Sales of Valkyria Chronicles PC Port has “Blown all predictions” say SEGA

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For those worried that the sales for SEGA’s PC port of their classic Valkyria Chronicles may fall short of any sale targets can rest easy. SEGA have confirmed that not only did Valkyria Chronicles meet expectations, it ‘blown all predictions out of the water’ quite the accomplishment for a 6 year old port of a Playstation 3 exclusive. Speaking to MCV, SEGA Europe’s senior VP of commercial publishing John Clark had to say;

“During its first 24 hours on sale, blew all forecasts and predictions out of the water. The award-winning Strategy RPG, originally released in 2008 for PlayStation 3, forced its way to the top of the Steam download charts, beating a host of brand new games to reach number one,”

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the fans for their support in the phenomenal success of this launch. We’re also delighted at the response from the Steam community which indicates that newcomers to the series are finding it as enchanting and engaging as those who have played it before.

A fantastic achievement for all at SEGA, here’s hoping that this could only lead to more future PC ports from the blue skies company.

Phantasy Star Nova is including Valkyria Chronicles 3 outfits

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Seems that SEGA is trying to bring the Valkyria Chronicles series back to life, first with the PC port of the first game (that came out today, by the way) and now this crossover with Phantasy Star Nova.

Phantasy Star Nova gives you the option of using a Valkyria form costume of the character Riela Marcellis. We have covered other collaborations like Resonance of Fate, Star Ocean  and Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth. Phantasy Star Nova will be getting a second demo on November 13th on the Japanese PSN.

What do you guys think of all these Phantasy Star collaborations? Should this continue to be a staple of the series or is it getting out of hand?

Rumor: Sonic Runners is an upcoming mobile game from SEGA Networks

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The Sonic fan community has been abuzz over the rumor that the next Sonic game will be titled Sonic Runners. The rumor began when a member of a message board shared inside info on Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric months before release. While at the time the person’s claims couldn’t be verified, following Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric‘s release, several of the bits of info lined up with what was in the final game. Most notably, information about Metal Sonic and Shadow which detailed not only their addition before SEGA revealed them, but also where and when they appear in the game. The tipster also revealed in-game dialogue, NPC information, and design details – again, all which lined up with the final product. In addition to Sonic Boom leaks, the person also let leak that a working title for an upcoming game titled “Sonic Runners” appeared on a whiteboard.

Today, the rumor has been strengthened by Sonic Stadium discovering that SEGA, specifically SEGA Networks Corporation, has registered and owns the SonicRunners.com domain. SEGA Networks is SEGA of Japan’s developer of high-end games for smartphones and tablets – lead by Haruki Satomi and based in Tokyo’s Shinagawa Ward. The company began with 211 employees and have since released Demon Tribe, Kingdom Conquest II, Go Dance, Rhythm Thief & the Paris Caper, and Super Monkey Ball Bounce. This leads us to believe that Sonic Runners will likely be a Japanese developed title for iOS and Android devices.

As usual, this is a rumor, so take it as a grain of salt until SEGA officially announces something.

SEGA releases launch trailers for Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric and Shattered Crystal

SEGA has released the launch trailers for Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric for the Wii U and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal for the Nintendo 3DS. Both games hit North America and Latin America today and will be in stores in Europe on November 21st. We’ll be sharing our own thoughts on the games soon, and next week expect some behind-the-scenes information on the development of the games. In the meantime, check out the Wii U trailer above and the 3DS trailer after the break!

Crazy Taxi: City Rush quizzes riders at New York Comic-con 2014

If you’re a fan of crazy SEGA PR tactics, keep a close watch on Crazy Taxi: City Rush. Throughout October, wrestler Hulk Hogan guest starred in the mobile game, and that same month real taxis with Crazy Taxi branding invaded New York Comic-con 2014 to take attendees to their destinations for free with a bit of comic book and SEGA trivia along the way. This past week, SEGA released three videos showing off their Crazy Taxi trivia cab. Check out the overview video above, and after the break get a taste of a full ride and outtakes.

Also, don’t forget to give the game a download on your iOS or Android enabled device!

First footage of recently discovered Sonic X-Treme build released

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Brace yourself for this one folks, because it’s pretty big!

