SegaSonic the Hedgehog (lost build of cancelled 32X port of arcade platformer; existence unconfirmed; 1994)

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SegaSonic title.png

The arcade version's title screen.

Status: Existence Unconfirmed

SegaSonic the Hedgehog is a platformer released exclusively in Japan in 1993[1] for Sega's System 32 arcade hardware and was developed by their AM3 division with Sega themselves publishing. The game has never received a home console release as the game's trackball control scheme is hard to translate to regular controllers with it even being planned for inclusion in Sonic Gems Collection but scrapped for this very reason.[2] This may have not been the first attempt to bring the game to a home console however as in the mid-1990s there were rumors that the game was being brought to the Sega Genesis addon the 32X.

A 32X attached to a model 2 Genesis

Background

During their previews of Sonic & Knuckles in October 1994 both Computer & Video Games and Mean Machines Sega reported on rumors that "the Sonic arcade game" was being ported to the then-upcoming Genesis addon the 32X.[3][4] As Waku Waku Sonic Patrol Car, a children's ride with little in the way of actual gameplay, was the only other Sonic arcade game released at the time it can be assumed that the arcade game in question was SegaSonic the Hedgehog. After these issues, the port was never heard of again. Both of these magazines were published by EMAP likely meaning the rumor stemmed from somewhere in the company.

Possible Changes

Due to the vast power difference between the System 32 and 32X an arcade-perfect port to the hardware would be practically impossible.[5] On top of that the game used a trackball for movement meaning either a special controller would need to be made for the game or its controls would have to be reworked to make use of the Genesis' d-pad. The port would have likely made use of the Team Player controller adapter as that game's 3-player multiplayer would be impossible on the console otherwise.

Cancellation and Availability

By early 1996, Sega of America instructed all 32X developers to abandon their projects or convert them into Sega Saturn games.[6] It's unknown who was developing the port but if it was Sega of Japan it may have been canceled or moved to theSaturn a year earlier as the Saturn was released a year earlier in Japan. It's possible that a Saturn port of the game was considered as the console was designed after the System 32 arcade hardware[5] but no Saturn port has been ever suggested or discussed. No build of any home console port of the game has ever been leaked to the internet and it is unknown if it exists.

Gallery

  • Computer & Video Games issue 155 page 33.

    Computer & Video Games issue 155 page 33.

  • Mean Machines Sega issue 24 page 20.

    Mean Machines Sega issue 24 page 20.

See Also

References

  1. ↑ Sega Arcade History by Famitsū DC on Sonic Retro. Retrieved 05 Feb '22.
  2. ↑ Sega's Yuji Naka Talks! from GameSpy. Retrieved 05 Feb '22.
  3. ↑ Computer & Video Games issue 155 page 33 on Sonic Retro. Retrieved 05 Feb '22.
  4. ↑ Mean Machines Sega issue 24 page 20 on Sonic Retro. Retrieved 05 Feb '22.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Why didn't Sega bother porting System 32 games to the 32X? on the Sega-16 forums. Retrieved 05 Feb '22.
  6. ↑ Game Players issue 902 page 20 on Sega Retro. Retrieved 05 Feb '22.
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