Author Archives: Barry

First 4 Figures Dr. Robotnik up for pre-order – wait, so it’s not Dr. Eggman anymore?

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First 4 Figures is back again with a new classic era Sonic the Hedgehog statue up for pre-order, this time the star is Sonic’s nemesis Dr. Robotnik. Yup, you heard that right, apparently SEGA gave the okay for F4F to use the old name that they’ve pushed aside for the past 13 years. The statue is selling for $399.99 and is expected to release Q2 2015. If the price gave you a small heart attack, F4F has a flexipay option in which fans pay 3 monthly payments – two at $100 and a final payment of $199. The statue is also enormous, measuring 22″ tall, and 19″ wide. F4F also notes “Dr. Robotnik’s package also includes an additional set of hands. As well as the open palms to replicate his signature classic pose, the package includes an additional 2 hands, each holding a Chaos Emerald, in call back to the classic ‘Try Again’ screen at the end of Sonic the Hedgehog 1. These can be swapped out or mixed with the other hands depending on the collector’s preference.” You can pre-order at the official F4f site. Now the question is, what’s next? Classic Amy Rose perhaps?

Regarding the name, while I know many Western Sonic fans grew up with Dr. Robotnik, I do find the decision to be a bit odd. Mainly because I always saw the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and Saturday morning cartoon design to be Dr. Robotnik, while the in-game version had a weird disconnect from the Robotnik name. With Sonic Generations poking fun at the old Robotnik name (“Nobody calls me that anymore!”) and the Jazwares action figures labeling the character as Dr. Eggman, it’s inconsistent with the brand to go back to the Dr. Robotnik name. Ah well, it’s a bigass statue and that’s good enough for me!

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SEGAbits boosts to New York City for Sonic Boom 2014 – videos, photos, & impressions

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SEGA’s Sonic Boom event took place this past Saturday in New York, and SEGAbits was there! Before I run through the day’s events, I want to thank SEGA, all the special guests, and the attendees for making the whole event a memorable experience. I know it was a big deal when SEGA chose to host last year’s event in St. Louis, but I can only imagine that planning this year’s event in America’s most populated city from the other side of the country was a lot of hard work on the part of SEGA. Thankfully, the hard work paid off. Within the span of five hours, SEGA treated guests to gift bags, autograph signings, game demos, live music, and both scripted and unscripted entertainment – and despite a large turnout, there was room to walk about and enjoy just about everything the event had to offer.

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SEGA of Japan and Sharp team up for Telebeena – a streaming educational entertainment platform

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The SEGA Pico legacy lives on with Telebeena, a streaming educational entertainment platform from SEGA of Japan relasing to Sharp LCD TVs this Fall. The name “Telebeena” may hold some significance to SEGA hardware fans, as Beena was the name of the followup console to SEGA’s Pico. The Telebeena is an evolution of the Pico/Beena brand, which will act as a streaming service to select Sharp TVs, specifically “AQUOS Quattron pro” and the XL20 line, and smartphones. Similar to the Wii U and Pico/Beena, kids will be able to play Telebeena software on their TV by using a supported smartphone or tablet as a second screen. The official Telebeena site has revealed Sonic & The Jewel of Mystery will be the service’s first title, featuring simple matching and puzzle games.

The Telebeena is set for an early November release, and as soon as we learn more we’ll be sure to post it here at SEGAbits!

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Swingin’ Report Show #71: Phantasy Star Online with Susan Arendt & James Mielke

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Dreamcast Month comes to an end at SEGAbits with a special episode of the Swingin’ Report Show podcast in which we celebrate one of the most memorable Dreamcast games – Phantasy Star Online.

Joining Barry and George on this episode are two gaming industry greats! Taking a telepipe to the Pioneer 2 is Susan Arendt – Managing Editor of Joystiq.com, former Editor-In-Chief at The Escapist, and former contributor to GameShark, Shojo Beat Magazine, and Wired. And back from busting a blue rappy it’s James Mielke – Founder of BitSummit, former Editor-In-Chief of Electronic Gaming Monthly and 1UP.com, and former producer at Q Entertainment and Q-Games.

Join us for a special round table looking back on PSO, from pre-release hype, to launch, and memories of the many versions and episodic sequels. As a bonus, James reveals that he has an army of super soldiers and he shares some inside info on where Phantasy Star Online 2 is at in English translation and what may be holding up a Western release.

