SEGA Shop is open for business!

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The SEGA Shop is open for business at shop.sega.com! As we reported last week, the SEGA Shop is a new online retail destination for the Americas (and in the future additional territories) serving the various SEGA brands. At launch, the shop features Sonic, Shinobi, Golden Axe and SEGA Genesis brands with plans to expand. Currently, the shop primarily has wearables like shirts and hoodies, but there are plans to add exclusive items like pins and other items.

Currently, the store has a cool exclusive Sonic Forces shirt, SEGA Genesis blankets, and an Eggman and Metal Sonic mug.

Check the SEGA Shop out for yourself, and in the comments below tell us what you think of their selection!

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Sonic Forces “Rental Avatar” hero mode, boss battle and Space Port gameplay footage released

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New Sonic Forces details have been released today by way of gameplay footage, screens and a press release detailing the “Rental Avatar” Hero Swapping feature. The new mode – which may be a sly nod to the classic SEGA Mega Drive game Rent-A-Hero – allows players to swap out their hero avatar character with a hero avatar character created by another player, seemingly pulled at random from players worldwide. This allows you to see their unique designs and utilize their wispon weapon. This allows you to use your own selected wispon weapon and the one set by another player. You can see the “Rental Avatar” mode in the Infinite boss battle footage above.

Also released is B-roll gameplay footage of the hero avatar in the Space Port stage which takes place in the frigid north of Sonic’s world where a chemical plant is supplying a space port. You can see the footage, as well as Infinite boss battle screens, after the break.

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Creative Assembly shares rejected Halo Wars 3 concept artwork

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If you didn’t already know, SEGA owned studio The Creative Assembly (Total War series), was the developer behind Microsoft Studios’ Halo Wars 2 on the Xbox One and PC. It seemed that the team was ready to move on to Halo Wars 3, at least according to Brad Wright, senior concept artist for Creative assembly who posted rejected art work for the project on his ArtStation account (now removed). Originally the site’s discription said:

“Surprisingly I got the all clear from Microsoft to show this cancelled pitch material. We did some proposals for Halo Wars 3, I had to introduce space battles into the game style, as well as having your capital ship as your home base, to prep your ground forces.” – Brad Wright, Senior Concept Artist The Creative Assembly. 

Oddly enough it has  changed to a generic description of “Halo Wars 2 additional work done for Creative Assembly for Halo Wars 2. Property of Microsoft”, then after deleted. Brad has yet to explain why the sudden change, but I assume that maybe Microsoft had a change of heart with him sharing unfinished concepts for a unannounced sequel. I hope Brad Wright doesn’t get in trouble for sharing the concept artwork, because it looks really awesome. What are your thoughts on the Halo Wars 3 concept pitch? Intergalactic space battles? Yes, please.

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[Source: Eurogamer]

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ATLUS online store launches with Persona 5 merchandise available for pre-order

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While the SEGA Shop opens tomorrow, today the ATLUS Online Store launched with merchandise from Persona 5. The store is being dubbed a work in progress and will initially serve North America with plans to expand globally. Currently available are dozens of items including Morgana and Jack Frost plushies, hoodies, “The Phantom Thieves” t-shirts, pins, phone cases and more. Several items are imports, being made available for the first time outside of Anime Expo. Pre-orders are expected to ship late November to early December and are available while supplies last.

Visit the store for yourself, and happy shopping!

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Sonic Forces: Speed Battle behind the scenes video showcases game’s development

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SEGA Europe has released a development video showing a behind the scenes look at the upcoming mobile tie-in to Sonic Forces, titled Sonic Forces: Speed Battle. Developed by Hardlight Studios, creators of the Sonic Dash games, Sonic Forces: Speed Battle is an online multiplayer version of their endless runner and takes place in Sonic Forces settings. Interestingly, the game was initially tested using a multiplayer version of Sonic Dash 2: Sonic Boom. The game is currently soft launched in select territories, but a wide release should be happening soon.

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Sonic Forces prequel comic PDF contains hidden art – Infinite unmasked!

