SEGA News

Takashi Iizuka wants to reinvent Sonic for 2012

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Takashi Iizuka says some of the weirdest things. Everyone seems to be excited for Sonic Generations and its getting good reviews. The future looks bright for the Sonic, but Iizuka thinks of Sonic Generations as a book end to modern and classic Sonic. Wants to reinvent him for 2012.

“I would like to make a new standard Sonic, a modern Sonic if you will, in 2012 and beyond. There have been a lot of Sonic titles in the past, and I think, at this point, there’s a pretty good idea of what a Sonic game should be like — a fun, frenetic action game. As I said, I feel the need to surprise the fans in new and innovative ways, but I don’t want to do anything to depart from that style. The color powers in Colors are a good example of that.” – Takashi Iizuka

So are you guys ready for a fresh new Sonic or do you think Sonic Team can further fix modern Sonic to make him better?

[Via: Destructoid]

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Sonic’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Test Flight

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Thanksgiving may be three weeks away, but folks are already at work preparing for the famous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. A cool video surfaced showing the kick-off of the balloon handlers practicing. There are lots of shout outs to Sonic’s 20th anniversary, as well as a fun little “let’s hear it for Sonic!” at the end. This sort of stuff gives me that warm fuzzy feeling last felt in 1993 when Sonic appeared in the parade. Though let’s hope the hedgehog doesn’t pop like he did back then.

[Source: FOX New York]

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New Japanese 3DS trailer confirms Apotos for Sonic Generations

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7D4nmR8ty8&feature=youtu.be

So much for Sonic’s “portable history”.

A new Japanese trailer has launched for the 3DS version of Sonic Generations. In a “blink and you’ll miss it” moment, you can see a quick glimpse of Apotos from Sonic Unleashed. This is the final zone to be revealed and now all zones for 3DS have been shown. Minus Casino Night Zone, they’re all first levels.

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Binary Domain box art looks pretty lame

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Don’t get me wrong, I love how Binary Domain is looking. But if I never heard of Binary Domain and was just going off of box art, I wouldn’t pick this game up. The box art looks way too cheesy.

This is the confirmed cover for both America and Europe. Hopefully SEGA sees their mistake and changes it. What do you guys think? I’m I being a negative Sally?

[Via: Gematsu]

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Puyo Puyo 20th Anniversary gets PSP demo

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Everyone seems to be going crazy today for Sonic Generation, it is out in the US if you didn’t know. But what about the other franchise celebrating 20 years? Puyo Puyo? Sadly we won’t be getting the 20th Anniversary game in the West, but that isn’t going to stop you from at least trying it.

If you log into your Japanese PSN account, you can now download the Puyo Puyo 20th Anniversary demo. You will get to try out four rule sets: Puyo Puyo Sun, Puyo Puyo Fever, Active, and Pair Puyo. Pair Puyo is new and exclusive to this title; it allows you to play 2vs2 with shared lives.

In the end you will always be able to import it. The game is coming out December 15th in Japan for PSP, Wii and 3DS. The full version will have over 20 rule sets to choose from.

[Source: Siliconera]

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Sonic Generations Launch Trailer and a Rant…

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Check out the Sonic Generations launch trailer, not long to wait now!
The game is generally scoring in the 8/10 region, which I think is well deserved.

Of course there is always one isn’t there? This time Tim Turi of Game Informer was the culprit. He took all but 4 minutes out of his life to write four paragraphs and call it a professional review. He gave Sonic Generations 6.75/10, I won’t provide a link to the ‘review’ because he decided to spoil the ending in it.

His reason for giving the game a mediocre rating? Apparently all post Dreamcast era levels ruin the game for him! Yep, somehow the aesthetic alone or perhaps simply knowing they are from post Dreamcast era has made the level design terrible. I suspect that Tim didn’t get the memo that they aren’t actually the SAME levels, they simply share the same aesthetic as the original levels.

GETTA LOADA THIS:
“Why would Sega pass up full level tributes to Sonic 3 or Sonic CD in favor of a remixed version of a stage from Sonic Colors, which released only a year ago?”
Game Informer.

I’m actually convinced that some critics wouldn’t know what made a good Sonic game if it hit them in the face. Was the concept of celebrating 20 years of Sonic lost on this guy? And why pick Planet Wisp of all levels to take out his misguided anger on? One of the best Sonic Levels in recent memory… There used to be something very wrong with Sonic games, now there is something wrong with videogame critics. I can’t believe they get paid for this shit- what a Joke.

In contrast, GameTrailers’ review was fantastic, it not only highlighted the best parts of the game, it mentioned the real issues too and does so in a truly professional manor. My hat is off to you GameTrailers!

