Way back in July, we gave you the first heads up of the UDON Entertainment publication “The History Of Sonic The Hedgehog”. The book finally got published around the globe just a few weeks ago, after a nearly 4 month delay. Previously it had been reported that this would be the only version of the book made available for purchase, however this week it was announced by Pix’n Love Publishing, that a special collector’s edition of the book would be published, and it is now available for purchase. But what exactly do you get with this limited edition copy?

Before we get to the specifics of the limited edition, allow me to refresh your memory on what exactly the book was all about. UDON, who had teamed up with Pix’n Love Publishing to bring this product to the United States, presented “The History of Sonic The Hedgehog”, which is a 300 page book that features practically every piece of information (in great detail) about everyone’s favorite blue blur. The book covers every 2D and 3D “Sonic” game in explicit detail, including historical information, programmer profiles, and lots of great artwork, including not just the standard game box art, but lots of prototype art. Without a doubt, there was a lot of interest in this book upon it’s original announcement, and the sales thus far have been quite successful, with original printings being sold out by the manufacturer.

Ash Paulsen, UDON Entertainment’s associate editor, was at one point asked if there would ever be any type of special edition of the book, and initially stated that the standard edition would be all that is printed. But earlier this week, Pix’n Love Publishing announced a limited edition copy of the book, to be limited to just 1000 printings. Each of these 1000 copies is presented to you with an alternate hardback cover, and is individually numbered by the publisher.

Unfortunately however, the different cover and the fact that they are specially numbered, seem to be the only differences between the two editions. It’s been stated that the content under the cover is exactly the same as the standard version, which was recently released. A representative from Pix’n Love Publishing, told the web site Sonic Retro, the following about the updated book:

“Our goal was to give something exclusive and rare to the Sonic’s Fans [sic] around the world. This is the reason, we decided to print only 1.000 copies and not one more. We knew the potential of this book is much higher! We wanted to offer to our overseas readers something that can not be found anywhere else. This is why, we decided to make this Collector’s Edition. The Collector’s Edition is exclusive to Pix’N Love. The cover is different, more [luxurious] and all the copies are numbered that add to the book an exclusive pattern.”

The responses to this announcement however, seem to be split down the middle. There are some people that are very happy about this new edition and are very willing to pick it up. Mostly, these come from fans that have not already picked up their own copy. However people that have already purchased the book were upset that this announcement was not made originally, and a good number of them have expressed no interest in picking up the book a second time. One individual also stated their annoyance in mentioning that those that pre-ordered the original book (which was delayed by over 4 months), should have gotten the first chance at this updated edition.

Paulsen has also made an announcement in regards to him originally being misleading about the possibility of a collectors edition of the book, and it turns out that even he was not made aware of the project, and offered an apology:

“My apologies to those of you affected by my saying that there would not be a U.S. collector’s edition. At the time I was asked that question…We had not yet made that decision, so I really did not know that there would be one. That said, one of the reasons I did not know is because it [the limited edition] is only available from Pix ‘n Love, not from UDON itself. The good news is there are no content differences between the standard and collector’s editions — the only differences between the two are the aforementioned cover and numbering (and to be honest, I kind of prefer the standard edition cover anyway!). Everything else is the same as the standard edition.”

The limited edition version is currently for sale exclusively at Pix’n Love based out of the United Kingdom. The price for the book is currently £29.99 ($47.41) and can be shipped internationally. Those wanting a copy of the standard edition can currently get one from Amazon for the lower cost of $31.24, however it’s been confirmed that the book is sold out on a distributor level, meaning that the first edition printing is completed. There has been no word on if UDON will ever release their own version of the Collector’s Edition in the United States.

Pix’n Love Publishing Order Link (Limited Edition):

http://www.pixnlovepublishing.com/Books/The-History-of-Sonic/flypage.tpl.html

Amazon Order Link (Standard Edition):

http://www.amazon.com/History-Sonic-Hedgehog-Marc-Petronille/dp/1926778561