Sega Releases New Sonic Origins Gameplay Footage, Out On Switch This June

I hope that Knuckles is playable in Sonic CD. I’ve heard conflicting reports, but I hope he’s in that game.

Can't wait to buy Sonic 1-3 and CD for the 8th million time.

(I think I have a problem)

Is it true the game won’t run at 60fps on Switch but will on other consoles?

Footage looks great, still very much looking forward to this!

However, I'm getting worried that the Switch pre-orders STILL aren't live and the graphics/links were taken away from the official website. Also, still no evidence one way or the other about Sonic 3's music...

@OFFICIALMichi People only think that because the trailer small print says "4K and 60fps on PC, Xbox and Playstation only". I am pretty sure this is just awkward wording though - obviously Switch doesn't support 4k, so it can't support "4K and 60fps".

I'd be shocked if it doesn't run at 60fps 1080 docked/720 handheld, considering Mania did, which uses the same engine, but with more complicated graphics (more colours, far more detailed parallax scrolling, tonnes more animation frames on the characters etc).

A densely packed one minute giving confirmation on the drop dash and Super Sonic in 1 but of course they ominously leave out 3, they really don’t want to give us even a whiff of what it’s music situation is do they?
@OFFICIALMichi
It will absolutely run at 60fps anyone saying otherwise is looking for clicks and ad revenue.

@OFFICIALMichi It's going to run 60fps on all of them including Switch. All of these are 10 year old phone games ported to console so I don't get why you would worry about that? Sonic Mania Plus which used the same engine as these games ran 60fps just fine on Switch, an engine as old as 2010 shouldn't had problem on Switch.

.

I might wait it out, and see if there will eventually be a physical release.

I would actually be happy if the music in Sonic 3 is the PC/prototype one. I actually think it fits the game better.

Glad there's a dedicated button for Super forms. I wonder if we're able to play the standalone Sonic 3?

@liljmoore I can’t wait to play sonic CD for the 8th millionth time!

Sonic Jam remix for the menu music!!!

@DanijoEX “standalone Sonic 3”

Isn’t this the same as playing up to the fall of the Death Egg in S3&K?

I think standalone Sonic and Knuckles is the bigger question.

@RedGuy42 Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like he will be in that game. So far, websites have made an effort to specify that Knuckles is a playable character only in the games Sonic 1, 2, and 3 & Knuckles. Famitsu’s coverage of Sonic Origins stated this, for example.

@liljmoore all us videogame fans do man its a community illness lmao

That was a officially the first time I’ve ever SEEN the Sonic 2 hidden place zone. I’ve only ever heard of it and knew it was “supposed to” have been in Sonic 2.
Can’t wait to finally play it!

Too expensive at the moment.

I've actually not played any of these games for a long time and I'm excited as hell

Will get it when they bring out a physical. I always need another copy of Sonic 1, especially as you can play as Knuckles

@RubyCarbuncle Different team, so it’s not like this gameplay footage is shown instead of Sonic Frontier gameplay.

I look forward to Sonic Origins. A whole new Sonic 2D game would be great. But it will be the best next thing since Sonic Mania.

@Liam_Doolan @samuelvictor Sorry, but if they were only talking about 4k the wording would simply say "4K and 60fps on PC, Xbox and Playstation only" Unless I'm missing something there's NO reason to mention 60fps whatsoever if they were only talking about 4k and all formats ran at 60fps? The wording does indeed indicate no 60fps on Switch.

@GX_64 I know, right!? Everyone's so focused on the MJ stuff that they've apparently forgotten that this alternative soundtrack already existed decades ago!!

I grew up with the Sonic & Knuckles Collection for WIndows, so even if they did manage to get the MJ music approved for this release, I would still like to see the PC tracks included as an option too.

@OFFICIALMichi

You have to pay extra for 60fps.

@Clyde_Radcliffe

It is a bunch of Megadrive games.

Of course they will run at 60fps.

@KindofaBigDeal They're not just roms. You assume SEGA is logical and that developers don't ***** on Switch in all kinds of ridiculous ways. I am more cynical. Sega Mega Drive Collection versions of Sonic 1 and 2 were simple roms and didn't run greatly, they had horrible impact lag. Don't assume because they're old SEGA wouldn't mess up.

