Author Archives: Barry

First look at the official ‘Sonic The Hedgehog 25th Anniversary’ art book from Cook & Becker – available for pre-order

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Thanks to the next-gen art dealers at Cook & Becker, we have a first look at the upcoming Sonic The Hedgehog 25th Anniversary art book via an in-depth gallery of images as well as a full press release. So let’s get down to it! The art book, the first ever official art book and design history for the long running series, encapsulates 25 years of history. The book will be made available in a limited Special Collector’s Edition as well as a Standard Hardcover Edition. The Special Collector’s Edition features an outer box, a special inner sleeve that folds into a display stand for the book and an exclusive newly drawn matted art giclee print by Sonic Team’s Yuji Uekawa. The Collector’s Edition is limited to 2,500 copies and sells for $120/€120 respectively. As a pre-order bonus, Cook & Becker offers a 10% discount on the Collector’s Edition if it is ordered before February 2017. The Standard Edition, meanwhile, retails for $45/€45 and consists of the book itself.

Let’s talk about the book! Officially licensed, the book (310mm H x 275mm W) will feature 200+ pages of images and text, including interviews with key Sonic designers including Yuji Naka, Takashi Iizuka and Yuji Uekawa. As seen in the image gallery below, you can expect to find concept art, promotional art, 3D renders, box art and – as revealed in our recent article – original official art and rare collectibles submitted by fans (pending approval from Cook & Becker and SEGA, of course).

After the break, check out a full press release detailing the book as well as a gallery of several images showing off the ins and outs of the book as well as the Special Collector’s Edition. Don’t forget to pre-order the book today at the official Cook & Becker site!

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Attention Sonic the Hedgehog collectors: Cook & Becker are looking for rare original official art and collectibles

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If you haven’t already heard, next-gen art dealers Cook & Becker plan to release a “Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary Art Book”. The book will cover the history of Sonic and will include design sketches, official character illustrations, in-game art, pixel art, rare promotional art and game box art. While SEGA has provided Cook & Becker with many great art assets from the company archives, as is the case with original art spanning 25 years there is always more out there in private collections.

Cook & Becker reached out to us asking if we would ask you, the fans, to lend a hand if you can. As the book enters the final stages of design, there is little under a month left before the window closes on what can appear in the book and we are asking any fans with cool rare retro merchandise, rare original promotional art and rare manual scans to reach out to Cook & Becker via their contact page or email maarten [at] candb.com. Cook & Becker is looking for high res photos and scans of what they may not already have. They will credit anyone in the book that sends in material that gets included. I know, for example, that there is some really great original art from the late SEGA Genesis-era artist Greg Martin in several collections.

It should be noted that Cook & Becker are NOT looking for fan art, only rare and original official pieces of artwork and collectibles. More news on Cook & Becker’s book to come, so stay tuned!

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Data Discs shows off upcoming Panzer Dragoon & Revenge of Shinobi vinyl releases

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Data Discs have announced their next two SEGA vinyl releases, and both are sure to please fans of classic SEGA music. First up is the 1995 SEGA Saturn classic Panzer Dragoon, presented as a double 180g LP cut at 45rpm and housed in a single pocket 425gsm mirror board sleeve with accompanying lithographic insert and silver laminated OBI strip. If all that sounds too technical for you, you can see just how lovely it is in the photo above and in the gallery below. The release features the complete score from the late Yoshitaka Azuma, along with three bonus tracks of alternate synthesizer versions. Three editions are available (all priced at £22.99) including a 180g 2xLP on frosted clear sky blue and grey vinyl limited edition, a 180g 2xLP on sky blue vinyl and a 180g 2xLP on classic black vinyl.

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SEGA News Bits: SEGA Survey Results for What Franchise Fans Want Revived

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This past week, SEGA of Japan put out a survey asking fans what brand they are most invested in, who their favorite character is, and which franchise they want to see revived. Now that the survey has ended, the results were posted and there were quite a few surprises! In this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry discuss the results and share their thoughts on the fan submitted entries. Did your favorite franchise make the cut? Check out the video above and once your done sound off in the comments below.

If you like our SEGA News Bits segments, make sure you subscribe to us on YouTube. Thanks for watching!

