Difference between revisions of "Sonic the Hedgehog 4"

Revision as of 23:59, 14 January 2010

Project Needlemouse's emblem silhouette

Project Needlemouse is the code-name for an upcoming Sonic game, scheduled for release at some point in 2010. Announced on the GameSpot website on 9th September 2009, Project Needlemouse was described by Sega's associate brand manager, Ken Balough, as a HD graphics game, created as a response to "old-school Sonic fans [who] have long asked to see Sonic return to a more 2D style of gameplay."

A full transcript of the interview is available here.

Marketing

First announcement and teaser

The silhouetted emblem resembles that of the one from Sonic the Hedgehog

On September 8, 2009, Sega revealed to GameSpot details about a new 2D Sonic game. Named Project Needlemouse, it would be released in 2010 and feature HD graphics. A teaser video was also released. While the video didn't include any actual gameplay, it showed a blue blur (presumably Sonic) racing around collecting rings, with the words "Speed returns in an all new 2D adventure built from the ground up." It included sound effects from early Sonic games (like the original Sonic the Hedgehog). The video concludes with a silhouetted "ribbon, ring, and stars"-style emblem, which hides details such as the game's true name and main character. However, the shape of the emblem closely resembles that of the one on the original Sonic the Hedgehog's title screen.

Character Countdown

On Monday, January 11, 2010, the "Project Needlemouse Character Countdown" began on the official Sega Blogs. This countdown would reveal the full list of playable characters in Project Needlemouse, if certain goals were met. On Monday, a picture was released showing the names of potential playable characters. Each day that week until Friday, names would be crossed off that picture if enough fans answered Sonic-related trivia questions correctly. The list of possible characters included: Chip, Charmy, Shadow, Sonic, Vector, Sonic's new friend Mr. Needlemouse, Shade, Tikal, Big the Cat, Amy and Froggy.

A bonus point could also be earned each day. If at least three bonus points were earned by the community by Friday, "something special" would also be awarded.

Day 1 (Monday)	Trivia questions: In Sonic 1, how many rings were needed at the end of an act to enter a special stage? How many emeralds were in the original Sonic 1 for Genesis / Mega Drive? What colors were these emeralds? Challege: Get 100 replies on the Sega Blogs with three correct answers in 20 hours. Get over 250 correct replies for a bonus point. Outcome: Over 700 correct replies within the first 12 hours; challenge met with a bonus point awarded. Charmy and Chip were eliminated.
Day 2 (Tuesday)	Trivia questions: What was the general name for the robot enemies in the early Sonic games? 50 Rings is always nice, but 100 is even nicer - why so? In Sonic 2 for the Genesis / Mega Drive, how many lives was a 'continue' worth? Challenge: Get 500 replies on the Sega Facebook page and Sonic Facebook page with three correct answers in 20 hours. Get over 750 correct replies for a bonus point. Outcome: Over 900 correct replies were posted; challenge met with a bonus point awarded. Vector and Tikal were eliminated.
Day 3 (Wednesday)	Trivia questions: How many acts were in each zone of Sonic 1? What was the first game to feature Super Sonic? The original Sonic the Hedgehog featured special stages with morphing backgrounds - can you name two of the animals seen in that background? Challenge: Get 750 replies on the official Sonic forums with three correct answers in 20 hours. Get over 1000 correct replies for a bonus point. Outcome: At least 750 correct replies were made, but the bonus point challenge was not met. Shade and Amy were eliminated.
Day 4 (Thursday)	Trivia questions: If you locked Sonic 3 onto Sonic and Knuckles, what was the largest amount of emeralds you could collect from special stages? Yuji Naka is credited with much of Sonic’s history, but who is the man that actually designed Sonic? During his creation, what was the Japanese name originally given to Sonic? Challenge: Get 1000 tweets replying to @sega on Twitter with three correct answers in 24 hours. A bonus point would be awarded if over 1250 correct replies were made or if #SEGA or #Needlemouse became trending topics. Outcome: Over 1000 correct replies were made.

All of the trivia questions had to do with the gameplay or creation of early Sonic games. This strengthened the idea that Project Needlemouse would be a game that somehow was related to the first Sonic games.

