Puyo Puyo is officially recognized as a eSports title in Japan

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Puyo Puyo has been added to the list of video game series recognized as a eSports title by the Japan eSports Union. If you missed our story about the Japan eSports Union, basically its being headed by SEGA’s Hideki Okamura and its not a surprised he finally got around to adding a SEGA title to the list of ‘approved eSports games’.

On the other hand SEGA will launch the first Japan eSports Union (JeSU) tournament, titled Puyo Puyo Cup, at the SEGA Fest 2018 next month. The idea behind the union, which was discussed when it was announced, was to make video game eSports a Olympic sport, could we see Puyo Puyo as a Olympic eSports game in the future? Who knows.

[Via Siliconera]

SEGA starts teasing Puyo Puyo Tetris for PC release

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The other day we reported that Puyo Puyo Tetris on Nintendo Switch sold almost one million units on the platform alone. Today it seems SEGA Europe is readying for a PC release of the same game, if their teasing is anything to go by. Today a bunch of SEGA game pages updated with an announcement tease, using text symbols to draw out Puyo blobs and Tetris blocks.

Hit the jump below to see SEGA’s teases on various PC game releases and tell us what other games you would enjoy to see on your PC. Huh, SEGA Europe, if you are reading this, get Valkyria Chronicles 4 PC announced already.

Nintendo Switch Top 20 Selling Games of 2017 Includes Sonic Mania, Puyo Puyo Tetris

bestsellingnintendoswitchThe Nintendo Switch store has posted up the highest selling Nintendo Switch software for 2017. According to Reset Era post, this includes both digital and physical. The top 20 best selling Nintendo Switch games was mostly dominated by Nintendo games. No surprise there but it also included SEGA games like Sonic Mania and Puyo Puyo Tetris, while Sonic Forces didn’t make the top 20 list. According to people on the forum, Pokken DX sold over 500,000 units, considering Sonic Mania did better than that game its safe to assume it did over half a million digitally on the e-store.

Hit the jump to see the top 20 Nintendo Switch selling Nintendo Switch games of 2017:

SEGA News Bits: Favorite SEGA Games of 2017

Its that time of year, when people online decide to talk about their favorite games of the year. While we here at SEGAbits play a wide arrange of games, we obviously adore SEGA games. So on this episode of the SEGA News Bits we discuss our favorite SEGA games of 2017. Which game did we decide to give our golden Opa-Opa trophy to? Watch the video and find out. What was your favorite SEGA game of 2017 and why? Let us know in the comments below!

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us: Give us a sub and give this video a like so it shows up on more like minded fans YouTube recommendations. You know, how that YouTube algorithm is.

Sonic Forces and Puyo Puyo Tetris gets ‘2 Hits Pack’ on Nintendo Switch

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It seems that Europe, specifically France, will get a ‘2 Hits Pack’ which will include both Sonic Forces and Puyo Puyo Tetris on a Nintendo Switch cartridge(s). The 2 Hits Pack will be published and released by Koch International and not self published by SEGA. According to the Amazon listing, this 2 Hits Pack will cost 49,99 EUR (about $59 USD). Which is a deal considering Puyo Puyo Tetris is listed for 34,99 EUR and Sonic Forces is listed for 29,99 EUR. That’s quite the savings, if you can put up with the bad box art.

The Amazon listing says that shipping starts January 5, 2018. My only other question is if this will come in a single cartridge or will the bundle ship with two separate cartridges? I guess we will find out in a few months. I have heard people online state that they should have included or had Sonic Mania on this ‘2 Hits Pack’ instead of Sonic Forces. Personally think Sonic Mania will do well with a stand alone release, try that before putting it in a bundle like this. But it is a bit shocking that Sonic Forces just came out and its already being bundled with another game to move copies. I mean, that can’t be a good sign, right?

[Via: Amazon.fr]

Puyo Puyo Tetris Review – A Fun Combination (Nintendo Switch/Playstation 4)

SEGAbitsReview_PuyoPuyoTetris

A Puyo Puyo game, released in the west. Such a strange sentence to type out in the context, due to the Puyo Puyo franchise being one of those notorious cases of a series being stuck in Asian shores with maybe the rare localized title or import title that quickly comes and goes. The last time a major Puyo Puyo game was in American and European territories was the 2004 title Puyo Pop Fever, and since then the series has been quiet. Aside from the occasional table scraps like the port of Puyo Puyo Tsu on the Wii Virtual Console, the version of Puyo Puyo Tsu in SEGA 3D Classics Collection, and the Puyo Puyo 39 minigame in Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX, the series has otherwise been absent.

