Author Archives: Barry

Classic SEGA Magazine Corner: Fall 1988’s Team SEGA Newsletter previews Phantasy Star

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Today marks a big day for fans of Phantasy Star, as it’s the 27th anniversary of the original game and the franchise as well. On December 20th, 1987, SEGA’s now iconic RPG released to the Sega Mark III. Following the original’s release, three numeric sequels released to the SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis and further installments released to numerous other platforms. The series has come a long way since 1987, and it’s amazing that it continues to this day with the releases of Phantasy Star Online 2 and Phantasy Star Nova. But rather than focusing on the newest installments, and grumbling about how we still can’t play them in the West, let’s take a trip back to the Fall of 1988 when SEGA’s The Team SEGA Newsletter previewed Phantasy Star for the Master System.

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Price for upcoming unreleased SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis game ‘It Came from the Desert’ revealed

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Back in July we shared the news that the unreleased SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis game It Came from the Desert was finally seeing release by way of the efforts of Watermelon Games and the original developers Cinemaware. The game, originally slated for a 1990 release, was deemed by publisher EA to be too difficult and was troubled by a game crashing bug. Watermelon Games promises that both issues will be fixed.

Until now we did not know the price of the game, and as our headline suggests, well now we do! For $55, shipping not included, fans of long lost 16-bit titles will receive the limited edition release which will contain a case and slipcover, manual, poster, and of course the cartridge. Cinemaware promises that this price is final and will not change, and that more news is to come after the holidays including the start of pre-orders in January 2015.

Learn more about Cinemaware and their work at their official site.

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SEGAbits Plays Episode #5: SEGA Dreamcast Holiday Classics

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SEGAbits Plays gets into the festive mood as Barry and George play Dr. Seuss’s The Grinch and the Official Dreamcast Magazine demo disc Volume 10 for the SEGA Dreamcast. Join us as we destroy Whoville, fly about as a little toy Santa in Toy Commander‘s Christmas missions, and explore various demo disc oddities. Wait, was that an anti-smoking advert?

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After Burner Climax likely to be delisted from PSN and XBLA on December 24th

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If you want to own one of the greatest SEGA arcade games from the 2000s, better buy it now as we are hearing reports that After Burner Climax will be delisted from PSN and XBLA (and potentially iOS) on December 24th. This information comes from XBLA news tweeter lifelower, and the information is believable given OutRun Online Arcade was also delisted not too long ago due to an expiring contract with Ferrari. Retro Collect speculates that After Burner Climax is being pulled for the same reason as OutRun Online Arcade – it is likely SEGA’s contract with Boeing and Northrop Gruman, plane whose jet models are used in the game, expires at the end of the year.

We’ll find out for ourselves if this delisting is a sure thing, and in the meantime if you don’t own the game yourself it really is well worth owning. Pending delisting or not! You can find the game on Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network for $9.99 and on the App Store and Google Play Store for just 99¢.

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SEGA planning development of TV and film adaptations of video game properties

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Variety reports that SEGA has begun planning the development of classic and modern video game franchises for film and television. SEGA has tapped Break Media executive Evan Cholfin to lead the efforts at Tokyo-based Stories International, a joint venture between SEGA and Hakuhodo DY Group launched in 2011.

The first titles SEGA plans to move forward with are “Altered Beast,” “Streets of Rage,” “Shinobi,” “Rise of Nightmares” and “Crazy Taxi”. Plans are for English-language live action and animated spinoffs. “Virtua Fighter” and “Golden Axe” are also being considered.

SEGA also has a minority investment in All Nippon Entertainment Works through a stock deal. The deal with ANEW will help the Stories group expand its efforts by gaining access to twenty Japanese rights holders with connections to films, TV shows, books, toys and manga.

With the news of a joint venture with Sony Pictures to produce a Sonic the Hedgehog movie, SEGA will have a big presence in Hollywood in the coming years! In the comments, let us know which confirmed franchise you’re most looking forward to.

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Review: Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal (Nintendo 3DS)

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In late October, SEGA released the first piece of the Sonic Boom franchise by way of the Archie comic book series of the same name. Despite the much touted TV series and video games, the comic book was our first official trip into the Sonic Boom universe. In my review of the first issue, I noted that I really enjoyed the fun, loose, self-referential nature of the comic book series. I compared the Sonic Boom comic to Archie’s early Sonic the Hedgehog issues. My exposure to the franchise continued with the TV series, which I also enjoyed, noting that the series felt very much like DiC’s 1993 series Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. By this point, I was feeling fairly positive about Sonic Boom. And then the video games released.

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

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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!

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

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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?

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

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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.

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

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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!

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

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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.

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

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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?

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

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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?

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

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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/

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