Sonic Gems line-up in doubt

Last month, if you recall, we reported that the Sonic Gems Collection for PS2 and Gamecube will include the Streets of Rage games as well as a healthy line-up of classic Sonic titles.

Well, not in the States, according to a statement issued by SEGA US. "While Streets of Rage will ship with Sonic Gems Collection in other markets, the more mature game does not conform to the E-rating of Sonic the Hedgehog games in North America."

Instead, US gamers will get Megadrive games Vectorman and Vectorman 2 to unlock, along with previously announced bonus content such as artwork, videos and remixes of classic Sonic tunes.

However, the version of Sonic CD included in Sonic Gems will feature the US soundtrack only, thanks to tricky licensing issues. Many hardcore Sonic fans will tell you that the Japanese soundtrack is infinitely inferior, and they should know.

Course, the big question is whether SEGA Europe is included in "other markets", or whether they'll follow the Americans' lead and leave out Streets of Rage to ensure a lower age rating.

And it's a question they're not prepared to answer just yet - the line-up is "not set in stone yet, so we can't comment either way," a representative told us. We'll let you know just as soon as they can.