More On: Sonic Boom

SEGA REVEALS MORE DETAILS ABOUT SONIC BOOM GAMES AT E3 2014



Highly Anticipated Videogames for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS to Make Hands-On Debut and Expand Reach for Sonic Boom Franchise



SAN FRANCISCO (June 2, 2014) ?? SEGA® of America, Inc. will unleash an all-new Sonic the Hedgehog at this year??s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles with the debut of playable versions of new titles exclusively for Wii U?? and Nintendo 3DS??. The new games Sonic Boom??: Rise of Lyric for the Wii U system, developed by Los Angeles-based Big Red Button, and Sonic Boom??: Shattered Crystal for the Nintendo 3DS hand-held system, from San Francisco-based Sanzaru Games, will introduce new gameplay and the most vile and formidable villain in Sonic history -- Lyric.



In both games, Sonic and friends - Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and the newest member of the team, Sticks, will work together as they face their most powerful enemy yet. Lyric is a giant and monstrous snake-like creature from an ancient race. An extremely tech-savvy mastermind who uses a sophisticated robotic body of armor to carry out his own nefarious deeds, he is a formidable enemy and a force to be reckoned with. With a strong emphasis on collaboration, the roles of Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Sticks, will be elevated in gameplay that capitalizes on each character??s unique talents and abilities. The goal is to prevent Lyric from powering his army of robots and carrying out his plan to destroy the world. The stakes have never been higher, and the only chance to overcome Lyric is to band together and work as a team.



??This is a new Sonic, with gameplay built on action-adventure and collaborative play. They are unlike any previous games featuring the iconic blue blur,?? said Hiroyuki Miyazaki, Chief Content Officer for the Sonic Bran, SEGA of America. ??We are looking forward to our first hands-on showcase at E3 for fans old and new alike to experience the exploration, combat and new moves for the entire team.??



Both Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal are crafted to take full advantage of the unique gameplay mechanics of their respective consoles. Each version is a new chapter in the Sonic Boom universe and will each have their own unique immersive storylines. Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric will also feature CRYENGINE®, the cutting-edge 3D game technology from Crytek, one of the leading innovators in the industry. As the very first Wii U game to incorporate this technology, the lush environments and landscapes within the game will be visually enhanced like never before.



Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric

Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric will deliver a different experience than past titles. The detailed levels and emphasis on each character??s unique abilities will showcase the distinctive feel of an action- adventure game, giving players more choice in exploration as they work as a team to stop the deadly snake-like ancient villain, Lyric, before he can power up his army. The gameplay will challenge players with over-the-top speed runs, but the heart of the game will focus on intense combat and brand-new abilities including the Enerbeam. This new feature in the game gives players an energy-charged cord that can be used by characters to navigate the world like never before. Players will be able to swing or zip-line across gaps, explore alternate paths, grab and throw enemies and take away their shields in combat.



Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal

Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal is a standalone adventure that shares key characters, events and lore of the Sonic Boom universe with exclusive environments and characters. For the first time ever, gamers will be able to take on the role of Sticks, the newest member of the team who will play an integral role in the story after her best friend Amy gets kidnapped by the ancient villain Lyric. While the Wii U version is focused on action-adventure and exploration, Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal will place a bigger emphasis on platforming and puzzles. Additionally, unique collectibles featured in the Nintendo 3DS version will unlock special content on Wii U via Wi-Fi connectivity.



Announced earlier this year, Sonic Boom is a new branch of the Sonic Universe that, in addition to gaming, will include a first-ever CG-animated TV series on Cartoon Network in the U.S. and Canal J and Gulli in France as well as a robust merchandising program anchored by master toy partner TOMY. Unlike previous Sonic adventures, the Sonic Boom video games will operate in harmony with the TV series, with many feature storylines and characters appearing in both formats.



Sonic the Hedgehog first appeared as a videogame character in June 1991 and instantly became an icon for a generation of gamers. Defined by his super-fast speed and cool attitude, in the years since he first raced on to videogame consoles Sonic has become a true global phenomenon with over 140 million videogames sold or downloaded worldwide across consoles, PC??s, mobile phones and tablets. SEGA??s iconic blue blur has also gone on to enjoy incredible success in many licensed areas, such as toys, apparel, comics and animation.