Recently, a previously unearthed build of the infamous cancelled Sonic game, Sonic X-Treme for SEGA Saturn, made its way into the hands of AssemblerGames member jollyroger. It was a PC executable, supposedly tying into SEGA’s SEGA PC initiative that took place at the time of X-Treme’s development and saw several Saturn titles ported to PC. This initiative was also intended to help launch nVidia’s first GPU, the NV1, which worked similarly to the Saturn: this build required the NV1, as a result. This led to the interest of our fellow site Sonic Retro; and as one thing has led to another, jollyroger and Sonic Retro members cooljerk and Andrew75 (who has been working on a Sonic X-Treme remake project, Project AXSX in the Sonic GDK engine) have worked together to try and get the code running, with Cooljerk having sent off an NV1 to jollyroger, and Andrew75 testing parts of the code in SEGA Saturn emulators. And lo and behold; they’ve succeeded, in what I can only describe as a superb team effort.

New trailer showcases Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault pre-order content

SEGA and Relic Entertainment have released a new trailer for the upcoming Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault, due out on November 18th for PC. This new trailer details the Fox Company, a pre-order exclusive which adds a fourth company to the game. Check out the trailer above, and below is the accompanying press release:

NEW TRAILER SHOWCASES PRE-ORDER CONTENT FOR COMPANY OF HEROES 2: ARDENNES ASSAULT

For the very first time in the Company of Heroes franchise, players will be able to choose between three different Companies, all with their own unique abilities, to forge their path to glory. Customers who pre-order will gain access to a fourth company, “Fox” Company, led by Captain Monte Durante.

This video details some of the many exciting new options that Fox Company will bring to the game including, their devastating M83 Cluster Bombs, Pinpoint Accurate Artillery and their main weapon, the Fox Company Elite Infantry who will do whatever it takes to get the job done.

Pre-order Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault today to receive Fox Company free of charge and then look forward to the game’s release on November 18, 2014.

Watch SEGA and The Creative Assembly’s cinematic trailer for Total War: ATTILA

Announced in September of this year, SEGA and The Creative Assembly’s Total War: ATTILA is set to invade PCs in 2015. SEGA sent along the following press release to accompany the new trailer:

NEW CINEMATIC TRAILER FOR TOTAL WAR: ATTILA HERALDS THE COMING OF THE APOCALYPSE

“And I saw, and behold a white horse, and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him, and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.” – Revelation 6:2

As the world descends into the mists of the Dark Ages, civilization begins to crumble. Early Christians of Western Europe clamor to repent, stricken by looming omens of a divine apocalypse. In this climate of turmoil, the Eastern Roman Empire stands at a crossroads.

Secure behind the impenetrable walls of Constantinople, there are opportunities for fresh conquest. But with the warlike Visigoths to the North, the heathen Sassanids to the East, and their closest ally to the west stretched thin and tearing itself apart in its greed, is now truly the time to ride out and expand the Empire? And who will rightfully wear the crown?

Total War™: ATTILA is due for release in 2015. To follow The Four Horsemen and see how key themes of these cinematic trailers created using the ATTILA engine are brought to life in gameplay, subscribe to our YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/user/thecreativeassembly

Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal (3DS) Demo now available on eShop

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Earlier last month a demo of Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal was confirmed. Off of the heels of today’s NintendoDirect, NintendoLife reminds us that the demo for Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal is now available to try out. A special 3DS theme based off of Sonic Boom will  apparently also be made available with the demo. According to this NeoGAF thread, the demo comes with eight uses and takes up 944 blocks of space.

Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal for the 3DS and its companion title, Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric for the Wii U, will release in North America on November 11th and in the United Kingdom and Europe on November 21st.

Credit for the image goes to the above-linked NintendoLife article.

“Hi☆sCool! Seha Girls” anime Episode 5 has arrived, Impressions

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Guess what time it? That’s right, it’s Hi☆sCool! Seha Girls time, with a new episode now available on Crunchyroll!

This episode, as with episode 3, sees the girls outside of the game worlds and back in the academy itself. The episode kicks off with Saturn deciding she wants a pet, with Mega Drive chiming in to find her one. Unfortunately, Mega Drive’s selections are somewhat off the mark, as she tries to convince Saturn to get a Mammoth from Space Harrier, or the dog from Shadow Dancer. After Saturn suddenly changes her mind about the whole pet thing, the girls are then called for their next assignment, which is something a little different to the norm.

