PlayStation 3

Multiplayer Showcase looks at Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing

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Multiplayer Showcase is the review show where you get to see me and some friends of mine play multiplayer games that have been long forgotten and give it a proper analysis by sharing our opinions on the game in a roundtable discussion to see how things have held up for gaming’s past brightest stars and lowest points.

This episode compares the boxing gloves to the green shells with the Mario Kart-inspired Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing. I never got to play this game much with friends locally. I’ve certainly played it online some time ago, but as you might recall, there are limitations added when playing online, so playing with a group of people with everything unlocked lets everyone dig in for some four player action coupled with SEGA nostalgia.

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Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir tops Japanese sales chart on debut week

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Atlus seems to have made the right choice bringing back Odin Sphere, as Liefthrasir has topped the Japanese sales chart on its debut week. The game took the number one and two spots, with the PlayStation Vita coming in at first with 43,394 sales and a close second on the PlayStation 4 with 42,263 units sold. That’s right, the PlayStation Vita is still big in Japan.

As for the PlayStation 3 version of the game, that came in at tenth place with 9,771 units sold. That means that all together Odin Sphere: Liefthrasir sold over 95,428 units in Japan in the span of three days. Impressive for the region and it being a remake. Odin Sphere: Liefthrasir hits North America on June 7, check out the limited edition release.

Hit the jump to see the full sales chart.

[Via: NeoGAF]

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Review: Yakuza 5 (PS3)

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Yakuza5ReviewIf you have been on this blog and read my writing over the years you would know that I’m a huge fan of SEGA’s Yakuza franchise and was really pleased to hear that they decided to bring over Yakuza 5 even though it’s been out since 2012 in Japan. After years of contemplating whether or not to just import the game and play with an online guide, I decided it was best to wait. Now that Yakuza 5 has an official English release, was the wait worth it?

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Yakuza: Kiwami gets high marks from Famitsu

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YakuzaKiwamiThe latest issue of Famitsu is out in Japan that means we get to see the latest review scores from Japanese games we won’t see in the West for quite awhile. This week’s big releases include SEGA’s remake of Yakuza 1, being titled Yakuza: Kiwami in Japan.

Here are all the scores in the recent issue of Famitsu:

  • Dasshu Adventure: Kami Kudashi no Uranai Sara (3DS) – 7/7/8/8 [30/40]
  • Drop Zone Under Fire (3DS) – 6/7/6/5 [24/40]
  • Fast Racing Neo (Wii U) – 7/7/7/9 [30/40]
  • Hyrule Warriors Legends (3DS) – 9/9/8/10 – [36/40]
  • Just Cause 3 (PS4) – 8/8/9/8 [33/40]
  • Just Cause 3 (XBO) – 8/8/9/8 [33/40]
  • Seisen Chronicle (3DS) – 7/7/8/7 [29/40]
  • Yakuza: Kiwami (PS4) – 8/9/9/8 [34/40]
  • Yakuza: Kiwami (PS3) – 8/9/9/8 [34/40]

The way that Famitsu reviews work is that four people write a short review and give it a score in the end, those scores are added up in the end. Yakuza: Kiwami was the second highest rated game, losing by two points to Hyrule Warriors Legends on Nintendo 3DS.

[Via: Gematsu]

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Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir demo now out for Japanese PSN users

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OdinSphereDemoVerDo you have a Playstation 4, Playstation 3 and/or Playstation Vita? Guess what? You can now download the demo for Atlus and Vinalliaware’s remake of Odin Sphere (if you live in Japan or have a Japanese account)! Yeah, that great Playstation 2 game is now coming to all your current Sony consoles.

Seems that each version of the demo has a different file size, for example the PS4 demo weighs in at 442 MB, PS3 at 423 MB, and the PS Vita one at 250 MB.

The demo will allow you to play as all five characters though an action stage that has been configured for the demo and even have a boss battle with “Belial“. Sadly there won’t be any story parts and you won’t be able to use the demo data in the full release.

Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir comes out in Japan on January 14th and later this Spring in North America.

[Via: Gematsu]

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SEGA announces Yakuza 5 release date for Americas and Europe: Tuesday, December 8th

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Might as well call us YAKUZAbits given the news day we’ve been having. In addition to the announcement of Yakuza 0 for Playstation 4 in the Americas, SEGA has officially announced the release date for the long awaited localization of Yakuza 5, and it is not too far off. In fact, the game is set to release digitally on Playstation 3 this coming Tuesday, December 8th in the Americas and Europe. The 15% pre-order deal in the Americas will only last through Monday, December 7th! So best get on it before the game releases if you want to save some money.

Fittingly, December 8th is ten years to the day that the original Yakuza released in Japan in 2005. So SEGA seems to really want to please fans on the franchise’s 10th anniversary.

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SEGA releases new Yakuza 5 screens, 2015 release date still stands

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SEGA of America have just released a new batch of screens from the upcoming Yakuza 5, detailing the game’s supporting cast. Featured characters include ambitious lieutenant for the Omi Alliance Masaru Watase, the mysterious Osaka Detective, the Mad Dog of the Shimano Family Goro Majima, sadistic inmate Hiroshi Kugihara, and Sosuke Komaki. SEGA had hoped to release the game in November, but some development bugs appeared to have pushed things back. Still, the latest press release holds firm to a 2015 release date. The game will be priced at $39.99 and will release digitally to the Playstation 3.

After the break, check out the new screens!

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The History of Sega Japan R&D, Part 4: The Current Sega

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A NEW STRUCTURE, A NEW SEGA

The executive team, Hideki Okamura (Left), Hisao Oguchi (Middle) and Takayuki Kawagoe (Right). These men have been responsible for risque games such as Segagaga, Jet Set Radio and also Sega Saturn and Dreamcast marketing in Japan. With these man, the unique corporate culuture of Sega would continue.

The executive team, Hideki Okamura (Left), Hisao Oguchi (Middle) and Takayuki Kawagoe (Right).

In 2005, Sega was back in the black in all areas for the first time in a long time. The Sega Sammy structure was completed, and the next generation home consoles were ahead. Like in the formation of twelve new R&D studios in 1998, executive management had a reset. Long time executives Hideki Sato and Hisashi Suzuki retired from Sega, after their thirty – or even in Suzuki’s case – forty years of service.

Masano Maeda & Naoya Tsurumi
Masano Maeda & Naoya Tsurumi

As mentioned in Part 3, Hisao Oguchi would atain the highest executive position which he held until 2008 where he received even wider responsibilities as Chief Creative Officer of Sega Sammy.

Then there is Masano Maeda, who joined in 1991. Madea was responsible for building a new Western management team that made crucial partnerships and buyouts of Western companies, like Creative Assembly, Sports Interactive and Secret Level On a side note: the amount of games developed for Xbox 360 amount to roughly forty games, and on PC to about sixty games. On the Dreamcast, the amount comes to fourteen, and old PC releases amount to sixteen.

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Review: Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax (Playstation 3)

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What happens when you mix popular light novel characters and popular SEGA franchises in one crossover fighting game? You get Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax,a crossover fighting game developed by Japanese game developers French Bread & Ecole Software who have worked on the Melty Blood series. The game is published by SEGA and features various light novel characters from ASCII Media Works’ Dengeki Bunko imprint as a celebration of the publication’s 20th anniversary. Not only does the game feature light novel characters, SEGA fans will be very pleased to see what this game has to offer when it comes to fan service. Be sure to hit the jump for my review of Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax!

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Yakuza 1 Extreme and Yakuza 6 announced – coming 2016

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Yakuza fans should be very happy today, as SEGA is delivering a double dose of Japanese underworld goodness by way of two newly announced games. The first, Yakuza 1 Extreme, is a remake of the original game in the series and is due out January 2016 for PS3 and PS4 in Japan only (for now). The second title is Yakuza 6, due out Fall 2016 exclusively for PS4 and is also so far only announced for Japan. Western Yakuza fans undoubtably want both of these titles to release to the Americas and Europe, and with a localized Yakuza 5 releasing this Fall, the best advice I can give is to vote with your wallet and support the fifth title so we may see a localization of the remade original and newly announced sixth title.

