This is posted as a historical reference as of 6/01/07.
No new topics about this can be made.
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Welcome to the Sonicxtreme thread. As follows are the original posts.
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Greetings. This thread is sanctioned. Ususally items without a set price are not allowed. However, in light of the item and the seller, this is a waiver.
-ASSEMbler
Last edited by ASSEMbler; 06-07-2007 at 07:45 PM.
Yes, it's legit, and no, it isn't mine. Read on, there's a little bit of explanation in order here.
I was contacted recently by an anonymous former Sega employee, who found the article I published about Sonic X-Treme on Lost Levels while Googling. He came across this disc recently and, figuring that it was worth some money and that I might be interested, he contacted me.
There's no way in hell I can afford this on my crappy feelance wages, and I told him as much, but I offered to find a buyer for him. So I'm kind of acting as a middle-man here, as he wants to keep his anonymity as tight as possible.
This disc is not a complete game, the simple reason being that there never was a complete game. What this disc contains is the small playable demo that was produced initially as a proof of concept for Sega of Japan, and then shown to the press at Gamer's Day in 1996. The four screenshots at the bottom of this page are taken from this very same demo.
This is, he assured me, the only playable Saturn build ever seen outside of the development office itself, and I really have no reason to believe otherwise. Furthermore, with the possible exception of one disc under heavy lock and key in Sega's library (according to another anonymous employee, who I spoke to about two years ago), this is very likely to be the only surviving disc PERIOD. Why does he know this? Because he destroyed the others himself, it was part of his job.
I guess the point I'm getting at is that, for better or for worse, this small little demo IS Sonic X-Treme for the Saturn. And if that's something you feel you have to have, well...you'd better grab this, because there's not going to be another opportunity. There is no chance of a "more complete build," and it isn't likely that another copy survived.
...I know I probably sound like a damned eBay auction here, but really, I'm not gaining anything from this sale, and I hope my reputation is high enough by now that you're well aware I know what I'm talking about. As much as I'd love to have this myself, I just DON'T have the funds, and I want it to go to a good home.
Offers are going straight through me, I can be reached at fcifaldi@gmail.com. I'll answer any questions I can in this thread, and ask him any that I can't. I will warn you now that this guy is expecting a four digits, so please don't try to lowball me. And please don't clog my inbox with questions that can be answered in this thread, try to keep it only to buying offers. This disc runs only in a Japanese Saturn (or one modified to think it's Japanese), and requires a first-party Saturn boot disc. If you don't have one, he can provide one, but it's going to cost you (it's his personal disc, he doesn't want to get rid of it).
Oh, and further proof of the disc's authenticity is available TO SERIOUS BUYERS ONLY. Like I said, it is legit, I can vouch for the thing.
Last edited by ASSEMbler; 06-07-2007 at 07:49 PM.
A couple other various bits of info, as I'm thinking of them:
The text on the disc says "Sonic J.G. 7-18," J.G. standing for the playable level, Jade Gully.
This game has not been backed up, and I'm assured it won't be. The disc isn't going through my hands at all, so even if I wanted to make a backup, I can't.
For those that might be wondering, this demo is basically what you see here on the TV screen. Sonic can run around and collect rings, but that's it. There's no real level to speak of. As TRE mentions, it is very much a proof of concept.Originally Posted by TheRedEye
The second paragraph however *is* patently incorrect. There was a second demo produced that was shown outside of the development office. It is a boss fight against Metal Sonic in a Casino Zone inspired arena. This demo felt much more polished, though it was limited to a single fight.
Hope this helps anyone who might be interested in the game.
-hl718
By he, do you mean the seller? Did he, the seller, take part in destroying the material? Or the Sega employee, who you spoke to two years ago, took part in that?
Then why is he selling it?
I just hope the buyer contributes to the community by screenshots of the demo that wasn't shown at E3 nor on the magazines or websites and maybe more information about the game.
Last edited by madhatter256; 09-12-2005 at 09:01 PM.
The seller destroyed the materials, yes. The Sega employee I spoke to two years ago had nothing to do with Sonic X-Treme, he was just curious enough to go looking for it, and says he found one in a vault that was unaccessible to him.
As for "why is he selling it," I was referring to the Saturn boot disc itself. He specifically WANTS to sell Sonic X-Treme, but the Saturn boot disc is only available of the buyer really really needs it, and is willing to pay premium.
