 | Digital Release | Nintendo Wii August 21, 2007 (JP) September 07, 2007 (EU) September 10, 2007 (NA) Xbox 360 June 10, 2009 (AU, EU, NA, JP) Steam (as Sonic 3 & Knuckles) January 26, 2011 Xbox One November 12, 2015 |
| Delisting | No later than January 30, 2019 - Nintendo Wii May 20, 2022 - Xbox 360, Xbox One (AU, EU, NA), Steam May 2022 - Xbox 360, Xbox One (JP) |
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| Developer | Backbone Entertainment - Xbox 360, Xbox One Sega - Nintendo Wii, Steam |
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| Publisher | Sega | |
| Available On | Digital Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One (in Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Classics) Retail Original Hardware and Compilation Releases |
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| Links | Sonic the Hedgehog series homepage SteamDB page Nintendo.com page [Archive] |
Delisting
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was initially delisted on Nintendo Wii no later than January 30th, 2019 when the Nintendo Wii Shop Channel and Virtual Console services were shut down.
Sega PR confirmed to Twitter user @Tracker_TD on April 26th, 2022 that several standalone Sonic titles would be delisted from digital stores on May 20th leading up to the June release of Sonic Origins. Sega Japan released their own official statement on April 27th confirming the news and providing a few more details.
Starting as early as May 19th, some users reported that they were unable to buy or had issues downloading the titles on Xbox 360. Throughout the day of May 20th various versions of the game began disappearing as promised and by the morning of May 21st only two titles remained. As of mid-day May 23rd, the original Sonic the Hedgehog was also delisted on Xbox 360 (AU, EU, NA) leaving Sonic CD as the only title available, exclusively on PlayStation 3 in North America.
Sega had earlier confirmed that the releases of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch would remain available. As of this writing the free-to-play versions of Sonic 1, Sonic 2, and Sonic CD also remain available on mobile devices. The 2018 console release of Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Classics also remains available digitally as of this writing and includes Sonic 1, Sonic 2, and Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
As Sega explained themselves, the delistings were made ahead of the release of Sonic Origins, a new compilation including the delisted titles with various additions and tweaks. However, some have noted that the Sonic Origins versions of the games are not identical to the older releases. In particular, some of the Steam versions were able to be modified with user created content and patches.
About the Game
Sonic and Tails are back for another adventure in Sonic The Hedgehog 3 as they again battle the evil Dr. Eggman (aka Dr. Robotnik), who is desperately trying to collect all the Chaos Emeralds in order to rebuild his Death Egg. Our heroes must find the Chaos Emeralds before Dr. Eggman does, but winning the race won’t be easy.
A new adversary, Knuckles the Echidna, has arrived on the scene and will do whatever he can to keep Sonic and Tails from reaching their goal. Grab all the golden rings, find various bonus zones, and overcome Knuckles and Dr. Eggman as you rocket through the third chapter in Sonic’s adventures.