisting tunnels, all while smashing robots with Sonic's spindash attacks and collecting as many rings as possible.
Sonic: Lost World review: Spin cycle (Wii U)
The Sonic series is built on a foundation of speedy precision platforming. Given that pacing is so crucial to Sonic games, any interruption or poorly considered mechanic has an amplified negative impact that detracts from the overall experience. Unfortunately, Sonic games often have at least one such hair-pulling moment that makes you want to quit in frustration. The original Sega Genesis Sonic the Hedgehog is great fun up until the Labyrinth Zone, which dunks Sonic underwater for an agonizingly slow series of drowning deaths. Likewise, Sonic Adventure hooked early Dreamcast adopters right up until the introduction of Big the Cat and his fishing mini-game. Despite these sorts of problems, though, many Sonic games have been consistently entertaining enough to make up for their weaker elements. Sonic: Lost World upholds an unfortunate series tradition by offering a joyful platforming experience that falters in its latter half. Unlike other Sonic games, however, Lost World never fully recovers from its missteps. What starts off as a fresh, fun adventure soon gives way to disappointment as Sonic falls back into his old habits and Sega matches him with ill-fitting gameplay mechanics.
Sonic Lost World GameStop pre-orders unlock ring-collecting sidekick
In addition to securing the NiGHTS-inspired bonus level, all Sonic Lost World Wii U pre-orders through GameStop will net an exclusive in-game Omochao RC gadget. When playing in co-op mode, this little robot will fly around and collect rings for Sonic. Sonic Lost World, an exclusive for 3DS and Wii U, launches on October 29. Recently, we were able to spend some time with the Wii U version of the game, which we found has a few things in common with Nintendo's topsy-turvy platformer, Super Mario Galaxy.
Sonic Lost World Video Preview
Nintendo platforms are set to see quills in the coming months, starting with Sonic Lost World for Wii U and 3DS. Our new video recap discusses the 3D platformer's cylindrical courses, its sugar-coated stages and the minor control tweaks that curb some of the hedgehog's super-speed bumbling. Sonic Lost World is scheduled to arrive on 3DS and Wii U on October 29.
Sonic Lost World delays expedition by a week
Sonic isn't speeding into the Lost World as speedily as expected, although Sega only pushed back the mascot's Wii U and 3DS adventure by a week. The new date of October 29 was revealed by a new trailer, then doubly confirmed by a Sega representative to Polygon. Sonic Lost World is one of three games to be borne from an exclusive partnership between Sega and Nintendo, another being Mario & Sonic at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. The third has yet to be revealed.
Sonic Lost World gets Nights-inspired pre-order bonus level
Players who pre-order Sonic: Lost World will receive a bonus level, Sega announced. Based on Sega's Nights Into Dreams, the level features Lost World's "Deadly Six" antagonists teaming up with bosses from the classic Sega Saturn game. Once players complete the level, which they can jump into at any time, they are given a special Color ability for Sonic to use. Sonic: Lost World launches on October 22 for 3DS and Wii U.
Sonic: Lost World plots a path to retail October 22
A new gameplay trailer for Sonic: Lost World reveals a release date of October 22. The trailer also shows off Sonic's new powerups, which allow him to change form as he did in Sonic Colors. In Lost World he can become a bird that zips through the sky, a hovering planetary body and a gigantic pink musical note. We sure hope that one's explained by the plot and extensive dialogue in agonizing detail. Sonic: Lost World is the first of three proposed games in a new partnership between Nintendo and Sega. The 3DS version is currently in development at Dimps, while the Wii U game is being crafted by Sonic Team. Both will feature multiplayer modes unique to their platform.
Sonic: Lost World multiplayer is offline on Wii U, online on 3DS
Sonic: Lost World's multiplayer on Wii U is local only, while the 3DS version features online, four-player versus racing, Producer Takashi Iizuka tells Nintendo World Report. Lost World on Wii U has cooperative and versus multiplayer modes, both couch-based, while Iizuka mentions only the four-player, online versus mode for 3DS. "In cooperative play, Sonic will be using the Wii U GamePad and someone can be supporting Sonic in co-op with the Wii Remote," Iizuka says. "In versus mode, one player will be playing on the TV screen and the other player will be racing using the GamePad so you don't have to have split screen. You both have your own screen and can race each other." These details build on previous Lost World multiplayer announcements from Sega, which note that the 3DS version will have "exclusive Special Stages and Color Powers unique to Nintendo 3DS."
Dimps developing 3DS version of Sonic: Lost World
Longtime Sonic the Hedgehog series collaborator Dimps is developing the Nintendo 3DS version of Sonic: Lost World, Sonic Team's Takashi Iizuka revealed in an interview with IGN this week. Iizuka notes that Sonic: Lost World features unique content on the Nintendo 3DS. Though it shares similar settings with its Wii U counterpart, level layouts are entirely different in order "to match the screen size and hardware so players can enjoy both versions with a fresh feeling," Iizuka said. The 3DS version also boasts an exclusive versus mode for up to four players, along with features that can be unlocked by linking with the Wii U edition. Dimps previously tackled the Sonic Rush series on the Nintendo DS, and worked with Sonic Team to produce both episodes of Sonic the Hedgehog 4. The company was also responsible for the portable versions of Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations.
Sonic: Lost World features competitive multiplayer, off-screen play on Wii U
Sonic: Lost World will have a few platform-specific distinctions on Wii U and 3DS. The former version will support off-TV play and a "two player support mode," while the 3DS game will include "exclusive Special Stages and Color Powers unique to Nintendo 3DS," according to Sega. Both versions of Sonic: Lost World will offer competitive multiplayer modes, though Sega has yet to explain them in detail. Sonic: Lost World will launch on Wii U and 3DS some time later this year as part of a new partnership between Sega and Nintendo.
Sonic: Lost World finds gameplay footage
Sega and Nintendo's "worldwide partnership" on three Sonic games has Sonic: Lost World first up at bat for Wii U and 3DS. Here's the first footage from the game, which we should learn more about closer to E3. For those with an elephant-like memory for all things Sonic, the above clip may remind you of the unreleased Sega Saturn game, Sonic X-treme. We've put some more footage of Sonic-Xtreme after the break.
Sonic: Lost World announced, launches 'exclusively' for Wii U, 3DS
Sega and Nintendo have entered into a "worldwide partnership" on three upcoming Sonic games, and the first fruit borne from it is Sonic: Lost World. It's coming to Wii U and 3DS, and there'll be more news on it prior to E3. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said on this morning's Nintendo Direct: "Sonic: Lost World is a brand new action-adventure platforming game that will launch exclusively on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS."
Sonic: Lost World trademarked, domains registered by Sega
Newly registered trademarks and domains point to Sonic's return in something subtitled Lost World(s). Sega Europe trademarked Sonic: Lost World just yesterday, and locked down domains for both SonicLostWorld.com and SonicLostWorlds.com on Monday, May 13. The cerulean critter's last major outing, discounting Sonic 4 Episode 2, was Sonic Generations in November 2011. Sega's been teasing this year as a big one for Sonic fans, and you have to go back to the days of Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Heroes for as long a gap between major 3D Sonic games. We've reached out to Sega, but we suspect we'll find out more about Sonic's next outing, and whether it involves more than one lost world or not, at next month's E3 shindig.