You can see it HERE

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Shinobi 3DS – 12 Minutes of Gameplay

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I’m still not convinced that this is the way I wanted Shinobi to return, considering how great Shinobi could be on a HD console. Still I am glad that it has returned! Whilst there are some design choices that I’m not a fan of (namely the combo scores that pop-up all over the screen instead of tidily in the corner) I think they’ve gotten a lot of things right and have captured a lot of what made Shinobi 3 such an awesome game.

Then there’s those graphics…

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Project “HELL YEAH!” (ARKEDO + SEGA)

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Today ARKEDO and Sega have announced a project together, the project is called Project “Hell Yeah!” and that’s about all we know about the game.

On THEIR BLOG they give away a little bit of information, the first morsel comes in the form of three pictures, the first is above the second two you will see when you hit the jump. One of them says ‘MONSTERS …Lots of them.’ the other asks if you have seen ‘this dead rabbit’.

If you’ve never heard of ARKEDO here is some info from Wikipedia:

“Arkedo Studio is a French independent videogame developer, founded in 2006 by Camille Guermonprez and Aurélien Régard. The company released their first game, Nervous Brickdown for the Nintendo DS, in 2007. They followed that game with 2009’s Big Bang Mini—also for DS, and then later OMG: Our Manic Game for Windows Mobil. The company’s founding goal was to be “as small as possible”, while still creating “‘real’ games – in boxes, with a manual”. The company’s owners have sought to retain the rights to their intellectual properties; as of January 2010, they continue to hold them all.”

Hit the jump for the first blog post and two more pictures:

Continue Reading ➜

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Nagoshi shares some new details about Yakuza 5

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Nagoshi had  another live event, one which he likes to call “”Nagonama”. This time around he answered some personal questions, along with giving a few new details about the upcoming Yakuza 5.

  • Yakuza 5 will take place in Kamurocho, but there will also be a second city added to the mix. Right now they are considering Sapporo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka.
  • Nagoshi refused to confirm if the game will have multi-heroes or single hero.
  • No idea if there will be hostess additions for this game like the past couple installments.
  • Nagoshi says it’s unthinkable  having a Yakuza game without Kazuma. He says he is like the Mario character of the series.
  • Nagoshi has stated he wants to make a prequel, like “chapter zero” detailing the past of the Tojo Clan.
As for personal questions, he has stated his favorite vegetable is tomatoes, his favorite candy is gummy and he sleeps with his cat (like actual sleeping, no perverted stuff). Also he says that he used to play in a band in college and is pretty confident in his singing voice. Sounds good. 
[Source: AndriaSang]

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Rhythm Thief – New Trailer

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This new trailer highlights some of the wacky rhythm based mini games you’ll be playing in Rhythm Thief. These include striking poses to hide from security guards, playing football in the streets of London and biting arses- as a dog.

Rhythm Heaven is exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS and is described as a blend of Professor Layton art and storytelling with the game play of Elite Beat Agents, sounds brilliant!

[Thanks SuzukiYu]

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New Speed Highway Screens Go Up and Down and All Around

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Six days to go until Sonic Generations arrives! In the meantime, enjoy these new screens of the rarely seen Speed Highway while your digital copy of Daytona USA downloads. The screens come courtesy of Famitsu, and show not only the remade Sonic Adventure stage, but also the Sonic and Shadow race plus more screens on the 3DS stage Radical Highway. You’ll note that the above screen seems to be taking place at dawn. Could that mean… at dawn concludes the stage? Also, nearly every Speed Highway screen features a fan service sign somewhere in the background. One screen in particular, you’ll know it when you see it, name drops just about every Sonic character in a cluster of road signs. Pretty funny stuff.

UPDATE: See high res versions of the screens here.

[Source: Famitsu]

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Sonic Generations Early Reviews and More!

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With the release just a week away, early reviews are beginning to roll in for Sonic Generations. Thanks to members of Sonic Stadium’s forums, reviews are being compiled and new details from the game are being revealed. Before we get to the reviews, I thought this was an interesting tidbit: Iizuka revealed at Paris Games Week that the original Sonic the Hedgehog will be an unlockable in Generations. As long as the emulation is perfect, I’m all for adding a ninth copy of the game to my collection.

As for early reviews, the Germans have gotten their hands on the finished game. Videogameszone.de rated the game an 85/100 while the magazine 360 Live rated the game a similar 8.5/10. Very respectable scores! After the break, details from the two reviews.

Continue Reading ➜

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Daytona USA being ported by the team behind After Burner and Virtua On

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SEGA has revealed that the same team that ported Virtua Fighter 5, Virtual On Oratorio Tangram, After Burner Climax and Virtual On Force will be porting Daytona USA to XBLA and PSN. I think it has been stated around here and other places that AM2 were behind the ports, but it seems this is not 100% true. According to producer Toru Murayama, the team is being called “AM Port Team”. Sounds good to me!

The blog post that the producer posted says they want to keep the same atmosphere and controls of the original. Even though the game will keep the same 3D models, they changed the rest of the visuals to be enhanced for HD.

[Source: AndriaSang]

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