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This is Saturn strikes back with Dead or Alive

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After a longer break than expected, This is Saturn finally returns with Team Ninja and Tecmo’s fighting game début, Dead or Alive!

Known for its innovative mechanics, recognisable characters, and… some certain other things, Dead or Alive is now an incredibly well known series. But was the first game worth much of a toss? Find out in this new episode!

This is Saturn is a video series created by British teenager Liam ‘TrackerTD’ Ashcroft, aiming to give an alternative and in-depth look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of SEGA Saturn gaming, all whilst maintaining a somewhat strong accent.

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SEGA News Bits: Has SEGA of America moved in with Atlus USA?

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During the summer, SEGA of America closed their San Francisco offices and moved to Southern California. Oddly, SEGA had been pretty quiet when it came to revealing the exact location of the office, but after a little digging we may now know where they ended up! Based on various sources, it appears that SEGA has moved in to the existing Atlus USA offices in Irvine, California.

In this SEGA News Bits, Barry and George share how they came to this conclusion and give their thoughts on this development. As a bonus, enjoy a slideshow of pictures taken when Barry visited SEGA’s San Francisco offices in 2013, and check out the original SEGAbits Visits SEGA of America, Inc. articles here: Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 

Like these sorts of videos? Subscribe to us on Youtube and never miss a episode.

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The History of Sega Japan R&D, Part 1: The Origins and the 80s

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THE ORIGINS

Sega is an interesting company when it comes to their origins. There are companies like Namco, Taito and Konami that started in the 60s with electromechanical games and there are those like Capcom and Square that started in the 80s with video games. Sega is different.

Sega had its roots even earlier with slots and jukeboxes in the 1940s in Hawaii, when they were known as Standard Games. Today, Sega of Japan would rather say that Sega didn’t start until it was moved to Tokyo and renamed to Service Games in 1951. However all that expertise in manufacturing slots and jukeboxes during the Standard Games days really gave Sega the boost they needed when they entered the market to manufacture their very first “Amusement Machine” in 1965, Periscope, which the company still prides itself for as it was their first worldwide commerical success.

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SEGA News Bits: Tokyo Game Show 2015 impressions

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This year’s Tokyo Game Show has come to a close and SEGA of Japan showed off plenty of titles at the event. On this SEGA News Bit video me and Barry discuss our impressions of SEGA’s showing, including Atlus games that made the show. Tune in and tell us what you thought about this year’s Tokyo Game Show in the comments.

Like these sorts of videos? Subscribe to us on Youtube and never miss a episode.

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SEGA News Bits: Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice Delay Reaction

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This is the first entry in our new series called ‘SEGA News Bits’, giving you digestible video content laced with our opinions. On this SEGA News Bit, we cover the recent delay of Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice. Let us know what you think of the new Boom series and if you think delaying a game is going to do it good.

If you like it, support us by subscribing to our YouTube channel. Feedback? Opinions? Leave them in the comments!

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16 years and still thinking: Happy September 9th, SEGA Dreamcast fans!

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Another September 9th is upon us, a date that is very important to American SEGA fans. Sixteen years ago today, SEGA released the Dreamcast to the American public. Looking back, it was a bittersweet launch, as it was the last home console to be released by SEGA. Of course, we didn’t know that at the time. Back then, September 9th was nothing but excitement, and there was so much to be excited about! I know I may get some flack for saying this, but the Dreamcast’s American launch lineup stands as the best launch lineup in video game history. Just look at what games were available on day one: Air Force Delta, Blue Stinger, Expendable, Flag to Flag, House of the Dead 2, Hydro Thunder, Monaco Grand Prix, Mortal Kombat Gold, NFL 2K, NFL Blitz 2000, PenPen TriIcelon, Power Stone, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing, Sonic Adventure, SoulCalibur, TNN Motorsports Hardcore Heat, Tokyo Xtreme Racer, TrickStyle. A variety of first and third party titles spanning multiple genres, some returning franchises like Sonic, House of the Dead, and Mortal Kombat and some new ones that would go on to become major successes like SoulCalibur and the 2K series of games.

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Review: Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX (Nintendo 3DS)

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If you read last week’s preview, you’d know that I was feeling quite positive about what I had experienced in playing SEGA’s latest Nintendo 3DS title Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX. Now that I’ve had an additional week, I’ve experienced a bit more of what the game has to offer. Rhythm modes have ramped up the difficulty factor, I’ve been able to experience the game’s StreetPass/SpotPass functions, and it was even a certain vocaloid’s birthday. SO without further ado, let’s turn on the lights, grab a mic, and hit the stage for our review of Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX!

