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New Shining video game is an arcade fighting game, check out the trailer

February 14, 2014 by George

Today SEGA announced the latest entry in the Shining franchise, Blade Arcus from Shining, a 2D arcade fighting game. Tony Taka, the man responsible for most of the franchise’s character designs of the last decade, has returned to design the characters for this game. I’m disappointed by this bit of news, as I don’t care for his work in the franchise.

The game will feature characters from Shining Blade, like Sakuya and Rage, as well as least two new characters. Blade Arcus from Shining is set to come out this summer in Japan.

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Nintendo Direct features new Bayonetta 2 trailer

February 13, 2014 by Barry

Today’s Nintendo Direct was light on SEGA, at least for the West, however we did get a new Bayonetta 2 trailer which features some of the returning secondary characters in their new costumes as well as a new character, a young boy with dreadlocks stuck in Purgatorio with Bayonetta. Boss battles and a sweet surfing scene are shown off as well. All in all, an exciting trailer for the game. The release date is still slated as being later this year, and not much else is revealed beyond that. The Japanese Nintendo Direct revealed the same trailer, as well as Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed and Hero Bank.

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Guilty Gear Xrd Coming to Japanese Arcades February 20th

February 13, 2014 by InTheSky

Arc System Works’ Guilty Gear Xrd website and a recent Dengeki Online posting confirm that Guilty Gear Xrd will be arriving on Japanese arcades on February 20. An earlier rumor suggested that wide arcade release in Japan would not arrive until March, but that can now be put to rest. Check out the above video to see the arcade opening featuring some gameplay in its cel-shaded, 2D-imitation glory.

Guilty Gear Xrd concluded its last round of location tests this past week. PS3 and PS4 releases are currently planned for the game, though there is not much word on a release schedule for the platforms beyond “2014.” Localization of some form for the games has also not been announced, but most every Guilty Gear release, namely the main entries and version updates, have not missed localization, and Arc System Works’ US Twitter account last year took note of a petition to develop a Wii U version, so the fan demand for some localization seems to be recognized.

Guilty Gear Xrd’s arcade version was developed using SEGA’s RingEdge2 arcade system board, and was regularly location tested at SEGA arcades. SEGA will also have a role in publishing the arcade version. SEGA owned the rights to Guilty Gear for a couple of years once SEGA and Sammy merged since Sammy owned the franchise, though now Arc System Works has claimed complete ownership of the IP.

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Typing of the Dead: Overkill ‘Love at First Bite’ Lexicon Pack released today

February 12, 2014 by Barry

In celebration of Valentine’s Day, SEGA has released new DLC for Typing of the Dead: Overkill in the form of the ‘Love at First Bite’ Lexicon Pack. Priced at $2.99/£1.99/€2.49, the pack replaces the usual content with romantically themed words and phrases. Meanwhile, for those who have had enough of Valentine’s Day, on February 13th SEGA will release the free ‘Make War Not Love’ Lexicon Pack, which replaces all the words and phrases with battle cries and “motivational military speak”. So whether you’re in the mood for love, or want to head to battle, SEGA has you covered.

Want to know what we thought of Typing of the Dead: Overkill? Check out the SEGAbits review!

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Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed to release in Japan on May 15th

February 12, 2014 by Barry

Famitsu reports that SEGA has announced a Japanese release date for Sonic & All-Stars Racing Tranformed. The game, which released in the West on November 2012, is due for release on the Wii U and Playstation 3 on May 15th, 2014. While Famitsu’s article does not mention any exclusive characters for the Japanese version, it would be interesting if SEGA included Ryo Hazuki or Hatsune Miku in an attempt to appeal more to Japanese audiences. One interesting bit of information is the mention of Takenobu Mitsuyoshi being “the voice of SEGA”, could the Japanese version be adding an announcer or theme song to the game? We’ll reach out to Sumo for more info on this and the Japanese release of the game. Stay Tuned!

