SEGA’s own online merch store SEGA Shop is now a year old. Since the shop’s debut, they’ve expanded beyond Sonic and SEGA Genesis themed items to include Yakuza, Altered Beast, Shinobi and others. The latest addition is a lineup of Jet Set Radio themed merch. Items include a t-shirt, a denim jacket, hoodies, patches, a water bottle, glasses, a graffiti stencil and a smart tablet case.
After receiving the strange crossover A Certain Magical Virtual-On, SEGA is going back to the basics for their Virtual-On series. Recently announced is that the first three games in the series, respectively Cyper Troopers Virtual-On, Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram, and Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Force, will all be coming to the Playstation 4 in the future. These games will be based on their respective arcade versions, along with the most recent version “Ver. 5.66” in the case of Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram. It’s currently unknown if there will be any additional features available, along with other details such as a pricing or release date. Also the omission of Virtual-On MARZ is strange, but they likely wanted to stick with the games that were made for the arcades.
Virtual-On is an arena robot fighting game that originally used twin sticks to jump, dash, and shoot. Naturally for those that want an authentic experience, this may cause some concern. Luckily, a third party manufacturer under the name TANITA is going to produce a brand new twin stick controller that was originally planned for A Certain Magical Virtual-On. It was originally funded using a Campfire campaign under the name “Twin Stick Project Z”, which as of this writing has surpassed it’s intended goal of 44,600,000円. Currently there’s no word on when this controller will enter full production.
It’s not known if any of these games or the controller will receive a release outside of Japan as of this writing, but keep in touch for any future updates.
[Source: SEGA Japan Twitter / Tanita]
If you have been a massive Yakuza fan for awhile, you might have noticed that the franchise has been gaining steam since the release of Yakuza 0. My worse fear was that after Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami, that those new audiences would either set Yakuza 6 aside for later (after Kiwami 2 and the Yakuza 3-5 ports) or just stop buying the franchise altogether. I can safely say that isn’t the case, thankfully Yakuza 6 seems to have performed well enough that the game sold the same in West as it did in Japan. This is a first for the franchise, not bad for a title that was closing off a long running story.
“In the past, the Japanese market has generated the bulk of sales for these series, and although it has elements that are appealing to overseas. However, the game was not developed with European and U.S. markets in mind. Thanks to painstaking efforts to create a game that Japanese fans will appreciate, the title has become popular not only in Japan but also won over fans overseas who praise the refined game sense of the title. I believe this is why Yakuza 6: The Song of Life has become such a popular hit around the world.” – SEGA’s Kenji Matsubara
This also means that Yakuza 6 Western sales basically includes UK and US against Japan, I hope that in the near future Western audiences outnumber Japanese audiences for Yakuza sales. I mean, we are getting closer. But we might get that considering that a Yakuza 6 PC port is most likely around the corner. We also have learned that Yakuza franchise has sold over 11 million copies world wide.
[Source: SEGA Report]
Analogue, makers of the FPGA based Analogue NT, NT Mini and Super NT consoles have finally gone SEGA with their latest announcement of the Mega Sg. The Mega Sg touts region-free compatibility with SEGA Genesis, Mega Drive and Master System cartridges and comes in four different color sets. (Master System games will work with an included adapter.) In addition the system will also feature an edge connector to allow for compatibility with all SEGA CD and Mega CD add-ons. Just like the other Analogue systems before it, it will feature games running up to 1080p via HDMI only with a wealth of features for any kind of owner. Pre-order prices are set at $189USD and will ship April of 2019 and are available only through Analogue’s store. The Mega Sg will also support several other adapters that provide compatibility with SEGA’s other consoles including the SG-1000 and the Game Gear that will be made available later in 2019.
In addition 8bitdo is launching the M30, a bluetooth controller that comes with a receiver that works on all SEGA Genesis and Mega Drive consoles. These are likely to work like their other bluetooth controllers and receivers which allows for compatibility with a wealth of consoles, mobile devices and more. These are also available for pre-order on Amazon for $24.99USD with discounts offered on those who pre-order with the Mega Sg.
This is exciting for those who are looking for a Mega Drive that supports the most compatibility with a large library of games. Unlike other clone consoles on the market, the FPGA based console is thanks to the work provided by Kevtris who has also supported Analogue’s previous consoles which means the system will receive better support for game compatibility. Unlike other consoles that make use of cheaper hardware or emulation that abuses licensing from homebrew developers the system will allow for updates and support at a faster pace and will be more accurate. You can find more information on the Mega Sg hardware and it’s specifications on their website.
[Source: Analogue]
[Pre-Order: Analogue Mega Sg, 8bitdo M30]
Via Arcade Heroes comes the news that SEGA Amusements will be debuting a new arcade racer at next month’s IAAPA 2018 trade show in Orlando, FLorida. The game is titled ATV Slam and, as the title suggests, is an ATV racer. This appears to be a new IP created by SEGA, as Arcade Heroes could not dig up any information on the game outside of this announcement. On our end, it appears to be a new IP as well.
On this SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show podcast Barry is joined by Aki-At, developer of indie game Brock Crocodile, site contributor and one of the original three Swingin’ Report Show hosts, to interview Matt Phillips the creator of the Mega Drive/Genesis indie game Tanglewood. Matt’s past experience includes work at Traveller’s Tales, Crytek and Deep Silver Dambuster Studios. Learn how Tanglewood came about and how one goes about making a new game on 30 year old hardware.
Learn more about Tanglewood and purchase the game for Steam and SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive.
If you want to support this type of content, you can check out our Patreon!
