It was recently made known that mega-mobile-publisher Gameloft has inked a deal with Sega Europe to produce mobile games based on Sega property:

“We are confident this agreement will be the first step towards a long term partnership between Gameloft and SEGA,” said Michel Guillemot, president, Gameloft. “SEGA’s great brands coupled with Gameloft’s long standing history of excellence in mobile game development can only result in an extraordinary mobile experience for consumers.”

The first game to come from the deal is Sonic Unleashed, which Gameloft is describing as a “high speed 2D side-scrolling adventure”.

Gamers will be able to choose from Sonic the Hedgehog or Werehog when this game is made available in Europe, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand in June. I wonder what other games Gameloft has cookin’.

One of the chiefest concerns of anti-video game advocates is how to effectively keep titles intended for adults out of the hands of children. Many are proponents of legislating penalties for selling adult games to minors, which allows parents some degree of control over what their children buy, but there’s always loopholes like eBay or simply getting an older brother/cousin to buy the game for you. In many places it’s left up to the parents to control what their children consume.

New Zealand has taken a much harsher stand in this debate. They have declared it illegal for a parent to provide their children with access to adult-rated games. Unfortunately this is the sort of legislation that is notoriously hard to enforce, especially since most police forces are probably less concerned about little Timmy beating up prostitutes and stealing cars in GTA than they are about people committing such crimes in real life.

The country’s chief government censor is advocating for an actual penalty for the crime however, with a punishment of up to three months in prison or a $10,000 fine that is intended to shock parents into following the law, no matter how ridiculous they might think it is.