Author Archives: Barry

SEGA in the Media: Game Gear in the Bronx

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Welcome to another edition of SEGA in the Media, now a weekly feature here at SEGAbits! While most SEGA fans don’t have to go far for a glimpse of something SEGA (just look over at your game shelf or under your tv), spotting something SEGA on television or in a movie is far more difficult. In the past we’ve spotted Virtua Tennis 2009 on the Inbetweeners and a MadWorld poster on Weeds. Today we’re heading to the Bronx, where a certain Jackie Chan had quite the rumble. I think the movie was called The Spy Next Door. No wait, it was Rumble in the Bronx.

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Custom Ulala Vinyl Toy is Out of This World!

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SEGAbits forum member Ulala5 created this awesome custom vinyl figure of Space Channel 5’s Ulala! To create it she used a kidrobot Do-It-Yourself Mini Munny vinyl figure, acrylic colors, a pen and of course her imagination. Very awesome! I could easily see a number of Jet Set Radio characters being possible with this shape. Check out Ulala5’s blog for more photos of the figure!

To quote Space Michael: “Thank you, Ulala.”

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Yu Suzuki Honored with 2011 Game Developers Choice Pioneer Award!

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Straight from SEGA comes word that the legend Yu Suzuki has been awarded the 2011 Game Developers Choice Pioneer Award. I, and I’m certain every other SEGAbits writer and reader, congratulate Yu Suzuki for this achievement. He truly is a gaming pioneer! Insert “Shenmue III please” comment here.

After the break, check out the press release and make note of his official title at SEGA.

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SEGA Press Event Happening in a Few Weeks

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From GoNintendo comes a bit of news regarding an upcoming SEGA press event. Little is said of the event, except that it will happen in a few weeks time and that reps from High Voltage and Creative Assembly will be in attendance. I assume it’ll be at SEGA’s offices in California, though I never should assume as it makes an “ass” out of “u” and “me” (joke).

Should be exciting to hear more of Virtua Tennis 4, as well as the others, however what I’m really hoping for are some reveals. Sonic Anniversary, Sonic 4 Episode 2 or Phaantasy Star Online 2 would all be great. Alan Pritchard did say to expect two Sonic game announcements in the early part of this year. More details to come, obviously.

[Source: GoNintendo and The Sonic Stadium]

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Wavemaster releasing a Sonic 20th Anniversary album?

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Sonic’s 20th is gaining momentum! First SEGA teasing about the anniversary game, then prototype photos of Jazwares action figures and now a placeholder site for a music album! Looks like SEGA’s Wavemaster has a Sonic 20th Anniversary album planned as evidenced by this recently revealed teaser page www.wave-master.com/sonic20th. Nothing there just yet, except for the above image. A variety of Sonic soundtracks have released under the Wavemaster label, but this is the first time they have created a franchise spanning album. As Wavemaster albums are often two disc affairs, I have no doubt a 20th Anniversary album will be two discs as well.

I’m hoping the potential album gives equal representation of all the years and covers a variety of games. It would be awesome to hear some rarities, such as demo tracks and unreleased tunes. Remixes of old classics would also be pretty sweet. What would you like to hear in a Sonic 20th soundtrack? Sound off below! Any mention of Bentley Jones will result in severe punishment.

[Source: The Sonic Stadium]

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5 Annoyingly Catchy SEGA Genesis Tunes

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… or Mega Drive tunes, if you’re of that persuasion. Every blue blooded SEGA fan knows the distinct sound of Genesis/Mega Drive music. Having played dozens of Genesis games throughout the 90’s, a number of game tunes stuck with me. Many great, due to the sheer genius of their composition (Sonic 2’s Chemical Plant Zone and Streets of Rage 2 Stage 1-1 come to mind). But what of those game tunes that stick with you due to them just being plain old annoyingly catchy? Today I’m going to share 5 of those tunes. I actually find myself unknowingly whistling these on a daily basis. Proof of their annoying “catchocity” (a scientific measurement of catchiness).

