Author Archives: Aki-at

Guardian Heroes port to be handled by Treasure

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When Guardian Heroes was originally announced for XBLA, many were wondering who SEGA was going to contact to handle the porting duties. Some, like I, assumed that due to the fact that it was going to be an XBLA exclusive, that it would be handled by Treasure themselves. The first screenshot though had many wondering and believing that Backbone, a company that has enjoyed numerous porting duties from SEGA, had earned the job. However it has been revealed by Siliconera that Treasure themselves are working on the port, so those who wanted the original developer can rest assured that Treasure themselves have returned to port the SEGA Saturn classic title.

[Source: Siliconera]

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Guardian Heroes coming to XBLA [now with screens]

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It seems that the SEGA Saturn classic, Guardian Heroes, is heading to XBLA with new HD graphics. So far only an XBLA version has been announced, perhaps an indication that the port itself is handled by Treasure?

The XBLA version boasts some new features including online multiplayer and new HD graphics!

  • Action-RPG Brawling: Choose one of five heroes to level up and guide along a branching storyline with five different endings.
  • Friends, Foes, and Fighters: Play the game’s Story Mode alone or with a second player, or challenge Versus Mode with up to 12 players at once.
  • Extended Gameplay: Time Attack Mode, Arcade Mode, Arrange Mode and more allow players to explore every nuance of 45 different fighters.
  • Fully Re-Mastered: All-new graphics and visual effects bring the classic to life in a completely high-definition, widescreen presentation

[UPDATE!] – The ‘HD’ filter is OPTIONAL, rejoice!

Read on for the full press release;

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Yakuza Week: Who’s the boss now?

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During this generation, I’ve seen a disturbing lack of boss fights, or at least, good boss fights. Thankfully, one of the most enjoyable aspects of any Yakuza game for me has become the boss battles. Yakuza is home to some of the most memorable boss fights in any recent SEGA title and the fourth mainline entry into the series isn’t any different. As with such articles, spoilers for the game follow, so if you happen not to have completed Yakuza 4 yet and do not wish to be spoiled, walk away now, for everyone else, please continue reading to find out my personal five!

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New Binary Domain trailer as title is delayed to 2012

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The previous Binary Domain trailer left much to be desired from many who had high expectations for Yakuza and Monkey Ball series designer Toshihiro Nagoshi’s newest title, however SEGA have recently put together a new trailer for your enjoyment, the trailer has a lot less dialogue but focuses on more action this time round. It does a much better job at generating hype for the game than the intial trailer and showcases ingame gameplay, from certain vehicles you can control to the boss battles you will face throughout the game, the trailer also confirms that the game will be available early 2012, from its original release date of sometime in 2011.

[Special thanks to Suzuki Yu for the tip!]

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SEGA teasing Ghost Squad sequel?

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It seems SEGA are carrying out a location test from Friday through to the following Monday with a new game called Operation G.H.O.S.T. Whilst nothing but a teaser site and web address has been revealed, ArcadeHeroes have taken an educated guess as the original Ghost Squad had GHOST as an abbreviation. Hopefully the website will provide more information in the coming days.

[Source: Arcade Heroes]

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New Shining Game announcement soon

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[A screenshot from the most recent Shining release, Shining Hearts]

Speaking in a recent Famitsu interview, Tsuyoshi Sawada, the man directly in charge of the direction of the Shining series, has revealed that a new title in SEGA’s long running series is in the works, read the full quote after the break;

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SEGA in the Charts: Japanese sales 21 – 27 Feb 2011

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It’s been a while since the last major Japanese release for SEGA but the wait is finally over, Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity was released in the same week as the new handheld 3DS. Whilst Phantasy Star Portble 2: Infinity posted some impressive numbers below, it does not tell the full story;

Position / Platform / Title / Weekly numbers / Lifetime numbers

01 [PSP] Phantasy Star Portable 2: Infinity  206,654 / NEW

When the first Phantasy Star Portable was released, it managed to sell in the region of 360,000 units and the sequel, PSP2, managed 280,000 whilst the newest entry into the series shows further steep decline for sales in the series, perhaps the bubble is slowly bursting, but who knows, yearly releases are bound to have an effect, so it’ll be interesting to see the result when Phantasy Star Online 2 is released, although with the PC market in Japan, I would not be surprised about the level of sales being lower.