This looks fine and all, I'm certainly going to buy it, but this collection has been released over and over again with really nothing new. Something like this should have every old Sonic game at this point. And I hate bringing this up every time a new Sonic collection is announced but...where's Knuckles Chaotix??? When will that get a rerelease? When???

Would the games be compatible with The Nintendo Switch’s Sega controller. It puzzles me why they released the 3 button variant & not the 6 button one. I don’t recall people playing with it as much.

@liljmoore lol

@Clyde_Radcliffe well, this is the life. We are on 9 gen.

@RedGuy42 Not sure if that's possible. Me thinks that Knuckles' shorter jump makes some parts of some levels impossible unless they make a whole new route for him.

@samuelvictor Yeah I noticed that too! The new trailer showed off every game with music from that game except Sonic 3. Hmmm....

@AstralSoul Knuckles Chaotix is terrible. Such a stupid and slow buddy mechanic which ruins the whole game. I replayed it the other day and I hate it. Looking forward to this collection though

@RedGuy42 unfortunately I'd say keep your expectations low. knuckles wasn't in sonic cd's steam release, and I don't honestly think sega would've put that much effort into adding another character to sonic cd

@Captain-N I already have the physical version pre-ordered through my local game store, so it's getting one! I would've been informed by now if it wasn't getting one at all, so there's that too! Also, PlayAsia has it available on their store!

@Clyde_Radcliffe

Always possible, would be an utter disgrace but possible.

Thankfully I have all 4 games on my Series X via backwards compatabity. Any intention I had to purchase this collection went out the window when I saw it had DLC.

The remastered Sonic 1 and Sonic 2 games on a proper platform with a gamepad is generally incentive enough to warrant a purchase. Not too keen on the coins gimmick, however, and pricing is a bit steep for my tastes. That, and I already have Sonic CD on Steam. Probably going to hold off on this one for a bit, as the pre-order bonuses aren't enough of a justification to jump the gun just yet.

@Nintendofanatic94 Play Asia only says "Announced - Pre-orders opening soon. Expected to ship: tba." So it's not available yet to pre-order, nor do they have a date. As we've discussed before, I fully believe that there will eventually be a physical release, but it won't (and can't, legally) be released on the same day. This is the logical assumption that all retailers who have temporary pages on their servers are using. I've seen several French and Spanish retailers do the same, briefly, before moving the pages offline.

The Play Asia wording muddies the water however by using the word "Announced" - there has been no formal announcement... but I don't think this is accidentally revealing anything breaking NDAs etc, it's just the default text for empty pages in their system. There have been plenty of examples of such pages for products that later got cancelled, or never existed in the first place, for example: strong rumours or false "leaks" from insider accounts.

@Clyde_Radcliffe I definitely share your concern, Switch performance on multiplat games, even seemingly simple 2d sprite and tile-based ones is sadly never a given. But I still would be extremely shocked if it's not 60fps given that it's using the same Mania engine, and Mania itself is massively more complex. I was just replaying it earlier this morning (hype is intensifying and I got the urge!) and I'd forgotten just how many 3d polygonal objects are included in the "new" levels, how much extra detail is added to the parallax and general background graphics, how many more frames are present in the run cycles etc. None of that is in this game as far as I can see, it's simply the Megadrive sprites and tiles. There's no logical reason why it won't run just as smoothly as Mania. But as others have said above, it's always a possibility, no matter how strange it would be.

@thinkhector Yes. By this point, as far as I can see, we have 3 possibilities:
1) They couldn't get/afford the rights to the music and are just not mentioning it to avoid negative publicity and backlash from people who feel very strongly about it affecting initial sales and pre-orders.

or... 2) They got the rights to use the music in the game but had to pay through the nose to use it, and can't afford to pay the extra to use it in trailers/publicity. (I am a movie producer and we have to pay separately for music rights for every piece of media, even if related. For example, we've used popular music in a trailer/tv spot that we couldn't afford to put in the movie, and vice versa. Sometimes we even have music in the theatrical version that we have to change for the DV/Blu-Ray/Streaming versions because the distributors won't pay the rights holders again. (Personal note: if it's a film I've directed or edited it makes me want to murder someone when this happens!)

or... 3) They got the rights to use the music and know what a big deal it is to fans, so are purposefully waiting to drop a new trailer using the music (or at least stating "all original music included!" as a text prompt) closer to the time of release in order to increase hype even further.