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Opening the Sonic Forces: Moment of Truth digital comic PDF files in Photoshop reveals an interesting behind-the-scenes look at the production process, and reveals some hidden art – including a peek at Infinite without his mask! It seems when saving the files out, the layers weren’t flattened and hidden layers weren’t removed. As such, it is possible to remove word balloons, line art, colors and characters.

Also, the cover art contains what appear to be alternate cover art sketches featuring Eggman, The Phantom Ruby (as seen in Sonic Mania) and an unmasked Infinite with a dagger. Other art includes an alternate cover sketch of the Custom Hero and Chaotix, art of Knuckles and Silver looking surprised and art of Shadow, Omega (confirming his inclusion in the game?) and Infinite.

Check out the hidden art after the break!

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SEGA News Bits: Sonic Forces Comic Book Tie-In Discussion

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The first, free digital issue of the Sonic Forces tie-in comic being titled ‘Moment of Truth‘ has been released by SEGA. This promotional tie-in issue is set to give users a taste of one of the many created avatars that have joined our Sonic the Hedgehog heroes in the fight against Eggman. On this episode of the SEGA News Bits we will give you our opinion on the Sonic Forces ‘Moment of Truth’ tie-in comic, our thoughts on the story, tone, and what we will like to see in future issues. Tune in and let us know what you’re thoughts on the Sonic Forces ‘Moment of Truth’ promotional tie-in comic!

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

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An official online SEGA Shop is coming soon for the Americas

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In the latest Sonic Official stream, it was announced that SEGA will soon be launching a SEGA shop which will feature new official merchandise spanning apparel, accessories, collectibles, costumes and home decor. One example of collectibles included limited edition pins. The shop will initially launch with a limited number of SEGA brands, including Sonic, SEGA Genesis, Golden Axe and Shinobi. After the shop opens, brands will expand. So when does this launch? Expect the store to open next Tuesday at shop.sega.com.

Currently the shop will serve the Americas only, but a UK shop is in the works apparently. What would you like to see at the SEGA Shop? Sound off in the comments below!

 

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Sonic Forces four-part free digital comic debuts today, written by Ian Flynn

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This is a surprise! Coming off of the IDW panel last week which revealed former Archie Sonic writer Ian Flynn was heading up writing duties of the new IDW series, fans were wondering if we would see a Sonic Forces adaptation and… we are! Today! SEGA and Sonic Team have announced a four-part digital comic series scripted by Ian Flynn which serves as a prequel to the upcoming Sonic Forces. The first part is titled “Moment of Truth” and stars the Chaotix and the Custom Hero Character, and can be read after the break. More chapters release later this month.

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Sega Dreamcast: Collected Works Kickstarter nears final hours, adds Yu Suzuki signed edition tier

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The Sega Dreamcast: Collected Works Kickstarter ends today, with the current pledged amount sitting at £122,127 of a £68,000 goal. As the campaign nears its end, an update has been released announcing a new signed edition tier. SEGA legend Yu Suzuki will be signing 15 copies of the book with the new tier priced at £75, and he has been added to the growing list of interview subjects to appear in the book!

The signed tier will release at 6 p.m. GMT, just a few hours before the campaign ends. So if you want Yu Suzuki’s autograph and a great looking book, you can sit at your computer refreshing like crazy. For comparison, the Shenmue 3 Kickstarter had Yu’s autograph at the $300 tier, whereas here it’s around $99. We’ll have more information about the Sega Dreamcast: Collected Works book, including a Swingin’ Report Show interview with Read-Only Memory’s Darren Wall, in the coming months. So stay tuned!

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Beyond Oasis joins the SEGA Forever mobile lineup

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The SEGA Forever lineup expands today as the classic SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive action RPG Beyond Oasis (The Story of Thor: A Successor of the Light in Europe) becomes the latest free-to-play mobile release. Developed by Ancient, with music by Yuzo Koshiro and released in 1994, Beyond Oasis stars Prince Ali in his quest for the Gold Armlet to save Oasis. Beyond Oasis is best played with the six-button pad, and SEGA has not forgotten this as a six-button arrangement is how the mobile port is played. Players can also utilize a rewind feature, which jumps back 15 seconds (at the cost of watching an ad).

