E3

Segabits @ E3: Off-screen video and more details on Hatsune Miku Project: VR Tech Demo

by

Shigs here. I’m at E3 and despite no Sega booth, I’m managing to find some Sega…bits of information here and there. As announced earlier, there is a Hatsune Miku VR demo at Sony’s Project Morpheus booth. In this virtual reality demo, you are at a Miku concert enjoying the music with the large, silhouetted crowd. They all have their glowsticks waving to the song “Viva, Viva, Happy” and you need to do the same (I think). Eventually, Miku brings you up on stage and it gets a little odd as words and random objects are seen all over her. You’re playing a rhythm game with the move controller and waving the stick at Miku and the crowd to the beat. The person playing seemed to be too interested in looking around and was obviously losing,  since X’s and storm clouds were appearing everywhere. Still, it looks like a fun game and I’ll try to get my hands on it Thursday when Project Morpheus demos are open to the public.

I apologize for the quality of the video, but it was taken offscreen.

1 Comment

Get your facts straight: SEGA not having a booth at E3 2015 and what it really means

by

segae32015

SEGA finally confirmed the other day that they will not have an exhibition booth at this year’s E3. Following the news, it came as no surprise that much of the internet have been commenting on news stories being posted by ‘gaming journalism’ websites, spitting false claims that make me wonder if anyone even read the statement SEGA gave Game Informer. So without further ado, we will be looking at the most frequently made statements by internet users and whether these statements are true or false. I hope you guys enjoy.

Continue Reading ➜

26 Comments

SEGAbits at E3 Interview: Sonic Boom Producer Stephen Frost

by

Our E3 coverage continues with an interview with Sonic Boom Producer Stephen Frost! Stephen was nice enough to sit down on the final day of the expo to answer our questions about the upcoming Wii U and 3DS games Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal. Developed by Big Red Button Entertainment (Wii U) and Sanzaru Games (3DS), both titles are due out November 2014.

2 Comments

SEGAbits at E3 Preview: Sonic Jump Fever (iOS, Android)

by

sonic-jump-fever
 
While at E3, Nuckles87 and I were invited to a party hosted by SEGA’s mobile division, SEGA Networks, that was dedicated to mingling and showing off SEGA’s mobile titles. It was a great chance to relax after a hard day and to get some free food and drink. Those pretzel bun sandwiches with the roast beef and bacon were out of this world! But mostly, we where there to check out these games that have only been available to the lucky few… million in the Great White North. The one I’ll be talking about in this preview is Sonic Jump Fever, a sequel to the 2012 game that is both harder, easier and more fast-paced than its predecessor. It even has Chao. Yes, Chao are back!

Continue Reading ➜

1 Comment

Alien: Isolation developer interview highlights a new time challenge mode

by

 

Game Trailers have uploaded an E3 developer interview featuring The Creative Assembly’s Alistair Hope answering questions during in-game footage of the upcoming Alien: Isolation. Hope highlights the game’s lonely atmosphere, the emphasis on survival and puzzles, and reveals a new time challenge mode. The game is looking great thus far, and those who fear another Aliens: Colonial Marines need only to watch the footage and remember that this is an internally developed SEGA title, not another Gearbox Software effort.

SEGAbits writers will be hitting the show floor of E3 today, playing Alien: Isolation and interviewing the developers, so expect our own impressions soon!

1 Comment

SEGAbits at E3 2014 coverage begins – previews and interviews from the show floor coming soon

by

segabitse3
 
Another Electronic Entertainment Expo is upon us, and once again SEGAbits is attending on location at the Los Angeles Convention center to bring you previews of the latest SEGA games and interviews with the people behind them! No secondhand reporting here. This year, SEGA has a small but highly unique assortment of games on display which we’ll be playing and talking about as the week goes on. At the SEGA booth are Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric (Wii U), Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal (3DS), Alien: Isolation (PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360, PC), and Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F 2nd (PS3, Vita, PSN). We’ll also be covering Bayonetta 2 (Wii U), which will likely be on display at the Nintendo booth.

SEGA’s recent acquisition Atlus will also be receiving coverage from us, with Atlus showing off Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (PS3/360), Persona Q (3DS), Persona 4: Dancing All Night (PS Vita), Abyss Odyssey (PC, PS3, 360), Citizens of Earth (3DS, Wii U, PC, PS Vita, PS4) and an unannounced Title (PC, PS Vita, PS4). In addition to all of that, we’ll be attending a VIP event held by SEGA’s mobile division where we’ll be playing and talking to the developers of the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog, Crazy Taxi, and Super Monkey Ball mobile games.

