July 1st, 2002 (12:00am) - Tokyo, Japan (July 1, 2002) - SEGA(R) Corporation (Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan; CEO Hideki Sato) today announced that "Sonic Adventure(TM) 2 Battle" for Nintendo GameCube(TM) and "Sonic Advance(TM)" for GameBoy(R) Advance have each shipped one million units worldwide respectively since their initial retail debuts beginning December 2001 in Japan, February, 2002 in the U.S. and March 2002 in Europe. Building upon the global success of the Sonic The Hedgehog(R) series, the company also announced three new Sonic The Hedgehog titles including "Sonic Mega Collection(TM)" and a new "Sonic Adventure(TM)" game for Nintendo GameCube and Sonic Advance(TM) 2" for GameBoy Advance.
"Building upon the excellent worldwide sales and incredible success of ’Sonic Adventure 2 Battle’ and ’Sonic Advance,’ SEGA is determined to develop and release new titles in the Sonic The Hedgehog series that will appeal to the growing audience of gamers worldwide," said Tetsu Kayama, Chief Operating Officer, SEGA Corporation.
The Sonic The Hedgehog series began in 1991 with the release of "Sonic The Hedgehog(R)" on SEGA Genesis(TM). The game quickly became a global hit selling more than 4 million units worldwide. Over the years, Sonic The Hedgehog has been featured in more than 11 games on multiple SEGA gaming platforms including SEGA Genesis, SEGA Game Gear(TM), Pico(TM), SEGA Saturn(TM) and SEGA Dreamcast(TM). Most recently, the series continued with "Sonic Adventure 2 Battle" for Nintendo GameCube and "Sonic Advance" for GameBoy Advance, the first titles to utilize the Nintendo GameCube/GameBoy Advance Link Cable. In just over 10 years, Sonic The Hedgehog has become one of the most beloved and recognized video game characters of all time and the series has sold over 27 million units worldwide.
Further details on "Sonic Mega Collection," the new "Sonic Adventure" game and "Sonic Advance 2" will be announced at a later date.
"Sonic Adventure(TM) 2 Battle" was developed and published by SEGA(R) Corporation. "Sonic Advance(TM)" was developed by SEGA(R) Corporation and co-published in North America by SEGA(R) Corporation and THQ(R).
About SEGA SEGA(R) of America is the American arm of Tokyo, Japan-based SEGA Corporation, a $3.5 billion corporation by market capitalization, recognized as a worldwide leader in interactive entertainment both inside and outside the home. The company develops, publishes and distributes interactive entertainment software products for a variety of hardware platforms including PC, wireless devices, and those manufactured by Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. SEGA of America’s Web site is located at www.sega.com.
About Nintendo As the worldwide leader and innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co. Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular home video game systems. The systems include Game Boy(R), Nintendo(R) 64, Game Boy Advance and NINTENDO GAMECUBE. Since the release of its first home video game system in 1983, Nintendo has sold more than 1.4 billion video games worldwide, creating enduring industry icons such as Mario(TM) and Donkey Kong(R) and launching such franchises as Zelda(TM) and Pokémon(R). As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America, Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operation in the Western Hemisphere.
About THQ THQ Inc. develops and publishes interactive entertainment software worldwide for a variety of hardware platforms including PC CD-ROM, wireless devices, and those manufactured by Sony Computer Entertainment, Nintendo and Microsoft. The THQ web site is located at www.thq.com.
