Author Archives: Barry

16 years and still thinking: Happy September 9th, SEGA Dreamcast fans!

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Another September 9th is upon us, a date that is very important to American SEGA fans. Sixteen years ago today, SEGA released the Dreamcast to the American public. Looking back, it was a bittersweet launch, as it was the last home console to be released by SEGA. Of course, we didn’t know that at the time. Back then, September 9th was nothing but excitement, and there was so much to be excited about! I know I may get some flack for saying this, but the Dreamcast’s American launch lineup stands as the best launch lineup in video game history. Just look at what games were available on day one: Air Force Delta, Blue Stinger, Expendable, Flag to Flag, House of the Dead 2, Hydro Thunder, Monaco Grand Prix, Mortal Kombat Gold, NFL 2K, NFL Blitz 2000, PenPen TriIcelon, Power Stone, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing, Sonic Adventure, SoulCalibur, TNN Motorsports Hardcore Heat, Tokyo Xtreme Racer, TrickStyle. A variety of first and third party titles spanning multiple genres, some returning franchises like Sonic, House of the Dead, and Mortal Kombat and some new ones that would go on to become major successes like SoulCalibur and the 2K series of games.

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Review: Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX (Nintendo 3DS)

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If you read last week’s preview, you’d know that I was feeling quite positive about what I had experienced in playing SEGA’s latest Nintendo 3DS title Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX. Now that I’ve had an additional week, I’ve experienced a bit more of what the game has to offer. Rhythm modes have ramped up the difficulty factor, I’ve been able to experience the game’s StreetPass/SpotPass functions, and it was even a certain vocaloid’s birthday. SO without further ado, let’s turn on the lights, grab a mic, and hit the stage for our review of Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX!

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Rumor: Universal Studios on track to make a movie or TV show based on SEGA’s Golden Axe

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Via superhero movie news site Heroic Hollywood comes a rumor that, if true, shows that SEGA’s plans to turn classic franchises into movies and television shows is progressing. The rumor is that Universal Studios is either interested in or has already made a deal with SEGA to acquire the television or movie rights to Golden Axe. The rumor also states that Universal was interested in other properties as well, but may be playing it safe and is only going with Golden Axe for now.

The idea of a Golden Axe movie isn’t too crazy, given Universal is also at work on the long awaited The Legend of Conan and NBC (owned by Comcast which also owns Universal) is at the moment working on a Xena reboot. Given The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings have completed, and the Harry Potter franchise is in hibernation until 2016, there is a void for sword and sorcery films that studios are likely looking to fill with established franchises.

Universal could be hedging their bets on the genre and are looking to Golden Axe, Conan and Xena to make them big money. Also consider that Universal Studios has Harry Potter attractions at their theme parks. While Disney has cornered the market on sci-fi and superheros, could Universal be eyeing fantasy? Hey, the studio hedged their bets on monsters years ago and look where that took them.

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Shenmue 3 Kickstarter reveals development progress and future plans

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It’s normal for most Kickstarter campaigns to go silent for a bit following successful funding, mainly because those behind the campaign are now hard at work creating whatever it is you backed. Of course, in the case of Shenmue 3 which raised over $6 million, backers were more eager than usual to hear something new. Thankfully, the radio silence didn’t last too long as backers received an update last night on the development progress and future plans. Better yet, we heard it straight from Yu Suzuki himself!

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Yakuza 5 now available to pre-order on PSN, includes 15% discount and theme

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While we don’t know the exact release date for Yakuza 5 yet, SEGA has just announced that the game is now available to pre-order on PSN. What perks does pre-ordering a digital title have? 15% off the $39.99 launch price plus a free Playstation 3 static theme! SEGA has also released the third and final developer video, embedded above, featuring Gio Corsi of SCEA Third Party Production and his interview with Yakuza series General Director Toshihiro Nagoshi and Producer Masayoshi Yokoyama. Topics include the game’s music, the developers’ thoughts on the Western release and the game’s themes.

Update: Sony has confirmed that all the Japanese DLC will be included with each copy of the game.

After the break, check out SEGA’s official pre-order press release. Yakuza 5 is so close, who’s excited?

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Preview: Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX (Nintendo 3DS)

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Thanks to an advance review copy, I’ve been having fun with Miku for close to two weeks now. While this is merely a preview and not a full-on review of the game (which will post on September 4th before the game releases), I did want to give some early impressions from the point of view of a Hatsune Miku newbie.

That’s right, despite contributing to SEGA fan sites since Miku made her SEGA debut in 2009, I have not laid hands on a Miku game until I received my download code for Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX. Prior to this, I reported the occasional press release, posted trailers when they hit, and sat on the sidelines while fellow fans either bemoaned the franchise or celebrated it. Up until now, I knew about the vocaloid craze, I knew that that the SEGA developed games were rhythm based, and I loved the Domino’s Japan campaign as evidenced by my earlier reference to it. But outside of that? Miku was a mystery. But not anymore. So now that I’ve finally had a chance to play a Hatsune Miku game, what do I think of it so far and what do I think the average SEGA fan will enjoy? Let’s find out!

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Yakuza 5 avatars hit US PSN – Could the game be releasing soon?

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While we await news of when SEGA will be releasing Yakuza 5 to the West, avatars for the upcoming game have recently hit PSN. Could this mean a release date is nearing? Those who have followed SEGA of America’s digital releases in recent years should be well aware of the fact that the company will release and announce the release date of a game on the same day, with the only real indicators of an upcoming release being things like PSN avatars being made public. While this is all speculation on our part, the fact that SEGA has quietly released these avatars for the upcoming game must mean something… right? In the meantime, enjoy a cool Goro Majima avatar for just .49 cents.

See all the avatars after the break.