But that all changed with Puyo Puyo Tetris, a game that has existed since 2014 on multiple systems. Unlike other Puyo Puyo games prior, Puyo Puyo Tetris gained notable attention in western territories for years. It might be a case of a silver lining in an otherwise rough year for SEGA or the controversial practices the Tetris brand has been associated with, or just it being a very fun game, but regardless Puyo Puyo Tetris was requested for localization for quite a while. But now it is 2017 and we finally have the game in western shores, more specifically for the popular Playstation 4 and Nintendo’s recently released Nintendo Switch.

After such a gap between the game’s original launch in 2014 and the 13 years since the last time a major Puyo Puyo title was released in the west, is Puyo Puyo Tetris the comeback that has been long overdue, or was there a reason why western fans were were denied Puyo Puyo for so long?

Puyo Puyo Tetris releases today to the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4

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Covering SEGA news for coming up on 9 years now, I have to say that after some really dark times when the notion of no physical releases from SEGA was a possibility, it feels really good to post up simple articles like this one. Puyo Puyo Tetris is now available on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in the Americas, and is set to release on April 28th in Europe. Featuring gameplay from two iconic puzzle games, Puyo Puyo Tetris offers up several single and multi-player as well as online play. Those who buy the Nintendo Switch version at and around launch will receive a special Launch Edition featuring Puyo Puyo and Tetris themed keychains, while the PS4 version comes in a Standard Edition.

Stay tuned to SEGAbits as we have a review incoming, and in the near future we want to plan a SEGAbits Community Game Night. Don’t own the game yet? Order the Puyo Puyo Tetris for Nintendo Switch Launch Edition or the Puyo Puyo Tetris for PlayStation 4 Standard Edition! Who knows, strong sales could mean Puyo Puyo Chronicles getting a 3DS release in the west.

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Puyo Puyo Tetris demo live today

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As previously reported, the PAL eShop accidentally dropped information about a free demo for Puyo Puyo Tetris. But now with the Nintendo Direct today it is officially confirmed that the demo will be live, and will be available for play today on the Nintendo Switch. This demo will provide players a sample of how Puyo Puyo Tetris plays, providing a limited selection of options for both solo and multiplayer. All you need to do is go on the Nintendo Switch eShop and download it, free to play and as much as you want.

Please try out the game for yourself to see if Puyo Puyo Tetris will be up your alley when it drops April 25th (North America) or April 28th (Europe).

Nintendo Switch PAL eShop mentions Puyo Puyo Tetris demo [UPDATE]

Puyo Puyo Tetris Screenshot 2017-04-10 12-35-05

Back in Japan, the Nintendo Switch port of Puyo Puyo Tetris S got a demo that allowed players to play a bit of game for free and as long as they wanted. A common question is if western territories will also get the demo to try out the game for themselves, but now we might finally get an answer. On the PAL eShop it mentions that Puyo Puyo Tetris has a free demo, which at the moment is not available as of this writing. Presumably this will be like the Japanese eShop demo, where players have a limited selection of characters and options to choose from but can play up to 4 players with different controller configurations.

Interestingly, the American eShop makes no mention of having a free demo. Only PAL regions do, implying that either the demos will be PAL only, or more likely the PAL eShop mentioning it having a demo earlier then intended was a fluke. It’s also unknown if the PS4 version of Puyo Puyo Tetris will also have a demo, though considering that version is exclusively physical, that might not be the case. But regardless, stay tune for a likely Puyo Puyo Tetris demo to be officially announced in the meantime.

[UPDATE]

Puyo Puyo Tetris won’t have video restrictions in the West

Puyo Puyo Tetris Switch screenshot
SEGA has reached out to us via email concering the story we posted about Puyo Puyo Tetris‘ Japanese video and streaming restrictions. One of the concerns we had was that the western release of the game would be liable to the same sort of regressive rules and SEGA & Atlus’ William Chan had this to say about Puyo Puyo Tetris’ video content rules:

“We highly encourage our American and European fans to stream Puyo Puyo Tetris when it comes out (there are no PS4 share button restrictions). We want them to share their experiences with the world, but we do ask them to please be conscious of revealing Adventure Mode story cutscenes.”

Of course I had to ask for him to be more specific on what he meant about being conscious regarding streaming Adventure Mode, which seemed to be the big thing that SEGA Japan was restricting. William Chan responded:

“Not going to be restricted. Just want people to be aware that there are story spoilers if they stream it.”

I feel like niche titles, like Puyo Puyo Tetris, really benefit from word of mouth and friends recommended the game. While some might argue that streamers could hurt penitential sales, I disagree. I feel that they garner a huge gaming audience due to their personality and them playing obscure titles help those titles succeed with a new audience that might not have known about the game in the first place. What is your take on SEGA Japan vs SEGA West in terms of how they are handling online video content with their products? Let us know in the comments below!

