Author Archives: Barry

First 4 Figures SEGA All-Stars statue line expands to include Jet Set Radio’s Beat – pre-orders now open!

by

horizontal_02

Teased late last week, First 4 Figures have now put their Jet Set Radio Beat statue up for pre-order. Like their Akria Yuki statue, it appears that Beat does not have an Exclusive Edition variant. The statue measures 14 inches tall, and retails for $229.99, limited to 1,250 pieces and due to release Q2 2015. One cool feature is the addition of LEDs which give the illusion of sparks shooting out from his skates as he grinds a rail.

After the break, read the full product description!

Continue Reading ➜

1 Comment

Swingin’ Report Show #73: Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal Interview with Mat Kraemer of Sanzaru Games

by

This week on the Swingin’ Report Show podcast Barry and George are joined by Mat Kraemer, Lead Designer at Sanzaru Games, developer of Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal for the Nintendo 3DS. Topics covered include the development process of the handheld title, how Sanzaru interacted with various teams including the TV show crew and the team at Big Red Button, what Sonic games Sanzaru looked to for inspiration, and Mat’s favorite classic SEGA games and consoles.

There has been a lot of talk about the Sonic Boom franchise this past week, so it was great to sit down with Mat to learn more about how the 3DS game came to be. Hey! Why are you still reading this when you should be listening?

[Download] [RSS] [iTunes] [Archive]

No Comments

Watch our live unboxing of Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works with creator Darren Wall – Tuesday, November 18th at 6PM EST

by

smdgcw_case

SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis fans listen up – we have something very special planned for tomorrow! We will be unwrapping and paging through Read-Only Memory’s “Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works” book live with project lead Darren Wall providing page-by-page commentary.

If that wasn’t enough, we will also joined by Blake J. Harris, author of the book “Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation” who is sure to have some stories of his own to share.

The live stream will appear at SEGAbits.com tomorrow at 6PM EST, so keep your eyes open for a dedicated article with the embedded live stream video and keep up with us on Twitter and Facebook for updates.

No Comments

TV Review: Sonic Boom – “Translate This”/”Buster”

by

Screen Shot 2014-11-15 at 10.04.35 AM

It has been quite a week for the Sonic Boom franchise, with the Wii U and 3DS games releasing and completing the circle of multimedia that make up Sonic Boom. Regardless of your feelings towards the games, the TV show was a welcome addition to the new franchise last week, and this weekend we have two new episodes to watch – “Translate This” and ”Buster”. How do these episodes compare to last week’s premiere? Let’s pour a bowl of Reece’s Puffs cereal, tune in and find out!

Continue Reading ➜

2 Comments

Our new video series “Hit Reset” gives Scud: The Disposable Assassin for the SEGA Saturn a second chance

by

On this first episode of Hit Reset, we take a look at a Saturn game that tends to be looked down on as one of the worst in the console’s history, Scud: The Disposable Assassin. As a fan of the comic series it’s based on, I’m going to tell you why I think this game gets an undeserved “bad rap”, and why you should check it out!

Scud: The Disposable Assassin is a run-and-gun/light gun hybrid game, based around the adventures of a robot who becomes a hitman in order to keep his original target alive, as he is programmed to explode as soon as his target dies. This game was published by Segasoft and developed by Syrox Developments in 1997.

Hit Reset is a new SEGAbits YouTube series from Gunstar, of the Gunstar YouTube Channel, which looks back on SEGA games and games for SEGA consoles disliked by fans and critics. Rather than tearing into these forgotten and reviled titles, Gunstar looks at the positive aspects of the games, seeing if there is a hidden gem to be found.

Like this video? Subscribe to the SEGAbits YouTube channel.

1 Comment

First 4 Figures tease Jet Set Radio Beat statue for November 18th pre-order

by

10525631_10152490558716732_4904020471074190377_n

First 4 Figures are expanding their SEGA All-Stars line with a Jet Set Radio statue featuring GG’s leader Beat! The rudie with that uki uki waku waku attitude joins the existing SEGA All-Stars line of statues which includes Shenmue’s Ryo Hazuki, Virtua Fighter’s Akira Yuki, and Skies of Arcadia’s Vyse. While Beat’s price is currently unknown, based on past statues in the line it could range from $170 to $200 or more depending on if there is an exclusive version as well. Pre-orders open November 18th, and we’ll likely have all our details then.