Personally, I think scenario 1 is the most likely, though of course it's not what I'm hoping for. Scenario 2 is the least likely, as if this was the case they would have at least put fans' minds at rest by now... unless they are building suspense for scenario 3.

@Nintendofanatic94 Thank you for letting me know that. I was unaware of a physical release.

This looks Nice. Sonic will be speeding with no G-Force holding him back. I hope they have a Physical Collection for it. Also, can I choose the level?

@samuelvictor You are aware that PlayAsia has put out physical copies of games that either didn't get physical copies in North America or other countries, correct? They've done it many different times over the years, and I happen to own a number of the physical releases that have been released through their store over the years- with the most recent one I've purchased being Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition! Plus, a lot of those games are ones that have not/did not/will not get physical releases in other countries, and since the Switch is region-free, you can import the games and play them with full English support on a North American Switch, or another country's Switch with no issues whatsoever! In other words, Sonic Origins was never disconfirmed to have a physical copy in Asian regions at launch, and as such they could very well release one there on launch day- even though they technically couldn't in North America without one being officially confirmed (even though I personally don't buy that, as I would've been informed of there being absolutely no physical release whatsoever by now by my local game store, so the fact that I wasn't informed of that means that chances are that statement is complete and utter BS), and since it was solely SEGA of North America's announcement, that would mean that SEGA of Japan could very well release one, which is the most logical explanation for the physical copy on PlayAsia's store! Also, the PlayStation Store on both PS4 and PS5 specifically mentions a physical copy, which is another reason as to why I don't buy that there isn't going to be a physical edition at launch, because there's too much evidence to the contrary for me to believe anything else!

@samuelvictor There very well could've been a physical announcement in Asia, which is likely why the PlayAsia listing is there to begin with!

@Nintendofanatic94 Yes I'm aware that Play Asia sell games that only get physical releases over there. I have bought several of them myself, for example recently I got Maiden of Black Water. That won't be the case here though, historically Sonic games (and merch etc) sell a tonne more copies in the West than in Japan or other Asian territories.

I'm 100% sure there will be a physical game released. We've been over this several times so no point doing it again. I'm just pointing out the Play Asia listing says nothing and confirms nothing, and is no more notable than any of the other websites putting up empty listings in preparation for when the physical copy is eventually announced. I'm not saying this to antagonise you, just to add context to your comment, which was true, but also omitted important details that could be confusing if left out.

"There very well could've been a physical announcement in Asia" - again, not being rude, but there 100% hasn't been. This kind of stuff is watched extremely closely and all Asian announcements of things get translated and covered in/by western media if considered even remotely interesting to their target audience. Nintendolife itself often reports on Japanese only media and announcements relating to Sonic - for example they recently covered the livestream where Knuckles and Amy's V-Tuber models were previewed. Its pretty much impossible that there was an official Asian announcement that wasn't noticed by someone on Twitter or something, it simply doesn't happen with Sonic, the fans are too dedicated and don't ignore things or keep their findings to themselves.

As in our previous discussions on this, I'm not trying to insult you in any way, I love your enthusiasm for the game and believe that you do indeed have a pre-order with your local game shop. Just be prepared that it probably won't be available on June 23rd 2022. You seem very excited about the game, as am I, and I don't want you to be disappointed.

@RubyCarbuncle oh, I’m on a first name basis with the one in Sonic and Knuckles but only ever heard about the scrapped version from 2.
I remember playing with the sound test and debug modes in Sonic 2 as a kid on genesis and seeing the reference to hidden palace zone in there. This is well before any of all this info was out in the wild. It was kind of cool because I always saw the Sonic and Knuckles cart as sort of a hidden key to unlock things between all the games. It made it all seem like everything was connected (which I sort of guess it sort of ended up being after all)
But I have yet to actually play that level and see it. The clip above was literally the first I’ve ever seen of it in my life. Very exciting!

Just glad the tier jokes are over

I hope they're able to get the engine right, apparently they're not going to be emulated.

