Virtua Fighter is Back! Celebrate VF’s 30th Anniversary with Multiple Announcements through VF Direct!

The time has finally come for the Virtua Fighter series to return, with multiple projects underway! In the very first VF Direct, the development team at Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and SEGA AM2 unveiled a plethora of exciting announcements about the future of the Virtua Fighter franchise. Here’s everything fans need to know from the VF Direct:

  • The next chapter in the Virtua Fighter series is officially in development! At the Game Awards, a teaser showcased Akira Yuki and Sarah Bryant with stunning new designs. More details about the game will be revealed in future VF Directs.
  • The 2.0 update for Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown is now available as a free download on Playstation 4. The 2.0 update includes returning moves from Virtua Fighter 5 R, balance adjustments, new combos, and revamped hit effects.
  • Pre-Orders for Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O is available now on Steam with Standard and 30th Anniversary Edition for $15.99 and $39.99, respectively. The 30th Anniversary Edition will include exclusive 30th Anniversary themed costumes for all characters, collection of all Virtua Fighter titles original soundtracks*, plus 2 new songs and previously unreleased themes from the Virtua Fighter 2 era, ultra rare preliminary sketches and artwork straight from the pre-production of the original Virtua Fighter, and 30th Anniversary in-game rank titles. Exclusive set of character customization items featuring SEGA’s legendary consoles will be available for both editions if you pre-order the game.
  • The Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O Open Beta is now live on Steam and will run for five days. Be sure to jump in and experience the updated mechanics while you can!
  • Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O tournaments have been announced for major fighting game events at Frosty Faustings XVII 2025 in Chicago on January 23-26, 2025 and EVO Japan on April 12, 2025.
  • Official Virtua Fighter merchandise will soon be available for purchase on Amazon. Stay tuned for the release date.
  • Physical editions for Virtua Fighter 2 and Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown will be available to purchase through Limited Run Games website at 10 AM ET for a limited time from December 12, 2024 – January 12, 2025.

The future of Virtua Fighter looks incredibly promising. With a new game on the horizon, major updates, special editions, and tournaments, the iconic fighting game franchise is making a triumphant comeback.

What are your thoughts on all this exciting Virtua Fighter news? Which announcement are you most looking forward to? Share your thoughts—we’d love to hear from everyone in the community!

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds announced for 2025 – All-Stars return?

Sonic returns to the race track with Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, a new entry in the Sonic racing series which was revealed at The Game Awards. Due out in 2025, little is known about the game aside from the fact that Shadow locks his car and the game will feature portals to other worlds. The end of the trailer appears to play the SEGA Saturn Japanese startup sound, perhaps a not to Sonic R or that the series will jump around Sonic’s racing history as well as other SEGA titles. We have read that Hardlight will be developing the game.

Project Century revealed as new title from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has another game up their sleeve at The Game Awards, and unlike Virtua Fighter it appears to be a brand new original title. Project Century, which is more than likely a placeholder, takes place in 1915 Japan. Though based on the clothing, architecture and presence of some supernatural elements it’s not the one from our own history. The game features the studio’s trademark over the top combat, though this time it is a lot more bloody than most titles from the studio. Not much more was revealed, but we’re intrigued and can’t wait to learn more!

Virtua Fighter is back with an all new entry from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio

Revealed at The Game Awards 2024, Virtua Fighter is back with an all new entry from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio. The game is not a rerelease or remake, it’s all new though interestingly not being billed as “6”. What is the title of this new game? I guess we will find out soon as VF Direct will have more details on December 13th at 12AM Eastern Time. In the meantime, enjoy the trailer and let’s all celebrate the return of the best fighting game series of all time!

SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Movie Pack Available Later Today

Can’t wait for Sonic Movie 3? No fret as SEGA has announced that the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Movie Pack for SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS will be available later today for players who own the Digital Deluxe Edition across PlayStation 5 (PS5), PlayStation 4 (PS4), Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, the Nintendo Switch family of systems, and PC.

