Sonic Spinball

1993 video game

Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball, commonly shortened to Sonic Spinball, is a 1993 pinball video game. It was created by Sega Technical Institute, and it was published by Sega. It is a spinoff of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It takes place in the universe of the Sonic the Hedgehog animated series. Players control Sonic the Hedgehog, who must stop Doctor Robotnik from enslaving the population in a big pinball-like machine.

Sonic Spinball
Official logo
Developer(s)Sega Technical Institute
Publisher(s)Sega
Producer(s)Yutaka Sugano
Designer(s)
  • Peter Morawiec
  • Hoyt Ng
Artist(s)John Duggan
Composer(s)
SeriesSonic the Hedgehog
Platform(s)Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, Game Gear, Master System
ReleaseSega Genesis
Game Gear
  • EU: August 1994
  • NA: September 1994[4]
Master System
Genre(s)Action, pinball
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Sonic Spinball was created by the American staff of Sega Technical Institute. This was because the Japanese staff was busy with making Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles. When Sega management realized that Sonic the Hedgehog 3 would not be finished in time for the 1993 holiday shopping season, they created another Sonic game. The game was quickly designed. It had short time constraints. Most of the work happened in two months. Sonic Spinball was released for the Sega Genesis in November 1993 and for the Game Gear and Master System in 1994.

A second pinball game, Sonic Pinball Party, was created in 2003. A Sonic Spinball spinning rollercoaster was built in Alton Towers, a British theme park, in 2010.

Release

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The game has been rereleased on 11 different consoles.[5] The Genesis version of the game has been rereleased on the Sonic Mega Collection compilation for the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox and PCs,[6] Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3,[7] and multiple iterations of the Sega Smash Pack series of compilations.[8] The Game Gear version is an unlockable game in Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut for the GameCube and PC,[9] as well as Sonic Gems Collection for the GameCube and PlayStation 2.[10]

Reception

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Sonic Spinball got mixed reviews; critics liked the idea and graphics but didn't like the controls.[source?]

References

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  1. Leadbetter 1993, p. 109.
  2. "Sonic Spinball (Genesis) overview". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on July 2, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  3. "メガドライブ". SEGA ソニックチャンネル (in Japanese). Sonic Team. Archived from the original on August 27, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  4. "Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball for GameGear - overview". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on October 22, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  5. Machin 2011, p. 39.
  6. Liu, Johnny (January 12, 2002). "Sonic Mega Collection Review". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  7. Gilbery, Henry (February 12, 2009). "Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection review". GamesRadar. Future plc. Archived from the original on February 11, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  8. Provo, Frank (October 8, 2002). "SEGA Smash Pack Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on October 22, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  9. "Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut Cheats, Codes, and Secrets for GameCube". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  10. Bramwell, Tom (October 6, 2005). "Sonic Gems Collection". Eurogamer. Eurogamer Network. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
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