Author Archives: George

SEGA introduces ‘Sonic 2020 Initiative’, to announce Sonic the Hedgehog news on the 20th of every month

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Guys, the year is 2020, its the future and in this future a handful of announcements aren’t enough. SEGA has officially launched the “Sonic 2020” project, a new initiative to announce various new Sonic the Hedgehog-related plans and information throughout the year.

What’s the first bit of news on January 20th? Well, of course the project itself. I bet Sonic Team are patting themselves on the back for this one. The Sonic Channel also released some art for the announcement which features social media assets and even 21 character icons. The press release for this does mention that SEGA will hold various Sonic the Hedgehog events in 2020; so keep an eye out.

I’m no Detective Conan, but don’t be shocked if we get a musical event with Tee Lopes and Crush 40, since the Sonic the Hedgehog social media has been releasing remixed tunes.

[Via: Gematsu]

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Round Table: How SEGA Can Improve in 2020

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We are in a brand new decade and SEGA has had a huge turn around in the last five years since they announced their last big rebuild and bought Atlus. It seems that SEGA’s Road to 2020 was a success in a lot of aspects. But like every company, there are always weak points that haven’t quite been ironed out.

On this Round Table we will discuss how SEGA can improve in 2020, if you have any ways that you think SEGA can improve in this new year, let us know in the comments below.

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Yakuza: Like a Dragon To Get Seven Free DLC Packs, First DLC Details Revealed

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If you are excited for Yakuza: Like a Dragon, which comes out later this year in America, you probably already know that these games have had free DLC updates since the release of Yakuza 3 and this new game isn’t any different.

While we don’t know the release schedule of these DLC items in the West, we do know the release schedule for the Japanese release (they start releasing tomorrow):

  • January 23, 2020
  • January 30, 2020
  • February 6, 2020
  • February 13, 2020
  • February 20, 2020
  • February 27, 2020

The first pack that SEGA is releasing is called the ‘Support Pack Vol. 1’ which will add a new ‘Cleanup Crew’ costume and the following support items:

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Atlus & SEGA Creators Talk 2020 and Future Goals

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The Japanese gaming website 4Gamer & Famtisu runs a piece every year talking to Japanese developers about their yearly goals, every New Years. This time it seems a bit special considering we are going into a brand new decade, 2020. Or is it 2021?

Most of the answers here from Atlus and one SEGA developer comes from the Famitsu article and was translated by Gematsu.

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Let’s Remember Sonic Unleashed 11 Years After Release – Twitter Edition

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SEGA’s Sonic Unleashed was a very important game in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, it was the birth of a brand new ‘boost Sonic’ formula that would extend to Sonic Colors, Generations and even the latest Forces video game. At the same time it was also the start of focusing on Sonic and abandoning the friends that became mainstay since the release of Sonic Adventure.

To celebrate, I asked on Twitter what our audience thought about Sonic Unleashed, all these 11 years later. First we had a 3 hour long poll that got 459 votes and hot takes from fans:

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Persona character designer creates a new character for Project Sakura Wars

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We heard not that long ago that SEGA and Atlus are working on a new game for next generation consoles, but it seems that development teams are already working together. It was announced that Persona character designer Shigenori Soejima actually worked on a unique character for Project Sakura Wars, introducing Hakushu Murasame (pictured above).

She was revealed during a Project Sakura Wars Japanese stream, where it showed her talking to her student, Sakura Amamiya and Seijuro Kaimiyama. She plays a competent, composed character through the presentation. We also know she will be voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro who played Elizabeth from the Velvet Room attendant and made her debut in Persona 3. While Hakushu Mursame is getting the attention, it seems that Ken Sugimori (Pokemon) is also making a character for the game, which is shown off in this new video.

You can check out the two hour Project Sakura Wars stream right here. So this project has the redesign done by Tite Kubo (Bleach), Shigenori Soejima (Persona), Ken Sugimori (Pokemon), and even Noizi Ito (Fire Emblem Heroes)? That’s quite the art team.

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Space Channel 5 Getting 20th Anniversary Greatest Hits Album Featuring Over 50 Tracks

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While it doesn’t seem to get a lot of hype online, it seems that SEGA is bringing back Space Channel 5 with the release of Space Channel 5 VR: Kinda Funky News Flash and now with a 20th Anniversary album release featuring over 50 tracks from the series’ greatest tunes across two CDs. The release promises remixes, drama tracks and six new tracks from the upcoming VR title.

You can see the album cover above, which shows off Ulala sporting her new Space Channel 5 VR yellow outfit, which seems to be her new ’20th Anniversary’ color? The 2 CD disc will feature a booklet with commentary from composer Naofumi Hataya and narrative designer Takumi Yoshinaga. You can get the import via iam8bit for $39.99, if you are interested.

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Streets of Rage 4 will hit Xbox Game Pass next year

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We already posted that the Yakuza games are coming to Xbox One and Xbox Game Pass, which we posted. But now we got another SEGA classic coming to Xbox Game Pass… Streets of Rage 4! You can check out the full Game Pass line-up so far in the screenshot above.

It seems that Microsoft is going all in with their Game Pass, are you interested?

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Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami and Kiwami 2 coming to Xbox One and Xbox Game Pass

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SEGA has just announced at X019 in London that SEGA America and Ryu Ga Gotoku studio will be bringing three Yakuza games not just to Xbox One and Xbox One X, but also the Xbox One Game Pass. If you don’t know what Game Pass is, its basically Microsoft’s SEGA Channel or Netflix service where you pay monthly to play all the games you want in a revolving number of titles.