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Why SEGA refusing to localize Phantasy Star Online 2 is a bad sign

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Phantasy Star Online 2
Given that we know the news that SEGA doesn’t have plans on publishing Phantasy Star Online 2 outside of Japan, at least for the Playstation 4 (though the PC and Vita versions have been out for over 3 years, so I assume those aren’t coming either). I stated in my original article that I thought it was a really bad decision and got many people upset while they tried  to debate me on the topic even though I never really stated why I felt it was a bad decision. So, here it is, my article talking about why SEGA West not bringing Phantasy Star Online 2 is just another stupid decision by the company that has had a long history of bad decisions.

I decided that it was time I did a write up about why SEGA West not bringing Phantasy Star Online 2 outside of Japan is bad,  not only for their in-house IP but also for their overall brand.

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Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X officially announced for PSVita and PS4 for 2016

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Here it is folks! SEGA has officially announced Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X for Playstation Vita and Playstation 4! The teaser site for the game still appears to be counting down, but regardless we now know Miku will be back on Sony hardware in 2016.

The trailer takes a look back on the last nine Hatsune Miku Project Diva games, and confirms various musicians involved with the project; as well as our first glimpse at the Playstation Vita version of the game! It’s unknown if there’s a PS4 trailer inbound but we’ll keep our eyes peeled. As for release dates, the Playstation Vita version is planned for March 2016, whilst the Playstation 4 edition is targeting Fall 2016.

It’s certainly a very exciting time to be a Miku fan though, what with Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX also being released on 3DS in a couple of weeks! It’s been stated SEGA will be bringing along a demo of the the game to the Miku Magical Mirai 2015 event, so we may get more information.

Stay tuned for this one folks!

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SEGA Tunes: Jamming out to the Gunstar Heroes OST

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So as most of you guys know we are celebrating ‘The Year of Developers‘, one of the focused developers this month is Treasure and since their cult classic ‘Gunstar Heroes‘ just got a re-release on the Nintendo 3DS we decided to have a look at the games soundtrack. Honestly, most people will be quick to give you hundreds of reasons why you should play the game, but almost none of them will mention the fantastic soundtrack.

Let’s look at some of my favorite tracks and then you can tell me some of your favorite tracks (or tracks you hated) in the comment section.

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Preview: Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX (Nintendo 3DS)

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Hatsune Miku Project Mirai DX

Thanks to an advance review copy, I’ve been having fun with Miku for close to two weeks now. While this is merely a preview and not a full-on review of the game (which will post on September 4th before the game releases), I did want to give some early impressions from the point of view of a Hatsune Miku newbie.

That’s right, despite contributing to SEGA fan sites since Miku made her SEGA debut in 2009, I have not laid hands on a Miku game until I received my download code for Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX. Prior to this, I reported the occasional press release, posted trailers when they hit, and sat on the sidelines while fellow fans either bemoaned the franchise or celebrated it. Up until now, I knew about the vocaloid craze, I knew that that the SEGA developed games were rhythm based, and I loved the Domino’s Japan campaign as evidenced by my earlier reference to it. But outside of that? Miku was a mystery. But not anymore. So now that I’ve finally had a chance to play a Hatsune Miku game, what do I think of it so far and what do I think the average SEGA fan will enjoy? Let’s find out!

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Review: 3D Gunstar Heroes (Nintendo 3DS)

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3DGunstarheroes
Gunstar Heroes is another SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive classic that found massive success and introduced most SEGA fans to Treasure games. The studio was made up of ex-Konami employees and this anime style run and gun shooter really shows that you can make a Japanese looking game work for a Western audience . While the game is fine and dandy on the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive, how is the Nintendo 3DS version? Well, let’s find out.

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Round Table: Can Shenmue 3 live up to the hype?

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Its literally been 14 years since Shenmue 2 made its debut and left many unanswered questions. Over the years the Shenmue fanbase has grown since more and more people have gotten a chance to try the franchise, it has reached some level of mysticism. Having this rabid fanbase, all with individual reasons as to why they like the Shenmue franchise waiting for the next evolutionary step can be daunting to a development team.

Can Ys NET and Yu Suzuki make a game that will live up to the hype? That’s this topic on this week’s Round Table.

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Developer Retrospective: The winning combination of SEGA and Compile

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As summer winds down, we thought it would be the ideal time to shift the focus of our Year of the Developers feature to third party Japanese developers who have worked with SEGA in the past to bring us countless classics. We are, of course, referring to the legendary developers Compile, Treasure and Westone. While these three developers existed on their own outside of SEGA, their collaborations with our favorite company utilizing beloved SEGA home console and arcade hardware went a long way in cementing their statuses as some of the best third party developers of the 80s and 90s.

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