The original shipment for Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity was around 330,000 so expect strong sales for next week too. Although will it still be number one in a week’s time? Doubtful as the new Dissidia is released for PSP, but it may still hold onto second place.

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SEGA announces Anarchy Reigns

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As expected, SEGA has announced Platinum Games new title for Europe and America and given it a new title, Anarchy Reigns. Check below for the full press release and screenshots;

LONDON AND SAN FRANCISCO – (January 27th, 2011) – SEGA® Europe Ltd. and SEGA® of America, Inc. today reveal details on upcoming third-person multiplayer brawler, ANARCHY REIGNS™, the much anticipated next title from critically acclaimed developer PlatinumGames. ANARCHY REIGNS will be available in Autumn 2011 on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system.

With ANARCHY REIGNS, PlatinumGames will be using their hallmark creativity and technical excellence to challenge the boundaries of the conventional brawler genre by allowing multiple players to get involved in heavy-hitting action simultaneously. ANARCHY REIGNS incorporates a diverse range of multiplayer modes to provide players with different challenges, including Tag Team battles and Battle Royal, where players can challenge others in a full-on fight for victory.

“SEGA are delighted to continue our collaboration with PlatinumGames, one of the most creative and critically acclaimed developers in the world,” said Gary Knight, Senior Vice President of Marketing of SEGA West. “ANARCHY REIGNS is set to offer gamers a fresh multiplayer experience with the quality and innovation PlatinumGames are renowned for.”

 ANARCHY REIGNS will be available in Autumn 2011 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system.

For more information please visit www.anarchyreignsgame.com.

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SEGA games in Famitsu Top 100 2010

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On a yearly basis, Famitsu publishes the top 100 best selling games and as always, SEGA manages to make a few on the list. Although in terms of total, it’s not overly impressive, SEGA still maintains a strong position and suffers from far fewer financial failures than recent years, they managed to get 7 games in total and no prizes guessing which was the biggest seller for SEGA.

17. [PS3] Yakuza 4 (Sega) – 557,771
32. [PSP] Hatsune Miku: Project Diva 2nd (Sega) – 341,663
40. [PSP] Kurohyou! Yakuza New Chapter (Sega) – 264,766
49. [PSP] Keion! Afterschool Live (Sega) – 231,976
61. [PS3] End of Eternity (Sega) – 184,662
74. [PSP] Valkyria Chronicles 2 (Sega) – 153,487
89. [PSP] Shining Hearts (Sega) – 130,258

Another entry in the Yakuza series and again continues to slightly push up from sales of Yakuza 3 (Which did around 509,000 with the original release, not accounting THE BEST release which did a further 80,000) and Project Diva 2 improves on the sales of the original in a big way (Which managed 186,000) and becomes the 22nd most successful game on the PSP in Japan. The PSP Yakuza title does a modest amount, matching that of the sales of the original release of Yakuza Kenzan, indicator of the userbase in terms of sales for the next spinoff title perhaps?

K-On does very well for SEGA although I would imagine that would be it’s final total outside of a re-release in Japan, I can’t quite see it coming out in America or Europe. Valkyria Chronicles 2 does ever so slightly better than the original (8,000) but this does not include the re-release of the original title which nothced up a further 82,000 unit and the sales of End of Eternity certainly suggests a sequel maybe forthcoming.

Finally Shining Hearts, despite doing 100,000 in it’s first week, ends up with a modest extra 30,000 and it does seem that perhaps despite the impressive first week opening, it may not go down as the most successful and I can probably imagine a sigh of relief from dissatisfied fans of the franchise.

[Source: NeoGAF]

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Marza’s teaser trailer for Captain Harlock feature

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For those eagerly awaiting a trailer of Marza (Former Visual Entertainment, known for the recent Sonic intros and Curse of the Werehog) latest work, the wait is finally over.  Above you will find a teaser trailer for Space Pirate Captain Harlock, based on the popular Japanese comic series, sporting impressive visuals and showing flying spaceships and boat invasions.  Currently there has been no announcement for when the film will be released.

