Editing Space Channel 5 (section)

==Release==
''Space Channel 5'' was first announced at the September 1999 Tokyo Game Show.<ref name="SC5announced"/> Nahoko portrayed the character [[Ulala (Space Channel 5)|Ulala]] at live promotional events, including its TGS showings.<ref name="DCMag"/><ref name="UlalaVoiceA"/> The game was released in Japan on December 16, 1999.<ref name="SC5dates"/> Sega pushed the game's release with heavy public promotions and an extensive launch event in [[Tokyo]].<ref name="DCMag"/> The game was supported by several pieces of merchandise.<ref name="SC5merch"/> In the US, Sega conducted a contest in [[Universal City, California]] titled ''Space Channel 5 Ulala-a-like Contest''. The contestants were girls between the ages of 9 and 21 who competed to who could resemble Ulala the best. The contestants were able to meet with Ulala portrayed by [[Kelly Preston]] and the winner won $500 and a Dreamcast.<ref name="DCMag-contest" />

The game's localization was handled by Sega, who approached it "with care and time". One of the key elements for the team was finding the right English voice for Ulala.<ref name="IGNinterviewB"/> When the dialogue was localized, there was little difference between regions beyond language-specific nuances.<ref name="SC5blogLocal"/> The music itself received little to no changes.<ref name="RocketHataya"/> The game was released internationally in 2000; it was published in North America on June 6, and in Europe on October 8.<ref name="SC5dates"/><ref>{{Cite web |author=I. G. N. Staff |date=2000-05-26 |title=The Release Dates Have Been Updated |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/05/26/the-release-dates-have-been-updated |access-date=2023-11-21 |website=IGN |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2000-10-06 |title=Console Releases |language=en |work=Eurogamer.net |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/article-29378 |access-date=2023-11-21}}</ref>

Following their exit from the console market, Sega began moving the ''Space Channel 5'' franchise onto other systems, beginning with the [[PlayStation 2]].<ref name="SegaPS2"/><ref name="SC5dates"/> The PS2 version released in Europe on March 15, 2002;<ref name="SC5dates"/> and in Japan on December 12 of that year.<ref name="SC5PS2jp"/> In North America, the PS2 port was bundled with [[Space Channel 5: Part 2|its sequel]] and published in the region by [[Agetec]].<ref name="SC5agetecA"/><ref name="SC5agetecB"/> This version released in North America on November 18.<ref name="SC5PS2dateNA"/> In Japan, the PS2 version has since become a rarity, fetching high resale prices.<ref name="Retro"/>

A remake for the [[Game Boy Advance]] titled ''Space Channel 5: Ulala's Cosmic Attack'' was also produced.<ref name="SC5gba1"/><ref name="SC5gbaNA"/> This formed part of Sega's partnership with [[THQ]] to co-develop and co-publish several of their franchises to the platform.<ref name="SegaTHQ"/> The port was co-developed by [[Art Co., Ltd]] and THQ.<ref name="SC5gba2"/><ref name="SC5gbaCredits"/> The game was re-created within the GBA hardware, with its music rendered using a MIDI score.<ref name="SC5GBAinfo"/> The music was handled by Tsutomu Fuzawa.<ref name="SC5gbaCredits"/> The game was released as a Western exclusive in 2003; it was published on June 17 in North America and September 12 in Europe.<ref name="SC5gbaNA"/><ref name="SC5gbaEU"/>