Round Table: Which ex-SEGA developers do you miss the most?

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Most people follow around sport teams and their players, here at SEGAbits we follow SEGA studios and developers. There have been tons of employees and developers that SEGA have fired or left throughout its long history, as is expected with every big publisher. But sometimes there is that developer that was behind one of your favorite games, when he leaves the company it really tugs at the heart strings. So in this week’s round table we will be discussing which ex-SEGA developers we miss the most!

Round Table: Who would you want to see reboot Shining Force franchise?

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 Shining Force franchise was one of my favorites back in the day when Camelot Software was in charge of it in the 90’s, now-a-days SEGA has given other developers chances to reboot the franchise and the games have been received poorly by critics (and fans). Regardless of this, I still think that Shining Force franchise has the chance to comeback and do pretty well. This week on the round table we will discuss which developers should reboot Shining Force and release a classic game that this franchise deserves!

Round Table: How we feel about Yu Suzuki bringing back Shenmue III

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There are many questions about how Yu Suzuki would bring us Shenmue III. He has stated many times he just wants to end the series and now more than ever has been making headlines. First he suggested he wants to use crowd sourcing like Kickstarter and recently was spotted at GDC in talks with Sony (and former SEGA) employee Mark Cerny. Hit the jump to hear what we think of this whole thing in this week’s round table!

Round Table: Our Favorite SEGA Games of 2012

Another year, another batch of SEGA games for us to play, critique, argue over, and enjoy. As is tradition here at SEGAbits, our writers have come together and each have selected their favorite SEGA games of 2012. Looking back, 2012 offered up a number of excellent rereleases, sequels to franchises both old and new, crazy and unique mobile and digital titles, and not a single crappy licensed Marvel title in sight. So, from all the games SEGA had to offer, which ones did we like best? Find out after the break!

Round Table: Our thoughts on Sonic 4: Episode II

If you can believe it, it’s actually been over a year and a half since the first episode of the polarizing Sonic the Hedgehog 4 series of games hit digital download services. But after what felt like an eternity, the adventure can finally be continued. And what did the good ol’ SEGAbits staff think of the long-in-development Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II and the reception it has received so far? Read on to find out, and don’t forget to comment and leave your own thoughts on the game below!

Round Table: Our Favorite SEGA Games of 2011

2011 is just about over, and looking back, it has been a great year for SEGA games. Back in 2010, it was hard to imagine what could top titles like Bayonetta, Sonic Colors, Vanquish and the English version of Yakuza 3. Then came 2011 and a slew of awesome titles arrived. SEGA upped their game in digital distribution, popular franchises saw excellent sequels and spin-offs and SEGA’s mascot truly shined. In this extra special round table, SEGAbits writers will share their favorite SEGA games of the year. What did we like? Read on!

Round Table: Our favorite thing about the Yakuza series

We are bringing you this week’s round table early, to celebrate the closing of Yakuza week. This time we are talking about one thing we love about the Yakuza series… while Cube_b3 lists everything he hates. What a negative Nancy.

If you guys liked what we did for Yakuza week, tell SEGA about it. I’m sure we can do this for more games if there’s positive feedback.

Round Table: Our thoughts on SEGA asking Bomber Games to pull Streets of Rage Remake Offline

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After eight years of development, Streets of Rage Remix hit the internet a few weeks ago, only to be promptly removed by SEGA.

While it’s called a remake, its actual content is closer to a remix, developed on Bomber Game’s very own engine. Featuring 19 playable characters across the classic trilogy Streets of Rage games; 64 types of enemies; 83 remixes of classic techno tunes; and 103 stages, the game has clearly had a lot of love put into it, as Bomber Games strived to make the most complete homage to Streets of Rage possible.

Shortly after its release, SEGA contacted Bomber Games and forced them to take down the game. SEGA later issued a statement regarding the matter:

“SEGA is committed to supporting any fans that take an interest in our games, and where possible we do so by involving them in Beta tests and other development, marketing or research opportunities. However we need to protect our intellectual property rights and this may result in us requesting that our fans remove online imagery, videos or games in some instances.”

-nSEGA54’s- Opinion

Can’t say I knew much about Streets of Rage or even the existence of its fan remake. This issue though of a company demanding a fan game be taken down is nothing particularly new; I remember Square-Enix got some internet heat when they did this type of thing a while back. Companies have their own reasons for “protecting” their IP, and and money’s often a big part of it.
And money was likely the biggest factor here, as shortly after this remake was pulled, Streets of Rage 2 was re-released for the iPhone. SEGA would clearly rather you buy Streets of Rage 2 than to play a fan-made remix online.

As always, though, I can’t help but wish that these types of decisions were made with a bit more tact. It always winds up seeming like a slap in the face to the fan community, and that sort of thing just doesn’t look good in the press.

Cube_b3’s Opinion

SEGA contacting Bomber Games for undisclosed reasons leading to Bomber Games shutting SOR-Remake downloads, has been blown so out of proportion that it has given the game ten times more publicity than it would have ever received (BomberGames website has received so much traffic that they’ve exceeded their bandwith and have gone offline). Every one is talking about it and the game has already gone viral so everyone who wants it can simply google it and find it.

The only problem is the game isn’t a remake it is more like Streets of Rage Recycle, don’t get me wrong I play the game almost everyday while I wait for my TV shows or Movies to download it is the perfect way to kill time and has more replay value than any beat em up I’ve played with unlockable characters, art work and cheats but it can’t be compared to the orignal Ancient/Overworks Master Trilogy (well it is better than the original).

Also note their are plenty of other Streets of Rage fan remixes and even original games (that means they make original backgrounds, sprites and music) I suggest checking them out they may not be as expansive as Bomber Games take on Rage but they will keep you satiated.

Round Table: Our favorite SEGA advertisments

SEGA has been around the gaming business longer than most companies and when they came into the home console business they changed the game. Especially in the 90’s with their marketing campaigns that really expanded the demographic for video games.

Now we tell you what our favorite advertisements are, you can share yours as well in the comments.