They’re tasked with creating a new Puyo Puyo title!

SEGA-Sammy’s Q1 2015 financial report detailed and explained

SEGA-Sammy recently announced it’s first half results for the fiscal year and it came with mixed results. Some divisions have beaten expectations so far but the gloomy outlook for the rest of the year has effected the final net income expected by the group. During this period SEGA only released one major title but another up and coming title looks set to outdo their expectations, hit the link to find out what SEGA Sammy have been doing well and what the future holds for the group.

SEGA announces Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown Version B

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It seems that the last major update for Virtua Fighter 5, known as Final Showdown wasn’t so final after all. SEGA has just announced a new update to their 2006 award winning fighting game, Virtua Fighter 5.

Not much is known about what this new update will bring to the game. But one detail we do have is that it isn’t going to support SEGA’s ALL.Net network. That means no more software updates, online multiplayer, no national leaderboards or the ability to save data on the cloud. It sounds like this is finally the ‘final’ update for Virtua Fighter 5, which turns a decade old come 2016.

The new update is set to hit Japanese arcades in March of 2015. Here is hope we get a update for the console versions, right?

SEGA reveals Sonic Boom merchandise plans, including toys and food promotions

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SEGA’s blog has spilled the refried beans of what sort of products and marketing tie-ins fans can expect from the Sonic Boom franchise, and their plans sound quite expansive:

Sonic Boom’s overall broad licensing program will be one of the biggest license initiatives SEGA has undertaken in recent years. SEGA has lined up best-in-class retailers, including Walmart, Target, Toys R Us, JCPenney, Kohl’s and Barnes & Noble, to feature an array of offerings from partners such as Archie Comics, Bioworld, Fifth Sun, Bakery Crafts, Isaac Morris, and Bulls I Toy for brand new Sonic Boom toys, comics, apparel, and novelty. Also joining are Accessory Innovations, Franco, Rubies, Howard Keys, teNeues, and World Tech Toys – covering back-to-school, bedding, costumes, housewares, calendars, and remote control vehicles for North America and Mexico in 2015.

In addition to the toys from Tomy, SEGA has planned a promotion with ICEE featuring branded cups and a Sonic Boom branded version of the classic ICEE Blue Raspberry flavor. In partnership with Del Taco restaurants, SEGA plans “to create a multiplatform campaign with in-restaurant, social media, and radio promotional components in top national markets such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas and Miami.” While not mentioned in SEGA’s blog post, it looks like DelTaco will be giving away toys called Clash Cubes with 48 in total to collect. That’s a lot of tacos!

SEGA’s 3D Classics for the Nintendo 3DS return to the West in 2015! [Updated]

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Via Nintendo Insider comes the awesome news that SEGA’s line of 3D Classics for the Nintendo 3DS are not dead in the West! Set to return in early 2015, fans of SEGA’s classics can expect 3D After Burner II, 3D Fantasy Zone, 3D OutRun, 3D Fantasy Zone II and 3D Thunder Blade to release monthly to Nintendo’s eShop. Each game will be priced at £4.49/€4.99/$5.99.

3D After Burner II will lead the pack, and those who played M2’s previous 3D Classics titles should know that we can expect it and the other titles to kick some serious ass. What is not known at this time is if we can also expect the Master System rereleases of OutRun 3D and Space Harrier 3D to release to the West. Currently these ports are exclusive to the SEGA 3D Classics retail release due later this year in Japan.

Update: Official press release after the break!

Prototype of unreleased SEGA shmup Hammer Away found

So here’s a nice surprise: three people in Portugal have found a prototype of an unreleased shmup by SEGA for the System-18. Meant to be released in 1991, this game never found it’s way in arcades for unknown reasons. So it’s great that we can finally see what the game is like. While the arcade board the game was found on was damaged, the fanatics managed to get it working by putting the chips on a working System-18 prototype.

Not only that, we can soon play it for ourselves. The group has dumped the game’s code into a ROM and MAME is already capable of playing the game. While the ROM isn’t up yet, we likely won’t have to wait long until it can be downloaded. Another video showing the attract mode can be found after the jump.