SEGA and the Sonic Team at SXSW have officially announced that Sonic Mania will be receiving a physical release as ! To sweeten the deal, the game will include new content including two playable characters: Mighty and Ray! Other modes include “Encore Mode” and 4P competition mode. The game will release with an exclusive holographic slipcover, a SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive branded sleeve and a 32 page art book.
On this SEGAbits Unboxing, Barry takes a look at the Tomy classic Sonic the Hedgehog action figure. This figure came as a bit of a surprise, as early listings for it made it appear much smaller than it actually turned out to be. Just how cool is this new classic Sonic figure? Watch and find out! You can buy it for yourself at GameStop.
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It looks like we finally have a release date for the western release of the hotly anticipated, and highly praised, Valkyria Chronicles 4! According to new Amazon listings, the game will be due out October 16, 2018. A fitting time of year given the game itself takes place in a snowy setting. Pre-orders are not live yet, but when they are you can pre-order the game at the following links. No word yet on the expected launch editions, but I’m pretty sure all pre-order listings will default to a steelbook or art book or sticker sheet or magic decoder ring launch edition.
Valkyria Chronicles 4
PlayStation 4 – Xbox One – Nintendo Switch
SEGA announced today that a new compilation of SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive games will be releasing physically to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Containing over 50 games, theres a lot to play and some glaring omissions. On this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry run through the games and give their verdicts and speculate what’s next.
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SEGA has officially unveiled the trailer for SEGA Genesis Classics (SEGA Mega Drive Classics in Europe) and have revealed some of the in-game features. The collection will include over 50 classic games along with enhanced features like Rewind, Mirror Mode and visual filters. The official site, megadriveclassics.com, has yet to go live but it can be assumed that is where the full list of games will be included. The collection is releasing physically to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on May 29th, and as an added incentive will include a double sided poster. Thankfully, SEGA seems to realize the Genesis can stand on its own and does not need Sonic’s name tacked on to the title, like they did with Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection in 2009.
After the break, see the full list of included games.
The classic 8-bit Commodore 64 Epyx game Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior, which was later ported to several systems including the BBC Micro and Atari ST, is set to receive a SEGA Dreamcast port. The upcoming port is being handled by Retro Games Ltd, who have acquired the Epyx catalog, so it’s official!
Given the game has seen so many ports, you’re probably wondering which one the Dreamcast is getting. The answer is all of them, as you will be able to switch between the various versions with the press of a button. There will also be a new Dreamcast version with enhanced visuals. The game is also heading to the NES, Atari Jaguar and Genesis/Mega Drive.
Expect a physical Dreamcast release later this year, and in the meantime you can keep up on the project by following the Epyx Facebook page.
[Source: The Dreamcast Junkyard]
In this unboxing, or should I say unbooksing, video we take a look at the three new Sonic the Hedgehog books to release from Penguin Random House. Welcome to the World of Sonic features character profiles, story information, trivia and stickers. Sonic and the Tales of Deception features three stories set in the game universe. And finally Sonic Mad Libs is just what you expect, it’s the classic game of Mad Libs with a Sonic twist. Each book can be ordered by clicking the title above. There are also two more books on the way: a second story book titled Sonic and the Tales of Terror and the Race Against Chaos Sticker Activity Book.
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While we’ve yet to see any signs of Sonic in Wreck-It Ralph 2, the latest Ready Player One TV spot reveals that Sonic will join the pop culture cameo ranks of The Iron Giant, the Back to the Future DeLorean time machine and Child’s Play‘s Chucky. In a recent TV spot, seen after the break, Sonic is seen waiting in line. You can spot him in the screenshot seen above on the far right. I have also heard that Sonic does his signature spin attack move in another trailer though I have not found it yet.
Ready Player One hits theaters March 29, 2018, and if you want more than Sonic cameos remember that a Sonic the Hedgehog movie is set to release November 15, 2019!