When transported to an unknown dimension, Shadow must race through the streets of modern-day Shibuya to defeat the forces of G.U.N. Players who own the Digital Deluxe Edition or purchase the Digital Deluxe Upgrade can take on a new look as Shadow and play through a unique level inspired by the new movie, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, featuring the voice of Keanu Reeves!

The new level can be accessed from the White Space in Shadow Generations. Here are some cool screenshots of Movie Shadow in action!

SEGA Celebrates Upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Movie with New Mobile Updates

Today, SEGA announced in celebration of the highly anticipated “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” film set to release later this month, there will be a few themed updates coming to Sonic Dream Team – the 3D Sonic the Hedgehog action-platformer, playable exclusively on Apple Arcade, as well as Sonic Dash, and Sonic Forces available on the App Store and Google Play.

Here are the details on the updates here and screenshots in the next section of the article:

Sonic Dash – update available December 20, 2024

  • Win your favorite stars from the Sonic Movie! Collect cards to unlock Movie Shadow and Movie Sonic, and pick-up daily collectibles to earn extra rewards!

    • Sonic Dash+ on Apple Arcade will also be receiving Shadow-themed updates coming January 2025!

Sonic Forces – update available December 12, 2024

  • New Adventure. New Rival. Play as Movie Shadow, Movie Sonic and all of your favorite characters in the Sonic Movie Mobile events. Race through the all-new Metro-city Zone which includes 3 brand new tracks to put your skills to the test!

Sonic Dream Team – update available December 18, 2024

  • Playable Shadow and new challenges!

    • Dive into Tails’ Challenges and take control of Shadow! Experience special Challenge levels, earn new rewards, and unlock Shadow for use in Adventure.

    • Manipulate time with Shadow’s special abilities, Chaos Control and Chaos Shift. Lock enemies and the environment in place as you tear through levels to achieve your goal.

  • New Powers!

    • Grab a new set of Powers to add to your loadouts through the new Shadow rewards!

    • Quick Grind, Perfect Jump, Chain Attack, and Perfect Boost are available for all characters, whilst Shadow can access the exclusive Double Chaos Shift, and Extended Chaos Control

  • New Music and statues!

    • 6 new Shadow themed statues, and more fan-favorite music tracks have been added to Tails’ Challenges for players to expand collections.

  • New tutorial

    • A fully reworked tutorial level has been added to help new players get to grips with the game. There’s never been a better time to try Sonic Dream Team!

Sonic Dash and Sonic Forces are available on the App Store and Google Play. Sonic Dream Team is available exclusively on Apple Arcade and is playable across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Vision Pro.

Hasbro and SEGA Announces New Sonic the Hedgehog x TRANSFORMERS Action Figures

Today, HASBRO and SEGA announced the all-new Sonic the Hedgehog x TRANSFORMERS mash-up pack of action figures. The collaboration features the new Blue Booster and Wingtail action figures inspired by Sonic the Hedgehog.

The Sonic the Hedgehog x TRANSFORMERS action figures can be pre-ordered starting on December 10 for $49.99 and will be available in Summer 2025. Hit the next section of the article to take a look at the Blue Booster and Wingtail action figures with screenshots and press release information.

G FUEL reveals Shadow the Hedgehog Collector’s Box and new Ultimate Chaos cherry vanilla explosion flavor

The zero sugar energy drink company G FUEL has announced a new SEGA collaboration which will see Sonic’s rival Shadow the Hedgehog being given his own flavor and collector’s box! The collector’s box will contain a Shadow shaker and a tub of Ultimate Chaos cherry vanilla explosion powder as well as a Shadow G FUEL sticker. You can join the waitlist by clicking here, and in the meantime check out their other Sonic and SEGA offerings. Use promo code SEGABITS to save 20% off your purchase.

