February 23, 2008 Proto Release
From Sonic Retro
On February 23rd, 2008 at 6PM EST drx released over 1,000 various Sega and third party prototypes for several consoles. To build suspension to the event the news was posted across various websites and forums and a special IRC channel was opened on Sonic Cult's website called #sonicprotos (this was later renamed #protos). A hour before the release a special Skypecast was broadcast live over shoutcast. It was supposed to be stopped shortly after the release but it continued hours afterward and was only stopped as the number of listeners dwindled.
Most of the protos came from one place, they were obtained from Sega of America's Q&A archives from 1994-1995. Most of them needed to be built from EEPROM parts. The price of these prototypes weren't disclosed but it is said the cost is in the five digit number range. The disc protos (Gamecube, Dreamcast, Saturn) were obtained at a earlier date.
Of the 1,024 prototypes that were released there were 155 Sega 32X prototypes, 300 Game Gear prototypes, 464 Mega Drive prototypes, 94 Pico prototypes, and 6 Nintendo Gamecube prototypes.
Prototype List
Saturn
Gamecube
- Sonic Adventure 2 Battle (Review copy)
- Sonic Adventure DX (Preview and Review)
- Sonic Heroes (10.8 and 11.18)
- Sonic Mega Collection (Prototype