@Mikmoomamimocki Its the "retro engine", older versions of which have been used in Mania and the excellent modern widescreen ports of Sonic 1, 2 & CD. Best way to play a Sonic game imo, so assuming 3&K has been ported to the same standard, it should be excellent

@samuelvictor Niiiice! Do you know if Christian Whitehead is working on it? Because he made the engine and the mobile ports, he would probably be the best person to do this.

@Mikmoomamimocki Whitehead was the original lead programmer of the engine. After Mania he left to work on Freedom Planet 2, so he's not directly involved with Origins, though its using "his" engine, and presumably being its the same engine, the maps that Whitehead made for S1, 2 & CD will be re-used as the basis for those games in this collection too.

Whilst its a shame Whitehead isn't directly involved anymore, HeadCanon (who developed Mania with him) are completing the work on Origins so its in very safe hands.

@samuelvictor Yeah, I think the licensing rights to music, actors likeness, and voices needs to changed in the law. This is a big problem in pinball games and keeps many tables from seeing digital releases. I liked your insight though, and you might have even more ideas about this.
As far as Sonic goes, there is a #4 possibility. The game had all new music for Sonic 3, but you can get the original soundtrack...as paid DLC. That's a strong possibility too.

@samuelvictor I don't know- all of the physical games I've purchased from PlayAsia have been ones that were said "there are no plans of a physical release" in North America, and you wouldn't have seen announced anywhere else that there will be one in Asia or any other country- and it was only PlayAsia that confirmed it by having a physical copy on their store, so that's likely the case here! Plus, there's other games that are FAR bigger than Sonic in Japan that got physical releases in Asian countries but not North America, and that had the thing said about them as Sonic Origins! SEGA of North America also has no say whatsoever as to what SEGA of Japan or any other SEGA regional variant does, which is why SEGA of North America likely has no idea that SEGA of Japan had plans of releasing a physical copy in their region, because PlayAsia wouldn't have even had it available on their store if there wasn't a physical release coming to even just Asia! Also, like I said, my local game store would've informed me by now that there will absolutely not be any physical release if that were the case, nor would the PlayStation Store on both PS4 and PS5 mention one!

@thinkhector Ah yes that's a very good point. Considering how likely we are to get an "Encore" style DLC and "Mania Plus" style upgraded physical version, this would be one of the things I can really see Sega using as a way to tempt fans to spend the extra or double dip... along with other fairly obvious but tempting things such as including the 8bit roms, or playable fan favourites like Amy, Chaotix, Ray etc.

Personally, I'd be ok with the tracks being paid DLC because I know that if they even manage to get permission in the first place (which won't be easy and certainly isn't guaranteed) it definitely won't be cheap.

Its not quite the same because as far as I'm aware mechanical royalties aren't a thing with chiptune music (unless the samples used in the tracks need clearance? I'm not sure if they were from standard libraries or were MJ/Buxor specific) but I know a friend of mine wanted to use an MJ track on an indie movie with a 90s theme and they we asked for an unreasonable percentage of the film's profits (points share) as well as paying an enormous lump sum upfront in advanced royalties. This upfront fee would have resulted in not being able to afford several of the famous actors who had cameos (reducing the star power and marketability), and the points share would have reduced the backend pay of the main cast and crew, so sadly it was deemed not worth it. That said, this was in 2010 so after MJ's death but before a lot of the more recent negativity, so the situation might be completely different now as they presumably have less people clammering to use the music, less ongoing radio play etc. No idea though, that's just speculation.

What we do know is that whatever special (presumably non-contractual verbal) agreement MJ had with Sega to waive royalties of re-releases on compilations, virtual console, etc would have sadly died with him. The people who now own his back catalogue want to get everything they can from it, so if the music does appear in the game (or via DLC) its 100% costing Sega money and they have decided to lose profits in order to please fans. We shall see.

@Nintendofanatic94 Those are all valid points, some of which I hadn't considered. Its frustrating to me how often games don't get a physical release in the West, but I often am very glad that there is an Asian option, often with English language, that I can import. However I truly don't see that happening with Sonic, its such a huge seller for Sega and the West is by far the biggest market for Sonic games.