External Links

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 ===First announcement and teaser===
 [[File:Needlemouse Teaser emblem comparison.gif|thumb|The silhouetted emblem resembles that of the one from ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'']] On September 8, 2009, Sega revealed to GameSpot details about a new 2D Sonic game.  Named Project Needlemouse, it would be released in 2010 and feature HD graphics.  A [[:File:Project Needlemouse Teaser.flv|teaser video]] was also released.  While the video didn't include any actual gameplay, it showed a blue blur (presumably Sonic) racing around collecting rings, with the words "Speed returns in an all new 2D adventure built from the ground up."  It included sound effects from early Sonic games (like the original ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'').  The video concludes with a silhouetted [[Sonic_the_Hedgehog_(16-bit)#The_Ribbon.2C_Ring.2C_and_Stars|"ribbon, ring, and stars"-style emblem]], which hides details such as the game's true name and main character.  However, the shape of the emblem closely resembles that of the one [[:File:Sonic1 title.png|on the original ''Sonic the Hedgehog'''s title screen]].
+===Character Countdown===
+On Monday, January 11, 2010, the "Project Needlemouse Character Countdown" began on the official [http://blogs.sega.com/ Sega Blogs].  This countdown would reveal the full list of playable characters in Project Needlemouse, if certain goals were met.  On Monday, a picture was released showing the names of potential playable characters.  Each day that week until Friday, names would be crossed off that picture if enough fans answered Sonic-related trivia questions correctly.  The list of possible characters included: [[Chip]], [[Charmy Bee|Charmy]], [[Shadow the Hedgehog|Shadow]], [[Sonic the Hedgehog|Sonic]], [[Vector the Crocodile|Vector]], Sonic's new friend Mr. Needlemouse, [[Shade]], [[Tikal]], [[Big the Cat]], [[Amy Rose|Amy]] and [[Froggy]].
+A bonus point could also be earned each day.  If at least three bonus points were earned by the community by Friday, "something special" would also be awarded.
+{|
+!style="padding:10px" valign="top" align="left" class="bottomtempalt"|'''Day 1 (Monday)'''
+|style="padding-left:10px" |'''Trivia questions:'''
+#In Sonic 1, how many rings were needed at the end of an act to enter a special stage?
+#How many emeralds were in the original Sonic 1 for Genesis / Mega Drive?
+#What colors were these emeralds?
+'''Challege:''' Get 100 replies on the Sega Blogs with three correct answers in 20 hours.  Get over 250 correct replies for a bonus point.
+'''Outcome:''' Over 700 correct replies within the first 12 hours; challenge met with a bonus point awarded.  Charmy and Chip were eliminated.
+|-
+!style="padding:10px" valign="top" align="left" class="bottomtempalt"|'''Day 2 (Tuesday)'''
+|style="padding-left:10px" |'''Trivia questions:'''
+#What was the general name for the robot enemies in the early Sonic games?
+#50 Rings is always nice, but 100 is even nicer - why so?
+#In Sonic 2 for the Genesis / Mega Drive, how many lives was a 'continue' worth?
+'''Challenge:''' Get 500 replies on the [http://www.facebook.com/Sega?v=feed&story_fbid=281091230729&ref=mf Sega Facebook page] and [http://www.facebook.com/Sonic?v=feed&story_fbid=248659265138&ref=mf Sonic Facebook page] with three correct answers in 20 hours.  Get over 750 correct replies for a bonus point.
+'''Outcome:''' Over 900 correct replies were posted; challenge met with a bonus point awarded.  Vector and Tikal were eliminated.
+|-
+!style="padding:10px" valign="top" align="left" class="bottomtempalt"|'''Day 3 (Wednesday)'''
+|style="padding-left:10px" |'''Trivia questions:'''
+#How many acts were in each zone of Sonic 1?
+#What was the first game to feature Super Sonic?
+#The original Sonic the Hedgehog featured special stages with morphing backgrounds - can you name two of the animals seen in that background?
+'''Challenge:''' Get 750 replies on the [http://forums.sega.com/showthread.php?t=309349 official Sonic forums] with three correct answers in 20 hours.  Get over 1000 correct replies for a bonus point.
+'''Outcome:''' At least 750 correct replies were made, but the bonus point challenge was not met.  Shade and Amy were eliminated.
+|-
+!style="padding:10px" valign="top" align="left" class="bottomtempalt"|'''Day 4 (Thursday)'''
+|style="padding-left:10px" |'''Trivia questions:'''
+#If you locked Sonic 3 onto Sonic and Knuckles, what was the largest amount of emeralds you could collect from special stages?
+#Yuji Naka is credited with much of Sonic’s history, but who is the man that actually designed Sonic?
+#During his creation, what was the Japanese name originally given to Sonic?
+'''Challenge:''' Get 1000 tweets replying to [http://twitter.com/sega @sega on Twitter] with three correct answers in 24 hours.  A bonus point would be awarded if over 1250 correct replies were made or if #SEGA or #Needlemouse became trending topics.
+'''Outcome:''' Over 1000 correct replies were made.
+|}
+All of the trivia questions had to do with the gameplay or creation of early Sonic games.  This strengthened the idea that Project Needlemouse would be a game that somehow was related to the first Sonic games.
 ==External Links==