Author Archives: Barry

SEGA News Bits: Yakuza 0 Business Edition Announced Reaction

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Another game, another launch edition from SEGA of America. On this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry get down to business to discuss Yakuza 0 “The Business Edition” for the Playstation 4, including what it contains, how it compares to other SEGA launch editions, and how far SEGA and the Yakuza series has come since last year’s Yakuza 5.

In the comments below, let us know if “The Business Edition” makes you want to pre-order the game.

You know the drill. If you like our SEGA News Bits segments, please give us a like and subscribe on our YouTube page. Thanks!

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Henshin Engine passes Dreamcast release stretch goal on Kickstarter

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Henshin Engine is a game based on a web comic that is set to release in early 2017 to PC-Engine/TurboGrafx-16 and PC CD-Rom/Steam. The game features 2D action platforming and was programmed from the ground up for classic systems. With 6 days remaining in their Kickstarter campaign, Henshin Engine is $8,000 past their $16,400 goal, meaning they’ve started to chip away at their stretch goals. Of interest to SEGA fans is the promise of a Dreamcast post, set to release in late 2017, should the campaign pass $22,400. Given they are $2,000 past this goal, a Dreamcast version seems assured, though the developer has yet to release an update sharing this news.

When we have more details, we’ll be sure to share it! In the meantime, if you missed the news, last week the Henshin Engine team announced a character crossover collaboration with the Strike Harbinger team. Meaning Strike Harbinger, a game inspired by classic SEGA franchises, will see an appearance on the SEGA Dreamcast by way of this crossover collaboration.

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Motorsport Manager releasing to PC on November 10th

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Back in mid May of this year it was announced that SEGA would be publishing Playsport Games’ Motorsport Manager to PC, Mac and Linux internationally in late 2016. Initially, a September timeframe was given, but now the official date has been announced to be November 10th, based on a Tweet from the developer. Motorsport Manager joins SEGA’s family of management games, complete with a faceless male mascot. The game features a racing management simulation in which players hire drivers, build cars and view the resulting races.

 

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SEGA News Bits: Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice First Impressions

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It’s here, the brand new side-scrolling Sonic game! No, not Sonic Mania. It’s Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice for the Nintendo 3DS! In this SEGA News Bits, Barry shares with George, and our viewing audience, his thoughts on the game. Did SEGA and Sanzaru Games learn their lesson from Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal?

In the comments below, let us know what you think of Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice! Also, don’t hate Barry.

You know the drill. If you like our SEGA News Bits segments, please give us a like and subscribe on our YouTube page. Thanks!

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Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice releases today in North America

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SEGA’s Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice releases today for the Nintendo 3DS in North America, and will release a few days from now on September 30th in Europe. The game is available both digitally on the Nintendo eShop and physically with a special Launch Edition for the Americas which includes a collector’s box and a DVD of select Sonic Boom TV show episodes featuring Metal Sonic and Shadow. While reviews have started to trickle in, expect a SEGAbits review early next week and possibly a SEGA News Bits episode between then and now. I can say that after playing the game for an hour, Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice is an improvement on Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal. Many issues I had with the original game have been addressed, and aspects that I enjoyed have been given more focus. Even as I write this, I’m itching to go back and play some more, which is a good sign.

After the break, check out the full press release from SEGA!

Continue Reading ➜

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UPDATED: SEGA announces Yakuza 0 “The Business Edition” and reveals new trailer

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SEGA has just announced yet another cool launch edition that will be releasing soon! Due out Jaunary 24th, 2017, Yakuza 0 “The Business Edition” will contain a physical copy of the game, a stainless steel business card holder, double-sided bilingual business cards for Kiryu and Majima and a hostess card. Yakuza 0 will be releasing both digitally and physically in the Americas and Europe. As of this posting, we are unsure if “The Business Edition” will be exclusive to the Americas, or if Europe will be receiving it as well. As soon as we have an answer we will update this story accordingly.