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Sonic 20th Anniversary Action Figure Collection Revealed! (drools)

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Just when I thought Jazwares has taken all the money they could take from me, they reveal this epic collection! Jazwares is celebrating Sonic’s 20th in style by producing figures that span his 20 year career. These photos found online were snapped at JazWares’ booth at the 2011 UK Toy Fair. One collection revealed is “Sonic Through Time”, which will depict the various designs of Sonic over the years. Photos reveal a 1991 Sonic and a 2008 Sonic, but I’m sure we’ll also see a 1999 and perhaps 2011 model as well. Very cool. After the jump, Eggman takes center stage.

click here to read more!

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Rumor: Classic SEGA Games Releasing Under XBLA “Classics Live” Banner This Summer?

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File this one under rumor: The rumor began when fans of XBLA’s Game Room were speculating the future of the service. For those who don’t know what Game Room is, Game Room is a free application on XBLA that allows retro video game fans to buy 70’s and 80’s Atari, Konami, Activision and Intellivion games and set up the games in their own virtual arcade. I found the service to be a lot of fun, and full of promise, however SEGA had yet to get on board (despite a Genesis controller appearing in a menu icon) and Microsoft has yet to release new games since the last update in December. Game Room fans speculated that the service was dead, however recent discussion at the official XBOX 360 Game Room forums says otherwise. So where does SEGA come into this? What is the rumor? Get to the point, Barry!

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5 Indie Dreamcast Games Worth Your Time

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While there are a lot of great independent Dreamcast games out there, many worthy of a Dreamcast collector’s collection, not every game is worth it for the casual fan. Some games are too short, too difficult or too simplistic. Gamers shouldn’t be expected to pay $20 to $60 for a so-so indie game simply because that money goes towards development of new games. We’re not dealing with charities. People buy games with the promise that the game will be worth their money.

As such, I thought I’d share five independent Dreamcast games that are worth the time and money of not only collectors, but also those who have a Dreamcast console but aren’t into the indie scene. The following five games are just as good, and in some cases better than official Dreamcast games.

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NG.DEV.TEAM bringing GunLord to the Dreamcast in 2011

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Less than a month into 2011 and already we have two games to look forward to on the Dreamcast! RedSpotGames announced the shmup Strumwind, and now NG.DEV.TEAM have announced their next game GunLord! Rene Hellwig briefly talked about it in our interview with them last year.

Very little is known of the game, aside from a teaser site and logo. However, above the logo are the words “Jump. Shoot. Explore.” as well as “A Jump N Shoot Action Game”.

Thanks to Dreamcast Junkyard reader Anthony817 for the tip!

[source: The Dreamcast Junkyard]

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5 Things an All-Star Racing 2 MUST Have

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2010 has come and gone, and with it came a slew of excellent SEGA games. I won’t list them off as I’m certain every reader here knows all the great titles that released. However, I do want to point out one of the releases that made it into my top ten games of 2010 list: Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing. When first announced in 2009, many let out a collective “meh”, and rightfully so. Up until that point, Sonic spin-off titles have ranged from terrible to good, but never great. SEGA Superstars Tennis, the predecessor to All-Stars Racing, was a good game. However the roster was lacking, the mechanics needed polish and the mission mode was a bit unforgiving.

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Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing Arcade machine spotted in the wild

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Seems that the previously reported rumor of SASASR receiving an arcade version was legit! From the website Arcade Heroes comes photos and a few details about the racing cabinet, officially titled Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing Arcade. The machine(s) were spotted at a Chuck E. Cheese in Skokie, IL. The tipster noted that the seats and sides of the cabinet change color. The startup mentions Sumo Digital as the developer and the game retains power-ups and boosting. The game features three modes: Time Trial, Quick Race and Grand Prix. Also, the game is running on the Ringwide hardware. No mention of the roster, but I assume it has exactly what the console versions have. I wonder if Metal Sonic also appears?

Check out an additional photo at the Arcade Heroes link below.

[Source: Arcade Heroes and Sonic Retro]

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Aaron Webber: Say My Name, Say My Name

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To thank those who bought multiple versions of Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 1, Ken Balough (Digital Brand Manager, Sonic 4) and Aaron Webber (Community Manager, Sonic 4) issued a little thank you video. As a nice surprise, they revealed that the public thanking would not be limited to those who bought three or more versions of the game. Instead, they would thank every single person who put their name into True Blue initiative. At 1:35 you’ll see and hear Aaron Webber saying my name as he looks deeply into the camera. No doubt hoping that I heard his thanks. Well Aaron, your thanks has been heard. And in return I say: thank you too!

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