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Unboxing: Sonic X Collection 01 Seasons 1&2 DVD

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Discotek Media’s release of Sonic X Collection 01 Seasons 1&2 released to DVD today, and upon opening it I was pretty impressed with the packaging so I thought I’d do one of those unboxings kids love so much. The release contains the first 52 episodes, which were divided into two seasons in the West, and contains only the English dub. A second collection containing season 3 is due out December 6th.

If you like our videos, make sure you subscribe to us on YouTube. Thanks for watching!

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Latest Yakuza 0 trailer shows off all the fun you can have in 1980s Japan

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The Yakuza series handles some pretty heavy themes, and Yakuza 0 will be no different. But that doesn’t mean that the series is all dark and gritty! As evidenced by SEGA’s latest Yakuza 0 trailer, the game will feature many off-the-wall mini-games to distract you. Players will be able to do everything from date, call up girls on the phone, dance, sing, play classic SEGA arcade games like Space Harrier, OutRun and Hang-On, and even bet money on catfights.

If you like the wacky side of SEGA, check this trailer out and don’t forget to pre-order Yakuza 0 for Playstation 4 – the game releases physically and digitally in the Americas and Europe beginning Jan. 24, 2017.

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8 minutes of Daytona 3 Championship USA arcade gameplay

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Arcade Heroes continues to release Daytona 3 Championship USA information from IAAPA 2016, this time offering up over 8 minutes of footage of the game in action! The video gives us a good look at how races play out and how the player facing cameras function. We also get to see damage to the cars and the car’s reflective surfaces. For more information on Daytona 3 Championship USA make sure to read the preview over at Arcade Heroes.

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SEGA Amusements releases Daytona 3 Championship USA teaser trailer

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We’ve been talking a lot about Daytona 3 Championship USA over the past week here on the SEGAbits front page, but now we finally get a look at the game in action thanks to a teaser trailer from SEGA Amusements! As seen above, the latest Daytona USA game features the same joyous music and colorful graphics as the original but upped to modern graphical standards. The music is, to my ear, a new arrangement of the classic “Let’s Go Away” from Takenobu Mitsuyoshi who has been rumored to be returning for the project.

Fans should spot some easter eggs including Sonic carved into the cliff and a sign for Virtua Inn in the Virtua Fighter logo style. Give the video a watch and let us know your thoughts in the comments below or in our dedicated forum topic. Learn more about how the game plays, and some other new details, in the preview from Arcade Heroes.

Via Arcade Heroes preview, Daytona 3 Championship USA is slated for a March/April 2017 release. Expect to see a more complete software package at the AMOA/AAMA Amusement Expo in March or maybe at the January UK arcade expo.

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Get a first look at the Daytona 3 Championship USA arcade machine

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The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) 2016 conference kicks off this week, and while the conference starts today the floor show doesn’t open until tomorrow. In the meantime, attendees can see exhibitors setting up their booths which means we get sneak peeks at new arcade machines. Daytona 3 Championship USA is probably the biggest reveal at the event, so it only makes sense that we get a leak. Thanks to Arcade Belgium, we have a look at the 8-seater setup of the game. Unfortunately, the game wasn’t running and the photo isn’t the highest quality, so we can’t see the game in action and are unable to confirm if the AM2 logo appears on the machine. I did notice that in the lower left of the machine there are what appear to be sponsor logos, and one kinda-sorta looks like the AM2 logo, but there’s no way to tell from this photo. Also, it is worth noting that recent AM2 games did not feature the studio logo on the machine. Fans shouldn’t fret, however, as we had learned from a reliable source that much of the original Daytona USA team worked on the game.

More information, including a trailer, should be hitting soon!

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Classic SEGA Ads: Xbox One S commercial rips off classic Dreamcast commercials

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With the holiday season approaching, Sony and Microsoft are pushing their latest upgraded consoles to the masses meaning a lot of money is being spent on advertising. One ad which caught my attention was a recent Xbox One S commercial dubbed “Portals”. The ad kicks off with the new white console and then has the camera fly inside the machine to pass through several rectangular portals, each portal containing a game’s universe. There are a few moments where they cut away to people playing the Xbox One S before jumping back inside the machine to show some more video game universes before pulling out and showing the console once again. Cool ad right? I swear I’ve seen this before.

