It looks like even Capcom, Hudson, and SNK don’t know when Nintendo will put their games out for the Virtual Console. No Mega Man today and no Ys Book I & II or Samurai Shodown II either. Instead, we get the 8-bit Master System version of Sonic The Hedgehog (which was already available in a 16-bit Genesis format) and Splatterhouse 2. What is up with the Virtual Console? At least the new WiiWare game Wild West Guns looks like a fun Zapper light gun game!

Check out the full list after the break and let us know if you’re excited about any of these titles.

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As Sonic Unleashed continues to bleed street cred with further revelations about what it will really be like (read: not good), another Sonic title was revealed by Nintendo Power that did little to help the failing, flailing mascot get back on board the bus to Cool Town.

Called Sonic and the Black Knight, the title was first shown on the cover of Nintendo Power. Sonic, clutching a giant sword and looking as desperate for a sense of direction as ever, was front and center. Today, we have confirmation from Sega that the Wii-exclusive title is coming soon. Press release (via Kotaku) after the jump, but first a word from Gary Knight, European Marketing Director, SEGA Europe:

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

I am ashamed. (more…)

Today marks the 17th Birthday of Sonic the Hedgehog, once a bitter rival of our good pal Mario, now a good friend to him and everyone a part of Nintendo. Here at Infendo we’d like to wish our Blue Hedgehog friend a Happy Birthday and may the great good games keep coming! Let us all take a moment and wish our friend a happy birthday, and share our fondest memories of him with each other.

Craving every little bit of info you can get about Sega’s upcoming Sony the Hedgehog 2.5D platformer? So am I, actually. The idea of a really robust platformer for the little blue one has me waxing all nostalgic like about the 90’s. As a Nintendo owner back then, I only go to experience Sonic at friends’ houses. Sonic on the DS was cool in all, but for some reason this title feels like the watershed moment for Team Sonic.

“In our minds, this game will have more in common with the older Sonic Adventure series. It has no relation to Sonic the Hedgehog [the 360/PS3 game] or Sonic And The Secret Rings… We wanted Sonic fans to love Sonic even more. Also, for people who are not familiar with Sonic, we think that this will be a great way to introduce them to Sonic The Hedgehog.” – lead designer Yoshihisa Hashimoto

Fair enough. The video feeds have been impressive so far. I’ll be sure set the bar nice and low regardless.

[Official Nintendo Magazine (UK), via Kotaku]

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for Wii and DS has sold a combined five million copies to date, but that success doesn’t necessarily mean another collaboration between Nintendo and Sega developers is a sure thing.

“Getting Mario and Sonic together in the first place took so long, every decade, to make that happen,” Sega of America COO and president Simon Jeffery said in a phone interview with Next Generation. “So I think rushing into any other collaboration is not going to happen. It’s going to be fairly calculated.”

Launched on November 6, the game was published by Sega in the West and Nintendo in Japan. Throughout it all, the watchful eye of Shigeru Miyamoto was allegedly ever present.

Personally, I was hoping that a game that finally united two of the 1990’s most iconic video game rivals would have been something, I dunno, different than a game centered around the Olympics. With all this success, however, is it too much for a guy to ask that the next one, should it be made, be Mario and Sonic No Holds Barred Cage Deathmatch?

SEGA has posted a few screenshots of Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (DS) today (via Videogamer), so I thought I’d share them with you.

Question for the day is: Has Sonic re-found his footing with a DS RPG title?

And yes, I’m well aware of my previous comments regarding looks. Truth is, I’m very shallow.

[Thanks, Will!]

Alucard in the Infendo Forums clued us in to the next cover of Nintendo Power and its revelation of details about Bioware’s upcoming Sonic RPG. The new game will be called Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. Based on the promotional art and title, it actually looks slightly interesting. Still not sure if Sonic is a rich enough character to give us a good RPG.

Thoughts?

[Source]

Remember that pesky Guitar Hero 3 mono sound issue? Remember how Activision said new discs were coming, but not until 2008? Well, today it appears as though that action is too late. In fine American tradition, someone has decided to sue Activision over the mono issue for “deceptive and unlawful” conduct by selling the Wii version of Guitar Hero III with the promise of Dolby Pro Logic. (more…)

With a huge Mario title coming out this week, a would-be huge game is going overlooked. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for Wii is a testament to the quality of game you can get when huge game companies put their heads together. Graphically, the game is almost flawless. Sound is also well done, with the exception being the lack of national anthems for the country you choose.

Playing as characters from the Mario and Sonic universes is fine, but competing with them as yourself with a Mii is even better. In fact, if this game didn’t include the use of Miis, I wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much as I did.

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Early this morning on the game’s official site, Sonic was confirmed for Super Smash Bros Brawl.

Click here for info about Sonic, here for his introduction movie, and here for a video shown at the Nintendo Conference.

Are you surprised they actually did it?

It seems like it was Mario and Sonic at the Olympics week, so why not list 18 of the 20 planned events you’ll be participating in as your favorite video game characters? Ok, maybe not favorite, but they are video game characters, right?