 

SEGA Japan shares Puyo Puyo Tetris video and streaming restrictions


PuyoPuyoTetrisSEGA Japan shared their restrictions for content creators regarding Puyo Puyo Tetris, which is getting a port over there on Nintendo Switch. I’ll be honest with you, these sort of restrictions are really bad for the SEGA brand and they need to drop them. Period. Wait till you read their restrictions for Puyo Puyo Tetris, you’ll love it.

  •  Videos of any gameplay can’t be posted for profit unless the website you upload it to already has a mechanism for copyright take downs.
  • Nothing from Adventure mode, or replays from Adventure mode can be uploaded.
  • Any other modes can be uploaded as long as you follow the first rule.
  • You cannot modify the SEGA watermark that gets slapped on videos recorded using the XB1/PS4 share feature, you need to accompany every video you post with the copyright notice.

I’m unsure as to who are setting these rules, considering that Puyo Puyo Tetris is using the Tetris Company copyrights, but seeing that Persona 5 has equally stupid policies like this… who knows? Notice that I said above that this is SEGA Japan, according Sam Mullen this isn’t reflective of SEGA America PR. But he also didn’t say that the Western release wouldn’t have these sorts of restrictions.

If this is an issue that is out of SEGA’s hands, due to using the Tetris license; then they need to come out and say it. I think the gaming community has a very negative image of these sort of restrictions and I feel like SEGA as a brand needs all the healthy PR they can get.  What are your thoughts on Puyo Puyo Tetris‘ streaming and video creation restrictions? Let us know in the comments below.

[Update] SEGA America PR has responded, these restrictions don’t apply to America and European release. [/Update]

[Source: Puyo.Sega.JP]

New Puyo Puyo Tetris footage shows off gameplay modes

New Puyo Puyo Tetris has been released and uploaded, courtesy of Perfectly Nintendo. This nearly 25 minute video shows off matches between the five multiplayer modes, Versus, Fusion, Swap, Party, and Big Bang.

  • Versus: Players pick either Puyo Puyo or Tetris and try to knock out the other players. Tetris based on Super Rotation System while Puyo Puyo based on Puyo Puyo Tsu rules.
  • Fusion: Players use both Puyo and Tetrimino on a single board, utilizing character specific dropsets. Clearing rows or popping Puyo does not interrupt controls, allowing players to continuously chain and create combos between Puyo and Tetrimino clearing.
  • Swap: Change between Puyo Puyo and Tetris, swapping to the other playstyle after a set time limit. Any Puyo or Tetrimino in the background when swapped will still create chains, potentially creating a combo if utilized at the right time.
  • Party: Players choose Puyo Puyo or Tetris, utilizing power blocks that hamper the opponent or benefit the user. The objective is to score the highest amount of points within a time limit, getting knocked out costing you points.
  • Big Bang: Players pick Puyo Puyo or Tetris, utilizing preset boards in order to power up. Successfully clearing a chain extends the next one, while failing to clear a chain reduces the next one. After the time limit is done, players attack each other, the strongest chain hitting all other opponents and reduce their health. This continues until all other players are knocked out, the last one standing being the winner.

In addition, for those that are curious about the English voices, you can hear those from Ringo, Tee, Amitie, Arle, and Ess extensively. Puyo Puyo Tetris is due for a western release on April 25th in North America and April 28th in Europe for both the PS4 (physical only) and Nintendo Switch.

 

Latest Puyo Puyo Tetris trailer schools us westerners who were held back

We here at SEGAbits are beyond excited that SEGA is taking a chance on Puyo Puyo Tetris, releasing April 25 to the Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch in the Americas and on April 28 in Europe. While some of us on the team are seasoned Puyo ploppers (check out our retrospective on Puyo Puyo and Tetris), it is understandable that a majority of gamers don’t know what Puyo Puyo is. Thankfully, SEGA has just released a trailer for the upcoming game dubbed “Back to Basics”. The short trailer gives a basic introduction to how the game is played, and shows off the various game modes.

Check out the trailer above and don’t forget to lock in that pre-order. The more support the game gets, the more likely we are to see other Puyo Puyo games in the west!

Puyo Puyo Tetris gets a new trailer and release dates

Puyo Puyo Tetris is going to be released soon on both the Nintendo Switch and Playstation 4, and to help promote SEGA has released a new trailer highlighting several of the game’s modes. This includes the single player Adventure mode, along with the multiplayer modes Swap, Versus, Fusion (aka PuyoTetMix in the Japanese version), Big Bang, and Party mode. In addition, SEGA has confirmed release dates for both USA and Europe. Puyo Puyo Tetris will be released on April 25th in the USA, while in Europe it will be released on April 28th. You can pre-order Puyo Puyo Tetris today on both Playstation 4 and for Nintendo Switch.

For official descriptions for the modes, read on!