Author Archives: Barry the Nomad

Swingin’ Report Show #82: Interview with Brian Silva of Visual Concepts, Midway, Accolade and more!

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Video game designer and voice actor Brain Silva joins us on our latest episode to discuss his work on Bubsy and Bubsy II, Floigan Bros., Hydro Thunder, and H2Overdrive as well as many other games created during his time at Accolade, Visual Concepts, Midway, Blizzard Entertainment and Specular Interactive. Brian also discusses several unreleased games including Hydro Thunder 2 for arcades, Congo: The Secret of Zinj for Genesis and SNES, and Floigan Bros. for the original Playstation!

Brian currently works at Specular Interactive, having helped create the arcade titles H2Overdrive (Hydro Thunder‘s spiritual successor), Project HADES, Dirty Drivin’, and Batman. Learn more about Specular Interactive by checking out their website.

Also, make sure to check out Brian’s website where you’ll find some excellent design docs for Floigan Bros. and Crank the Weasel.

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First 4 Figures seeking feedback on Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary statue concept

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For the past few months First 4 Figures, creators of high quality and high priced Sonic and SEGA statues, have been teasing a Sonic the Hedgehog statue to celebrate next year’s 25th anniversary. Today, on the First 4 Figures Facebook page, the company has shared a concept sketch of the statue and are asking for fan feedback. Those who have followed First 4 Figures in the past know full well that they take feedback very seriously, often making major changes to statues to satisfy fans. The proposed Sonic 25th anniversary statue features Sonic playing a Dreamcast Sonic game on an item monitor. The base appears to be set in Green Hill Zone, much like the first Sonic statue and the 20th anniversary statue were. The reason Sonic isn’t playing a Genesis/Mega Drive? First 4 Figures explained “We thought that as an anniversary piece, we wanted to try and touch on multiple eras in a single piece rather than making it strictly classic. The thought is well received though!”. As for the Green Hill Zone base, First 4 Figures sound open to changing it, as they are aware that that location has been done far too many times already.

After the break, hear my thoughts on the piece and check out the full piece of concept art.

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Swingin’ Report Show #81: Shenmue 3 Kickstarter Countdown

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Join George and Barry as they count down the final hour of the record breaking Shenmue 3 Kickstarter campaign! It has been as wild month, from the game’s E3 Sony stage announcement, to the ups and downs of Awesome Japan’s handling of the campaign. Hear our thoughts on how the Kickstarter was managed, the new tiers, and the recently revealed details of what we can expect in the finished game. Also in this episode, the recent comments from SEGA Games president on the company regaining the trust of gamers.

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SEGA 3D Classics 3D Streets of Rage 2 delayed a week for global release

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SEGA has announced via Facebook that the much anticipated SEGA 3D Classics release of 3D Streets of Rage 2, which was due out next Thursday on the 16th, has been pushed back a week to July 23rd. No reason for the delay was given, but it was mentioned that it will be a global release. I guess I can wait a week, but man do I want to punch trash cans and eat cooked meat off the street.

Stay tuned to SEGAbits for further SEGA 3D Classics news and our inevitable 3D Streets of Rage 2 review!

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Swingin’ Report Show #80: Interview with Aaron Webber, Sonic the Hedgehog PR & Social Media Manager

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He’s back! After leaving SEGA of America in 2014, Aaron Webber has returned as the PR & Social Media Manager for the Sonic the Hedgehog brand. Since returning, Aaron has been making waves on the Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts, catching both fan and media attention with his sly wit and deep knowledge of the franchise.

Aaron was kind enough to sit down with us for an hour in his first interview since returning to SEGA to talk about his new role, SEGA’s move to LA, his approach to interacting with fans, Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice, his favorite Sonic games, and answers to some burning canon questions!