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Yakuza 5 now available to pre-order on PSN, includes 15% discount and theme

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While we don’t know the exact release date for Yakuza 5 yet, SEGA has just announced that the game is now available to pre-order on PSN. What perks does pre-ordering a digital title have? 15% off the $39.99 launch price plus a free Playstation 3 static theme! SEGA has also released the third and final developer video, embedded above, featuring Gio Corsi of SCEA Third Party Production and his interview with Yakuza series General Director Toshihiro Nagoshi and Producer Masayoshi Yokoyama. Topics include the game’s music, the developers’ thoughts on the Western release and the game’s themes.

Update: Sony has confirmed that all the Japanese DLC will be included with each copy of the game.

After the break, check out SEGA’s official pre-order press release. Yakuza 5 is so close, who’s excited?

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Yakuza 5 avatars hit US PSN – Could the game be releasing soon?

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While we await news of when SEGA will be releasing Yakuza 5 to the West, avatars for the upcoming game have recently hit PSN. Could this mean a release date is nearing? Those who have followed SEGA of America’s digital releases in recent years should be well aware of the fact that the company will release and announce the release date of a game on the same day, with the only real indicators of an upcoming release being things like PSN avatars being made public. While this is all speculation on our part, the fact that SEGA has quietly released these avatars for the upcoming game must mean something… right? In the meantime, enjoy a cool Goro Majima avatar for just .49 cents.

See all the avatars after the break.

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Yakuza 5 developer interview part 2: Hostess Clubs and more

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Just over a month later, we get the second of three developer interviews where Yakuza series creator Toshihiro Nagoshi and Yakuza 5 producer Masayoshi Yokoyama are asked questions by Playstation’s Gio Corsi. In this interview the people behind SEGA’s gangster brawler are asked about what inspired the hostess clubs in the game and how they came about to design the series protagonist, Kazuma Kiryu, amongst other questions. It’s been a long time coming, but it seems almost surreal we live in a world where Yakuza 5 has finally be localised and Shenmue 3 has been kickstarter, what a time to be alive.

With only one more interview left, let’s hope that we’ll hear a solid release date soon. Yakuza 5 is set to launch for the Playstation 3 this fall, get ready to crack some skulls and manage some idols.

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Odin Sphere Leifdrasir announced for PS4, PS3 and Vita

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Atlus and Vanillaware announced today that they’re releasing a HD remaster of Odin Sphere called Odin Sphere Leifdrasir. This remaster won’t just be a visual upgrade though. It’ll have many additions and improvements as well including new enemies and maps, a redone alchemy system, teleports between areas, an OST with new arrangements and songs, a redone fighting system that’s more like Muramasa: The Demon Blade and last but not least, you no longer need to replay stages.

The game will be released in Japan on January 14th, 2016 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. No western release has been announced yet, but seeing how this is Atlus it seems pretty likely that we’ll be getting this release as well at some point. In addition, Atlus also teased another new project from Vanillaware that’ll be revealed in September.

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Here’s that new Persona 5 trailer Atlus doesn’t want you to see

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So in Japan, all new copies of Persona 4: Dancing All Night include an exclusive new trailer for Persona 5. Meaning that the normal way to see this trailer is to import an early copy of the game. But of course that’s not going to stop people from putting it online, whether Atlus wants it or not. So if the video above gets taken down, it probably won’t be too hard to find it somewhere else.

The new trailer, which uses a mix of old and new footage, gives some more hints as to what the story is about. Like in other Persona games, you play as a high school student. Except this time around the main character will have a separate identity as a thief during the night. This is also the first time we hear some of the Japanese voice acting. The game will be released for PlayStation 3 and 4 later this year in both Japan and the US.

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