Following the initial tease, SEGA has officially announced that Revolve8, a real-time strategy game for iOS and Android, will be releasing globally. The card based game features fairy tale characters and the staff includes Koji Igarashi (Castlevania series producer, Bloodstained) working on character designs, Masayoshi Kikuchi (Yakuza series, Dx2 Shin Megami Tensei Liberation) as senior producer, and Ryota-H (Fate/Grand Order and Lord of Vermilion) as character artist.
registration for a closed beta starts today, and the test itself will take place from October 23rd to November 2nd. Despite the negativity mobile games get, the art looks pretty cool. I especially love Cinderella on a jack-o-lantern motorcycle.
We haven’t been shy to share our opinions on SEGAbits about the upcoming Team Sonic Racing, specifically the lack of marketing hype surrounding the game. Set for a winter 2018 release, the game has only seen a few teaser trailers and appearances at conventions. For a game that should be releasing in just a few months, it sure doesn’t feel like it is releasing in just a few months. Via Sonic Stadium comes the sighting of a pamphlet from a Russian computer and gaming expo that gives the game a 2019 release date. Such a delay would fit with how SEGA has been treating the game, and I did note that the official website for the game and the SEGA Press site does not list any release date information. Plus, SEGA has made it clear that quality is important for the Sonic brand moving forward, which has led to delays for games like Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice and Sonic Mania.
Of course, this could also all be false and the Russian event just had the wrong information. It wouldn’t be the first time Russians disseminated false news. We’ll see what information we can dig up on the potential delay, so in the meantime let’s classify this as a rumor.
It’s the first week of the month, which means a preview of SEGA News Bits Extra! Extra is a weekly series for our Patreon supporters where we discuss news not seen on the SEGA News Bits videos. New to the monthly preview is the return of SEGAbits Q&A! All Patreon supporters get question priority, and after that we may dip into the Twitter, YouTube and SEGAbits.com comments sections for random picks.
This week we discuss the House of the Dead style mini game in Project Judge as well as an easier way to get online with the SEGA Dreamcast. Thank you to our Patreon community for the support and consider joining the community yourself if you enjoy our content!
Somebody at Sony jumped the gun, as the November graphic was used temporarily on the PS Plus page promoting the free games subscribers will be able to download. Listed on the official PlayStation site are Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition and Yakuza Kiwami as November’s PS Plus free games. The graphic has since been pulled, but various sites and people on social media managed to save the graphic.
This is great news, as Yakuza is continuing to gain more and more fans and a free release of the remake of the original game is sure to bring in even more fans!
On this Swingin’ Report Show, Barry talks with Kiel Phegley. Kiel is the author of “Sonic and the Tales of Terror” and the Sonic The Hedgehog “Race Against Chaos Sticker Activity Book”, and is a freelance author who has worked with Penguin Random House and Marvel. Kiel is currently is a professor teaching writing and literature and was the news editor for Comic Book Resources.
We discuss how Kiel landed the Sonic writing job, his approach to books for younger readers, Sonic’s personality, his Sonic The Hedgehog fandom and his future projects!
Check out Kiel’s Penguin Random House books!
If you want to support this type of content, you can check out our Patreon!
SEGA announced today that they are working on a real-time strategy game for mobile devices called Revolve8: Episodic Dueling which will have an all-star Japanese staff behind the title. The staff includes Koji Igarashi (Castlevania series producer, Bloodstained) working on character designs, Masayoshi Kikuchi (Yakuza series, Dx2 Shin Megami Tensei Liberation) as senior producer, and Ryota-H (Fate/Grand Order and Lord of Vermilion) as character artist.
On the other side the game’s sound team will include Shunsuke Tsuchiya (Another Eden and Stella Glow) along with Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono series, Xeno series). The games teaser page is already up in both English and Japanese. So, yeah this game is going to be SEGA’s next big release considering the staff has some pretty big names. I first reported this game as a mobile game but made a mistake since there isn’t platforms announced. We will find out more information on October 10th!
Reicast Libretro has now gained modem and PPP support, which uses dreamcastlive.net to make online play possible. This new update should work flawlessly on Windows, Linux, Android and even macOS without inputting gibberish like IP address. What is that anyway?(I’m being sarcastic)
According to Libretro, this is the first time a emulator has supported a zero-configuration online gaming for Dreamcast and since it uses dreamcastlive.net, it seems you will be able to play with actual Dreamcast servers. What a good timeline. More information here.
SEGA has unleashed the new extended trailers for Judge Eyes (Project JUDGE), one for the story mode and the other for the gameplay. In the gameplay one SEGA showed off a ton of different things you’ll be able to play through, one of the sections was the arcade games that will be included in Project Judge showing off Motor Raid (which we knew was coming already), but they also gave us a glimpse at The House of the Dead play spot (5m28s in). The question now is if that is actually House of the Dead or maybe a made up in-universe mini-game that is influenced by House of the Dead.
So am I going crazy or is this not one of the past House of the Dead games? One of the biggest giveaways is the art style and the UI. The lives used in Judge Eyes is hearts when in The House of the Dead series they use torches. Maybe this miini-game will play like House of the Dead but be its own thing? Maybe it’ll be based on Yakuza: Dead Souls?
After a long hiatus, partially due to the downfall of the company Technosoft, the Thunder Force series is steadily regaining it’s spark. SEGA has been courteous enough to give fans of the series some much needed love, first with M2’s version of Thunder Force III as apart of the SEGA 3D line of titles for the 3DS, then later it’s follow up Thunder Force IV (aka Lightening Force: Quest for the Darkstar) and the arcade game Thunder Force AC as apart of the SEGA AGES line of titles on the Nintendo Switch.
Today we’re going to be looking at SEGA AGES Thunder Force IV in particular. This is arguably the best game in the series, and commonly praised as an example of one of the SEGA Genesis’ best shmups available on the system. But does this SEGA AGES version live up to this praise, or is it more like flying into a stray bullet and dying multiple times?
