Celebrate the Dreamcast’s 12th Birthday With Us!

Since 2009, It has become a yearly tradition for me to throw a Dreamcast birthday party by way of Dreamcast gaming, a live stream, chit chat, drinking and pizza. This year will be no different from last year: Starting at 11am Eastern Standard Time (5pm GMT) on Friday, September 9th, I’ll be kicking off the party at twitch.tv/dreamroom. We’ll play a ton of games, chat, reminisce and celebrate the 12th anniversary of the Dreamcast’s American launch. We’ll check out the original launch titles, play some wacky imports, go on a Dobuita shopping spree and I even have a few surprises.

So mark your calendars and keep your eyes on The Dreamcast Junkyard and SEGAbits as the big day nears!

Retro Review: Sonic CD

With the news that a downloadable version of Sonic CD would soon be making it’s way to LIVE/PSN, I figured it was as good a time as any to review this “classic” Sonic game. Now, I say classic in quotation marks because frankly, I believe a lot of the praise of this game comes mainly from it’s nostalgia. Most folks remember Sonic CD because of several things. The anime intro/ending, the incredible music and of course, the battle with Metal Sonic. But does anyone remember it for it’s level design? No? There might be a good reason for that. Continue Reading to see why.

Famitsu leaks Black Panther sequel and Yakuza 5 early


[Artwork for the first PSP game, Black Panther]

Nagoshi teased that he had some big announcements coming up in the end of the month, but thanks to Famisu we already know what they are. SEGA is going to have a pretty nice TGS line-up.

First of all Nagoshi has his own studio to make Yakuza titles called “Ryu ga Gotoku Studio.” Ryu Ga Gotoku is the name of the Yakuza series in Japan, it means Like a Dragon.

The first game that the Yakuza team will work on is Black Panther 2, a sequel to the handheld Yakuza spin-off. It will be called in Japan “Kurohyou 2 Ryu ga Gotoku.” This title will be playable at TGS and is set to be released in Japan in Spring 2012. Also its for the PSP. Odd, wonder if this has to do with the ‘rumored’ Yakuza title for Vita.

In the end the magazine says that they are also working on Yakuza 5. I guess we might get more details about this come the press conference.

We will post scans when we get them.

[Source: AndriaSang]

Swingin’ Report Show #18: Virtua Lovers

Hey, this is the episode where we tell you how much we are looking forward to Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown. You know you want to listen to that, right? Also talk about Sonic CD and Rhythm Phantom Thief R: Inheritance of the Emperor Napoleon.
[audio:http://www.segabits.com/wp-content/uploads/Swingin_Report_Show_18_Virtua_Lover.mp3]

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The Weekly Five: Downloadable Titles to be EXCITED About

SEGA has a lot of exciting boxed retail releases on the way, but how about the downloadable games? I’m happy to say that there are a number of great titles heading to XBLA, PSN and mobile devices! In fact, dare I say this, as a whole I am more excited for the downloadable releases than I am the retail releases. Recently, SEGA has had a big upswing in the quality and quantity of retro rereleases. What’s more, SEGA will also be offering long awaited games via online marketplaces and are set to debut new IPs via this route. In this week’s Weekly Five we’ll be highlighting five upcoming downloadable titles that we’re excited to play!

SEGA announces Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown for PSN and XBLA

SEGA has at long last announced Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown for consoles. The release of the title has been a long time coming, with various fans wishing to play the definitive version of the title, but now we have official confirmation that Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown will be coming to consoles. SEGA will be releasing the title in Summer 2012 and it will be downloadable as a standalone title off of Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network with no price plan revealed at the moment. Click on after the break for the press release and an interview, with trailer, provided to Gamespot.

Sonic CD headed to digital download, playable at PAX 2011

Another SEGA classic is set to be ported to Xbox Live Arcade according to Joystiq, have found through Major Nelson’s blog that an unannounced port of Sonic CD is set to debut at the Penny Arcade Expo. Sonic CD is out of all the major classic Sonic titles, the rarest of them all, mainly thanks to the fact it debuted on the SEGA CD and the relatively little (Compared to the other titles in the series) amount of times the game has been ported. At this current moment, it is not known what the release date is, if it is a XBLA exclusive and who would be handling porting duties.

According to Joystiq, SEGA did not wish to disclosure any details at the time, but would be sharing more information in the future.

[Edit] Not exclusive to Xbox Live Arcade. Coming out for Playstation Network, iOS, Windows Phone 7, and Android devices [/Edit]

[Source: Joystiq]

Swingin’ Report Show #17: GamesCom Super Duper Episode

Germany held their GamesCom this year. None of us got to go, but that doesn’t stop us from talking about it. We discuss the newest SEGA news, talk about the latest topics our readers suggested, and is Sharky drunk?

[audio:http://www.segabits.com/wp-content/uploads/Swingin_Report_Show_17_GamesCom_Super_Duper_Episode.mp3]

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The Weekly Five: You’re a SLACKER, SEGA!

Obviously, I love me my SEGA. Why else would I be writing for this place? But just because I love them, doesn’t mean I can’t be a little bit peeved with them when it comes to a few things. In this week’s Weekly Five, I’ll be going down my list of areas in which SEGA is slacking.

Swingin’ Report Show #16: Comical Pants Zone

I’m hosting this week, joined by Sharky and Aki-at as we discuss the news of the week, traditional Muslim values, debate about zombies and much more. Oh, if you are looking for the stage layout of Chemical Plant Zone that we are talking about, its right here.

[audio:http://www.segabits.com/wp-content/uploads/Swingin_Report_Show_16_Comical_Pants_Zone.mp3]

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Review: Captain America: Super Soldier (Wii)

When Nuckles87 assigned me to do the hands on for Captain America on Wii during E3, I wasn’t too happy. The game just looked like another washed down, crappy port. I was surprised however, at the level of quality the game had. The game is handled by High Voltage. Mainly the HV team that handled Tournament of Legends (poorly reviewed but I thought it was okay). Now, I bought the PS3 version which I love despite how some may feel (No offense Aki), but after playing and beating the Wii version, does it hold up well or is it just another watered-down Wii port? Read on. Read further down for a Bonus Feature.

The Weekly Five: The Best VMU Games

Despite being over ten years old, VMU games can still be fun! Sure they pale in comparison to modern day handheld devices, but even back when VMUs were new they couldn’t compete with the handhelds of the early 00’s. The main purpose of a VMU was to save your game data, the fact that they could play mini-games was the cherry on top. While the VMU didn’t change the world, at least SEGA didn’t advertise it as the standout feature of the console (subtle dig at the Wii U). While I don’t carry a VMU about with me like I did back in ’99, I still make it a point to occasionally pick up some CR2032 batteries to bring my VMU back to life. What follows are my personal favorite VMU games.

Want to play these yourself, but don’t have all the Dreamcast titles that offer these extra features? Check out Blue Swirl’s VMU Tool. An awesome application for the Dreamcast which allows you to make a number of (safe) modifications to existing VMUs as well as download game saves and VMU games from the entire Dreamcast library. It even has a VMU emulator, for those too lazy to play an actual VMU.