The Creative Assembly will focus more on offline real-time strategy games following cancellation of Hyenas

After having ceased production on Hyenas in September, SEGA says developer The Creative Assembly will shift focus back to doing what they do best: real-time strategy games. SEGA CFO and Koichi Fukazawa stated:

To put it simply, Creative Assembly was good at offline games in the RTS genre, but they took on the challenge of developing Hyenas, an online game in the FPS genre. However, although the game itself was good, we decided to cancel the development of Hyenas because we did not think it would reach a quality that would satisfy our users when we considered whether we could really operate this as a competitive online game for a long period of time.

The SEGAbits SEGA & Sonic Holiday Gift Guide for Fans and your Fan Friends!

The holiday season is fast approaching, and like SEGA’s speedy blue mascot it’ll be here before you know it! In fact, it’s already here! Don’t fret, as we’re here to help you out with some gift giving ideas for the SEGA and Sonic fans in your life, or if you have some gift cards burning a hole in your pocket you might like some of our suggestions for yourself.

So read on as we take a look at the best SEGA and Sonic gifts on offer this holiday season!

Newly uncovered Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM) concept art gives us an early look at a robotic Dr. Robotnik

Way back in 1991, when Sonic the Hedgehog burst onto the scene in his debut game, the title made such an impact in the west that TV networks and animation studios scrambled to create an animated series starring the blue blur. With Sonic came his cast of video game co-stars however at the time Sonic’s stable of characters was quite small. Outside of the little animal friends and badniks, we had Sonic, Eggman (localized as Doctor Robotnik) and eventually, in 1992, Tails. The first animated series to get the green light was what fans affectionately call “Sonic SatAM” or just “SatAM” as the series aired weekly on ABC Saturday mornings. This series retained Sonic, Tails and Robotnik, but also expanded the cast to include the Freedom Fighters as well as a lackey for Robotnik named Snively.

SEGA News Bits Live: Sonic Dream Team Revealed

I had the strangest dream. Sonic and friends went on an adventure inside my iPhone and… oh wait, it’s real! Sonic Dream Team was announced and on SEGA News Bits Live, Barry takes a look at all the details revealed about the Apple Arcade exclusive game.

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Marza Animation releases Halloween animated short “Ghost Tale”, a Sonic Unleashed: Night of the Werehog sequel

SEGA’s animation studio, Marza Animation Planet, has been teasing something relating to the ghost girl and her two ghostly admirers throughout the year and we finally know what that is!

As a Halloween treat, Marza Animation Planet released “Ghost Tale”, an animated short featuring the ghosts from 2008’s “Sonic Unleashed: Night of the Werehog” animated short. While Sonic does not feature, there is a visual of the werehog on a poster in the background. It’s great seeing these fan favorite characters return, and here’s hoping the appear in more animated shorts or other media in the future!

SEGA Talk #129: Unreleased Dreamcast Games Pt. 2 (1999-2002)

We end our epic finally of ranking each unreleased Dreamcast games. This second part will cover big SEGA games like Shenmue III, Scud Racer, Toejam & Earl 3, and of course Propeller Arena. Check out the epic finale!

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The SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show LIVE: SEGA PICO Art Studio Smackdown

Our next LIVE show is planned for Wednesday, October 18th at 8:15PM central / 6:15PM pacific / 9:15PM eastern. We’re going to live stream EVERY SINGLE AMERICAN SEGA PICO GAME… that has a drawing program. Which will reign supreme? Find out! Steve ‘ap0c’ Lakawicz will be joining to chat along as Barry the Artist draws audience suggestions!

Steve is a classically trained musician with a Master’s degree in Music Performance, specializing in orchestral tuba. He has toured with brass quintets and performed with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, and lately has taken an interest into crafting and emulating authentic chiptunes. Most recently he has composed music for Brock Crocodile. You can listen to his music here: https://soundcloud.com/ap0c

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G FUEL unveils Amy Rose Strawberry Shortcake energy drink powder and collectible shaker!

Energy drink company G FUEL has unveiled their latest Sonic the Hedgehog drink flavor, this time celebrating Amy Rose who turns 30 years old this year with her 1993 debut in Sonic CD. The drink is pink, obviously, and the flavor is strawberry shortcake. You can pick it up as an individual powder canister or a collector’s box with a canister and a pink shaker featuring Amy’s name and likeness! If you’d like to show SEGAbits some support, use promo code “SEGABITS” to save 20% on your purchase. The product is expected to ship in November, perfect timing for Thanksgiving dinner!

SEGA Talk #128: Unreleased Dreamcast Games Part 1 (1998-2002)

SEGA Talk is covering every canceled Dreamcast game from years past, this is such a massive undertaking that we will be splitting it into two podcast. Sit back, buckle and let’s take a trip down the ‘what could have been’!

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SEGA Talk #127: Sonic the Hedgehog SatAM Cartoon (1993-1994)

On this episode of SEGA Talk we cover the fastest thing alive, the Sonic the Hedgehog Animated series from ABC! Also known as SatAM! We talk about its development, the characters and the failed revivals!

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The SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show LIVE: Williams-Bally-Midway Arcade History with Ken Horowitz

SEGA-16.com founder Ken Horowitz returns to the Swingin’ Report Show to talk about his newest book: From Pinballs to Pixels: An Arcade History of Williams-Bally-Midway! We take a look at the origins of pinball, how the industry grew out of Chicago, how the Williams company transformed over the years to become a console game developer and we talk about SEGA’s two brief entries into the pinball biz!

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SEGA Talk #126: Jurassic Park (1993)

The SEGA Talk episode 65 million years in the making, as we take a drive through Jurassic Park on the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive! Its Raptor vs Man on this adaptation of Steven Spielberg’s classic film (which in turn, was an adaptation of a book)!

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Classic SEGA Magazine Corner: Make your own Death’s Head Maracas

Welcome back to Classic SEGA Magazine Corner! On this installment, we’re taking a look back at issue 12 of the Official Sega Dreamcast Magazine, dated March/April 2001. This issue is notable, as it was the final issue of the magazine’s run and the first issue to not include a demo disc. In fact, the issue came with a letter apologizing for the lack of a demo disc and the announcement that demo discs would no longer be included. The fact that this issue would be the final issue was unknown to the staff at the time, as detailed in our Official Sega Dreamcast Magazine reunion podcast from released almost ten years ago.

But our focus today is not on the magazine’s conclusion, but rather a goofy arts and crafts feature they had in which they chopped up Samba de Amigo maracas to create funky skull head variants! Let’s dive in!