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Sonic Boom season 2 to premiere on Boomerang, airing later on Cartoon Network, this November

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In a press release that dropped today, details of Sonic Boom season 2 were revealed. The second season will premiere on Boomerang Saturday, November 12th at 6 p.m. ET. For those who don’t have Boomerang and fear that the show has left Cartoon Network, fear not! The press release states that the Boomerang premieres will replay on Cartoon Network starting Nov. 19.

Sonic Boom season two will consist of fifty-two 11-minute episodes. The press release teases various plots including “cases of mistaken identity, androids from an outlandish land, real live urban legends, a haunted lair, familiar faces (Shadow and more characters from the Sonic game universe), plus epic conflicts with powerful, new foes”. Viewers can also expect “potent crystals, mercurial mecha, slick scuba gear, stylin’ space suits, sharp snow supplies, custom cars, total team spirit, and of course, constant clashes with the offensive Dr. Eggman and his compelling creations”.

After the break, check out the full press release! Are you looking forward to season two of Sonic Boom? Sound off in the comments below.

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SEGA Amusements reveals Daytona 3 Championship USA logo, teases more to come

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The official SEGA Amusements Facebook and Twitter pages, which you really should follow, have just posted the official logo for the recently revealed arcade exclusive Daytona 3 Championship USA. While we’re still iffy on the name (doesn’t Daytona USA 3 Championship sound better?) the logo looks great and, based on the layout, it does sort of read as Daytona USA 3 Championship. Anyway, minor nitpicks aside, it is great to see more official assets and SEGA Amusements promises one week to go before the official reveal at IAAPA 2016. Here’s hoping more teases release before then. Of course a trailer would be what we’re all hoping for. More info as we hear it!

After the break, check out how the new logo compares to past games in the franchise. Thank you Daytona International Speedway for never updating your logo.

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Pix’n Love Editions announces L’histoire de Shenmue book

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Pix’n Love Editions have officially announced L’histoire de Shenmue. The book, which is entirely in French, covers the history of Shenmue and Shenmue 2, features an interview with Yu Suzuki and 50 illustrated pages. The full book will be 250 pages in length and will be released in a standard edition as well as a special Phoenix & Dragon Edition. The special edition features a jade colored slipcover featuring both iconic mirrors. Each special edition version of the book will come with a certificate of authenticity and will be individually numbered. Both are available to pre-order today, with the special edition costing about 35 euros while the standard book will cost about 25 euros. Both versions are set to release December 20th, 2016.

As mentioned, the book is entirely in French. However, Pix’n Love does have a UK store and have released select books to the US in the past. L’histoire de Sonic, for example, later saw an English translation. No word yet on L’histoire de Shenmue receiving the same treatment, but if it does we will let you all know!

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SEGA News Bits: SEGA Mega Drive Getting Limited Edition Relaunch in Brazil Next Year

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TecToy has announced a limited edition Mega Drive for Brazil that will come pre-loaded with 22 SEGA games. On this episode of SEGA News Bits, George and Barry talk about TecToy’s answer to the NES mini, the console’s features and run through the list of games. Is the console and its games worth R$ 399,00 ($125 USD)? Give the video a watch and sound off in the comments below!

Pre-order the console for yourself here.

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[UPDATED] SEGA Amusements reveals Daytona 3 Championship USA plus more details!

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UPDATE: We have learned that SEGA has assembled as much of the original Daytona team as they could to develop this game, including Takenobu Mitsuyoshi on sound.

As the internet is buzzing over the recent reveal of a new Daytona arcade game, new details have released via SEGA Amusements. In a lengthy press release, it has been revealed that the game is indeed the third entry in the series, titled Daytona 3 Championship USA. The press release also reveals the following details:

  • Brand new version of Daytona
  • 3 brand new tracks including a recreation of the Daytona International Speedway
  • 3 class courses remastered for the modern era
  • New cars and game modes
  • 47″ LED cabinet, linkable for up to 8 players
  • In-game camera system
  • LIVE TV spectator video billboard
  • Based on original game engine
  • All-new party mode for arcade events

Read the full press release after the break.

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