UPDATED Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed gets a release date and a new trailer

UPDATE: A US trailer has been released, revealing a US release date of November 20th, 2012. Also, we have package art for the 360, PS3, 3DS and Vita after the break.

With Comic Con comes many announcements, and not just ones pertaining to comic books. SEGA has officially announced a release date for Sonic & All-Stars Racing Trasformed, at least for the UK: November 16th, 2012. I’d guess that this means the US release date will either fall on November 13th or November 20th. Ah yes, and that lovely trailer. No real new reveals, though it does show off a bit more of the CG intro and features Sonic and friends plus Joe Musashi, Gilius Thunderhead, Vyse and other already revealed SEGA all-stars. I do like how the Panzer Dragoon track is the setting for the intro. Enjoy the trailers and mark your calendars!

Mordecai and Rigby bring their Master System to Comic Con

Today was Preview Night for the San Diego Comic Con, and I made sure to make the most of it! While I was walking from the Archie booth to the SEGA Arcade across the street to check out SEGA’s Comic Con offerings, I came upon something surprising: a photo shoot starring the Mordecai and Rigby of Regular Show! Then I spotted a television, and then a couch between the throngs of people taking pictures, and I knew what else had to be there: a Master System!

The Master System has long been a part of Regular Show, gaining the show quite a following among some of the people here at SEGAbits. It’s good to see it wasn’t forgotten in the Comic Con photoshoot! I am pretty sure it’s a prop though, and not an actual system. I’m sure some SEGA fans with more energy then me will be able to tell. Still really cool reference to an often overlooked SEGA system!

I later took several pictures of the SEGA Arcade booth across the street at 200 Harbor Drive, Suit 120. You can see them after the jump. Unfortunately, my camera died before I could take the last few pics, so expect more tomorrow. I’ll also be keeping an eye out for cosplayers. Hint hint!

More Sonic & Mega Man crossover art – Knuckles and Shadow meet their rivals

Archie Comics has released more promotional art for their 2013 Sonic & Mega Man crossover event. This time they’re showing off Sonic’s rivals who, in turn, have their own rivals. Looks like Knuckles will be meeting Mega Man’s rival Proto Man, while Shadow will meet Bass. I gotta say, these team ups really work well! Far better than a Mario crossover, in my opinion. So who is next? While, I’d imagine Tails will be paired with Doctor Light and I’d love to see Amy Rose paired with Tron Bonne. I could even see more obscure Archie Sonic characters, like Sonic’s dog Muttski, paired with Mega Man’s dog Rush. After the break, check out Shadow and Bass as well as a larger image of the Sonic & Mega Man logo.

First PSO2 Update Trailer & Info

The first major update to PSO2 titled ‘Wake Up Big Machines: Update Number 1’ is already close to release! Update Number 1 will include ‘The Underground Mine’ a new adventure field, clothes, new enemies, two new bosses, new quests, interrupt events and client orders and will release on July 18th.

Personally I hope all of this content is already included in the default English release of PSO2. That way the base game has more content from day one and we won’t already be months behind the Japanese.

Make sure to check out that trailer, it’s awesome!

Sega Registers New Trademarks


Sega have recently registered the following trademarks
-Rusty Hearts
-Border Break Union
-Deko Boko Chibi Kart
-Lop It
-Yume, Kanaeshimono

Border Break Union appears to be a new version of Segas hit Arcade game Border Break and Yume, Kanaeshimono is the sub-name of Yakuza 5. As for the others, we’ll just have to wait and see. If I was to hazard a guess I would say Lop It and Deko Boko Chibi Kart sound like Arcade games whilst Rusty Hearts sounds more like a JRPG.

SEGA Officially Announces US & EU Release of Phantasy Star Online 2 in 2013

I’m very happy to report that Sega has finally announced Phantasy Star Online 2 will be released in Europe and North America. I’m sure we all suspected it was only a matter of time but it’s always nice to know it’s official. 2013 though? That seems like a long, long way away. Then again I’ve waited over a decade for a true sequal to PSO I suppose I can wait another six months.

I only hope that by the time it releases in the west it has all of the updates the Japanese version will have received in the meantime and all available from the start. I really hope there isn’t a repeat of Phantasy Star Universe where the Japanese were always far ahead when it came to updates.

Hit the jump for the press release.

