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Sonic 1 and 2 on XBLA (and Wii VC) are getting delisted on 10/30

Dad

Member
Is their a recommended port for the Sonic games if I wanted to keep them for posterity's sake?
 
This is actually really weird to me. I understand licensing and what not, but Sonic? Seems all sorts of wrong and my inner Sega fan is hanging their head in shame.
 

Success

Member
Could somebody please fill me in on this. What license is exactly expiring? Sega owns Sonic so how can that happen?
 

Regiruler

Member
It doesn't make sense they'd remove it from the Wii though. Even if there is a replacement, it's not like the Wii is getting it.

EDIT: Unless they're really concerned about the wii u accessing the wii shop via BC.
 

G0523

Member
Updated Taxman versions oh please oh please oh please!

This reminds me of when the iOS version was replaced with the Taxman versions. But those were just updates, not delistings and relistings. I wonder if Sega does indeed bring the Taxman versions to XBLA, will previous owners have to pay for the upgrade?

And why is the Wii version included in this? That can't render games in HD.

Are the PSN versions being delisted as well?
 
Updated Taxman versions oh please oh please oh please!

This reminds me of when the iOS version was replaced with the Taxman versions. But those were just updates, not delistings and relistings. I wonder if Sega does indeed bring the Taxman versions to XBLA, will previous owners have to pay for the upgrade?

And why is the Wii version included in this? That can't render games in HD.

Are the PSN versions being delisted as well?

The discussion at the time was that the XBLA versions could not be updated like the iOS versions. So removibg and adding the new version would be the solution.
 

G0523

Member
The discussion at the time was that the XBLA versions could not be updated like the iOS versions. So removibg and adding the new version would be the solution.

Oh I see. That makes sense since the Xbox 360 was released way before the iPhone.

The only thing I can think of is the music. They don't own the music for Sonic 1 or Sonic 2, but they do for Sonic 3 onward.
Are you sure you don't have that backwards? Isn't Sega still in licensing hell for the music in Sonic 3 because of Michael Jackson? Isn't that why there's no HD remaster of it on iOS/Android? I know Taxman and Stealth have released a prototype of it but Sega hasn't approved it.
 

LewieP

Member
Sega trying to make people forget that Sonic was ever good, in order to help sales of newer games.

I wonder about the Steam versions.
 

Spaghetti

Member
Are you sure you don't have that backwards? Isn't Sega still in licensing hell for the music in Sonic 3 because of Michael Jackson? Isn't that why there's no HD remaster of it on iOS/Android? I know Taxman and Stealth have released a prototype of it but Sega hasn't approved it.
sonic 3's music is in a weird limbo as i understand it. i don't think michael jackson's estate has any claim on it though.

sonic 1 & 2's music isn't owned by sega but i think they have an agreement with masato nakamura regarding the music in its form as originally heard on the megadrive. if i remember rightly he only gets royalties off new arrangements and recordings of the songs, but i could be wrong. i'm sure he got something off that demo album that came out a few years ago too.
 

@MUWANdo

Banned
Are you sure you don't have that backwards? Isn't Sega still in licensing hell for the music in Sonic 3 because of Michael Jackson? Isn't that why there's no HD remaster of it on iOS/Android? I know Taxman and Stealth have released a prototype of it but Sega hasn't approved it.

Sega has always been very touchy about discussing the music/composers for S3&K but my understanding is that they do outright own it, they just don't want to risk claims from MJ's estate or anyone else by confirming/denying who did what.
 

Burning Justice

the superior princess
Are you sure you don't have that backwards? Isn't Sega still in licensing hell for the music in Sonic 3 because of Michael Jackson? Isn't that why there's no HD remaster of it on iOS/Android? I know Taxman and Stealth have released a prototype of it but Sega hasn't approved it.

I am 100% certain that the rights to Sonic 1 and 2's music are held by the original composer, Masato Nakamura. He obviously had an agreement with SEGA to let them continue using his music, but what the terms of that agreement were I don't know.

I had thought that all of Sonic 3's music was owned by SEGA, but I'm not 100% sure on that one.
 
Are you sure you don't have that backwards? Isn't Sega still in licensing hell for the music in Sonic 3 because of Michael Jackson? Isn't that why there's no HD remaster of it on iOS/Android? I know Taxman and Stealth have released a prototype of it but Sega hasn't approved it.

A lot of people have answered this, but for full background: SEGA doesn't fully own the music to Sonic 1 & 2, no. This is why, for instance, the classic Sonic 'Round Clear' music was ditched after Sonic 2 and ever since they've only ever used the one composed for Sonic 3. Same for stuff like the Invincibility music and other things that remained consistent from 1-2 and then inexplicably changed in 3 - it was because of the rights issue.

This is also why it took until two years ago to get an official Sonic 1/2 soundtrack release on CD, the composer wouldn't allow it. It's also why when you get games like Smash Bros, the remixes are always of music post-Sonic 2 - in Smash there's Angel Island Zone rather than Green or Emerald Hill for instance despite the stage itself being Emerald Hill - because if the song is remixed or rearranged, SEGA has to cough up.

They seemingly can use/print the music in its original form, though, unedited, and have done frequently. This relationship seems to be better now, though, it has to be said.

RE Sonic 3 and Jackson, it doesn't seem like there's any rights issues and to this day nobody quite knows why the tracks suspected to be Jackson ones were replaced in the PC rerelease... though it is worth noting that SEGA has also never done any official remixes or rearrangements of these tracks anyway. (Ice Cap, Launch Base, etc). Modern versions of Sonic 3, like the one on Steam and XBLA, all feature those tracks and not the PC ones, at any rate.
 
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