Phantasy Star Online 2 PC character creator demo out now, download here

[Above character created by forum member CrazyTails, shout out!]

Sadly the demo is in Japanese, but the guys at bumped have made a mini-guide walking you through it. There is also a bench mark, but what do the scores mean?

  •  Less than 2000: Please adjust your game settings because the processing load is quite heavy.
  •  2000 through 5000: The game runs fine at the setting, if you have room, you can adjust some settings.
  •  5001+: The game works wonderfully at this setting.

So where can you download it? Right here [466mb].

If you want to share your characters you can do it on our forum topic or you can post them here in the comments.

Football Manager coming to Android on April 11th


Most SEGA fans might not be big fans of Football Manager, but the franchise has dominated the PC market for years and the recent iOS handheld version has also shared success. SEGA and Sports Interactive have announced that Football Manager will be coming to Android on April 11th.

“Since the first release of Football Manager Handheld for mobiles a couple of years ago, the most asked question on social networks has been ‘When is it coming to Android?’ Now, we can reveal the answer.” – Miles Jacobson, Sports Interactive studio director

The game will cost  £6.99 (about $10) and will require the user to have the Google Play store and Android 2.2 or above.

SEGA x Capcom x Namco Bandai mystery project gets countdown clock


The site has been giving us “chromosome” teases for weeks and now it seems we will finally be counting down to the big reveal… or are they? All we know is that there are no more “chromosomes”, they seem to have ‘broken out’.

The clock will end on April 12th at midnight. So if you are waiting, you still got a little less than 5 days. We here have ‘tried to guess’ what characters the chromosomes belong to, but thanks to the interweb, someone already matched those. Check out the photos below.

 

Sonic 4: Episode 2 release dates have been released


SEGA has revealed the release date for Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2. So when can you pick the game up? If you are on PSN, you will be able to purchase the title on May 15th. Xbox 360 will have to wait until May 16th, the next day.

The iOS and PC version of the title will be coming out in May as well, but there hasn’t been a specific release date announced yet. If you are an Android user, you will be able to pick up the game in June and if you are a Windows Phone 7 user, you will have to wait all the way until July.

What platform are you picking it up on?

SEGA trademarks Flick of the Dead

SEGA has filed trademarks for Flick of the Dead. What could this possibly be? Well, first of all its going to be a House of the Dead spin-off, that much is for sure. If SEGA’s latest iOS title, Miku Flick, is any indication, its going to be a House of the Dead title on smartphones.

What do I want it to be? I wish it was a full console release game where you play zombie filled stages from various zombie movies from the past three or so decades. Come on, that’s cooler than a mobile game, right?

Rhythm Thief & The Emperor’s Treasure gets European launch trailer

Even though we recently have been hit by the recent layoff news, SEGA is set to release Rhythm Thief & The Emperor’s Treasure on April 5th in Europe. Here is the game’s launch trailer above. If you want to see the euro website, click here. Has samples of some of the awesome music you will find in the full game.

Sadly if you live in America, like me, you will have to wait all the way till July 10th to get your hands on this game. That isn’t very fair, now is it?

 

Aliens: Colonial Marines on Wii U “has much more to offer”

Seems that Gearbox Software CEO Randy Pitchford is going to pimp the Wii U version of their long awaited shooter Aliens: Colonial Marines. Pitchford told Vox Games that the Alien shooter will take advantage of the system’s ‘innovative’ tablet controller.

“The Wii U version has so much more to offer. No other platform can do what the Wii U can do. If you love [Xbox] 360 games, you are not used to being in a world where you have this new interface. But once you get used to that, you imagine the possibilities. There are some opportunities that are just not possible on any platform that does not have that device. I don’t want to give spoilers away on some of the things we are thinking of or thing we have actually implemented already, but there are a lot of cool opportunities with that device that are going to make a very unique and compelling experience on that platform,”  – Randy Pitchford, CEO of Gearbox Studios

What do I think about this? I think it is a bit of nonsense. Don’t get me wrong, the Wii U might be a good system, but selling me the same game from the Playstation 3/Xbox 360/PC on a Nintendo console with a new ‘second screen’ on my hands isn’t innovative. How is this better for me? Not only that, the game is coming this autumn to PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. The Wii U version is set to come out sometime ‘by the end of the year.

