Author Archives: George

Phantasy Star Online 2 gets new Japanese ad showing off new updates

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While we never got Phantasy Star Online 2 in the west, it doesn’t mean that the game is dead in Japan. At least, not according to SEGA who are still pumping money into new content and this new television ad above. Its crazy, especially since we are coming up on the Phantasy Star online 2‘s fifth year anniversary (this July).

The commercial features high pitched, dead eye starring Japanese girls and quick cuts that show what new users can expect in the latest Phantasy Star Online 2 update. From what I gather they show off new outfits, combat and even casino games. If you want to comment with the mandatory ‘SEGA bring this game to the west’, you can do so below. If you want my take on the whole thing, you can read my article about how Phantasy Star Online 2 not coming west is a bad sign for SEGA. You can also just play on the Japanese server with a fan created English patch… 

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SEGA’s mobile game War Pirates launches globally

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SEGA’s War Pirates, a mobile game that was out in select countries back in August of last year, is now being released globally. The game peaked our intention when we found out that it was created by Masayoshi Kikuchi of Jet Set Radio and Yakuza fame. War Pirates features 14 maps, over 300 quests, over 20 ships, and over 230 pirate characters to unlock.

War Pirates also features a real-time PVP battle mode which looks pretty interesting. According to the game’s press release they are also promising a Guild vs Guild update later this year. You can check out War Pirates on Twitter and Facebook.

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SEGA News Bits: Project Sonic 2017 Is An Action Adventure Game

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Today on the SEGA News Bits we discuss brand new revealed information about Project Sonic 2017, including the fact that the game is being labeled an ‘Action Adventure’ game. Other bits of Project Sonic 2017 news we touch upon includes Eggman being the main villain and the fact that Project Sonic 2017 won’t be featuring multiplayer modes. Let us know what you think in the comments below.

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us, give us a sub. If you are already subscribed you can always like the video. Thanks for watching.

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Rare Yakuza titles get reprinted – including PlayStation 2 titles

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YakuzareprintedDid you want to pick up the first two Yakuza titles on the PlayStation 2, brand new and at a decent price? You are in luck as rare Yakuza titles get reprinted thanks to Amazon seller JADD ENTERTAINMENT. Yakuza 2, before the reprinted offer, was over a hundred bucks used, so having it for $50 dollars brand new is a great deal. I first assumed these were actually ‘newly found stock’, but according to producer at Atlus USA, Sam Mullen, these are ‘reorders’. I would totally pick up Yakuza and Yakuza 2 on the PlayStation 2, those are the rarest titles.

There is also a ebay seller, by the name of vgp_videogameplus that is selling these same titles with free shipping option. If you want to save as much as possible.

Rare Yakuza titles get reprinted, but do you think its worth the price? Thankfully, if you aren’t happy with your copy, Amazon has a good refund policy even on 3rd party sellers. Supplies are limited, so be warned that they can disappear at anytime. What Yakuza title are you picking up? Let us know in the comments below.

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SEGA-AM2’s Soul Reverse gets first gameplay footage

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SEGA-AM2’s Soul Reverse will be the first ‘new IP’ by the company since they launched Border Break back in 2009, unless you count Operation G.H.O.S.T which was tied to the Ghost Squad franchise. When we first told you about SEGA-AM2’s Soul Reverse we mentioned that it looked a bit like Dark Souls and now with gameplay footage released, I’m not too sure about that.

The footage for SEGA-AM2’s Soul Reverse is actually a tutorial showing off moves you can do, including using cards to summon Souls to attack (like a special movie). While the game may look like Dark Souls due to its medieval theme, it doesn’t have a stamina meter and seems to be timed stages. The combos shown on here remind me more of Phantasy Star Online where you have to get your timing right to execute the full combo. This to me looks more like a new version of Quest for D (2007) than something going after Dark Souls. Soul Reverse also has a tie-in mobile game called Soul Reverse Zero in Japan. If you want to try Soul Reverse Zero, here is a good guide for English speakers

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SEGA Talk Podcast #07: Power Stone (1999)

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We have gathered all the Power Stones and are now ready to talk all things Power Stone related on this episode of the SEGA Talk Podcast. George and Barry have a sit down discussion talking our history with the Power Stone franchise, why we think it still holds up, our favorite Power Stone characters, and even our thoughts on the anime tie-in. So put down that SEGA Dreamcast controller, turn up the volume and join us for some Power Stone talk! Tell us in the comments why you enjoyed Power Stone and if you think its due for a comeback.

