(Thanks to Bob T. of Skokie for the pics!)
A little over a week ago, we ran a rumor post about the development of Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing into an arcade game, which would play part of Sega’s celebration for Sonic’s 
20th anniversary this year. Today we have confirmation that the game is real and is well-along in development. The two pictures you see here are from the Chuck E. Cheese in Skokie, IL where the game is currently on location test for an unspecified amount of time. Only two units are shown linked here, although our original information suggests that the game will allow linking for up to eight units. Click on either image for a full-view.
It’s hard to tell from the pictures but our tipster who sent the pics in notes that both the sides and the seats change color constantly. It’s an effect that is “most striking at night”. Notice that the cabinet is otherwise similar in design to the cabinets Sega has used recently with titles such as Sega Racing Classic and GRID, which means that this also should be using a 32″ LCD screen. The start-up during the game says that it is under development by Sumo Digital (who are the makers of the console versions) and the game is running on the Ringwide hardware. The game still retains a power-up system and drifting for an extra boost. There are also three game modes to be found in the arcade version:
Time trial – Race alone to set the fastest times on each track – there are “Staff Ghosts” to beat
Quick Race – Race and battle against others, single or multiplayer
Grand Prix – Progress through a single player, three race championship
Those are all of the details we have on the game for now but seeing how it’s on test in the US already, it’s a safe bet to assume that the game will be at EAG, a big coin-op expo that takes place next week in London, UK. Arcade Heroes writer Heavy Electricity should be there to grab info about all the games that will be on display there, so stay tuned!
UPDATE: I have added a page to the site that details everything we know about the game in one place. Visit it here.
UPDATE #2: Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing was at the EAG Expo in London and we’ve got a preview of how the game plays, including some new features that Sega has added to the game. Read that here. We also have a video of that (and many other games) here.
I’m very excited that Sonic & Sonic All-Star racing is coming to arcades. Can’t wait to see it in person.
Awe shit, man. I’d totally support an Arcade of that kind. <3
Great to see my favourite game of 2010 hit another landscape (but I still want that PSP port…!).
Oh hell yes! SO glad this is happening. Hopefully it’s a little more widespread and cheaper than Mario Kart Arcade GP
As long as it’s cheaper then the availability should be more widespread. Mario Kart’s price was a joke – it was running on cheap hardware that was supposed to bring the price down but they still charged $10k per unit, which is far too high for a racer. Sega’s racers seem to have price between $7000-$8000 lately so I imagine that Sonic will be similar (although lower than that would be great too!)
This is one AWESOME new racer (as we have played it numerous times at the EAG Expo 2011 in London this week), and this is easily the most popular new game at the entire expo, given its observed usage throughout the show – And the seat-changing LED lights are quite cool as well!…
Catch all the latest updates from the EAG Expo 2011 on the BMIGaming Facebook Page (facebook.com/bmigaming) and stay tuned for a full
HD VIdeo Walkthrough of the Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing Game coming to our YouTube Channel next week ! (youtube.com/bmigaming)
Just saw a test unit at an arcade. Played the crap out of it, it was good. Came in the color changing cab, with Ringwide and XP.