What do you think of First 4 Figures choice? What other SEGA franchises would you like to see in the All-Stars line?

2 Comments

Yu Suzuki shares details of Shenmue III and beyond in new Shenmue Dojo interview

by

shenmue_intro

In a new interview from the Shenmue Dojo, the series creator and SEGA legend spoke at length about the development process of Shenmue and Shenmue II, and revealed a bit more about the long awaited third game in the series. A bulk of the interview delves into information shared at GDC 2014’s Shenmue postmortum, clarifying and expanding on development details shared at the event. Suzuki also answered some Shenmue III questions, sharing some very interesting pieces of information. Suzuki revealed that how the third game begins is undecided, but he thinks it will start from Shenhua’s home. Suzuki also defended SEGA, stating “About Shenmue, Sega is not a problem at all. For Shenmue III, we need to define a specific budget and if I can gather enough for it, Sega will allow me to do it.” Regarding the question of if Shenmue III would end the series, Suzuki answered “Yes indeed, the story is far away from being completed and to be honest, I do not think that it’s possible to end it during Shenmue III. If I had to do it my way, players would experience the ending during Shenmue V. But that seems to be a lot so I’m going to try to finish it within the next 2 games.”

For the full interview head on over to Shenmue Dojo, and in the comments below share your thoughts on what Suzuki revealed. Should the series continue past a third title? Or should Suzuki focus on one more game to complete the story?

17 Comments

SEGAbits & Sonic Retro present Boom Talkalaka #1: Sonic Boom Begins

by

SEGAbits and Sonic Retro team up to bring you a podcast focused on SEGA’s new Sonic Boom franchise! Hosted by Barry the Nomad of SEGAbits.com and David the Lurker of SonicRetro.org, Boom Talkalaka features discussion of the many aspects of Sonic Boom – from comics and episodes of the cartoon, to the video games and toys.

Give the show a listen and in the comments tell us what you think! If you have any questions or comments you want David to read on the next episode, leave your message here with the subject line “Boom-Grams”: https://segabits.com/contact/

[Download] [RSS]

No Comments

Rumor: Sonic Runners is an upcoming mobile game from SEGA Networks

by

runners

The Sonic fan community has been abuzz over the rumor that the next Sonic game will be titled Sonic Runners. The rumor began when a member of a message board shared inside info on Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric months before release. While at the time the person’s claims couldn’t be verified, following Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric‘s release, several of the bits of info lined up with what was in the final game. Most notably, information about Metal Sonic and Shadow which detailed not only their addition before SEGA revealed them, but also where and when they appear in the game. The tipster also revealed in-game dialogue, NPC information, and design details – again, all which lined up with the final product. In addition to Sonic Boom leaks, the person also let leak that a working title for an upcoming game titled “Sonic Runners” appeared on a whiteboard.

Today, the rumor has been strengthened by Sonic Stadium discovering that SEGA, specifically SEGA Networks Corporation, has registered and owns the SonicRunners.com domain. SEGA Networks is SEGA of Japan’s developer of high-end games for smartphones and tablets – lead by Haruki Satomi and based in Tokyo’s Shinagawa Ward. The company began with 211 employees and have since released Demon Tribe, Kingdom Conquest II, Go Dance, Rhythm Thief & the Paris Caper, and Super Monkey Ball Bounce. This leads us to believe that Sonic Runners will likely be a Japanese developed title for iOS and Android devices.

As usual, this is a rumor, so take it as a grain of salt until SEGA officially announces something.

1 Comment

Yuji Naka’s Rodea the Sky Soldier releasing Spring 2015 in Japan to the Wii U and 3DS

by

B2J1bMtCEAAU0rl

Here at SEGAbits we like to keep things focused on SEGA both past and present, but when a SEGA legend leaves the company to do their own thing, we like to keep you guys informed as to what they’re up to – especially when it’s a big project with some SEGA influences. While we love former Sonic Team head Yuji Naka, who left SEGA in 2006 to found his own studio Prope, his studio’s games really haven’t had the same impact that his works at SEGA had. Outside of Let’s Tap and Ivy the Kiwi? (the question mark is in the game’s title), Naka and his team haven’t done much aside from releasing several bland iOS titles. However, there was one upcoming Prope game that looked to be on par with Naka’s work at SEGA: Rodea the Sky Soldier for Wii and 3DS.