[iTunes – Stitcher – YouTube – Play Music – RSS – Download]

If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

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Amazon says Sonic Mania coming out April 25, 2017

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SonicManiaApril25SEGA hasn’t given a solid release date for Sonic Mania, outside that its set to come out this spring, but it seems that Amazon might have leaked the release date a tad earlier. According to their Sonic Mania product page, the game is set to release on April 25, 2017. Is that true? Who knows, Amazon has been known as being funky with their release dates. For example, the product pages for the PC and Nintendo Switch say its coming out May 31, 2017.

Honestly though, Sonic Mania coming out on April 25, 2017 seems to make sense, but I wouldn’t hold my breath until its officially announced. Thanks to Ghast06 on Twitter for the heads up. What is your opinion on the date change, you think Sonic Mania makes it to store shelves on April 25?

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Humble Monthly Bundle has Total War: Warhammer for $12

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humbletotalwarmonthlybundleSEGA has teamed up with Humble Bundle, a charity driven PC game store to offer gamers Total War: Warhammer for $12 bucks. Getting Total War: Warhammer for $12 bucks is a huge deal, considering that this seems to be the lowest price for the title. But there’s more, you also unlock at least six more games at the end of the month. Last month’s bundle had big titles like X-COM 2, Ryse: Son of Rome, Abzu, and more. If you pay the monthly fee of $12 dollars now, you can download Total War: Warhammer today and start enjoying the game. Just make sure that at the end of the month, when all the games unlock, you cancel your membership or they’ll charge you for the next month.

Is Total War: Warhammer worth the $12 dollars? Well the game has mix ratings over on Steam but manage to score well with critics. Why the mix feelings from fans? Most fans say this is the best Total War game created but are a bit disappointed on how SEGA and Creative Assembly have implemented DLC. Looking at the DLC for the game I don’t blame them, having two packs costing $18.99 for new races is a bit steep. There is also a few free pieces of DLC like Grombrindal the White Dwarf and Wurrzag.

Going to be honest, I think Total War: Warhammer for $12 plus more games at the end of the month is a steal. If you like Total War or these type of strategy PC games, give it a shot. There is also a Mac compatible version for those readers not running Windows.

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SEGA Japanese developers talk Nintendo Switch

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SEGADevelopersSwitchSeeing as we are big SEGA fanboys, it is safe to say we care about what their developers think about a upcoming console. This month on Famitsu, SEGA Japanese developers talk Nintendo Switch and their thoughts on the big reveal presentation. The original news piece, posted by Nintendo Everything, also had other top Japanese developers. So check that out if you want to learn what other top Japanese talent from other publishing companies thought about the Nintendo Switch. So what SEGA Japanese developers talk Nintendo Switch? We have Takashi Iizuka (Sonic the Hedgehog series), Toshihiro Nagoshi (Yakuza series) and Mizuki Hosoyamada (Puyo Puyo series).

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Cook & Becker’s Sonic The Hedgehog 25th Anniversary Art Book reveals exclusive Yuji Uekawa print

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Sonic-art-print_UekawaLong time Sonic the Hedgehog artist Yuji Uekawa will be doing an exclusive print that will come with the Cook & Becker’s Sonic The Hedgehog 25th Anniversary Art Book Collectors Edition. If you missed the news, the art book will collect rare and exclusive art from the Blue Blur’s history and will come in two versions: standard hardcover and collectors edition. The Yuji Uekawa print will not be sold separately, as far as we know, meaning there will be about 2,500 copies printed. The Yuji Uekawa print focuses on the history of Sonic by showing him with his three major redesigns: Classic Sonic, Modern Sonic and Sonic Boom.

Cook & Becker was also nice enough to share what the Yuji Uekawa print looks like within the Sonic The Hedgehog 25th Anniversary Art Book Collectors Edition! Remember if you pre-order the collector’s edition before February, you get a 10% discount. The book is expected to ship to costumers sometime within April. What are your thoughts on the Yuji Uekawa print? Sound off in the comments below.

