SEGA Talk #89: Shenmue II (2001)

SEGA Talk returns to the world of Shenmue, this time talking about the legendary SEGA-AM2 title, Shenmue II! We cover the development, talk about cut content, original ideas behind the game and even discuss a PS2 rumored port?

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SEGA News Bits Live: Sonic’s Boots & SEGA’s Arcades

Let’s discuss the shocking revelations pertaining to Sonic’s feet! Oh, and that small bit of news about SEGA pulling out of the arcade operations role for good. All that and the past month’s news on this SEGA News Bits Live!

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Sonic the Hedgehog 2 movie tie-in books are now available to pre-order

I’ve long been a fan of Sonic kid’s books, even when I was well past the age of being a kid. The past few years have seen some excellent short story collections set in the game universe, and with the new Sonic movies from Paramount there are even more Sonic books to collect! Now available for pre-order are a collection of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 books based on the upcoming movie. I thought it would be handy to fans if I broke down the new releases and shared where you can purchase them.

The SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show LIVE: SEGADriven’s Sonic Yoda

Join us LIVE at 9PM London time/3PM Central/1PM Pacific!

World’s collide as Sonic Yoda from the UK’s SEGADriven joins the American boys at SEGAbits to talk how SEGADriven came to be, the latest SEGA news, and more!

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[Exclusive] Classic SEGA Interview: Smilebit’s Takayuki Kawagoe talks Jet Set Radio Future with Xbox Nation Magazine

This interview originally appeared in the premiere issue of Xbox Nation Magazine. Stay tuned for scans of the magazine itself later this week!

Takayuki Kawagoe – Smilebit
Past projects: General development, project manager for various 16-bit titles, and head of the Saturn software lineup. Sega Rally 2 and JGR (Dreamcast), along with many others.
Xbox projects: Gunvalkyrie, JSRF: Jet Set Radio Future, Panzer Dragoon.
Favorite food: Any fish, Korean BBQ, and Italian food
Favorite movie: “Some Kind of Wonderful,” and any kung fu movie starring Jet Li.
Favorite music: Beastie Boys, De La Soul, Peter Gabriel, Joe Strummer/The Clash, Jim Foetus, Malcolm Mclaren, The Smiths, Nay Nays, Kyoko Koizumi, Robert Wyatt, Elvis Costello, Serge Gainsbourg, electro pop, hip hop, Latin beats, reggae, punk, and ’80s music in general.

XBN: Please describe your role in the development of Jet Set Radio Future?

Takayuki Kawagoe: As the producer for JSRF, I motivate my staff, consult with them, decide which direction the project should take, balance the budget, promote the title, etc.. Regarding the content in the game: because this is the second title, I trust Mr. Kikuchi (director) and Mr. Ueda (art director) with most of the finer details of the game. That said, I get my words in their works…I’m their “nagging father”…

SEGA Talk Podcast #88: Illbleed (2001)

Horror returns in January as we take a dive into the spooky, comedic world of Illbleed. Can you survive this horrific theme park? Join Barry and George as they dive deep into this cult classic Dreamcast exclusive and find out how the game ties in with Sonic the Hedgehog!

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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!

SEGA Talk #87: Gunvalkyrie (2002)

This time on SEGA Talk podcast we take a look at the overlooked Smilebit Xbox exclusive Gunvalkyrie! We take a look at the cancelled Dreamcast port, talk about its unique controllers and why the game has stayed exclusive to Xbox over the years. All this and more, on SEGA Talk!

Support us on Patreon! Get early access, tell us what games to cover, and have your SEGA memories read at the end and more!

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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!

The SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show LIVE: Into the SEGAverse

On our first live show of the year we look to Twitter and YouTube for YOUR questions and comments! Where is Jet Set Radio 3? Why can’t SEGA rerelease Saturn games? Oh, and where is Jet Set Radio 3? Also, we take a look at the deluxe release of the Sonic Encyclo-Speed-ia!

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SEGA News Bits Live: Happy NFT Year!

New year, same nonsense! On this SEGA News Bits Live, Barry looks back on the week of news including SEGA’s stance on NFTs, Sonic 1 on Tesla vehicles and Ken Penders sharing his list of characters and concepts he owns.

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

 

LEGO Ideas Sonic the Hedgehog set now available to purchase

The long awaited Sonic Mania inspired LEGO Ideas Sonic the Hedgehog set has both been revealed and released! The set has changed quite a bit from the original pitch. Gone are the Hard Boiled Heavies, Flicky birds and Death Egg Robot. As such, the Sonic Mania presence is pretty much gone, making this a Sonic 1 set. The set is available now at the LEGO online shop as well as in physical LEGO stores, and retails for $69.99.

SEGA Talk #86: Alpha Protocol (2010)

SEGA Talk is back, for the last show of the year! This time we cover the SEGA x Obsidian espionage RPG Alpha Protocol! Clock your weapons, turn up the volume and let’s dive deep into this spy thrilling episode!

Support us on Patreon! Get early access, tell us what games to cover, and have your SEGA memories read at the end and more!

[iTunes – Stitcher – YouTube – 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!

Sonic the Hedgehog 4K Bonus Stage Edition Steelbook releasing in time for the sequel

Paramount and SEGA’s 2020 Sonic the Hedgehog will be seeing a 4K + Blu-Ray + Digital re-release to coincide with the upcoming sequel. Dubbed the Bonus Stage Edition, the boxed set will include the previously released comic book, as well as mini posters, what appears to be a collector card, and an outer box and a mini CD sized Steelbook case. The set will release March 15th, 2022 and the sequel is due out April 8th, 2022. You can pre-order it now here.

Official Sonic the Hedgehog HORI Switch Split Pad Pro revealed, available to pre-order now

Revealed today is an officially branded Sonic the Hedgehog HORI Switch Split Pad Pro, and guess what… you can pre-order it now! While Mario and Pikachu seem to have all the fun when it comes to branded Nintendo controllers, it’s great to finally see SEGA and Sonic stepping into the ring. The split pad retails for $59.99 and is said to release at the end of January, 2022.

The SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show LIVE: Our Favorite and Most Disappointing Games of 2021

Let’s close out the year by talking about our favorite and most disappointing SEGA and ATLUS games of 2021! In previous years, we’ve presented these as two SEGA News Bits videos, but this year we’ve combined them into one big SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show awards show. Special guest Sonic Yoda from SEGA Driven will also be featured, walking us through the games released throughout the year.

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Discotek Media announces Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog SD on Blu-Ray release, packed with bonus features

Longtime readers of SEGAbits should know by now my love for Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. I’ve written about it a lot, so much so that each one of those words is a different article. So it pleases me to write about it AGAIN to share that Discotek Media will be releasing an SD on Blu-Ray release of the series, meaning the full series in standard definition on two blu-ray discs. But that’s not all!