* Archery
* Aquatics - 100m Free style
* Aquatics - 4×100m Freestyle
* Fencing - Individual epée
* Field - Hammer Throw
* Field - High Jump
* Field - Javelin Throw
* Field - Long Jump
* Field - Triple Jump
* Gymnastics - Trampoline
* Gymnastics - Vault
* Rowing - Single Sculls
* Shooting - Skeet
* Table Tennis - Singles
* Track - 110m and 400m Hurdles
* Track 4×100 Relay
* Track - 100m and 400m

Rumor is Judo will also be included, which is pretty kick ass. Like, literally. If this game is as hard to “power up” as Track and Field 2 was for the NES, it had better come with an ice pack.

Light the torch! Here comes a trailer for Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games:

All you can really say here is that Bioware is developing a new RPG for the DS starring Sonic the Hedgehog.  It’s expected to come out in 2008.  Also, it boggles the imagination.

Is Sonic really RPG material?

Sega issued a press release today detailing the… details of the sequel to Sonic Rush on the Nintendo DS - Sonic Rush Adventure. Excerpt!

“Sonic Rush Adventure will seamlessly utilise both screens of the Nintendo DS to navigate the high seas in search of pirate treasure, delivering Sonic’s classic high-speed 2D gameplay in the ultimate Sonic handheld experience.”

So, more of the same. Which if you ask me, is a GOOD thing. Sonic Rush was the first breath of fresh air the franchise had had in a long while and, well, delivered pretty much what the press release up there said (which in itself is an accomplishment). Some - including Kotaku’s McWhertor - feel that Sega’s failure to reinvent the franchise for the millionth time heralds an end of days for Sonic. In my opinion, the less they screw with the formula, the better.

[via Sega's press release, Kotaku]

O, Blake. You are wise beyond your years, but on the upcoming Mario & Sonic at the Olympics title you are just out to lunch. And I thought Denver, not Salt Lake, was the Mile High City. But I digress…

Here’s why you’re wrong (and I’m going to go to the dark side and have Matt Casamassina help me on this one):

1. It’s not 1995, but it is 2007. Times have changed, that’s for sure. Mario is arguably on the up-and-up, while Sonic is on life support. But the blue guy’s eyes are fluttering with a little life after the Secret Rings. Mario alone makes this game a profitable one, Sonic just ices the cake (as long as he has no speaking roles whatsoever).

2. SEGA, in its twilight, is the developer. True, SEGA is the automobile in this development relationship, but Shigeru Miyamoto is the driver, and Mario is not the kind of icon I can honestly see Nintendo throwing to the wolves simply for SEGA’s sake. I imagine Miyamoto and his staff will have the ultimate say in what stays or goes in this title. The character reputations at stake here are too important to sacrifice for a quick buck. It’s also SEGA’s sports division, NOT Team Sonic.

3. Timing is RIGHT. Like the Wii launch itself, the release of this title during a maelstrom of competitor activity (Halo 3, Metal Gear Solid 4) is precisely what needs to happen. Did the PS3 impact Wii sales at all? Its games? Not really. That’s because, as is with all of Nintendo’s strategic decisions from here on out, the competition doesn’t matter because it is irrelevant. It’s the blender competing with the airplane analogy I made the other day. People buying Halo 3 are of no concern to Nintendo or SEGA with this title. People who are of concern are guys like me who got a Nintendo in 1986 and lived through the infamous SEGA-Nintendo wars of the 1990’s. This game will succeed or fail based on its own merits, unaffected by the wild success of Halo or Metal Gear.

4. Game mascots are here for-ev-er. New Super Mario Bros., Mario Kart DS, and the veritable orgy of media hype surrounding Super Mario Galaxy beg to differ with Blake’s point that mascots are pale shadows of their former selves. And while Zelda is losing popularity in Japan, I’d never have considered Link and company as much of a *true* mascot as Mario — because you can really have only one mascot. Today, when something Mario ships, Nintendo can almost predict to within 100 units how many units are going to sell (as long as it’s first party developed — what the heck happened with 3v3 basketball!?).

5. People cared about who was faster until the fatter guy kicked the blue guy’s ass. True, Miyamoto was doing his marketing best to sell units when he said ““Now that [Mario and Sonic] have been given the perfect opportunity to meet at the Olympic Games, we may finally learn who is actually faster.” But, people don’t care about who’s faster today because Mario already won the race. And handily. It’s fair to say people don’t care who’s faster, but it’s not fair to say they won’t care about this game. I think people will start to care very much so when they see a Wii Sports-Olympic Games mash up starring Mario and Sonic. That level of interaction, combined with two very memorable and nostalgic characters? GOLD, Jerry, gold.

6. BONUS ROUND: “Some gamers also seem to have missed out on the significance of this announcement. Nintendo and SEGA are actively working together on a cross-license product. Do you honestly believe that Sonic won’t be in Super Smash Bros. Brawl at this point? Of course he will! It would be an injustice if the mascot wasn’t.” (Matt Casamassina)