Check out these hand painted Sonic the Hedgehog shoes

lumpyheadedbunny over at Reddit has posted their ‘Sonic the Hedgehog‘ hand painted shoes. Oh, yes, they look nice and flashy. So how long did it take them to paint the shoes? 45-65 hours per pair. You are probably going to ask how much it would cost to have lumpyheadedbunny make you a pair. The answer is: $350+. Yes, too rich for my blood.

He says he is working on a site to put all his designs. That is cool, what do you guys think? Is he charging too much? Can you do better?

Insert Coin shows off new SEGA shirt designs, including Ryo Hazuki inspired hoodie


The fine folks over at Insert Coin Clothing have now released their concept art for their upcoming SEGA Reloaded shirts (and a hoodie). The hoodie above is inspired by Ryu Huzuki’s brown jacket in Shenmue. In the back it has the Hazuki tiger.

To see more of the shirt designs, hit the jump. Shenmue, Jet Set Radio, Streets of Rage, Shinobi, and Golden Axe? Yes, please.

SEGA of America’s official statement regarding changes


There have been a ton of questions flying around, people asking what went wrong. There is quite a bit that sadly went wrong, who is to blame? Probably not the people that got fired, but that isn’t the issue right now. The issue is what SEGA is going to be like in the future. The community has had lots of rumors flowing around. Some are saying SEGA is shutting down SEGA America, which isn’t true.

Now there are questions like, who gave the order? If you guess SEGA-Sammy, you are correct. Check out SEGA of America’s official statement after the jump.

Check out these awesome SEGA Master System shirts

SMS Power! forum member thoja has spotted  two SEGA Master System related shirts in his local mall. He said he found them in Bershka, a chain of Spanish stores from Spain. I have to say, I like the ideas but I don’t like white shirts all that much. I searched their site and only found a page for the Master System one, not the Alex Kidd one.

So what do you guys think of the shirts? Do you like in Europe? Maybe you should go out and check them out.

Fan game: Sonic 2 HD gets alpha demo released

Sonic 2 HD fan project has now released an alpha version of their demo. Sonic 2 HD has been in the works for 3 and a half years. Since this is an alpha demo, you will be limited in what stages you can play. Right now only Emerald Hill Zone. Also since its alpha, it’s not expected to be perfect. I have to say, it’s impressive work being done by the team.

So you are asking where you can download it? Right here. The demo only supports Windows XP – Windows 7. Sorry Mac and Linux fans. The demo clocks in at 85.36 MB.

Japanese Charts: Yakuza on PSP debuts at #2, Shining Blade still charting


The weekly Japanese charts came in and have Black Panther 2: Yakuza Ashura Chapter debuting at number 2. The Black Panther series is a spin-off of the Yakuza series on the PSP. This is the second title. Unlike console versions of Yakuza, the handheld version features its own playable main character and not Kazuma Kiryu. The game sold 104,937 units. The game came out March 22nd and since the chart ended on the 25th, the game only got 3 days of sales counted. We should be seeing it next week.

The second SEGA title to chart this week was another PSP game, this one Shining Blade. It’s funny actually, Shining Blade came out a week ago and charted at number 2 when it was out selling 122,257 units. So yeah, Shining Blade debuted better than Black Panther 2. This week Shining Blade dropped to number 10 and pushed an additional 19,032 units. So far Shining Blade has sold  141,289 units.

Not bad at all. I guess SEGA was in the right when they decided to still release PSP games in Japan instead of moving development to Playstation Vita.

Daytona USA and SEGA Rally Online Arcade 50% off on XBLA


If you log into your XBLA account, you will be able to purchase the fabulous Daytona USA and SEGA Rally Online Arcade ports for only 400 MS. These usually go for 800 MS. The sale will be good all the way till April 3rd.

What are you guys waiting for? No excuses, pick these games up now.

Phantasy Star Online 2 create demo coming April 5th, have new screens while you wait

Are you excided to hear that Phantasy Star Online 2 is going totally free to play? Do you want to try the game now and see how your PC will run it? Well, SEGA is setting up a ‘create demo’ for us Phantasy Star Online fiends that cannot wait much longer. There will be a demo released on April 5th, via the game’s official website, so mark your calendars. This demo will allow you to create a character, which you will be able to play as later when the game goes open beta. It also comes with a benchmark functionality to see if your PC is up to snuff.

If that wasn’t all, there have a been a ton of screenshots released… including the first smart phone screens! There are also some with new weapons and a new boss from the PC closed beta. Exciting.