UPDATE: SEGA Europe has since uploaded the same trailer to their YouTube channel, and the trailer lacks any mention of a special edition release. Meanwhile, the SEGA of America trailer, embedded after the break, mentions “The Business Edition” after the trailer. This leads us to believe that “The Business Edition” is Americas only.

You can pre-order Yakuza 0 today on Amazon, saving 20% if you are a Prime member. The listing has yet to update to “The Business Edition”, but SEGA promises that all pre-orders secures fans a copy of the special edition.

After the break, check out the new trailer and additional press release details on “The Business Edition”!

Continue Reading ➜

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Strike Harbinger and Henshin Engine teams announce character crossover collaboration

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HitSparks Games, the team behind Strike Harbinger, a Space Harrier and Phantasy Star inspired game heading to PC, consoles and arcades in 2017, have just announced a character collaboration with the Henshin Engine team. Henshin Engine is a new 2D action platformer developed for PC Engine/TG-16 and PC/Steam which is nearing its Kickstarter goal. Of note to SEGA fans, Henshin Engine has a Dreamcast stretch goal as well as the possibility of appearing on SEGA CD and/or SEGA Genesis.

The collaboration promises to make Strike Harbinger‘s Valiya Iriss playable in Henshin Engine via a cute pixelated version of the character, and the star of Henshin Engine Yuki Shirokawa will appear in the Strike Harbinger universe. It’s always cool to see teams collaborating and crossing over their characters, so it will be really exciting to see the result of this.

You can check out Henshin Engine on Kickstarter and learn more about Strike Harbinger on their official site. Strike Harbinger made its debut at the Galloping Ghost Arcade during SEGA Week, and yours truly had the honor of being the first member of the general public to play it. For my first impressions, check out our SEGA News Bits video and give a listen to our developer interview.

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Updates on North American Sonic X DVD and Sega Hard Girls DVD and blu-ray releases

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Discotek Media has given fans of the Sonic X and Sega Hard Girls TV shows an update on their North American DVD releases via a Facebook post detailing all of their upcoming titles. The Sonic X Seasons 1 and 2 Collection, which was originally due out September 27th, has been moved to November 8th of this year. The Sonic X Season 3 DVD collection, which will round out the series, is set to release a month later on December 6th. Both Sonic X sets will only feature the English language version of the series, which is sure to annoy purists and delight Mike Pollock fans.

As for Hi-sCool! Seha Girls (Sega Hard Girls), the company still plans on giving the series a DVD and blu-ray release and they will be picking a date soon.

You can pre-order the Sonic X Seasons 1 and 2 Collection now. We’ll let you know once the Season 3 Collection appears as well as the date they end up assigning Hi-sCool! Seha Girls.

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“Long lost” Sonic Mania Collector’s Edition infomercial released

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The Sonic the Hedgehog social media team has just unearthed a long lost infomercial for the upcoming Sonic Mania Collector’s Edition! Created as an homage to the classic Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ad, the Sonic Mania Collector’s Edition ad shows off the bonus items found inside the Spring 2017 release including the statue of Sonic standing on a Genesis/Mega Drive, the metallic game code card and the game cartridge that contains a gold ring. The ad also notes that the box can hold ANY tacklebox. Keep your eyes peeled for cameos from Kazuyuki Hoshino, Takashi Iizuka (in shirt form) and Aaron Webber (congrats!).

Pre-order the Sonic Mania Collector’s Edition today, available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

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SEGA News Bits: Sonic Mania Collector’s Edition Announced – Reaction

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Hot on the heels of the announcement of a Sonic Mania Collector’s Edition for PS4, Xbox One, and PC, Barry and George share their excitement and opinions on the set in a new SEGA News Bits. What’s included? What’s not? Will fans in Europe be seeing it? These questions and more are discussed! The elephant in the room – that being the lack of a physical disc release – is also discussed. What are your thoughts on the  Sonic Mania Collector’s Edition? Which platform are you going for? Sound off in the comments below.

