Author Archives: Barry

SEGA in the Media: Sonic the Hedgehog movie gets a mention at the Golden Globes

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The Golden Globes happened over the weekend, and surprisingly the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie got a mention in a short back and forth between the hosts and Jim Carrey. In the clip, Jim is told by the hosts that because he is nominated for television that he needs to move from the film seating section. Carrey counters, pointing out that he will be in the Sonic the Hedgehog movie in November. However, host Andy Samberg counters that Jim can sit in the film section next year noting “I’m sure it will be nominated.” Of course, the joke is that the Sonic movie will not be nominated for a Golden Globe and everybody has a laugh at the expense of the movie.

Look, I’ve seen several fans and fan sites defend the clip saying the joke wasn’t about the Sonic movie looking like it will be awful but about Jim sitting in the wrong section. I personally don’t care if people make fun of the upcoming Sonic movie, because I think it looks terrible and Paramount and SEGA deserves the blowback. But to think that the above clip isn’t making fun of the movie is just silly.

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SEGA Amusements releases trailer for upcoming arcade racer ATV Slam

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Revealed back in October of 2018 by Arcade Heroes, ATV Slam is an upcoming racing game from SEGA Amusements. While the game was said to debut at IAAPA 2018, the event came and went and nothing was seen. Thankfully, Arcade Heroes is back with more information on the game! It appears the game was held back from public exhibition for additional improvements, and now we have a brief trailer showing the racer off.

The trailer description has additional details, including mention of the “custom developed motion platform lets players experience all the bumps just like being on the track” that was previously revealed. Graphics are delivered by Unreal Engine 4 and the game promises a unique AI system. We’ll have more information on the game as we hear it! In the meantime, enjoy the trailer and share your thoughts on the game in the comments below.

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You can now listen to SEGA News Bits as a podcast on the SEGAbits Patreon!

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We’ve been producing SEGA News Bits videos since September of 2015, and thanks to the overwhelming support of our viewers our YouTube channel got a huge boost and we got back into discussing SEGA news just like the old days on the early episodes of the SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show podcast. It’s fitting then that things have gone full circle as we are now releasing SEGA News Bits as videos AND as a podcast.

As an added benefit of supporting SEGAbits on Patreon at any level, you can gain access to an audio podcast feed that is home to every future SEGA News Bits episode, as well as future episodes of SEGA Talk and the Swingin’ Report Show. That’s a new episode at least once a week!

In addition, if you support us at $5 or more you gain access to SEGA News Bits Extra which is a weekly show presenting all the news we didn’t cover on YouTube. You get both a video version and an audio podcast version that shares the same feed as all our other audio content.

We really appreciate the support we’ve received and hope you check out SEGAbits on Patreon and consider supporting the site.

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SEGA News Bits: Most Disappointing SEGA Games of 2018

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It was hard enough picking a favorite SEGA game for 2018, but the disappointing ones were even harder. But hey, we gotta pick something! Don’t get too upset by our picks, we don’t hate here. We just get disappointed.

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SEGA News Bits: Favorite SEGA Games of 2018

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2018 was a very good year for SEGA games, which made this year’s Favorite SEGA Games video a tough one. But we hope you’ll agree with our picks. If you don’t? No big deal. Happy new year!

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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.

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Sonic Mania Adventures returns with a heartwarming Holiday Special

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SEGA gave fans a holiday treat today in the form of a sixth episode of Sonic Mania Adventures. The once thought to be concluded online exclusive animated series set in the world of classic Sonic returned and includes the debut of Amy Rose to the series. The special does a great job following up Amy’s complicated history with Metal Sonic, and features great nods to the series past. Give it a watch, and here is hoping for more animated Sonic content of this quality in 2019!

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SEGA News Bits: New Sonic Movie Posters & Cast List Leak Reaction

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Hooray! More Sonic movie news! On this SEGA News Bits, Barry works his hairy blue legs out and runs from story to story talking everything from a new poster, a leaked old concept for a poster, a leaked cast list, the official Sonic movie Twitter account and Ian Flynn’s take on this whole thing.

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New Team Sonic Racing track and tune revealed – Sand Road takes us back to Sand Hill

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Here’s a nice pick-me-up after the awful Sonic the Hedgehog movie reveal news from earlier this week! Next year’s Team Sonic Racing will feature a desert track called Sand Road which is a nod to Sonic Adventure‘s Sand Hill. The track will feature music from Tee Lopes and Jun Senoue, which is a new take on the classic Sand Hill music. Overall it looks and sounds very cool. It’s clear that SEGA’s postponement of Team Sonic Racing is for the best, and these drip feeds of music and track reveals are a great way to keep fans excited before the game’s release.

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SEGA News Bits: Panzer Dragoon Remakes Announced

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What was a surprise to all of us, SEGA and Forever Entertainment will be releasing remakes of Panzer Dragoon and Panzer Dragoon II Zwei! On this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry discuss the press release, and how the phrasing of some bits might mean major things for the gameplay. We also look at other games from the developer for an idea of how the finished product might look.

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Editorial: Celebrating ten years of me (Barry) blogging about SEGA

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I’m a sucker for anniversaries, and so I couldn’t pass up making a post talking about my personal ten year milestone of blogging about SEGA. Back in 2008 I was recently graduated from college and landed my first cushy job. Working a 9 to 5 in front of a computer, I did what everybody else does and browsed the internet between projects. I had recently returned to SEGA fandom, buying up PS2 games I had missed during my college years, saving up for an Xbox 360 and searching for SEGA news sites to keep me up to date on what was going on with the company and its fans.

