Sega has officially announced that Samba de Amigo: Party Central will be released on August 29th, 2023. Pre-orders for the title have just gone live with the standard edition costing $39.99 / £35.99 and the Digital Deluxe Edition costing $49.99 / £44.99. Alongside this, the Digital Deluxe Edition also includes a brand-new Sonic the Hedgehog music DLC pack which includes tracks such as ‘Open Your Heart’, ‘Reach for the Stars’, and ‘I’m Here.’ Sonic and Tails costumes are also included in the bundle.
Samba de Amigo: Party Central is also set to launch with even more costumes and accessories including ones related to Space Channel 5, Super Monkey Ball, and PuyoPuyo. Sega has also provided some information as to what players can expect post-launch with additional tracks from Space Channel 5, Rhythm Thief, and RGG Studio.
Samba de Amigo: Party Central was originally revealed at a Nintendo Direct for the Nintendo Switch back in February 2023. The game is set to include a total of 40 songs upon release. Alongside this, players can also expect a variety of party modes to make their way to the game including an online mode that is set to accommodate up to eight players.
Samba de Amigo was originally developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega all the way back in 1999 for arcade machines and later made its way to Dreamcast in 2000. This news comes after Sega CEO Haruki Satomi and Sega CFO Koichi Fukazawa recently announced in an earnings presentation that the company could raise the price of its games to $70. In the call, Sega said:
In the global marketplace, AAA game titles for console have been sold at $59.99 for many years, but titles sold at $69.99 have appeared in the last year. We would like to review the prices of titles that we believe are commensurate with price increases, while also keeping an eye on market conditions.”
Sega
However, it seems that Samba de Amigo: Party Central is not set to be the beginning of that trend as it will only retail for either $39.99 / £35.99 or $49.99 / £44.99 as the game gets set for launch on August 29th, 2023 for the Nintendo Switch. Alongside Samba de Amigo: Party Central Sega is also set to release Sonic Origins Plus and Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection this year.