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SEGA and The Creative Assembly announce Total War: Attila at EGX London 2014 – game to release in 2015

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SEGA and The Creative Assemblyhave unveiled a new Total War title, Total War: Attila, at this years EGX London event. Described as “challenging” and designed for “Total War veterans”, Total War: Attila will obviously feature Attila the Hun, leader of the Hunnic Empire, and his one million horsemen. At the height of his reign, his control stretched from the Ural River to the Rhine River and from the Danube River to the Baltic Sea. Eurogamer, which went hands-on with the game, describes how diseases will play a part in the game. The cleaner and healthier a city you have, the less a chance you have of facing disease. The spread of disease will affect player’s soldiers, which will impact their performance in battle. Other features include a region overlay which provides regional details like wealth and disposition, the return of the family tree (a feature missing from Rome II), and dynamic fire, a new weapon which allows buildings to burn and fires to spread.

Total War: Attila is expected to release next year, and we’re certain a press release is on the way. In the meantime, enjoy the above trailer and get ready to welcome Attila into your homes.

Update: The official site for the game is live, check it out and learn more about the latest Total War title.

Update 2: Press release, screenshots, cover art, and concept art after the break.

Update 3: SEGAbits forum member JRcade19 spotted a mention on the SEGA Blog that the game is due for release in 2015 on Windows PC and Mac. An interesting development, given traditionally PC and Mac releases of SEGA titles are years apart.

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Is a Nintendo 3DS SEGA 3D Classics collection retail release in the works for Japan?

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Spotted on NeoGAF and reported by gamestalk.net comes word that a physical release for SEGA’s 3D Classics collection for the Nintendo 3DS may be releasing to Japan on December 18th for 3,980 yen. The compilation is said to include a mix of wave 1 and wave 2 titles: 3D Space Harrier, 3D Fantasy Zone, 3D Outrun, 3D Streets of Rage, 3D Shinobi 2, and 3D Ecco the Dolphin. Also included are two bonus titles, Space Harrier 3D and Outrun 3D which originally released to the SEGA Master System and utilized the 3D glasses.

This leaves 3D Super Hang On, 3D Sonic the Hedgehog, 3D Altered Beast, 3D Galaxy Force II, 3D Afterburner II, 3D Fantasy Zone, and 3D Thunder Blade as eshop exclusives, but it is likey that if this compilation sells well, the rest will be released in another volume.

We’ll share more news on this potential release as we hear it, so stay tuned!

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SEGA takes aim and blasts Resonance of Fate onto PlayStation Network for PlayStation 3

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SEGA West has announced that Resonance of Fate, released in 2010 to the Xbox 360 and PS3, is now available on the PlayStation Network for PlayStation 3. Developed by tri-Ace, Resonance of Fate is a unique RPG featuring a combat system centered around gun-play in a steampunk-styled world. Players take control of Vashyron, Zephyr and Leanne, members of the Private Military Firm who are tasked with seeking out and completing quests for their clients.

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SEGA Retrospective: Let’s get sweaty as we celebrate a SEGA Dreamcast classic, it’s Shenmue Week!

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Welcome to a franchise week that many readers have been requesting ever since we began to dedicate seven days to classic SEGA titles, this is Shenmue Week! Like Jet Set Radio Week, we’re going focus exclusively on the first game of the franchise throughout the week. While Shenmue and its sequel are not incredibly different games from each other like Jet Set Radio and Jet Set Radio Future, we felt that both Shenmue titles are both so epic on their own that to try and cram both into seven days would do a disservice to the series. Not to mention, we love Shenmue so much that the prospect of another Shenmue Week in the future is something we’re looking forward to.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s travel back in time, before Shenmue II and before the original Shenmue. Before the series went by the codename Project Berkley, to a time in the mid 90s when SEGA’s Yu Suzuki was working on a SEGA Saturn prototype known as The Old Man and the Peach Tree.

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SEGA by Design: Power Stone 2 and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Cover Art

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Welcome to a new SEGAbits feature: SEGA by Design. Believe it or not, SEGAbits is not my day job. When I’m not working on the site, I’m a full time graphic designer. Before I decided to make graphic design my profession, I grew up wanting to be either an animator or a cartoonist. My childhood influences included 90’s cartoons and video game cover art, and while I loved such works as the covers of the classic Sonic the Hedgehog games, I found myself even more attracted to the package designs that encapsulated the artwork. At the time, I had no idea what this sort of thing was called, I just knew that it was slick, uniform, and involved colors, shapes, and fonts. It wasn’t until the Playstation game Wipeout that I learned of what graphic design actually entailed through the work of The Designer’s Republic. From there on out, I knew I wanted to be a graphic designer and four years of college and seven years of professional experience later, here I am about to tear into the cover art of one of my most favorite SEGA Dreamcast games: Capcom’s Power Stone 2.

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Swingin’ Report Show #70: SEGA Dreamcast 15th Anniversary Special with The Dreamcast Junkyard

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This week on the SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show podcast, Barry and George celebrate 15 years of the SEGA Dreamcast with Tomleecee and Aaron aka The Gagaman of The Dreamcast Junkyard.