Thanks to Pao for the tipoff.

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United Kingdom Charts: 21 – 27 Nov 2010

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There was some concerns for the sales of Sonic Colours when it first charted on the British charts, heading at a lowly 36th at the beginning of it’s tenure in the charts. Well the game continues to travel upwards in the charts, now up two positions to 16th and it’s not simply just one version of the game going up, both Wii and DS version have moved higher in the individual charts from 35 to 31 for the DS version and 29 to 27 for the Wii version.

Other chart positions for Sonic Colours is 19th in the top 20 Irish Charts and in the top 10 DS charts for Netherlands, Sonic Colours comes in 8th. On an unreleated note, Epic Monkey failed to chart in Britain, perhaps Sonic Colour’s positioning is not due the damage done to the series, but the poor sale through for third party titles.

Football Manager 2011 has fallen down three places from 19th to 22nd but there was some good news for Vanquish, which has re-entered the charts at 38th, although I have a feeling that should be the last we see of Vanquish, unless more good deals come around to promote the game to could help it push it up the charts. Next week’s charts would be interesting to see if Sonic Colours can continue it’s climb up the charts, good word of mouth and being an enjoyable title shows what a positive reception a new Sonic game can have.

[Source: Chart-Track]

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Sonic the Hedgehog 4 priced and dated

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SEGA has unvailed the price and release date for it’s eagerly awaited title, Sonic the Hedgehog 4, the title will see Sonic battle his way through four badnik filled zones with three stages each (Inspired from previous Mega Drive Sonic titles) as he faces off once again with his nemesis Dr Robotnik. Fans of the series have no need to wait any longer though, as Sonic will be speeding to home consoles and iPhones this coming October. Please see the full release dates and prices for each platform below;

The game will be available for download on the iTunes App Store starting Oct. 7, the Wii Shop Channel on Oct. 11 (15th Oct in EMEA territories), the PlayStation Network on Oct. 12 in America (Oct 13th in EMEA territories), and Xbox Live Arcade on Oct. 13 across all territories.

Sonic 4 will be priced at 1500 Wii Points on WiiWare, 1200 Microsoft Points on Xbox Live Arcade, and $14.99 / £9.99 / €12.99 / AU$19.95 on the PlayStation Network.

[Source: IGN]

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SEGA and Platinum Games plan more titles

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It seems the partnership of SEGA and Platinum Games is not ending any time soon. The developer was quickly signed up by SEGA on an exclusive four game deal, three of which has received much critical acclaim although out of the three, only Bayonetta was suggested to have met its sale target, with the final game Vanquish launching later this year. The title has been building hype up slowly, mainly down to its impressive demo released some time ago. Speaking during the Tokyo Game Show the studio’s producer and executive director Atsushi Inaba said;

“[The] relationship between SEGA and Platinum Games does not end with Vanquish.”

A simple quote, but one that will most likely go down well with the general SEGA userbase. Speculation will surely be rife now, especially with the director of Bayonetta, Hideki Kamiya, has been hinting at a possible sequel to one of the most critically acclaimed title of 2010. What ever the case, fans can look forward to this partnership continuing for some time still.

[Source: Play.TM]

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SEGA announces Football Manager 2011

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A new entry in SEGA’s highly successful and critically acclaimed series, Football Manager, has been announced for release before Christmas 2010 and available on PC, Mac and Playstation Portable. In Football Manager, players take on the role of manager of a number of football clubs or national team manager and guide the team to glory by meeting targets set by the board, which, depending on which club you pick can range from winning a trophy, being promoted or surviving relagation. Speaking of the announcement, Miles Jacobson from Sports Interactive said;

“We always strive to give the end-user the best experience possibleInteractive. The training system, for example, has always been the best we thought it could be, until now. We’ve found a way to make it even better.”

Continue on to read the full Press Release and find out the new features available in the lastest installment.

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