This is huge news, now if only SEGA could port these games on the Nintendo Switch, then everyone will be happy!

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Shenmue III finally gets a launch trailer, marching closer to release

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Shenmue III has been rumored since I first started coming online as a little Georgie boy, it was one of the main reasons I joined the SEGA community. Then we got a Kickstarter and waited some more, but it seems that we are very close to ‘not waiting’ for Shenmue III since its coming out in a few days on November 19, 2019. Now we get to enjoy a launch trailer above.

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Streets of Rage 4 ‘Behind the Gameplay’ video ensures classic fans to stay excited

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The publisher behind Streets of Rage 4 posted up a “Behind the Gameplay” video allowing us to see the environment, people and tools being used to bring a ‘brand new’ ‘classic feeling’ Streets of Rage 4. One of the cool bits is around the 2 minute mark where they are playing the animation from Streets of Rage 4 side by side with Streets of Rage 2. They both move exactly the same, which will make Streets or Rage 4 have that heavy feel we all love in the originals.

Part of the video talks about the engine being used, which was created by Guard Crush Games, and how easy it is to modify things within the game. They even go into combos and we have the development team showing off Street Fighter III combos that inspired them? Is this game gonna get that crazy?

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SEGA teasing new Mission Impossible arcade game reveal at IAAPA Expo 2019

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SEGA Amusement, the part of SEGA that specializes in arcade games has released the above image as a teaser for IAAPA Expo 2019. The posts description read: “Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It… #IAAPA2019 #IAAPA #MissionImpossible #YourMission” which is a catchphrase of the Mission Impossible franchise. Not only that, they literally have a hashtag for Mission Impossible in the post and the icon of Paramount can be seen on the left hand corner.

If this becomes true, it should be interesting to see what SEGA does with the IP. In the past SEGA has made arcade games for big IPs like Die Hard, Transformers and even Rambo. I guess we shall see soon since IAAPA Expo 2019 takes place this November 19 through the 22nd in Orlando, Florida.

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Virtua Fighter Mii Fighter costumes return to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

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The new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Nintendo Direct was streamed, showing off the brand new DLC character Terry Bogard from Fatal Fury/King of Fighters, part of the announcement included the ‘Mii Fighter Costumes #4’ DLC; which included new King of Fighter themed outfits but also the return of the Akira and Jacky outfits from Super Smash Bros Wii U & 3DS.

Each of these costumes will cost you $0.75 USD each and can be purchased today.

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Persona 5 Royal debuts in first place in Japan, beats out Luigi’s Mansion 3 and Mario & Sonic at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games

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It looks like its a big month for SEGA and Atlus in Japan since they released both Persona 5 Royal and Mario & Sonic at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games come out the same week. Surprisingly enough, Persona 5 Royal (201,448 units sold) did so well that it beat Nintendo’s Luigi’s Mansion 3 (150,649 units) by over 50k units.

I think its surprising because Persona 5 Royal is a ‘complete’ version of Persona 5 which launched with 264,793 units on PS4 (72,974 units on PS3). Sure, Persona 5 Royal sold less than the original but its still selling better than the last ‘highest selling Persona game’ before Persona 5, Persona 4 Golden which launched with 137,076 units. This shows you that re-releasing acclaimed games with more content isn’t a bad strategy and it seems Atlus fans come out and purchase these new versions.

Nintendo fans might think its disappointing to see Luigi’s Mansion 3 on Nintendo Switch not make it at number one, but this entry is the highest selling entry in Japan with 150,649 units compared to Luigi’s Manson: Dark Moon which launched with 110,840 units in 2013.

But what about Mario & Sonic at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games?

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Sonic Mania developer Headcannon launches Kickstarter for new game called Vertebreaker

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If you’ve been enjoying Sonic Mania and wanted to know what the teams behind the game have been up to, we got our answer for Headcannon games. It seems that Headcannon has been working on Vertebreaker and has now launched a Kickstarter. According to the project’s description:

“Rest in Peace?!” You wish! “Vertebreaker” is a brand-new and authentic pixel-based side-scroller from Headcannon, the studio that helped bring “Sonic Mania” to the masses. Starring a stubby-yet-seemingly-unstoppable skeleton who’s thrashing their way to victory, it’s gothic, cartoonish, and unabashedly retro!

Take control of our bony hero in a crusade to crush the undead and look cool while doing it! In “Vertebreaker”, traversal is key as you slash, bash, and grapple your way through the most wicked 2D adventure yet! “What is ‘traversal'”? It’s slinging, swinging, and launching from floors, walls, and ceilings to propel yourself forward or even upward with serious speed!

Save the day with our pearly-boned mascot, their mysterious golden half-skull, and their sick grappling hook made from the spine of a demon! “What demon”? It doesn’t matter … does it … ?

Vertebreaker is only seeking 275,000 dollars to make the project, with tiers allowing backers to transform the final game. Some of the high tiers, like the one for $500 dollars even allows you to design enemies. But if you just want a regular digital copy, its at the $15 dollar tier which includes your name in the credits. You can also try the Vertebreaker demo right now on PC and see if the game is for you. So far the game is only announced for PC and is suppose to come out Q3 2021, if the project games founded. One of the extended tiers includes a Nintendo Switch port at $330,000. Pretty smart to launch this Kickstarter on Halloween.

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