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Prepare to bare your knuckles: SEGA 3D Classics “3D Streets of Rage 2 ” releases July 16th in North America

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If you own a Nintendo 3DS and live in North America, make sure to “Go Straight” to the eShop to download the latest SEGA 3D Classics title: the bare knuckle classic Streets of Rage 2! 3D Streets of Rage 2 will be priced at $5.99 and will feature the original game fans have come to love as well as new modes including “Rage Relay” (called “Quartet Mode” in Japan) which allows you to use of all four characters sequentially while playing solo. The game is also set to feature local co-op multiplayer.

July 16th can’t come quickly enough! More release information, including other territories, will be posted as we hear it.

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SEGA and Picomy’s Heroki releases to the iOS App Store

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The long awaited Heroki, an iOS game developed by Dutch developer Picomy Games and published by SEGA, was re-revealed late last month and now it is released and available to purchase and play! Priced at $7.99 (that’s right, this isn’t free to play and there are no micro-transactions!), Heroki is a touchscreen controlled flight-based platformer starring the titular hero Heroki who is defending the sky village of Levantia from the evil villains Dr. N. Forchin and Vapor. The game promises 10+ hours of gameplay, dozens of enemies, mini-games, side-quests, 60fps and iCloud saving. After the break, read a full description of the game, and stay tuned to SEGAbits for the eventual review!

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Classic SEGA Ads: F-Zero GX for Nintendo Gamecube will make your heart race

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It has been a little over 14 years since SEGA went third party, and while at the time it was a shock to learn that the company would be releasing games on once rival consoles, now most fans have grown accustomed to third party SEGA. In fact, it has been so long since the announcement that now we have a whole new generation of fans who pinpoint a third party SEGA game as their introduction to the company! I’m not one to use the tired expression “I feel old”, but that realization almost makes me want to utter it (almost). Back in the early 2000s, when third party SEGA went into full swing, fans were seeing the likes of Crazy Taxi on PS2, Sonic Adventure on Gamecube, and Jet Set Radio‘s sequel JSRF on the Xbox. Shocking, sure, but nothing could give SEGA fans whiplash like the announcement that SEGA’s own Amusement Vision team were to develop a new game in a fully Nintendo owned classic franchise – enter F-Zero GX and F-Zero AX.

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SEGA 3D Classics upcoming 3D Gunstar Heroes special modes and features detailed

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SEGA 3D Classics for the Nintendo 3DS took a short break after the release of 3D Thunder Blade, but the series will return next month with 3D Streets of Rage 2, followed by 3D Gunstar Heroes in August and 3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in September. While it’s fun playing classic SEGA games on the go, what makes SEGA 3D Classics so exciting (apart from the 3D) are the new modes added by developer M2! It has been revealed that 3D Gunstar Heroes will feature a Full Spec Mode, which allows players to arm themselves with any of the 14 weapons in the game, while Mega Life Mode doubles the amount of lives available for an easier experience.

Also supported are wireless multiplayer, which requires both players to own the game, and the option to play either the Japanese or American version of the game. A tube TV filter, seen in past Genesis/Mega Drive titles in the series, is also an option. We can’t wait for the next round of SEGA 3D Classics, what title are you most anticipating?

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Yu Suzuki reveals more Shenmue 3 secrets and details in Reddit AMA

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Last night Yu Suzuki held a Reddit AMA, revealing even more Shenmue 3 details for fans. While the event itself was initially confusing, failing to mention if the event was 9:30 AM or PM, what time zone it was in, and where on Reddit it could be found, eventually everything was sorted and the AMA took place at /r/IAMA. Suzuki answered several questions pertaining to the length of the game, how many chapters the entire Shenmue saga would cover, potential gameplay elements, and more. Most interestingly, he laid out the exact numbers he hopes the Kickstarter will hit to make the game not only a reality, but as close to his vision as possible:

I will say this: if we reach the $5 mil mark, one of the things I really want to do with Shenmue 3 will become a reality. At $10 million, it will truly have the features of an open world.

After the break, check out a full breakdown of what Suzuki revealed about Shenmue 3!

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