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Attention Virtua Fighter Fans: NYGX Event is August 14th-16th in Brooklyn, New York

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Are you a Virtua Fighter fan in or around the New York area? We may have the perfect event for you!

NYGX is a Virtua Fighter fan gathering which will run from August 14th to August 16th at NextLevel in Brooklyn, New York. The event coordinators promise that every Virtua Fighter game will be there in some capacity (except for the arcade version of the original Virtua Fighter), with arcade iterations of Virtua Fighter Remix, Virtua Fighter 2, Virtua Fighter 3, Virtua Fighter 4: Final Tuned and Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown. There will also be tournaments for 3, 4: Final Tuned, and 5R with 5: Final Showdown‘s tournament being the main event. Can’t make the event? No worries! The three day event will be streamed at twitch.tv/NYC_VF.

For more information on the event, and Virtua Fighter itself, click on over to virtuafighter.com!

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Developer Retrospective: The winning combination of SEGA and Compile

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As summer winds down, we thought it would be the ideal time to shift the focus of our Year of the Developers feature to third party Japanese developers who have worked with SEGA in the past to bring us countless classics. We are, of course, referring to the legendary developers Compile, Treasure and Westone. While these three developers existed on their own outside of SEGA, their collaborations with our favorite company utilizing beloved SEGA home console and arcade hardware went a long way in cementing their statuses as some of the best third party developers of the 80s and 90s.

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Swingin’ Report Show #82: Interview with Brian Silva of Visual Concepts, Midway, Accolade and more!

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Video game designer and voice actor Brain Silva joins us on our latest episode to discuss his work on Bubsy and Bubsy II, Floigan Bros., Hydro Thunder, and H2Overdrive as well as many other games created during his time at Accolade, Visual Concepts, Midway, Blizzard Entertainment and Specular Interactive. Brian also discusses several unreleased games including Hydro Thunder 2 for arcades, Congo: The Secret of Zinj for Genesis and SNES, and Floigan Bros. for the original Playstation!

Brian currently works at Specular Interactive, having helped create the arcade titles H2Overdrive (Hydro Thunder‘s spiritual successor), Project HADES, Dirty Drivin’, and Batman. Learn more about Specular Interactive by checking out their website.

Also, make sure to check out Brian’s website where you’ll find some excellent design docs for Floigan Bros. and Crank the Weasel.

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First 4 Figures seeking feedback on Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary statue concept

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For the past few months First 4 Figures, creators of high quality and high priced Sonic and SEGA statues, have been teasing a Sonic the Hedgehog statue to celebrate next year’s 25th anniversary. Today, on the First 4 Figures Facebook page, the company has shared a concept sketch of the statue and are asking for fan feedback. Those who have followed First 4 Figures in the past know full well that they take feedback very seriously, often making major changes to statues to satisfy fans. The proposed Sonic 25th anniversary statue features Sonic playing a Dreamcast Sonic game on an item monitor. The base appears to be set in Green Hill Zone, much like the first Sonic statue and the 20th anniversary statue were. The reason Sonic isn’t playing a Genesis/Mega Drive? First 4 Figures explained “We thought that as an anniversary piece, we wanted to try and touch on multiple eras in a single piece rather than making it strictly classic. The thought is well received though!”. As for the Green Hill Zone base, First 4 Figures sound open to changing it, as they are aware that that location has been done far too many times already.

After the break, hear my thoughts on the piece and check out the full piece of concept art.

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Swingin’ Report Show #81: Shenmue 3 Kickstarter Countdown

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Join George and Barry as they count down the final hour of the record breaking Shenmue 3 Kickstarter campaign! It has been as wild month, from the game’s E3 Sony stage announcement, to the ups and downs of Awesome Japan’s handling of the campaign. Hear our thoughts on how the Kickstarter was managed, the new tiers, and the recently revealed details of what we can expect in the finished game. Also in this episode, the recent comments from SEGA Games president on the company regaining the trust of gamers.

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SEGA 3D Classics 3D Streets of Rage 2 delayed a week for global release

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SEGA has announced via Facebook that the much anticipated SEGA 3D Classics release of 3D Streets of Rage 2, which was due out next Thursday on the 16th, has been pushed back a week to July 23rd. No reason for the delay was given, but it was mentioned that it will be a global release. I guess I can wait a week, but man do I want to punch trash cans and eat cooked meat off the street.

Stay tuned to SEGAbits for further SEGA 3D Classics news and our inevitable 3D Streets of Rage 2 review!

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Swingin’ Report Show #80: Interview with Aaron Webber, Sonic the Hedgehog PR & Social Media Manager

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He’s back! After leaving SEGA of America in 2014, Aaron Webber has returned as the PR & Social Media Manager for the Sonic the Hedgehog brand. Since returning, Aaron has been making waves on the Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts, catching both fan and media attention with his sly wit and deep knowledge of the franchise.

Aaron was kind enough to sit down with us for an hour in his first interview since returning to SEGA to talk about his new role, SEGA’s move to LA, his approach to interacting with fans, Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice, his favorite Sonic games, and answers to some burning canon questions!

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Prepare to bare your knuckles: SEGA 3D Classics “3D Streets of Rage 2 ” releases July 16th in North America

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If you own a Nintendo 3DS and live in North America, make sure to “Go Straight” to the eShop to download the latest SEGA 3D Classics title: the bare knuckle classic Streets of Rage 2! 3D Streets of Rage 2 will be priced at $5.99 and will feature the original game fans have come to love as well as new modes including “Rage Relay” (called “Quartet Mode” in Japan) which allows you to use of all four characters sequentially while playing solo. The game is also set to feature local co-op multiplayer.

July 16th can’t come quickly enough! More release information, including other territories, will be posted as we hear it.

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