NiGHTS announced as racer and track in Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed UPDATE: Video link added

Update: Watch the Summer of Sonic video here, footage begins at 1:17:40, there is also a Q&A with Sumo Digital at 0:27:30

Update 2: DiGi Valentine tells us on Twitter that the race track areas seen in the video are: Spring Valley, Gilwings Lair and Wizeman’s boss arena.

Summer of Sonic is in full swing, and Steve Lycett of Sumo Digital took the main stage to talk about Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed. The big reveal of Steve’s presentation was that NiGHTS will feature in the game as both a racer and a track. Sonic Wrecks tweeted a few details, stating that the game will have both NiGHTS and Reala, NiGHTS rival, as racers driven by a Pian (those little chubby angels). No word yet on which NiGHTS game will feature, but I’m guessing the original as it is far more popular and is rereleasing this year. Also no word on if the NiGHTS and Reala racers take up two roster slots or if they’ll be considered alternate skins of the same racer. When we hear more, we’ll share it here. This is great news for NiGHTS fans! Details after the break.

Fans unhappy about lack of female characters in Colonial Marines multiplayer

It seems that many are unhappy about the character creation system in Aliens: Colonial Marines’ multiplayer mode, specifically, in its lack of female options. It’s a strange thing indeed, especially given the importance females have played in the Alien films: according to Gearbox, however, though your multiplayer character will be customizable, you’ll only have the option to create a male.

A petition written by Aliens fan and female video gamer Melissa K has received close to 2,000 signatures since early June and can be viewed after the break. In it, she affirms her support for Gearbox Software, and specifies that their position is not one of outrage, but of something that they feel is a core part of the Aliens franchise and should be addressed.

What do you think? Should Gearbox change the multiplayer (even if it means delaying the game yet again) to allow for female characters, or is their (confirmed) presence in the game’s single-player enough? Leave your comments below and Continue Reading to check out the petition.

“NiGHTS into dreams…” to receive an HD rerelease

Seems SEGA’s NiGHTS tease wasn’t All-Stars related after all. It is actually something much, much better: an HD rerelease of the SEGA Saturn classic “NiGHTS into dreams…”! NiGHTS fans have asked for this for years, and they’re finally getting it. The SEGA blog lists the following features:

  • Xbox LIVE Arcade, PlayStation Network, and Windows PC Digital Download this fall
  • Improved HD graphics and a 16:9 aspect ratio
  • Added support for leaderboards, trophies, and achievements
  • An optional Saturn Mode that will let players experience the game with the original graphics intact.

So, who is excited? It’s about time NiGHTS got some love from SEGA, and this rerelease is the perfect gift for fans of the franchise.

SEGA Japan opens up new subsidiary, SEGA Networks

There are a lot of people worried with the new SEGA restructuring, they just announced that SEGA Europe & Australia will be distributing their games via a different company, had tons of fired employees. Now SEGA Japan has opened the doors to a new subsidiary, SEGA Networks.

SEGA Networks is going to be SEGA’s high-end game developer that will deliver games for smartphones and tablets. This falls right in place with SEGA’s plan on releasing more digital titles. How does this make you guys feel? Is lower budget, less risk taking digital titles better for SEGA? SEGA Networks CEO is Haruki Satomi and will be based in Tokyo’s Shinagawa Ward. The company will start with 211 employees.

Renegade Ops free this week for Playstation Plus users

Sony’s Playstation Plus service barely turned a year old last month and the selection of free games have just gotten better. Like check this out, this week you can download Renegade Ops, Gotham City Impostors and Pacman DX for free. The important game here is Renegade Ops. Enjoy the game, we did.

SEGA teases new All-Stars Racing track – Stick Canyon from NiGHTS into Dreams?

Update: It appears this particular image has long existed, as it shows up on a few NiGHTS fan sites. I assume it is a CG render from when the game released, or when it received a PS2 rerelease. So this is not an in-game screenshot. However, that does not discount the possibility that a NiGHTS track or racer will soon be revealed.

SEGA has updated their Facebook page with an untitled image of a desert that is half sand, half metal with cacti and nuts and bolts. Given that Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed is SEGA’s big game this year, and that Comic Con is approaching, could SEGA be teasing a reveal of a NiGHTS into Dreams track along with NiGHTS as a racer? It could very well be. In the meantime, I’ll slap the ol’ “rumor” tag on this one just to play it safe, but I’m pretty confident that it is Stick Canyon from the Saturn’s NiGHTS into Dreams. After the break, a comparison video of the original stage.