The Sonic Boom TV series is a co-production between SEGA of America, Inc. and OuiDO! Productions. Executive producers on the Sonic Boom TV series are Evan Baily, Donna Friedman Meir and Jane McGregor on behalf of SEGA, and Sandrine Nguyen and Boris Hertzog from OuiDO!. Bill Freiberger is Co-Executive Producer. Other partners involved in the TV series include Lagardère Entertainment Rights for distribution and Lagardère Active TV Licensing & New Business for licensing and merchandise in France.

Sonic Boom??: Rise of Lyric for Wii U?? and Sonic Boom??: Shattered Crystal for Nintendo 3DS?? will release in November 2014 for North America. For press assets visit www.sega-press.com.

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About SEGA® of America, Inc.:
SEGA® of America, Inc. is the American arm of Tokyo, Japan-based SEGA® Corporation, 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 locatedatwww.sega.com



About Big Red Button Entertainment:
Based in Los Angeles, CA, BRB was founded in 2009 by Bob Rafei, Jeff Lander, and veterans from leading gaming studios such as Naughty Dog, Heavy Iron, Luxo Flux and High Impact Games, to leverage team??s specialization and prior experience in character action game development.

About Sanzaru Games:
Sanzaru Games is a California based independent videogame developer founded in 2007. The studio has created many award winning games on platforms such as the PS3, PS Vita, Wii, PC, DS, iOS and Android platforms for a variety of publishers including Sony Computer Entertainment, Electronic Arts and Nintendo.



About Crytek

Crytek GmbH ("Crytek") is an independent company at the forefront of the interactive entertainment industry, and is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of gaming by creating standout experiences for consoles, PC, mobile devices and games-as-service using their cutting-edge 3D-Game-Technology, CRYENGINE®.

The company's headquarters are in Frankfurt am Main (Germany). Crytek also has studios in Kiev (Ukraine), Budapest (Hungary), Sofia (Bulgaria), Seoul (South Korea), Nottingham (UK), Shanghai (China), Istanbul (Turkey) and Austin (USA).

Since its foundation in 1999, Crytek has consistently been recognized for excellence in its field, earning accolades such as the 2011 Develop Award for Best Independent Studio, and two Red Dot Design Awards (in 2010 and 2013). Its multi-award winning games include Far Cry®, Crysis® (awarded best PC Game of E3 2007 and Best Technology at the 2008 Game Developers Choice Awards), Crysis Warhead® (awarded Best Graphics Technology at IGN Best of 2008 Awards), Crysis® 2 (awarded Best Shooter of E3 2010 and Gamescom 2010), Crysis® 3, Ryse - Son of Rome and Warface (awarded Best Social/Casual/Online Game of Gamescom 2012).

For more information, please visit http://www.crytek.com.

© 2014 Crytek GmbH. Crytek and CRYENGINE are registered trademarks or trademarks of Crytek GmbH in the USA, Germany and/or other countries. All rights reserved.
About Sonic Boom
The Sonic Boom TV series is a co-production between SEGA of America, Inc. and OuiDO! Productions. Executive producers are Evan Baily, Donna Friedman Meir and Jane McGregor on behalf of SEGA, and Sandrine Nguyen and Boris Hertzog on behalf of OuiDO! Productions. Baily and Co-Executive Producer Bill Freiberger are showrunners. Takashi Iizuka, the head of Sonic Team and driving creative force behind the Sonic games, is overseeing the series to ensure that it's true to the Sonic characters and universe.



About Cartoon Network:

Cartoon Network (CartoonNetwork.com) is regularly the #1 U.S. television network in prime among boys 6-11 & 9-14. Currently seen in 97 million U.S. homes and 194 countries around the world, Cartoon Network is Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.'s ad-supported cable service now available in HD offering the best in original, acquired and classic entertainment for kids and families. In addition to Emmy-winning original programming and industry-leading digital apps and online games, Cartoon Network embraces key social issues affecting families with solution-oriented initiatives such as Stop Bullying: Speak Up and the Move It Movement.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.