Interview: “Like a Dragon: Yakuza” Actors Ryoma Takeuchi & Kento Kaku, Executive Producer Erik Barmack

Thanks to the production team of the upcoming streaming series Like a Dragon: Yakuza and Prime Video, SEGAbits was given the opportunity to interview Series Lead Ryoma Takeuchi and Co-Star Kento Kaku, and series Executive Producer Erik Barmack.

In a round table setting, joined by fellow video game fan sites, we asked the creative team about how the project began and the challenges of portraying characters like Kazuma Kiryu (played by Ryoma Takeuchi) and Akira Nishikiyama (played by Kento Kaku). You can see their answers to our questions after the break or watch our video interview above, and stay tuned to SEGAbits for more coverage of the series as we near the October 24th release date on Prime Video!

SEGA Talk Podcast #144: SEGA Collecting

Join this on this mega extended episode where we talk all things SEGA Collecting including our history with the main SEGA Consoles, the retro game markets and our favorite SEGA things to collect.

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Support us on Patreon! Get early access, have your memories read on the show, select the games we talk about!

SEGA Talk Podcast #143: Shadow the Hedgehog (2005)

Arise, acolytes of Shadow! For it is the year of our edgy hedgehog overlord! To commence our pilgrimage of praise, let us dissect this magnum opus and potential Pulitzer Prize nominee in video game design. Let us dive deep into the ultimate lifeform known as Shadow the Hedgehog!

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SEGA Talk #142: Ten Electro-Mechnical Arcade Machines (1956-1985)

On this SEGA Talk, we jump way back to SEGA’s early years as an Electro-Mechanical Arcade Machine manufacturer! So plug in and take a break from screens as we take a look at ten Electro-Mechanical SEGA Arcade Machines!

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Sonic Prime Season 2 Blu-Ray announced for August release – pre-order now!

SEGA’s Netflix series Sonic Prime has a season 2 blu-ray releasing soon! On August 27th, fans can get their hands on a physical copy of the second part of the series in lovely 1080p. Amazon has the Season 2 pre-order up now for $19.99, and if you missed it Season 1 is available now.

It’s great to see NCircle continuing their efforts to release Sonic animated content on DVD and blu-ray in a timely fashion. At this rate, we should see the full series on blu-ray before the year ends!

SEGA and Rovio announce production has started on The Angry Birds Movie 3

Now that SEGA owns Rovio, that means SEGA has involvement in all things Angry Birds and just this week the announcement was made that there will be a third animated movie for the franchise. Titled The Angry Birds Movie 3, the movie is now in production and a press release has been sent out detailing those involved, seen after the break. My big question is, will the movie open with the SEGA logo?

Regal bringing first two Sonic the Hedgehog movies back to theaters this summer – tickets are just $1!

The Regal theater chain has announced their Summer Movie Express lineup, and featured in the lineup are the Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 movies. The kid-focused budget priced matinees are priced at $1 a ticket and feature budget priced concession items. Showings are Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 11am, with the first Sonic movie playing July 16 and 17 and the second Sonic movie playing the following week on July 23 and 24. Also worth noting, both Spider-Verse movies are playing as is the recent Ninja Turtles movie Mutant Mayhem.

The including of the first Sonic movie is exciting, as it really has not seen screenings since the pre-pandemic release. Who plans to watch the first two Sonic movies in theaters again this summer?

SEGA Talk #141: Virtua Cop (1994)

On this episode of SEGA Talk we get lock and loaded into the criminal underworld of Virtua City and break the case of SEGA’s 1994 revolutionary light gun shooter Viruta Cop, we look at its history, ports and legacy it left behind. ALL THIS AND MORE ON … SEGA TALK!

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Enjoy the Ride Records releases limited edition Paramount+ Knuckles vinyl soundtrack

Enjoy the Ride Records has just released a limited run of soundtrack vinyls for the Paramount+ Knuckles series. How limited? Only 300 are being made in the Knuckles Spin Dash version. No other version is currently listed, so it is unknown if the soundtrack will see a wider release. The soundtrack is $24.99 and is set to ship in late summer or early fall (or sooner), just in time for the impending release of Sonic 3. Click on over here if you’d like to pick up a copy!

If you have collected all the Sonic movie soundtrack vinyls so far, this will slot in nicely with the labels previous releases. If you have yet to pick up the Sonic movie soundtracks on vinyl, you can find them in the shop’s catalog as some variants are still available.

The SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show LIVE: Reel Ghostbusters Artist Chris Sorrentino

On this episode Reel Ghostbusters Artist Chris Sorrentino (aka PizzaPlazm) talks about his 80s animation inspired art which brings scenes from the Ghostbusters films into the style of The Real Ghostbusters cartoon! We’ll also talk about the many faces of Chris Sorrentino, including his longtime podcasting (Super Live Adventure), his cosplaying (Baby Belushi) and his comedy. Of course, being a SEGA video game focused show we will also talk video games including those weird licensed ones.

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SEGA Talk #140: Gain Ground (1988)

On this episode of Sega talk we discussed the 1988 arcade classic Gain Ground. How did this game Translate to the Mega Drive and Master System? Does the game have memorable characters and a story? What Legacy has it left? We discuss all this and more on Sega Talk!

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Support us on Patreon! Get early access, have your memories read on the show, select the games we talk about!

SEGA in the Media: The 1993 and 2022 Sonic the Hedgehog McDonald’s commercials were filmed at the same location

Would you believe that the 1993 McDonald’s Sonic 3 (the game, not the movie) Happy Meal commercial and the 2022 McDonald’s Sonic 2 (the movie, not the game) Happy Meal commercial, filmed 29 years apart, were actually filmed in the exact same location? That’s right! Over on Facebook the page Film Locations – Then and Now shared a post detailing a McDonald’s restaurant in California that is purely used for filming commercials. The MockDonald’s, as locals call it, is at 17030 Green Drive in City of Industry, CA and has existed for decades. The restaurant has appeared in the 1988 film “Mac and me” as well as dozens, if not hundreds, of McDonald’s commercials. The company is so committed to the location that it has seen numerous changes to the exterior to fit with the on-brand look of the company’s restaurants.

The SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show: C2E2 2024 Chicago Convention Report

C2E2, the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, was this past weekend running from Friday, April 26th through Sunday, April 28th and SEGAbits was there! Armed with nothing but a press pass, a handheld voice recorder and a $75 budget host Barry walked the show floor and checked out the artists and voice actors attending the show. What Sonic or SEGA talent did he see? Listen to this audio account to find out!

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SEGA Talk #139: Tom Kalinske (1976-Now)

On this episode of SEGA Talk we look back at the career of Tom Kalinske, the man who started at Mattel and took on Nintendo with the SEGA Genesis and leaped over to take over the education toy market with LeapFrog. This is the retrospective of Tom Kalinske!

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Support us on Patreon! Get early access, have your memories read on the show, select the games we talk about!

Keanu Reeves cast as Shadow the Hedgehog in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 movie, and yes that is something I just typed

File this one under “headlines I never would have thought I’d type”: Keanu Reeves has been cast as Shadow the Hedgehog in the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 3 movie. The news was a rumor earlier today, leaked from discussions held at last week’s Cinemacon, and has since been confirmed by Variety. Keanu Reeves was a long hoped for casting decision by fans, and despite rumors of Hayden Christensen getting the role, it has since been clarified that such casting was only considered AFTER a rumor emerged of Hayden landing the role and Paramount considered it once fan sites ran with the rumor. However, Keanu was the top of the list for Paramount and it seems a deal has been struck. Hopefully we hear from the man himself soon!