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SEGA in the Charts: MediaCreate charts for Feb 03 – Feb 09 2014

February 12, 2014 by Aki-at

It’s not been long since the last “SEGA in the Charts” posts where I reported the sombre news of SEGA’s rhythm dance title Umetaki 575 failing at retail. This week however we see one of SEGA’s big hitters arrive in the Japanese market, the latest entry into the Puyo Puyo series where SEGA mixes and matches it’s traditional puzzle series with the 80s classic Tetris. Launching on several SKUs (Nintendo 3DS, Wii U and Sony Playstation 3 and Vita) promises to be one of SEGA’s strong sellers this year, hit after the break to find out how well the title did.

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Yakuza Restoration demo hits Japanese PSN on February 13th

February 10, 2014 by George

Playstation 3 users might want to mark February 13th on their calendars as the day you get to try Yakuza Restoration for the first time. The game’s demo will be downloadable and will include mini-games like fishing and going to a singing bar.

The demo will weigh in at 2,410 MB. The game will come out on February 22nd on both Playstation 3 and Playstation 4. No Western release plans have been announced.

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Transformers Mega Drive Megatron is pretty much the coolest toy ever

February 9, 2014 by Barry

Via Tformers comes the reveal of a very cool new Transformers figure: The Mega Drive Megatron. A collaboration between SEGA and Takara Tomy, the figure is, as you would expect from the name, the Decepticon leader Megatron who transforms into a SEGA Mega Drive. This special edition figure was revealed at the Tokyo Toy Show Winter Wonder Festival, and from the photos it is assumed that the figure will act as a USB device based on the end of Megatron’s arm mounted weapon. Once we learn more of this awesome figure, including where you can buy it, we’ll be sure to let you know!

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SEGA Reports 44.3 Billion Yen Growth for 2013, Digital Market Thrives

February 7, 2014 by GeneHF

SEGA Sammy has released their earnings report for 2013, yielding a net profit of ¥44.3 billion, or $434 million, and a 564% increase year over year. The company attributed it to strong Pachinko performance and the sales of investment securities and non-current assets.

On the home electronics side, SEGA’s top three performing titles were Football Manager 14 at 680,000 units, Sonic Lost World for a combined 640,000 units, and the Japan-Only SAKATSUKU Pro Succer Club wo Tsukurou! for 200,000. Despite this, the nine-month period ending on Dec. 31, 2013 in which SEGA tracked numbers returned only 6.5 million total units of games moved, a decrease it attributes to “the harsh market environment.”

It’s not all doom and gloom because the company also found what they call “continued favorable” success on the digital side with Phantasy Star Online 2 and mobile phone titles Puyopuyo!! Quest and CHAIN CHRONICLE as the top runners there. The whole division saw a 19.7% increase year-to-year in net sales to a total of ¥72,934 million.

Keep in mind, back in November, SEGA purchased Atlus-parent company Index for a seemingly paltry ¥14 billion.

The release of the financial data comes hours after SEGA unveiled its plans for a massive spin-off of Sonic The Hedgehog with Sonic Boom.

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‘Sonic Boom the Game’ revealed as third Wii U/3DS Sonic title

February 6, 2014 by Barry

Update: We reached out to SEGA of America over the big question of whether this is a reboot or it’s own thing. Their reply? “Sonic Boom is a new branch of the Sonic universe and does not replace modern Sonic.”

Update 2: The SEGA Blog has posted the official announcement. After the break, check out an image gallery for both the TV show and the game.

Update 3: This is crazy. So way back in March of 2013 a CryEngine 3 demo video was uploaded to YouTube, and the video featured some unnamed environments from Big Red Button. Those environments are actually from Sonic Boom the game! We’ve added the video after the break.

Not only is Sonic Boom the cartoon series landing later this year on Cartoon Network, but SEGA has also revealed today that LA developer Big Red Button Entertainment, a team made up of Ex-Naughty Dog staffers, will be leading the development of a video game adaptation of the series which will be exclusive to the Wii U and 3DS. This makes Sonic Boom the first Western created Sonic cartoon and video game adaptation in over 20 years, the last being Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, as well as Sonic Spinball which featured Sonic SatAM elements as well as characters which were carried over to Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.