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SEGA News Bits: Sonic Movie Teaser Reaction

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You knew this video was coming. On this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry discuss the Sonic the Hedgehog movie trailer. What do we think of Sonic’s new design? How about those shoes? What do Japanese fans think of the teaser?

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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.

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Sonic the Hedgehog movie teaser and poster revealed – “Mr. SEGA, are you serious?”

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I think the reaction from a Japanese Sonic fan sums up my feelings on today’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” movie reveal: “Mr. SEGA, are you serious?”

Revealed as a motion poster by IGN, the video features a blue blur not unlike what we saw in the old Sonic 4 teasers. The blur eats through a path of rings which don’t quite make the correct sound we’ve known for the past 25+ years. Finally, the movie Sonic stops, hidden and shadow, and he looks… oh god. So, instead of opting for the tried and true design that has suited the character since 1998 (if we’re going by the modern design), Paramount opted for a bizarre hyper realistic design. Sonic is very hairy, has human proportions, weird little eyes and shoes that are in no way his signature sneakers. This looks bad. Very bad.

IGN’s has a lengthy interview with the filmmakers, and this bit jumped out at me:

The most challenging part of Sonic’s updated design isn’t revealed in this teaser: his eyes. The filmmakers struggled with how best to depict Sonic’s eyes because often he’s only seen with one, and that wouldn’t translate well to the live-action movie.

“I don’t think SEGA was entirely happy with the eye decision, but these sorts of things you go, ‘It’s going to look weird if we don’t do this.’ But everything is a discussion, and that’s kind of the goal, which is to only change what’s necessary and stay true to the rest of it,” said Miller. “He’s not going to feel like a Pixar character would because I don’t think that’s the right aesthetic to make it feel like part of our world.”

Really? Sonic’s eyes would not translate to live action? Have the seen the countless CG cutscenes? The many times a 3D Sonic has appeared in real world settings (Sonic Boom adverts, Progressive Auto Insurance adverts)? How does a real world setting change how you’d depict a 3D model of an iconic character like Sonic? He could easily appear in his traditional design and nobody would complain. I also like how they ignore SEGA’s feelings towards their design. Smart move, right? Ignore notes from SEGA on Sonic’s design.

Dear god, this movie…

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Panzer Dragoon: Remake and Panzer Dragoon II Zwei: Remake announced

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It has been officially announced that Forever Entertainment and SEGA will be releasing Panzer Dragoon: Remake and Panzer Dragoon II Zwei: Remake! The first title is due out by late 2019, and while we don’t have platforms just yet it is likely that it will release to modern consoles and possibly PC. The games will feature brand new graphics and will remain faithful to the game’s original story. It is mentioned that “several modifications” will be made to the game to make it “more attractive to modern players”. This could be disconcerting, if they veer too far off from the original gameplay, but we’re hoping it isn’t too radically different.

The official press release:

Forever Entertainment together with SEGA Holding Co., Ltd. from Japan will co-create and publish Panzer Dragoon: Remake and Panzer Dragoon II Zwei: Remake. The premiere of the first part is planned before the end of 2019!

Panzer Dragoon: Remake is a refreshed version of Panzer Dragoon. The original version of the game had its premiere on the Sega Saturn console in 1995 and was well received by both players and critics. The entire Panzer Dragoon series has been repeatedly remade and released on many platforms. The last re-launch took place in April 2018 on Xbox One, where players can play Panzer Dragoon Orta with a backward compatibility. The new version of the game will be characterized by a completely new graphics compatible with today’s standards and several modifications of the game, making it more attractive to modern players, while remaining faithful to the original in terms of story. The first materials from the game will be presented in the upcoming months!

More news about this exciting upcoming release as we hear it!

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SEGA News Bits Extra: New SEGA Games Trademarked and ToeJam & Earl Release Date

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It’s the first week of the month, which means a preview of SEGA News Bits Extra! Extra is a weekly series for our Patreon supporters where we discuss news not seen on the SEGA News Bits videos. New to the monthly preview is the return of SEGAbits Q&A! All Patreon supporters get question priority, and after that we may dip into the Twitter, YouTube and SEGAbits.com comments sections for random picks.

This week we discuss two new SEGA games for Japan, the Japanese PlayStation Awards, ToeJam & Earl Back in the Groove, this week’s new releases, Classic Sonic haters and our reaction to PlayStation Classic. Thank you to our Patreon community for the support and consider joining the community yourself if you enjoy our content!

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New release Tuesday: Persona Dancing: Endless Night Collection and Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom out now!

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Today sees the release of Persona Dancing: Endless Night Collection for PlayStation 4 and Vita from ATLUS, and Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom for PlayStation 4, Switch, Xbox One and PC from Game Atelier.

Persona Dancing: Endless Night Collection collects Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight and Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight in an exclusive collector’s box featuring character art by Shigenori Soejima. Also included is a digital copy of Persona 4: Dancing All Night.

Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom is the spiritual successor to the Wonder Boy series, and has the support of SEGA. Why it’s not just official, I don’t know, but early opinions are strong! You can check the launch trailer out after the break.

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