Being from the UK, Tom and Aaron bring the unique perspective of what the SEGA Dreamcast launch was like in Europe. Topics include UK marketing, the delayed launch, games exclusive to the region, the official and unofficial magazines, the collecting scene, and Tom and Aaron’s thoughts on the US release. We also have a discussion on SEGA’s decision to change the red swirl to blue, and which region had the best box art.

You can follow Tomleecee and The Gagaman on Twitter, and make sure to visit The Dreamcast Junkyard, RetroCollect, and Lucky Hit!

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SEGA Dreamroom 2014 – watch the full 9 hour SEGA Dreamcast stream

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The SEGA Dreamroom is here! Enjoy live streaming Dreamcast games from 9am ET to 6pm ET – head on over to our twitch channel to chat as we play.

9/10 Update: Dreamroom 2014 was a huge success! Thank you to all those who tuned in. Enjoy the archived broadcast embedded above, and we’ll see you in the Dreamroom next year!

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The Dreamroom Dreamcast Marathon returns on Tuesday 9/9 at 9am ET at SEGA Channel Retro

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From 2009 to 2011 at The Dreamcast Junkyard, I hosted the Dreamroom – a SEGA Dreamcast marathon celebrating the console’s memorable American launch date. Since 2011, however, the Dreamroom remained locked. I knew I wanted to host another, but I was busy with work and my increasing duties at SEGAbits. Not to mention, I didn’t think aiming a webcam at the TV cut it as a live stream anymore.

This year, however, I’m excited to announce that the Dreamroom is reopening on 9/9 at 9am ET at the SEGA Channel Retro Twitch channel for a special 9 hour marathon of Dreamcast games streaming directly from the console! Yes, I’ve finally caught up with streaming technology.

Hope to see SEGAbits and DCJY readers new and old there as we celebrate 15 years of the SEGA Dreamcast!

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Super Monkey Ball Bounce now available from the App Store and Google Play

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SEGA has just released Super Monkey Ball Bounce to Apple’s App Store and to Google Play, along with the above launch trailer. The game, which was revealed back in May, received the SEGAbits hands-on treatment in June at a special SEGA mobile event outside E3. Described as “Super Monkey Ball meets Peggle”, Super Monkey Ball Bounce is (as described by our own nuckles87 in his preview) a free-to-play game in which you launch a ball into a 2D course, try to bounce it off of various objects in the environment and hit specific targets marked with stars. There are bumpers and curved surfaces to bounce and roll the ball off of, as well as special “power up” blocks. This game is all about using physics and objects in the environment to hit all the targets before you run out of balls. It’s a fairly simple concept, but a fun diversion.

So if you have an iOS or Android device, give Super Monkey Ball Bounce a try and let us know what you think about it in the comments below!

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The Year of the Console – SEGA Dreamcast month, it’s still thinking

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In nine days, SEGA’s final console the SEGA Dreamcast turns 15 years old in the United States. The Dreamcast is a rare instance in which the US launch overshadows the Japanese launch, thanks to the memorable date of 9/9 and a stellar launch lineup. While Japan had a paltry four games, the US had nineteen which covered just about every major genre. Racing fans had the most options, with CART Flag to Flag, Hydro Thunder, Monaco Grand Prix, Pen Pen Trilcelon, TNN Motorsports Hardcore Heat, Tokyo Extreme Racer, and TrickStyle. While those who prefer their speed in the skies had AeroWings and AirForce Delta.

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Swingin’ Report Show #69: Night Trap ReVamped with Digital Pictures Co-Founder Tom Zito

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Digital Pictures was a pioneer in the world of interactive full motion video, bringing a cinematic feel to games at a time when players were used to two dimensional sprites. Their titles, which included Night Trap, Sewer Shark, Corpse Killer, Supreme Warrior, the Make My Video series, and many more, spanned a number of genres and appeared on several platforms throughout the 90s. Now, their most famous title Night Trap is set to make a return to modern platforms with former Digital Pictures members leading the way. Director/co-designer Jim Riley, co-designer Rob Fulop, technical director Mark Klein, and executive producer Tom Zito have formed Night Trap, LLC and have established a Kickstarter initiative dubbed Night Trap ReVamped.

Tom Zito joins Barry on our latest Swingin’ Report Show to discuss the creation of Digital Pictures, the never released Control-Vision game console from Hasbro which was to use VHS tapes as cartridges (originally codenamed NEMO), Night Trap‘s releases both past and present, and his team’s plans for the Night Trap ReVamped Kickstarter. This episode is a must for retro SEGA fans and fans of innovations in the video game industry – give it a listen and be sure to check out Night Trap ReVamped!

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