That time of year is upon us once again – Summer of Sonic, the Sonic the Hedgehog fan convention in the UK, held its 6th show this weekend just gone; back in London again following a brief visit to Brighton last year. This year the event boasted as guests Takashi Iizuka, Jun Senoue, and Kazuyuki Hoshino; with a playable build of the upcoming new title Sonic Lost World available. So let’s dive in, shall we?
Its no doubt that I loved Binary Domain when it was released last year. Don’t believe me? Check out our review. So for this episode of Sequel Saturday, we will talk about what we would want to see changed in Binary Domain 2, if there ever happens to be one in the future.
Its crazy knowing that filtering your content can do so much good for your company, especially SEGA’s recent financial results for the first quarter of its 2014 fiscal year. SEGA-Sammy’s operating income for the quarter ended on June 30th and totaled 16.1 billion yen ($163.85 million), 197.7 percent higher than the same time last year. Net income came in at a (for SEGA-Sammy) staggering 12.9 billion yen ($131.6 million), which is a 408.8 percent increase year-over-year.
SEGA-Sammy totally improved their consumer business segment, which includes those video games you loved published by SEGA and its Japanese pachislot/pachinko machine division. Panchislot/pachinko branch of the company saw a increase of revenue of 138.5%, totaling 18.7 billion yen ($190.2 million).
According to SEGA-Sammy’s press release, their latest RTS game (which they got by buying the team/their franchises from THQ for 26 million) Company of Heroes 2 sold a staggering 380,000 copies. I know most of you will see this and say it isn’t over a million units so it is a failure, but you have to know that this report is from June 30th, the game launched on June 25th. The only other major SEGA retail title outside of Company of Heroes 2, was the Playstation Portable Japan only title 7th Dragon 2020-2. SEGA’s publishing side saw a year-over-year decrease of 9.7 percent, selling 1.21 million units.
SEGA also reported favorable performance of their digital games on Windows PC, Playstation Vita and mobile devices. SEGA-Sammy state that Phantasy Star Online 2 (Japan only for now) helped bring the operating income of the consumer division up to 39 million yen (approximately $396,000).
It should be a good year for SEGA with Total War: Rome II, Football Manager 2014 and Sonic Lost Worlds around the corner.
Quick recap: a few weeks back I paid a visit to SEGA of America’s headquarters. In part 1, we explored the area where the offices are located, entered the office building lobby, got on an elevator, and entered SEGA’s lobby. In part 2, we’re going to explore the SEGA office lobby, taking a look at all the cool bits of SEGA history on display! Join me, as I venture inside SEGA of America.
I’ve always thought of SEGA as the video game company of the summer. Many of their most memorable games start off in bright and sunny tropical paradises with endless blue skies. Stuff like Daytona USA, After Burner, Out Run, NiGHTS into Dreams, Sonic the Hedgehog and Ristar invoke the spirit of summer like few other games do.
I’ll be featuring a few of “songs of the summer” over the next month or so. Hope you enjoy them! Figured I’d start with something I’ve wanted to put up for a little while: Knuckles Chaotix’s “Door into Summer”. It not only has an appropriate name, but also has a nice, memorable tune.
Here I am (tall, fat and handsome) with Sam Mullen, localization producer on Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F. The surprise hit at the Sega Arcade during San Diego Comic con last week. Despite a demo being readily available on PS3, there always was a big crowd for this game. Sometimes as big as Sonic Lost World (or more)! I ask some of the questions fans have been wanting to know. Will all the songs be included? What about DLC? Watch and find out.
Panzer Dragoon Saga. So much has already been said in regards to Yukio Futatsugi’s swan song for Sega’s then underrated Saturn console. It’s received unanimous praise from gamers and critics alike, and has become a highly sought after collector’s item since its release….
Expectations were exceedingly high throughout the course of Panzer Dragoon Saga’s 2 year development. Not only would it expand on the franchises mythology, but it would be the first – and, as of this writing, last – role-playing game in the series. Players would be free to explore this incredible universe by air and on foot. This series, much like the dragon itself, evolved.
Sadly, it fell on some dark days. Saturn was on its way out in North America, which resulted in Saga receiving a limited run of only 30,000 copies. Considering there were over 2 million units sold in the United States, Saga was spread pretty thin. Used copies have been known to fetch well over $500 dollars on Amazon and eBay. Just think, that’s the suggested retail price of an Xbox One.