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to encourage more of them, make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel.

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SEGA News Bits: SEGA Removing Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse From Online Shops

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On this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry react to the sudden announcement of the delisting of Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse. Released in 2013, this remake of the classic SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive game received praise from fans and critics, and even was awarded an A- in our own SEGAbits review. We discuss why the game is being pulled, the platforms it can be found on, and share our thoughts on SEGA’s licensed games.

Like always if you like our SEGA News Bits segments and want to throw us some love, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel.

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The Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Island Finally Has A Name

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Sonic the Hedgehog 4 has been previewed, played, reviewed, picked apart, dissected and a whole host of other actions. We’re not here today to do any of those things. This article isn’t about how Sonic 4 Episodes I & II played or the behind-the-scenes politics of how the game came about. This article is about how a few fans with too much time on their hands bothered SEGA enough about silly little details.

Way back in 2010, SEGA revealed Sonic the Hedgehog 4, and speculation ran rampant. How would it play? How would it tie to Sonic 3 & Knuckles? Could we expect a Sonic 4 Happy Meal? These and many more questions were asked. Now, six years later, many of those questions have been answered and with the upcoming Sonic Mania, fans are looking towards the future while Sonic 4 Episodes I & II remain in the past. But one little question has always gone unanswered, and that question is “What is the name of the island in Sonic 4?”. Following the game’s release, I reached out to SEGA for an answer, but I came back with just a few names of the bosses from Episode II. We tried again last year in an interview with Aaron Webber, but aside from his own head canon answer there was no apparent official name.

Continue Reading ➜

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Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse is now backwards compatible on Xbox One

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It seems like everyone is paying attention to Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse since it was announced that the game is to be delisted on digital marketplaces on September 2nd. Despite the fact that the game will soon be leaving online stores, it is now available on another major platform! Via Major Nelson comes the news that the Xbox 360 version of Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse is now backwards compatible on the Xbox One.

The game is currently $14.99 on the Xbox Marketplace. If Xbox isn’t your thing, or you want the game for less on another platform the Humble Bundle PC version is only $2.24, discounted from $14.99, and the PS3 version is only $3.74. It you want to learn more about the game to help in your decision on whether to purchase the game or not, check out our review in which we awarded Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse an A- and called it “A fantastic platformer!”.

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Mobile strategy game War Pirates is now available in select countries

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Last week we reported that SEGA’s free-to-play mobile game War Pirates had opened pre-registration, and now the game is releasing in select countries. If you live in Australia, Canada, the U.K., the Philippines or Singapore you can hop on the App Store right now to download the game! There is also mention of an Android marketplace having the game available, but the link provided lead to a 404.

Created by Jet Set Radio director Masayoshi Kikuchi, War Pirates is a turn based naval combat game mixed with city building and stars, get this, pirates. The game has had positive early impressions, and we look forward to the eventual U.S. release. Live in any of the above countries and playing the game? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, or on our forums!

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Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse likely to be delisted on September 2nd

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If you ever wondered why people get so grumpy over digital-only releases, here’s one big reason: we’ve heard that the 2013 remake of Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse will be delisted from XBLA, PSN, Steam and mobile platforms on September 2nd. The news arrived via an email from an email sent out by indiegala, which claimed the game would be “retired” on that date. The reason for the delisting is likely because SEGA is not renewing the license with Disney, which has been a sad ongoing trend with the company that has also contributed to the delisting of OutRun Online Arcade and After Burner Climax. So if you have yet to pick the game up, and really want to own it and play it, now is the time!

Thankfully, some great sales are going on right now. The Humble Bundle PC version is only $2.24, discounted from $14.99, and the PS3 version is only $3.74. If you are still on the fence, check out our review of the game in which we awarded it an A- and called it “A fantastic platformer!”.

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