Sonic Rumble Pre-Registration Now Available + Get An Exclusive Movie Sonic Skin

After several regional tests, Sonic Rumble is now available to pre-register beginning today coincide with the start of store reservations. In this campaign, the rewards players will receive in the game after the official launch will level up according to the number of pre-registrations. The more people who pre-register, the more exciting the items players can get such as the Movie Sonic skin.

The pre-registration period begins today, December 5, 2024 until the official launch. Are you excited to play Sonic Rumble soon? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to pre-register the game on mobile and PC devices.

Pre-Register

Google Play | App Store (iOS version) | Steam

SEGA Talk #153: SEGA Accessories Part 1 (1984-1994)

This time on SEGA Talk we take a deep dive talking about our favorite, worse and most innovative SEGA Accessories starting from SEGA SG-1000 through the SEGA Genesis for this first part episode of SEGA Talk.

[iTunes – Stitcher – YouTube – Download]

Support us on Patreon! Get early access, have your memories read on the show, select the games we talk about!

SEGA News Bits Live: New Sonic 3 Trailer, Song and Merch

Sonic 3 is almost here! The marketing machine is in full gear with new trailers, songs and merch! On this SEGA News Bits Live, Barry takes a look at the trailer, talks about Jelly Roll’s new song “Run It” and discusses new merch reveals.

If you want to support this type of content, you can check out our Patreon!

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us: Give us a sub and give this video a thumbs up so it shows up on more like-minded fans YouTube recommendations. You know, how that YouTube algorithm is.

 

SEGAbits talks Sonic 3 movie and more on the Sonic Weekly podcast

SEGAbits, well Barry specifically, made an appearance on the Sonic Weekly podcast to talk all things Sonic 3 movie, Gerald Robotnik, Wreck-It Ralph and more! Check out the episode in the video above, or search out “Sonic Weekly” on your podcatcher of choice. Thanks to David and Grant for the invite!

After the break, you can listen to Barry’s first appearance on the show!

A hidden (and broken) stage has been revealed in Fighters Megamix after 28 years.

Can anyone believe it’s been 30 years since the Sega Saturn launched in Japan? To celebrate the occasion, Yutaka Ito, who works today as a director at RGG Studio, revealed a well hidden secret about Fighters Megamix (1997), the acclaimed crossover fighter on Saturn that he worked on during his early years working for Sega as a programmer at AM2. There was a secret stage hidden away in the game, only accessible through a secret code that he had originally intended to reveal to players through magazines. The reason he didn’t? The stage contained a bug that softlocks the game, which he didn’t find out about until the game already shipped to retail. He really seems to take that mistake personally too.

Want to see what this mysterious(-ly destructive) stage looks like? Check it out after the break.

Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack updated with Mercs, Toejam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron, and Vectorman

On November 26th, 2024, Sega added Toejam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron, Vectorman and Mercs to Sega Genesis – Nintendo Switch Online. Japan, despite only seeing Mercs release there originally, gets the same three games at the same time.

All four games are immediately accessible to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscribers following a quick patch update to the app. For more info on each game, check in after the break for a synopsis on all of them.

Internationally Renowned Artist Romero Britto and SEGA Bring an Exciting Art and Consumer Goods’ Collaboration to Miami

Today, SEGA and internationally famed artist, Romero Britto, are excited to announce they will be teaming up in December 2024 to debut artworks and consumer goods from the BRITTO x Sonic collaboration through a pop-up at Britto’s flagship gallery in Miami, Florida.

On December 7, in Miami, fans will have the opportunity to experience Britto’s vibrant and bold artwork, including a collection of fine art and fun consumer goods from the Sonic collection.

The launch event of the BRITTO x Sonic collaboration in Miami will be held on December 7th, 2024 Saturday, from 6-8PM EST at the Romero Britto Gallery on 1102 Lincoln Rd, Miami Beach, FL 33139 and will feature the presence of Romero Britto as well as the official Sonic character.

Check out more information on the event by clicking the next section of the article!