I've explained multiple times why many stores' online systems (including ones we've previously mentioned) will have the physical copy on their systems even though it's not been announced yet. Sadly, its proof of nothing other than its absolutely obvious to everyone that there will eventually be one, because it would be madness not to, and Sega have a track record of releasing physical "due to demand" a while later and getting double sales from many of the hardcore fans. I completely agree with you that there WILL be a physical release. But it won't be on the 23rd June - they've stated there won't be, and as a publicly-traded company it would be illegal to knowingly lie.

That said... if you tell me the name of your local game store (assuming that wouldn't dox you in any way, cities are big places!), I'd be very interested to phone them up, or visit them if they are in any of the countries I flit between for work (UK, USA, Canada, France?) and see if they will let me pre-order a physical copy, just as you have... none of the other stores we've mentioned let you do this so far. You have reassured people repeatedly that there WILL be a physical release because your local game store sells it, but no-one knows where your local gamestore is, so no-one can buy it.

I'm pretty sure what you have is a pre-order but without a guaranteed release date. EB used to allow this, you could put down a deposit or even pay in full for a game or console the second it was announced, or sometimes even strongly rumoured. I actually pre-ordered copies of several games released in Japan that were assumed to be getting a western release, only to have that pre-order cancelled when it never happened. My cousin pre-ordered "Sonic 4" for Megadrive, which eventually turned out to be "Sonic and Knuckles". They just knew that a new Sonic game would likely come out, and took his money for an IOU for whatever would eventually release. Doesn't mean they had insider knowledge and it was never contractual, its just that businesses like to get money upfront, helps them with cashflow, guarantees you won't decide to buy it elsewhere, and bigger companies can even invest the money and get interest/dividend returns in the meantime.

Another possibility is that what you have an order for is an official physical box with a download code inside. Many stores sell these for digital-only games, I see these in French supermarkets and game stores all the time. In which case, yes, you would have a physical product on release date, but no, it wouldn't have a cartridge in there. I actually own a few of these for games that never got a physical copy - even though it seems silly to buy an empty box, I like having them on the shelf as something to show for my purchase. If this is the case and there is going to be a physical "boxed download code" for Origins, I would be very interested to buy one. I've not seen it announced anywhere yet but I wouldn't be surprised if it happens.

@GX_64

Bro I will start international riots if they don’t at least include the option for the Genesis soundtrack.

Launch Base in particular.

@Jayenkai

Because it’s the worse version of the soundtrack.

I get it, some people like it. But I owned Sonic 3 on cart on my Genesis back in 1995. I grew up with the Michael Jackson tracks.

To me the game is incomplete without the Jackson songs like Carnival Night and Launch Base.

They should just give us both options.

@samuelvictor My local game store is required by law to let a person know if a game will be a digital download code in a box before they even allow somebody to pre-order the game in store, so if that would've been the case, then I wouldn't have had it preordered at all! Also, the PlayStation Store confirmed a physical copy- even more so than PlayAsia did, and not only that, even if Sonic IS more popular in the West, that hasn't stopped certain games from getting physical releases in Asia or other regions NOT counting North America!

@Nintendofanatic94 Well I've offered every possibility that I can think of to explain your scenario, the only thing I'm certain of is either you or the employee you spoke to have slightly misunderstood the situation. You didn't reply to my asking which store you are referring to so that I can try and order for myself, so I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens between now and June 23rd. Again, I'm not being mean, I'd truly love it if a physical version is announced between now and then.

@samuelvictor From what I understand, it's not even the MJ estate that's the problem. Their are two living musicians who worked on the tracks with Michael for Sonic 3. And I don't believe they ever got compensation in the first place or credit. And that has really been the hold up.

@thinkhector Yeah I remember reading quotes from them on a forum quite a few years back after fans emailled trying to get info, implying that they feel royalties are owed and a court case was pending, but because of that they weren't willing to comment further. Presuming that court case actually happened as planned, its over and sorted by now, and would have probably been settled out of court with a single payment and then reassurance that royalties would be negotiated and paid for future releases. Normal royalties for this kind of thing would be very affordable, for example, licensing most commercial chart tracks for a widely spread game, show or movie is around $10k upfront and then small fraction of profits per purchase - as long as all of the rights holders (basically the writers/composers, and those holding mechanical rights/masters of the recording) agree. Those kinds of figures are a safe ballpark/average even for very well known music - stuff like GTA and Tony Hawk soundtracks almost certainly paid around these figures for the majority of the tracks.