You can view all of our E3 coverage here throughout the week, and you can find live updates on our Twitter and Facebook accounts. We also have a live from E3 podcast in the works, which we plan to release during the show. The countdown is over, welcome to E3 2014!

2 Comments

SEGA and Atlus reveal their E3 line ups

by

Sega-E314-Lineup-Ann

With E3 now only days away, companies are finally getting around to unveiling their E3 line-ups. Today, SEGA got around to unveiling what games they will be bringing to the show. The list isn’t exactly surprising:

Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric (Wii U)

Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal (3DS)

Alien: Isolation (PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360, PC)

Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F 2nd (PS3, Vita, PSN)

Though the list is rather paltry, it should be noted that SEGA has occasionally had some small surprises at E3. Back in 2010 the company used the show to unveil Sonic Free Riders and their line-up of Dreamcast titles. Also notably absent are SEGA’s mobile titles, despite the company working to increase its presence in the sector.

Even if these are the only games coming from SEGA itself, we at SEGAbits won’t be getting off so easily. Though not officially confirmed, Nintendo will likely have Bayonetta 2 on display. SEGA’s newest acquisition, Atlus, has their own slate of titles for the show, which we will also be providing coverage for.

Continue Reading ➜

No Comments

Vyse races through All-Stars Transformed’s Panzer Dragoon track – E3 gameplay footage

by

With E3 2012 over, videos are beginning to appear showing off the many games on display at the event. SEGA fans will no doubt love these Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed gameplay videos, the coolest one being Vyse racing through the Panzer Dragoon track. Fans will remember that Vyse and Panzer Dragoon were the two big surprises when the game was first revealed in late April. Now we get to see those two surprises in action! Eagle eyed readers may spot Amigo in his Loco-motive racing past Vyse. After the break, many more gameplay videos featuring other racers and tracks.

Continue Reading ➜

4 Comments

Epic Mickey Power of Illusion is truly a Castle of Illusion sequel

by

As this Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion only has a loose SEGA connection, and is neither developed nor published by SEGA, consider this our only article on the game.

While SEGA did not feature prominently at last night’s Nintendo 3DS E3 Software Showcase, aside from a mention of Rhythm Thief, SEGA got an indirect mention when Warren Spector and Peter Ong of DreamRift took the stage. Ong shared his love for Castle of Illusion, stating that for a time as a child he played the full game once a day. His love for the Genesis classic carried over to his pitch to Junction Point Studios for how he and his studio would develop a 3DS Epic Mickey game. The end result is much less Epic Mickey inspired, and much more Castle of Illusion inspired. In fact, the trailer states “a beloved hero returns to a castle of illusion” and Castle of Illusion sound effects return including the item collection and jump sounds. The mushroom enemies from Castle of Illusion’s first stage make an appearance, hearts are used for health and paint replaces apples as a projectile attack. You can even butt bounce on enemies heads. Essentially it is a full-on sequel. One off bit was the mention of Mizrabel of Castle of Illusion returning as the main villain, yet Sleeping Beauty’s Maleficent was shown. So either they goofed and mistook one villainess for another, or figured they’d use a more recognizable evil witch for the new game. Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion releases this Fall.

3 Comments

E3 Day 2 Update

by

 

Hi guys! Apologies for the lack of updates yesterday. We were so busy playing games and setting up interviews, charging cameras and running to and from the media lounge…we didn’t actually have much time to write. Hope you enjoyed Jason’s take on Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed!

I am currently in the midst of writing previews for Aliens: Colonial Marines and Hell Yeah!, the latter I ended up spending about thirty minutes playing…to which you’ll know why when you read the preview. Sonic Stadium visitors will, unfortunately, not be getting much content this year, due to the sheer lack of actual material to write about. We have gotten an interview with All-Stars Racing producer Joe Neate, though, as well as a full rotational look at the new ASR branded car, which will hopefully be going up later today. My Hell Yeah! preview will also be going up on Sonic Stadium, so you guys can read about another SEGA platformer that doesn’t star Sonic.

SEGAbits will, of course, be receiving previews for every game on the show floor. We also managed to score a last minute interview with Gearbox and their new Aliens game, which you can expect to see on the site Friday. There will likely be other interviews as well, but nothing that I can confirm.

14 Comments