No security ring. He said that they only put on security rings during the very last phase of production, for game that were more or less ready for release.
As for making backups, he said there's no way in hell he could do that without official blank media, which he just doesn't have (I think he's inferring that your concern is him making another official-looking proto, I don't think backing it up on generic media has even crossed his mind).
Last edited by LeGIt; 09-14-2012 at 11:01 AM. Reason: Double Post Merge
No The Red Eye its quiet clear sega can easily identify him if they wish. As your previous post mentions....
Im sure all it takes is a look at some documents or asking around employees.
It seems to dont really reply to my posts either stating that the seller will be providing information of who he is to the buyer or not... which makes me think he might not be doing so...
Forum Moderator
cant wait to hear who won the item
Last edited by madhatter256; 09-14-2005 at 09:09 PM.
I don't really know what the seller plans to do with the buyer. Once this is over I connect them with each other and wash my hands of this entire mess.
I just got paid today too, I believe a drink is in order.
So, around how much does he want? 50? 100? 250? 500? more? it would be fun to have the guy answering questions right here. I know he doesn't want to be known, but he's not obligated to divulgate anything that he doesn't want to. It Could make some very interesting topics in the future.
"(...)A One World Government and one-unit monetary system, under permanent non-elected hereditary oligarchists who self-select from among their numbers in the form of a feudal system as it was in the Middle Ages. In this One World entity, population will be limited by restrictions on the number of children per family, diseases, wars, famines, until 1 billion people who are useful to the ruling class, in areas which will be strictly and clearly defined, remain as the total world population." Dont let media feed you with lies. open your eyes and search information yourself.
As I said in the post, he's expecting four digits. The sums you mentioned are between two and three digits. He doesn't have a set price in mind, and he's taking offers.
-Will it be "auction" style? Will bidders be informed if someone has gone higher?
-Will it boot on a Saturn that plays backups/betas w/o the boot disc?
-Can the seller be trusted... or should I say is there any reason to think someone might flake off after we've offered our 4 digits
Last edited by GaijinPunch; 09-12-2005 at 07:51 PM.
More or less auction style, yes. I'll be the first to admit that this isn't terribly organized. If you know me, you know I'm not a businessman, so this is kind of a new experience for me.
I'm no Saturn expert, but I'm pretty sure you need the boot disc to run betas, like on the Dreamcast. If you really know what you're doing, you can probably "hack" a backup to not need one, but don't quote me on that. Any Saturn beta collectors want to offer some insight here?
I'm sorry to say, I don't personally know the seller, so I can't vouch for his character or dependability. Based on the very long conversation we had, though, I can vouch for him having worked at Sega.
Yeah, I remembered the boss demo too, after I'd already made the post. I think you're right, though he claims those were mockup videos. I could swear I've read hands-on descriptions, though.
Last edited by LeGIt; 09-14-2012 at 11:00 AM. Reason: Double Post Merge
A modded Saturn that can play CDRs should have no trouble booting this disc. The Saturn boot discs simply disable the copy protection based on a particular key. A mod chip will completely disable the copy protection making the need for a boot disc moot.
I can personally vouch for it being hands-on. ;)
-hl718
Is that just a regular old CDR or does it have the security ring on it? If it is just a regular CDR then this guy could just make as many copies as he wants.
I don't know, but I'll ask when I'm able to talk to him again.
One last question (two actually)
1: Is there an official end time of the bidding?
2: How does hl718 know so much? Just wondering if this is really indeed a one and only.
Not really, I figure this goes on for a couple days until he decides he's had enough, or the offers just kind of stop. I will say this, though, he's expecting a little more than the bids so far (I'm not sure I agree with him, but I'll try to stay objective here).
Serious question...
Will the seller be willing to do this thru an escrow (based in america). For the amount he's asking I want to make sure that I get what it is I'm buying.
None of the official Sega CDR discs have a security ring. They are standard discs with the Sega logo on them. Some are branded Mega CD, others Saturn, depending on when they were ordered up. Duplicating a Saturn disc is as simple as doing a direct copy. If you did purchase the disc it would be trivial to make a backup and play from that while safely storing the original
No comment.
I will say this however. I have absolutely no connection with this sale.
-hl718
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