The fact that Fervor Records holds distribution rights for the Jetzons and in 2020 even released a very short print run Hard Times (Ice Cap Zone) on a "Sonic Blue vinyl" and with Sonic inspired art and fonts would implicate to me that they are willing to play ball with Sega and also aren't looking for huge money... 250 copies at a max of $10 profit each would hardly implicate they aren't willing to do small deals - I'm sure Sega can afford to pay $2500 plus maybe 0.5% points share to use that track and it would probably be happily accepted... and they'd probably bite their arm off for the more standard $10k as I mentioned above. Again, pure speculation, but coming from a place of experience doing these kinds of deals many times over. Also, to be clear, obviously for that case, Fervor owns mechanical rights for "Hard Times" which isn't needed, it would need the composer, who I believe is Brad Buxor... but given the small label and the scale at which they do business, they almost certainly are on 1:1 communication and negotiations with him directly and would also arrange the publishing/sync license.

Its only a tiny fraction of the very top echelon artists that are unaffordable because they demand specific, far higher terms in order to protect their brand prestige - see my previous MJ example, and also anything involving the Beatles... I'm friends with producers of two pretty major theatrical motion pictures based around the Beatles and both had to very strictly use cover versions only as they couldn't afford the premiums required for using the original recordings despite budgets in the tens of millions.

From what I've seen it does appear that this only became an issue after MJ passed away and Sony started playing hot potato with extending, passing around and then buying various rights from 2010-2018. I'd bet that its more likely whoever owns the portion of his estate that thinks it owns the compositions that would cause any holdups due to holding things to ransom for a higher than reasonable fee... or possibly infighting and confusion as to exactly who does own what and who did what - much of it is presumably word of mouth, annoyingly.

@samuelvictor Well, you never responded to the fact that the Playstation Store on both PS4 and PS5 directly mentions a physical copy either! Plus, while the local game store I'm referring to is VERY popular where I'm from, it's pretty much unknown anywhere else, as it's exclusive to the city I live in! So, you wouldn't have heard of it, and anyone outside of where I'm from doesn't even know it exists, so there's that too! It does exist where I'm from, and it's especially huge here too, but if I were to share that, it would be giving away my exact location, and I don't like doing that! I hope you can understand that much!

@Nintendofanatic94 It's fine if you don't want to say what city you're from (although that's hardly revealing your exact location) but in that case PLEASE you must stop repeatedly replying to people saying that you CAN in fact buy a physical copy on release date... but refusing to give the information of where its supposedly available. You are misleading people and giving false hope. An independent games store that only has one location (no matter how "huge") cannot be right when not a single other big chain or online website disagrees. Either you or they have slightly misunderstood something, I've given you many possibilities to explain the situation that result in the conversation you had with the store, you being able to pre-order, it being on their system, them being told a physical version is coming, and it STILL not resulting in you being able to buy a physical copy on 23rd June.

BTW I absolutely did respond to the Playstation store part multiple times, not just in this thread but in multiple threads over the last few weeks! I said things like "all other stores we've mentioned", "all the online store pages so far" etc. The Playstation stuff is just like all the other places online we've mentioned and is just a holding listing that does not allow you to pre-order a physical copy yet, nor does it state a fixed release date for it. You clearly aren't fully reading or understanding my posts... or you are purposefully trolling. Either way I've tried to be kind and patient. This is my queue to dip for my own sanity.

@Nintendofanatic94 There is no physical release in June.

@samuelvictor Actually, there are multiple locations of the store in my city, but they're all exclusive to that city! Just so you're aware! P.S. The reason I'm sharing that is because it's obviously BS to say anything else with all of the evidence that points towards a physical copy I mentioned already, which is why I know better than to believe it! That's why I'm stating the facts based on what I know/heard!

@Yosti Actually, there is indeed! I should know, as I have it pre-ordered!

@samuelvictor I'm sure other stores have it available as well- besides my local game store and PlayAsia that is!

