SEGA Sequel Saturdays: Yakuza 5

Hey guys, hope everyone in Internetland enjoyed their April Fools day! Welcome to Episode 11 of SEGA Sequel Saturdays. This week I’ll be expressing my thoughts on the (inevitable) sequel to a game that just released, Yakuza 4. SEGAbits’ official review will be up soon, but you can read my own opinion on Yakuza 4 at my blog, here. I feel that Yakuza 4’s a fun game with lots and lots to do and some great storytelling, but at the same time, its formula is really beginning to show its age. I don’t think Yakuza 5 is even worth announcing if we’re not going to be getting some big changes and updates, and here’s what I think they should be.

SEGA announces co-op shooter Renegade Ops


SEGA announced that it will be publishing Avalanche Studios‘ (Developers of Just Cause) Renegade Ops  later this year. The game will be a downloadable title on Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network and PC digital download.

“Renegade Ops is SEGA’s first new IP on the digital space and we are thrilled with the remarkable visual look and extensive features that the game has to offer. It has been a great opportunity to work with a team as successful as Avalanche Studios,”- Haruki Satomi, Vice President of Digital Business at SEGA.

The game will allow players to play co-op offline 2 player split screen or up to 4 players online.  The game has you trying to stop Inferno, a madman trying to take over the world.

For the press release, hit the jump.

GeistForce Beta Acquired by Assembler Games

Geist Force was one of the earliest Dreamcast games that was shown as a tech demo at TGS and E3 prior to its launch. Reportedly 80% complete, it ultimately failed to impress former President Bernie Stolar and his team, so it was quietly cancelled.

Recently a former Sega Employee registered at Assembler Gamer discussed DreamPast in great detail. Along the way he revealed he had a copy of Geist Force, which Assembler acquired for 700$. Currently the Assemblers are working on bringing the game to the masses.

For More Information Watch This Video, Sorry embeding has been disabled.

Round Table: Our favorite SEGA advertisments

SEGA has been around the gaming business longer than most companies and when they came into the home console business they changed the game. Especially in the 90’s with their marketing campaigns that really expanded the demographic for video games.

Now we tell you what our favorite advertisements are, you can share yours as well in the comments.

5 SEGA Things Found on Etsy

It’s not surprising that Etsy, the popular online shop devoted to selling handmade and vintage items, has a number of video game related things for sale. I mean, the place is basically a hot spot for those trendy kids who like combining their love for Pac-Man and NES games with their creative talents.

In this week’s weekly five, I thought I’d share five SEGA related products that caught my eye. While I could have highlighted the worst ones, I thought I’d go the positive route and show off some of the best items. You never know, you might like something enough to buy it!

Sonic Stories: Barry the Nomad

In celebration of Sonic’s 20th anniversary, SEGAbits proudly presents a limited feature highlighting SEGAbits stories from writers and readers of how they got into the franchise and their history with Sonic. Want to share your Sonic story? Check out the dedicated topic in the SEGAbits forum.

Welcome to the first entry of Sonic Stories! I’m one of those fans who was introduced to SEGA by way of Sonic the Hedgehog. Specifically the 1991 original classic. As such, despite now being a fan of many different SEGA franchises, it always comes back to Sonic the Hedgehog. To kick off this series, I wanted to share how I got into the franchise, my favorite moments as a fan as well as open up the article series to other SEGAbits readers and writers.

Pier Solar Unboxing and Preview

The latest indie release for the… SEGA Genesis?! That’s right! We’re not talking indie Dreamcast, we’re going way back to SEGA’s 16-bit wonder! Let’s unbox and boot up the Pier Solar Reprint Edition.

After the video, make sure to check out the developers website and order yourself a copy. How often do you get a new Genesis or Mega Drive game? And it’s only $45. That’s cheaper than a Genesis game bought back in the 1990’s.

SEGA Tunes Vol.3 “End of the Millennium”

The long, long struggle of ancient times finally ended…
The victor sacrificed the vanquished to the heavens.
Four bells tolled. Four torches were lit.
And the world continued for thousands of years…

Phantasy Star: End of the Millennium is an epic journey of Self Discovery and finding purpose in life and most importantly, learning the value of love and friendship. Arguably one of the most memorable games from the Genesis in terms of Graphics and Gameplay was your typical JRPG, featuring the usual dungeons and the old school 2D top down camera angle. What elevated the game to the next level was the deep and fleshed out story, complete with the finest character development in video game history.

This tale of epic proportions was paired with some classic tunes that, nearly 2 decades later, fans fondly remember and remix. While there literary are thousands of remixes and arrangements out there, we share some of our favorites with you today.

SEGA Sequel Saturdays: Sonic 4 Episode 2

Episode 9 time, ladies and gentlemen. Back when SEGA announced that a return to 2D Sonic was being developed, (then code-named Project Needlemouse,) there was a surge of excitement throughout the industry and the fanbase. After so many years, and after a series of hit-or-miss 3D Sonic games, SonicTeam was finally about to deliver us a modern-day console 2D Sonic game. At the time, my opinion was that that SEGA absolutely could not afford to wuss out with the name: if they were really going to do this, I said, there was no point without calling it Sonic the Hedgehog 4. Sure enough, Project Needlemouse did become Sonic the Hedgehog 4, and well…read on.

SEGAbits gets a dramatic new look


So here it is, the new look we have been planning for months. It feels good to finally launch it, after all the teasing and debating. This is what all the work lead to.

You will notice that the color scheme has changed to a ‘minimal’ white. Don’t like it? Do you  need your blues? Go to the right hand bar, select from other color patterns. See, we do care! In the next few months we will be adding new exciting features, so stay tune for that.

As for now, give us all your feedback in the comments page!

SEGA announces free-to-play game Spiral Knights


Today Sega has officially announced ‘Spiral Knights’ a free-to-play MMO action game heavily based on Co-Op dungeon crawling and puzzle solving and apparently has very little grinding. The game also has real time action and not the boring monotonous ‘target and watch’ game play of most MMORPGs. Graphically the game looks quite sharp, colourful and cartoony, right up my street!

I suspect the game will use in-game shops where players can buy new clothes, items and weapons for real money; this is what will pay for the up keep of the server and has become a very popular business model for MMORPGs in recent years.

You can also play the game before release by heading over to the games official website HERE!

Over to Sega community manager Edward for more details;

“Spiral Knights is a brand new, totally free-to-play online multiplayer game developed by the excellent craftsmen who brought you Puzzle Pirates. The game debuts soon — it’s available for download this April 4th. A constantly changing world with a deep story, Spiral Knights is heavy on teamwork and creativity, and short on typical MMO-style grinding.”

Looks quite cool and as it is free I’ll probably try it out!