Continue Reading ➜

3 Comments

SEGA releases launch trailers for Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric and Shattered Crystal

by

SEGA has released the launch trailers for Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric for the Wii U and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal for the Nintendo 3DS. Both games hit North America and Latin America today and will be in stores in Europe on November 21st. We’ll be sharing our own thoughts on the games soon, and next week expect some behind-the-scenes information on the development of the games. In the meantime, check out the Wii U trailer above and the 3DS trailer after the break!

Continue Reading ➜

3 Comments

Crazy Taxi: City Rush quizzes riders at New York Comic-con 2014

by

If you’re a fan of crazy SEGA PR tactics, keep a close watch on Crazy Taxi: City Rush. Throughout October, wrestler Hulk Hogan guest starred in the mobile game, and that same month real taxis with Crazy Taxi branding invaded New York Comic-con 2014 to take attendees to their destinations for free with a bit of comic book and SEGA trivia along the way. This past week, SEGA released three videos showing off their Crazy Taxi trivia cab. Check out the overview video above, and after the break get a taste of a full ride and outtakes.

Also, don’t forget to give the game a download on your iOS or Android enabled device!

Continue Reading ➜

No Comments

Round Table: Our favorite SEGA Saturn imports

by

rtimports
It’s no secret that the SEGA Saturn did not have as strong a library as it could have had. The reason for this was that SEGA of America and SEGA Europe didn’t believe in the console like SEGA of Japan did, and thanks to a bunch onf inter-company politics, we never got to see many great titles in the West. Thankfully, the SEGA Saturn can easily play imports if you have yourself an Action Replay device – which Play Asia is conveniently having a sale on! Also, many of the Saturn’s imports are arcade titles or use minimal Japanese text, so you’re likely to find a slew of import friendly games.

Not sure where to start? Perhaps you need some ideas for additional games to add to your import library? Let the SEGAbits writers help out as we share our favorite SEGA Saturn imports!

Continue Reading ➜

4 Comments

TV Review: Sonic Boom – “The Sidekick”/”Can an Evil Genius Crash on Your Couch for a Few Weeks?”

by

SonicBoom

Sonic Boom premiered just minutes ago on Cartoon Network! As each episode is 11 minutes long, each week two episodes will be released side by side to fill a half hour time slot. Past Sonic cartoons have premiered either with a very clear first episode (ABC’s Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic X, Sonic Underground), or with an episode that throws you right into the show with no clear feeling if it being the start of something (Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog). Sonic Boom’s first episode, “The Sidekick”, falls in between these classifications. The episode kicks off with the very same footage seen in the TV series trailer from months back as Sonic is in pursuit of Eggman, only to take on Burnbot and almost lose Tails to a plane crash. It’s a nice way to establish Sonic and Eggman’s rivalry and Sonic and Tails’ friendship.

Continue Reading ➜

3 Comments

Classic SEGA Ads: The Saturn takes on the N64’s itty-bitty library

by

If you asked me to make a list of what characteristics define the SEGA of the 90s, at the top of the list would undoubtably be “mocking the competition”. In an era where Nintendo was the family friendly choice, SEGA’s decision to be the rowdy cool kid in town who wasn’t afraid to shake things up and shit talk the competition got people’s attention. During the Genesis era, this sort of practice paid off. The Genesis made SEGA a household name in North America, and the company reigned supreme in the early 90s. However, due to unsuccessful launches of the 32X and Saturn, SEGA slipped in the market and in turn, attack ads like the one above lost much of its bite. Regardless, SEGA soldiered on with such ads, attacking the Playstation in claiming its single processor can’t handle a game like NiGHTS into Dreams and stating that the Saturn kicked Pretendo’s ass when it came to the respective console libraries.

Continue Reading ➜

1 Comment