@samuelvictor No, I've been completely reading your posts- I'm actually known for that, as since most people don't do that, I like being different than those who just ignore posts! I'm also not a troll- in fact- I'm an expert troll-hunter! What that means is that I hunt down and expose internet trolls as being the typical morons that they are, and as such I've gotten extremely good at that! However, I haven't had the need to even do that here, which is a very good thing if you ask me! I'm just against misinformation being spread, which is why I've been out there sharing the true information based on what I've been told/heard, as well as the factual evidence that proves it! I just want people to know the real, actual information, and that doesn't make one a "troll"- in fact, it makes them the polar opposite of one! Just so you're aware of that!

@samuelvictor It's not just a single employee that I've spoken to about it- it's actually multiple employees! I've checked with other ones now so that I could know for certain, and since multiple employees were able to confirm one, that- along with the fact that they got official confirmation from a SEGA representative that there is one incoming- that means that there is indeed one coming! If there wasn't, I wouldn't have been able to pre-order it whatsoever!

@Nintendofanatic94 Ok. Have a nice day. 🙂

@samuelvictor See, the difference between that and my store is that my store makes sure to directly contact the company releasing the game in order to make 100% certain that there will be a physical release of a game before they even offer pre-orders for it. As such, they actually DO get insider information, as a SEGA representative has to confirm that there will 100% be a physical release of a game before they even offer pre-orders for it! In other words, they get the company's own permission to begin to start offering pre-orders for a game to begin with! They started doing that once they had hundreds of VERY angry customers who were upset about pre-ordering a physical copy of DOOM Eternal on Nintendo Switch that ended up being a lie, and as such to prevent that from happening again, they've contacted the company directly ever since! I've also never had a pre-order get cancelled through this store, and since they typically do not even sell copies of digital-only games with VERY few exceptions (such as the fact that the first and ONLY game I've ever purchased there that was a digital code in a box- which they informed me of being the case before I even pre-ordered it I might add- was Overwatch on Nintendo Switch, which is also one of the VERY few games that they do sell despite being digital only on that console), and since they are required BY LAW to let somebody know if a game is a digital only title before they even allow you to pre-order it, the fact that I was not told that is proof of it not being one, which also remains on topic of the SEGA representative told them! The last thing my local game store wants is that many angry customers again, which is why they do that now! They didn't always do that before, but ever since the DOOM Eternal Nintendo Switch fiasco they've done that each and every time!

@Nintendofanatic94 Not going to argue. There is no physical release in June. Just stating the fact. No need to set yourself up for disappointment. I think you are a bit too fanatic.

@Yosti I need to learn to be as concise as you 😂

@Andy_C444 For one, I've pre-ordered the game physically, so it is indeed getting one! Second, speaking the truth does NOT make one a jerk- just so you know! Third, the PlayStation Store on both PS4 and PS5 directly mentions a physical release. Fourth, this store has as well! https://www.play-asia.com/sonic-origins/13/70ejj1

@Yosti But there IS a physical release in June. I should know, as I have it pre-ordered! That is the FACTS, my friend! I should also know that, as I'm strictly a facts person! Plus, the facts have proven you to be wrong! I'm not trying to sound impolite by saying that, but it's still true! A SEGA representative confirmed a physical release to my local game store, which is how I was able to pre-order it! They're getting it from this store! https://www.play-asia.com/sonic-origins/13/70ejj1

@Nintendofanatic94 The admins deleted your last message and marked it as trolling (not the first time either, I'd be careful, you're likely to get banned) so I don't know why I'm rising to the bait, but...

"A SEGA representative confirmed a physical release to my local game store, which is how I was able to pre-order it! They're getting it from this store! https://www.play-asia.com/sonic-origins/13/70ejj1"

So you are now (after talking about this at length in countless messages in multiple threads) giving us the new piece of information that the gamestore you preordered from is getting their copy from Play Asia and not even from the Sega representative they apparently speak to? We've already established (and is confirmed by the very link you posted) that Play Asia hasn't yet opened pre-orders, and has the release date as "tba"? What more proof do you need that you aren't getting a physical copy in June? Please stop spreading misinformation.

@Andy_C444 To me it seems he is trolling. Or he is really deluded. It just doesn't make sense. I also didn't know he had this conversation with @samuelvictor since April on different Sonic Origins news items. As long as you keep replying to him he will continue. It is better to just ignore. And there is also an ignore button if you don't want to read his posts.