Some may be tearing their hair out in the belief that Sonic has been rebooted, Sonic Team are no longer developing the games, and Sonic will forever be Nintendo exclusive. HOWEVER we have yet to hear from SEGA themselves over whether we can expect to see the usual Sonic Team developed “modern Sonic” we’ve come to know continue and be seen as separate from Sonic Boom the cartoon series and game adaptation. Much like the aforementioned Western Sonic cartoons and games being separate from the Japanese developed titles. Once we learn more, we’ll be sure to share it!

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‘Sonic Boom’ TV series character redesigns revealed & teaser trailer released

February 6, 2014 by Nuckles87

Update: After the break, another image of Sonic and the gang as they’ll appear in Sonic Boom the Game, which you can learn more about in this news post.

Update 2: Check out the TV show trailer for Sonic Boom after the break!

It’s been a long time coming, but the new Sonic Boom designs for Sonic and his friends have finally been revealed! At the moment we only have photos of Sonic and Knuckles, but according to Sonic Stadium Tails now has a tool belt.

Sonic Boom is also going to be much larger in scope then initially thought, as it will be more than just a television show. It will also be a toy line from Tomy and a new video game, which will be released on both console and mobile platforms.

Whether or not this is a permanent and franchise wide redesign of the character or something restricted to everything Sonic Boom related is currently unknown, but this is easily the most drastic official redesign of any sort that the franchise has seen to date.

We’ll keep you updated with more news as it happens.

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Big Sonic Event in New York later today

February 6, 2014 by Shigs

Looks like Machinima let the cat out of the bag early and accidentally posted an invitation poster on one of their youtube videos (although I’m not under embargo, I’m not showing it out of respect for Sega). The event promises “2014 will mark a renaissance for Sonic the Hedgehog” and shows a poster of the silhouetted images from the Sonic Boom teaser. It’s also states that Sega will make new announcements and plans for the Sonic brand. From what was shown on the poster, we can already guess it has to deal with Sonic Boom but will new game announcements be involved as well? Also, the use of the word “renaissance” has me a little worried. They wouldn’t be going all out if this wasn’t something really Big.

The presentation will start at 12:30EST and they’ll be interviews after at 1:20.

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First 4 Figures Akira Yuki statue pre-order goes live

February 4, 2014 by Barry

Another First 4 Figures statue in the SEGA All-Stars line, Akira Yuki of Virtua Fighter fame, is now available for pre-order and is priced at $184.99. Teased last week, Akira has been revealed to be limited to 1,000 pieces worldwide and First 4 Figures have said that if you have the first in the series (Ryo Hazuki) and have been authenticated on their website, you will be entitled to receive the same number piece for Akira. First 4 Figures have also shared that the statue will be 11 inches in height and is set to release in the third quarter of 2014.

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RUMOR: Atlus to bring Yakuza 5 to the West! [UPDATE]

February 2, 2014 by Shigs

Update: Barry here. We have a bit of more news regarding this rumor. While EGM says one thing, a NeoGAF member says another. User jschreier shared the following:

I just asked a couple Atlus USA folks and they haven’t heard anything about this. FWIW. Seems pretty unlikely to me – they’re not a big company and they just announced like 4 new Persona games.

Original story: According to the latest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, Q-Mann (that’s their rumor guy) states that Atlus may be currently working on localizing Yakuza 5 to the West. With news of Sega giving Atlus some free reign when it comes to their IP’s and Atlus having a great localization team, this doesn’t seem so far fetched. Am I hyped? Check above the comments section and see.

Continue Reading ➜

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New Sonic the Hedgehog game due in 2015 for Xbox One, Playstation 4, and Wii U

February 1, 2014 by Barry

The toy company Jazwares featured an interesting sign at last week’s Nuremberg toy fair. As reported by The Sonic Stadium, the sign charts the future of the Sonic brand including the reveal that 2015 will see the release of a new Sonic game for the Xbox One, Playstation 4, and Wii U. Little else is revealed, but the lack of Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 may be a sign that Sonic’s days on those platforms have come to an end. Also interesting, no sign of the supposed third exclusive Wii U Sonic title. Either it is still on the way, and has yet to be revealed, or the upcoming 2015 is that third title and the deal with Nintendo has since changed. More on Sonic 2015 adventure as we hear it!

Also detailed is the upcoming CG cartoon series Sonic Boom, however none of the information is new.

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