Beyond Oasis will release to the App Store and Google Play store later this afternoon.

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SEGA News Bits: Sonic the Hedgehog Comics Return April 2018 Discussion

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We all know the long story about how SEGA and Archie had a disagreement with the Sonic the Hedgehog license and that they are now relaunching the long running comic book series under publisher IDW. Thanks to the New York Comic Con ‘IDW Sonic Comic Town Hall panel’ we now know new information on the relaunch that has been confirmed for April 2018. On this episode of the SEGA News Bits we talk about getting four issues in April 2018, Ian Flynn being named head writer, Tyson Hesse doing promotional art for the event, and the return of The Freedom Fighters? Tune into the episode and let us know your thoughts on the IDW Sonic the Hedgehog comic book relaunch in the comments below!

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

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SEGA News Bits: Sonic Forces PSN Trophies Leak, Reveals New Info

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Welcome to a new SEGA News Bits, today we will be discussing the Sonic Forces early PSN trophies leak that happen yesterday. On this episode I’ll be going through all the interesting information that the leaked PSN trophies revealed including Silver Moon Rings, Secret Stages, Daily Missions, and lots more. So tune in and let us know what you think of Sonic Forces’ PSN Trophies and are you planning on getting a Platinum on it? Let us know in the comments below.

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

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Sonic Forces PSN trophies leak early, teases at unannounced in-game content

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It seems that Sonic Force‘s PSN trophies have now leaked via PSN Profiles, a website dedicated to listing PSN trophies for easy tracking. According to the website Sonic Forces will have 46 trophies in total including: 32 bronze, 10 silver, 3 gold, and of course 1 platinum. The trophies hint at the game having more in-game content, including ‘secret stages’ and ‘EX stages’. It seems that the game will also have a lot of things to collect in-game from red rings, number rings, silver moon rings, wispons, parts, and a lot more. Seeing what the trophies are made up of, I’m pretty sure this listing is legit. But since its not 100% confirmed by SEGA, believe at your own risk.

Another interesting thing on Sonic Forces is some of the ‘daily missions’ and ‘SOS missions’ that have been revealed via the trophies. I assume the daily missions will have some sort of online functionality where you get different rewards for completing missions given by the game? It seems that the big three trophies to collect are the gold ones and those are collecting all wispons, beating all challenge missions and collecting all the silver moon rings. You can check out the Sonic Forces PSN trophies over here for yourself. Are you planning on getting a platinum in Sonic Forces?

[Via: PSN Profiles]

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Sonic the Hedgehog comics returns in April 2018, Ian Flynn confirmed as writer

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The IDW Sonic Comic Town Hall panel has just went down, where they discussed the future of the Sonic the Hedgehog comics. If you guys didn’t hear, SEGA ended their license agreement with Archie comics, who prior to this IDW deal had been publishing Sonic the Hedgehog comics since April 6, 1993. Seems that IDW knows that April is  an iconic month for Sonic the Hedgehog comics since the first IDW Sonic the Hedgehog issue will be launching on April 4, 2018! IDW also confirmed that they will be publishing the book weekly throughout April (which means 4 issues then after April it will go back to monthly. The release dates for the first four issues are as follows:

  • Issue #1: April 4, 2018
  • Issue #2: April 11, 2018
  • Issue #3: April 18, 2018
  • Issue #4: April 25, 2018

IDW and SEGA also confirmed that Ian Flynn, who took over writing duties on Archie’s Sonic the Hedgehog since issue 160 back in March of 2006 will back as head writer. While Ian Flynn is the only name that has been confirmed for IDW’s Sonic the Hedgehog comic, they did give attendants of the Sonic Comic Town Hall panel a printed copy of Tyson Hesse Sonic the Hedgehog artwork. Maybe teasing him returning to the Sonic comics? IDW also said they are aware of fans wanting to see the return of the Freedom Fighters and told them to stay tuned. As far as content goes, IDW confirmed that they are allowed to use anything from the Sonic the Hedgehog games and has confirmed that there is no Sonic Forces comics in the works ‘as of right now’. As far as original characters, IDW said they may create some and are considering crossovers.

You can read the press release after the jump.

[Via: TSSZ News]

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