YouTube Channel Wrestling With Gaming has produced some pretty great gaming documentaries, and his latest one takes a look at Digital Pictures which is the studio behind FMV games including Sewer Shark, Night Trap, and Double Switch. The series creator, Yahel, reached out to SEGAbits for permission to use our 2014 interview with Digital Pictures co-founder Tom Zito, and having seen Yahel’s previous videos we were more than happy to give the thumbs up! So check the video out and make sure to watch his backlog at Wrestling With Gaming, including some great SEGA installments covering VR, Bleem!, and the Saturn and 32X.
Keep up the great work, Yahel! After the break, check out our full original interview with Tom Zito.
SEGA Forever is seeing a change in 2018 and beyond, and it’s good news: high quality ports are the future! On this SEGA News Bits we look at this change and what games to expect in the future. What are your thoughts on the new direction? Let us know in the comments below.
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SEGA Forever, SEGA’s mobile initiative to bring classic SEGA games to smart devices, has updated the SEGA Mobile blog with details of what we can expect from the collection in 2018. Over the past 8 months, 18 titles have been released under the SEGA Forever banner, including emulated titles and native ports. Interestingly, it is noted in the post that the native ports (Sonic The Hedgehog, Sonic The Hedgehog 2, Sonic CD, Crazy Taxi, and Virtua Tennis Challenge) have been the most played.
As such, SEGA has decided to make changes to SEGA Forever to appeal to gamers most interested in that aspect of the project. While emulated titles will still release, including some surprises, the main plan will be to release more native ports. As such, the amount of titles regularly released will reduce (no doubt due to the amount of work a native port requires when compared to emulation) however the next titles in the lineup will release soon. The post also notes that over the course of 8 months, there have been over 40 million downloads. Impressive!
You can follow SEGA Forever on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and check out their official website.
Read the full post here, and in the comments below let us know your thoughts on this shift in focus!
[Source: SEGA Mobile Blog]
The Crazy Taxi social media accounts have announced that Crazy Taxi Gazillionaire will be changing its name to… Crazy Taxi Tycoon. The game can now be found on the App Store and Google Play under the new name. No reasoning is given, however I’m certain it has to do with how difficult “Gazillionaire” may be for people to spell and the fact that it doesn’t quite tell you what the game is all about. Crazy Taxi Tycoon is more on the nose and a welcome change.
The teaser trailer for the sequel to 2012’s Disney animated feature Wreck-It Ralph, titled Ralph Breaks The Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2, has released. The first film was covered by us quite a bit, as SEGA had a sizable presence as Sonic the Hedgehog, House of the Dead, Altered Beast and other franchises made cameos and Sonic himself made the poster and home video release cover art. Ralph Breaks The Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 will see Ralph venture into the internet, leaving the world of arcade references for jokes about eBay and iOS games. To be honest, I am not liking the direction the sequel is taking. A large part of what made the original so fun were all the classic game references, and I just don’t see cameos of popular websites to have any nostalgic value.
Later today, at 6pm UK time, SEGA Europe and Hardlight employees will be hosting a 24 charity stream for Gameblast 2018. The event, which you can learn more about here, aims to raise money for charity through streaming SEGA games, hosting other activities, and giving away swag. A special guest includes Hellena Taylor, the lead voice actor of Bayonetta, who will join the team as they play Bayonetta. Proceeds go to SpecialEffect, a UK based charity which uses video games and technology to enhance the quality of life of people with disabilities.
The stream goes live in just a few hours as we post this, so make sure to check it out and show your support!
In January this was a rumor we shared, and now it’s confirmed! Shining Resonance Refrain is coming west this summer on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and PC. The game will release as a Draconic Launch Edition featuring a collectible metal slipcase, priced at $49.99 USD / $64.99 CAD. We did a SEGA News Bits video on the initial announcement of the game back in November of last year, noting that the developers considered this a “worldwide product”. It’s great to see that this plan came to fruition, as the Shining series has been MIA in the west for far too long.
Stay tuned to SEGAbits for pre-order information, including an exact release date, and you can visit the official site shiningresonance.com as well. After the break, check out the full press release!