@Yosti @Andy_C444 In life, sometimes to my detriment, I always try and give everyone the benefit of the doubt and treat people kindly. I'm neurodiverse and I know all about being worried you aren't being understood so you overcompensate by typing too much. Hell I'm doing it now. I also understand being super passionate about a game, character, series etc. and feeling it personally when people talk about it online. I'd never judge someone for that, I do it all the time, especially in relation to classic Sonic stuff - it's what made me fall in love with gaming so I totally get it.

Its definitely possible that they're trolling - it's easy to wind Sonic fans up, and some on the internet feel like it's a sport! But it's also possible that they're just super passionate and blinded by his hope for a release, and their friendship/loyalty to the store they shop at and the people there. I can understand. That's why I've been as patient and descriptive as I can to let them know that they won't be getting a physical copy on release date, but that's ok, it doesn't mean they've been lied to, it's a misunderstanding somewhere along the way for all the possible reasons we've been through.

After raising 2 small children, I have a near-infinite amount of patience, so it's near impossible to make me mad. But my time is valuable so I don't like to go round in circles too much each time this topic pops up again, hence why at a certain point I just politely dip out and stop replying.

The only reason I start replying again is when they post the same misinformation in a new thread. I'm not doing it to be mean or try and score points, and I always try and make that clear. I'm just doing it so that other people don't see their message and get false hope. That could prevent people from pre-ordering or buying the digital copy, and that would hurt sales, and reduce the chance of us eventually getting a physical release, or another classic/mania style Sonic game, because someone held off because of misinformation.

If it is trolling, its not working because I'm not in the least bit upset and as soon as the posts start to waste my time (for example the same user tagging me 5 times within an hour like above!) I just politely say goodbye and stop posting. No bother! Life's too short to get annoyed by things we can't control. I hope for their sakes they aren't trolling because they are wasting their own time. I'd much rather just assume they are an overenthusiastic fan who's excited for the game. That's something I can relate to a lot better

@samuelvictor Good points. And the knowledge you share is informative.

When can we expect a physical release though? I think sometime next year. A Sonic Origins Plus physical release. I am a bit annoyed that it is currently released as a digital release only. With Sonic Mania in 2017 I could understand. The Switch still had to prove itself and releasing a game digital had less risk than a physical release. I bought the game digital a week before the announcement of the physical release. While I look forward to Sonic Origins I don't think I will buy it on release day. Probably waiting for a physical release. First finishing the games I already bought.

@Yosti Thanks! That must have been super frustrating for you buying it digitally just before the physical was announced. That kind of thing drives me mad. I bought the limited edition version of Mania with the statue etc that came with a digital code, so that didn't effect me, but to be fair a new Sonic game is always going to be a day one for me anyway. But I've had similar experiences with other games that I put off buying incase there was physical, and then when I eventually give in and buy digital, I always think "I bet you they announce a physical copy tomorrow"!

Honestly, I've been wondering about the likely date for a physical Origins. I have no insider knowledge whatsoever so its purely a guess, but I'd say physical within a year max, probably significantly less. They are still insisting that Frontiers is coming for "Holiday 2022" which I interpret to be a November/Early December release for it, and it wouldn't make sense to push a physical Origins at the same time and expect fans/parents to drop $100 near to Christmas on 2 Sonic games causing confusion or for some people to have to choose one between them.

They tend to stagger per quarter, so logically there's 3 options:
1) Release as early as August/September this year - this is what I'm hoping for, though seems a bit soon...
or 2) Wait til April 2023 so it starts the new financial/tax year on a guaranteed big seller - especially likely if their other games sell well and digital sales are high enough to please shareholders for 2022...
or 3) If they end up delaying Frontiers (as I suspect is likely being we haven't seen any gameplay yet) make Origins Plus the Christmas release to fill that spot.

@Andy_C444 Yep, I did try and warn them that would happen. Good call on behalf of the mods tbh, 13 posts in half an hour, many of which were super long and all of which were just repeating the same nonsensical arguements from before means I'm 90% sure they were trolling, and the remaining 10% would mean I was significantly worried for their mental health if not. Regardless, I wish them well, I figure anyone posting that much has something not right in their life.