Now, 15 years later, I’m finally going to review it. Like this video? Subscribe to the SEGAbits YouTube channel!
Sooo. No one wanted to comment on my preview I wrote days ago when Alex and I were one of the first to see Frozen Factory behind closed doors eh? HMMMPH! Fine! “Grumble, grumble”. Gamespot has footage of most of the level now for everyone to see. Now you can all see the new level I was talking about that no one wanted to comment on. Yay. Comment or don’t. “SNIFF!” See if I care! “Goes crying in the corner.”
Sonic “Sniff!” Lost “Sniff!” World “Sniff!” Will be out October 22nd in the U.S. “BAAAAWWW!
Sega is in full force this week at their Sega Arcade across the street from the San Diego Comic Con. Fans are lining up to play the latest, upcoming Sega titles. Hatsune Miku is drawing a surprisingly huge crowd. Of course, there is no bigger Sega icon than Sonic the Hedgehog and he was there in full force. There’s a giant statue of him in front of the arcade that can’t be missed, a normal-sized statue for taking pictures with and the main Hedgehog himself posing with fans. You can even get a Sonic chili dog out front!
But of course, the biggest attraction for Sonic fans is Sonic Lost World. The E3 demo is available to the public for the first time and folks playing seem delighted. However, Alex and I got a special treat as Aaron Webber came by to show us a “behind closed doors” demo with a brand new level, “Frozen Factory” which… is once again another fake out level name and it is neither frozen, nor a factory. Well, it might be a factory come to think of it. Keep reading for more details on the level and what improvements have been made to the original demo.
The San Diego Comic Con is here and Sega’s back once again with the Sega arcade. Everyone’s invited weather your going to the Con this year or just visiting the city. They got a DJ playing along with several games to try including Rome: Total War II, Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F, Castle of Illusion and Sonic Lost World. Here’s your first look inside.
On the list of awesome opportunities that have presented themselves as a result of me becoming a SEGA fan site writer, a visit to SEGA’s San Francisco offices has taken a firm hold of the number one slot. I had already planned to take a trip to California starting in Los Angeles, heading northward via the coastal highway, and ending the San Francisco. When it came to San Fran, SEGA’s offices were at the top of the list of places to check out. At most, I figured I’d pose in front of the building, but given our connections with the SEGA community managers I went out on a limb and reached out. After a short correspondence, a date and time was set and I was in. I was going to visit SEGA’s American HQ! Through the powers of words and photos, come along with me as we step inside SEGA.
This would have been up a week sooner, but I was having problems with the video editor. Yes, it’s Power Stone! The Capcom fighting game so synonymous with the Dreamcast that people tend to think it’s a Sega game. One of the best local multiplayer games that even amateurs can get into. I’m afraid with my busy schedule, I may need to make this a bi-weekly show instead of weekly. Hope you guys don’t mind.
I got something really unique for next week. I will say it’s a bit “Wak”.
This post has been a long time coming. I’ve been trying to get around to writing this for a while, but things seemed to keep getting in the way. But not today! I’ve got a few announcements regarding this contest that will hopefully give everyone more of a reason to participate.
First of all, I am pleased to announce that we’ve added some additional prizes to the contest. The grand prize winner will now also receive:
- The Eyes of Bayonetta artbook and DVD combo
- The Jet Set Radio Future soundtrack.
- Two rare, E3 exclusive Castle of Illusion pins
- A rare, E3 exclusive Castle of Illusion lanyard.
These prizes will be in addition to the Valkyria Chronicles Design Archive, the Jet Set Radio soundtrack, a free SEGAbits t-shirt, rare sets of pins for both Jet Set Radio and Valkyria Chronicles 2, and a free commission from Sonic comic artist Tracy Yardley! Four runner ups will also be receiving the new Castle of Illusion pins, in addition to the Valkyria Chronicles and Jet Set Radio pins.
Finally, I would also like to announce that we are extending the length of the contest to August 10th, due to how long it took me to announce these new prizes. If you have never heard of this contest, check below so that I can tell you all about it!
My Life with SEGA returns this week with a review of the acclaimed SEGA Saturn game, Panzer Dragoon. Probably one of my favorite franchises in SEGA’s huge catalog of unique IPs, this week you get to see A.J. give you his take on the game.
Make sure if you want more videos from My Life from SEGA and others, to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Its groovy, I swear.