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Valkyria Revolution debuts as worst selling entry in franchise history

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Valkyria-Azure-Revolution-Tokyo-Game-Show-2016-TrailerValkyria Revolution debuts as worst selling entry in franchise history and that isn’t clickbait. Valkyria Revolution (Valkyria: Azure Revolution)  moved 38,197 units on PlayStation 4 and only 18,219 on the PlayStation Vita. That means that combined, it did a total of 56,416 units. Even combined, its still the lowest debuting title in Valkyria franchise’s history:

  • Valkyria Chronicles – 77,698
  • Valkyria Chronicles II – 76,088
  • Valkyria Chronicles III – 102,779

The game got beaten in sales by other debuting games like Gravity Rush 2 (74,361) and Yoshi’s Woolly World (39,555) which both debuted with less sales than any past Valkyria Chronicles titles as well. Other factors we can look into as to why Valkyria Revolution debuts as worst selling entry in franchise history is the reception. We did a preview for the game and it just didn’t seem like the right execution for what the team was trying to do. Famitsu still managed to give the full game a rating of 8/9/8/7 [32/40], which is rather high.

It is not looking good for the Valkyria franchise with this being the lowest selling new release in the franchise’s history and Valkyria Chronicles remake only selling 24,156 units on its debut week. While the team behind Valkyria Revolution have been teasing about the possibilities of a new full fledged Valkyria Chronicles title, I don’t think SEGA would be as keen considering how these past two releases have sold (at least in Japan). I myself have mix feelings on how this title will do in the West and feel that adding a Xbox One version and not a PC version was a mistake. Considering that the PC version of Valkyria Chronicles has sold over 900,000 units.

[Source: Siliconera]

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SEGA adds more gaming soundtracks to Spotify

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SEGASoundtracksSEGA adds more gaming soundtracks to Spotify for your listening pleasure. It seems that SEGA is going to continue to add more in the upcoming months? I sure hope so. But as of right now, there are a ton of new SEGA soundtracks to feast your teeth into. Here are some of the franchises that got soundtracks added to the music streaming service:

  • Fantasy Zone
  • NiGHTS 
  • Out Run
  • Virtua Fighter
  • Skies of Arcadia
  • Chain Chronicle
  • Shinobi/Nightshade
  • Space Harrier
  • Rhythm Thief 
  • Gunblade NY & L.A. Machineguns
  • Power Drift
  • Alex Kidd

There are more here and there. Want to have a gander yourself? Check out SEGA’s artist page on Spotify. It does seem that this was done by SEGA Japan, only because there are some very Japanese focused soundtracks like Chain Chronicle (never published outside of Japan by SEGA) and Nightshade is using its Japanese name of Kunoichi. SEGA adds more gaming soundtracks to Spotify, does this mean you will be less likely to get a physical version of these soundtracks? Personally I think people that stream, where going to stream it regardless. What soundtrack is missing that you want? Sound off in the comments.

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SEGA launches Hatsune Miku 10th Anniversary teaser site

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HatsuneMiku10thAnniversaryWebsiteSEGA is ready for Hatsune Miku 10th Anniversary celebration, starting with a newly launched website. The website teases the following, “10 years since its release on August 31, 2007… A new beginning for Hatsune Miku starts here.”  The Hatsune Miku 10th Anniversary website also features a 232 day count down timer, which ends on August 31, 2017. Yes, you guessed it, on her 10th year anniversary.

For those not in the know, Hatsune Miku is a humanoid persona that uses a synthesizer application developed by Crypton Future Media, this application was launched on August 31, 2007. SEGA has released seven main series title to their Project DIVA series, not including six other spin-offs. Seems SEGA is ready to add more releases to the franchise as Hatsune Miku 10th Anniversary will be here in August. Are you excited?

[Source: Gematsu]

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Atlus launches Shin Megami Tensei 25th Anniversary project website

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Atlus’ legendary Shin Megami Tensei series is celebrating 25 years with a new website, that is teasing a new unannounced project. Since Shin Megami Tensei 25th Anniversary logo shows the roman numerals for I through IV with dates, I will assume this new project will be Shin Megami Tensei V. Not to mention the star in the logo also shows five points, so I don’t think its there just for ‘cool design’.

The Shin Megami Tensei 25th Anniversary celebration also spread to the companies’ twitter account and will probably be a huge focus for the Japanese side of the company throughout 2017. What are your guys thoughts on Shin Megami Tensei 25th Anniversary teased project? What do you hope it is? Let us know in the comments below.

[Source: Siliconera]

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