Eerie abandoned Fukushima SEGA arcade ‘covered in radioactive dust’ explored

I think that abandoned buildings always have some sort of story to tell and it seems a lot of people share my thoughts, including Bob Thissen an urban explorer that has been documenting abandoned buildings in Fukushima. If you didn’t know, Japan had a nuclear disaster back in 2011 when they had a huge earthquake that disturbed a nearby power plant. Over 160,000 people fled the area.

One of the places that Mr. Thissen explored was an abandoned SEGA arcade, which has been basically intact since 2011. No looters seemed to have grabbed any of the machines, Thissen believes it was because they are all covered by radioactive dust. Check out the video and the photos below.

[Via: DailyMail]

SEGA Fes 2019 to host SEGA Saturn’s 25th Anniversary Event with Hiroshi Fujioka as special guest

This month will be an exciting one for every SEGA fan out there as SEGA FES 2019 is only 30 days away from us! To celebrate this year’s event, the SEGA Festival will be hosting a special event dedicated to the SEGA Saturn’s 25th Anniversary and celebrating it’s launch in Japan since the console’s release on September 1994.

The stage presentation will take look back on the history of Sega Saturn 25 years together with those who are deeply involved with the Sega Saturn and people from the industry, including the appearance of Hiroshi Fujioka who portrayed as Segata Sanshiro, a martial artist who commanded people to play Sega Saturn games, for the console’s commercials over the years. 

The stage presentation will be held at SEGA FES 2019 on March 30th at Bersaar Akihabara. We will keep our readers posted on more news regarding SEGA FES 2019 this month. Are you looking forward to this year’s SEGA FES? Let’s us know on the comments below. 

Macaulay Culkin joins ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove! as Executive Producer

The studio behind ToeJam & Earl: Back to the Groove, HumaNature, posted up a press release revealing that Macaulay Culkin is Executive Producer for the game. This seems to have been a secret that the studio has kept close to their sleeve and using it as they near the final stretch towards release. ToeJam & Earl: Back to the Groove releases on Xbox One, PC, PS4, and Nintendo Switch on March 1st!

“I’m honored to be producing the new ToeJam & Earl because it is literally my favorite video game of all time. Plus, Greg Johnson is the tits!” – Macaulay Culkin

You can pick the game up physically via Limited Run Games: PS4 & Switch. Check out the press release by HumaNature studio below:

Historical SEGA Enterprise HQ building to be torn down


Earlier today legendary SEGA game developer Yuji Naka took to Twitter to post a tweet paying his goodbyes to the historical SEGA Enterprise HQ building that will be torn down.

“It’s sad that the former Sega HQ building is going away. I remember making all kinds of games in my 22 years there. It may be on the edge of Tokyo, but it was truly an honor to be able to reach the world from there. It’s too bad. I loved Sega Enterprises.”Yuji Naka (translated by Cheesmeister3k)

Honestly I’m one of those people that don’t think buildings like this should be destroyed and that SEGA’s history in gaming is worth preserving. What’s your opinion? Press F to pay respect.

SEGA Ages: Alex Kidd in Miracle World for Nintendo Switch gets trailer

Alex Kidd in Miracle World was one of the first announced titles for the brand new SEGA Ages line-up on Nintendo Switch and it barely released in Japan today. That means that SEGA has uploaded the Japanese trailer for the game, you can check that out above.

Sadly we don’t know when the game will release on the West, but you can buy SEGA Ages: Alex Kidd in Miracle World from the Japanese E-Shop for 925 yen (around 8.30USD).

Microsoft adds Alien: Isolation to Xbox Game Pass

Microsoft is beefing up their Xbox Game Pass, which is being billed online as a Netflix of games. Which is true, you pay the low monthly fee and have access to a ton of games including Gears of War 4, Forza series and even the newly released Crackdown 3. They are also working on getting older games released on the Xbox Game Pass, this latest update brings Alien: Isolation on the platform.

It should be interesting to see if Xbox Game Pass works out for Microsoft, if you have it and haven’t played Alien: Isolation; get on it!

Shenmue III shows off new Lan Di model


YS Net has updated us on Twitter, revealing the brand new model for Lan Di. We got just the screenshot above. It was also revealed that we will be getting a brand new trailer at MAGIC 2019 in Moncao on March 9th.

If you guys didn’t know, Shenmue III is due to release on PlayStation 4 and PC on August 27th. Yeah, not that long away and we still haven’t seen the game running at close to retail level. I guess we shall see what the new Shenmue III trailer brings…

SEGA News Bits: Junkie XL Scoring Sonic the Hedgehog Movie

Hear that? It’s the sound of Sonic the Hedgehog movie news! We recently learned that composer Junkie XL, of Max Max: Fury Road and Deadpool fame, will be making the music for the Sonic movie. On this News Bits, we discuss the news and whether we think this improves our outlook on the movie or not.

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SEGA AGES Alex Kidd in Miracle World to release on February 21st in Japan

SEGA AGES branding is steadily continuing it’s releases, and this month it’s the Master System/SEGA Mark III classic title Alex Kidd in Miracle World. Titled SEGA AGES Alex Kidd in Miracle World, players take control of the titular Alex Kidd as they travel through 12 levels punching through blocks using his “Shellcore” martial arts and riding weird contraptions such as the Peticopter. What sets Alex Kidd apart from similar games like the Super Mario Bros. titles is the inclusion of item management, where you can find money hidden in blocks and buy items from shops to help Alex on his adventure.

The SEGA AGES version however adds new features into the mix, such as FM sound compatibility, the usage of a previously unused song, and new cutscenes. This version will also include new features for beginners, such as the ability to rewind time by 5 seconds and the option to continue after losing all your lives. It’s officially slated for a February 21st release date in Japan, or next Thursday as of this writing, with the price of ¥925 (roughly $8.50). It’s unknown when SEGA AGES Alex Kidd in Miracle World will receive a release outside of Japan, but the Nintendo Switch is region-free for those that lack patience, so give this Master System classic a try this Thursday if you have the spare yen.

[Source: SEGA AGES Website]

Dutch composer Junkie XL to score Sonic the Hedgehog movie

It looks like the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie by Paramount Pictures has landed a pretty big composer, introducing Tom Holkenborg aka Junkie XL who has composed music on films such as Mad Max: Fury Road, Batman v. Superman, Deadpool, Alita: Battle Angel, and a ton more. He confirmed that he was composing on the Sonic the Hedgehog movie in a recent interview with Film Music Magazine. Pretty funny because Junkie XL actually turned down composing Deadpool 2 because director Tim Miller left, if you ddidn’t know Tim Miller is a producer for the Sonic the Hedgehog film and one of the main people behind the project.

I think its crazy that the film is less than a year away and they barely revealed who is working on the soundtrack. We still haven’t seen what the new Sonic the Hedgehog design is going to look like! Its going to be very interesting few months as they continue to promote this movie. So far its not looking great but who knows, in a few months we might be super excited to see the film. Maybe. What are your thoughts on Junkie XL composing the soundtrack for Sonic the Hedgehog (the movie)?

[Source: Film Music Magazine]

SEGA News Bits: Sonic Mania Developers Open New Game Studio Evening Star

It was recently announced that much of the team behind Sonic Mania have formed their own studio! On this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry run through the staff, talk about what this could mean for the future of the 2D Sonic brand, and what original games we’d like to see.

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If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us: Give us a sub and give this video a thumbs up so it shows up on more like-minded fans YouTube recommendations. You know, how that YouTube algorithm is.

ToeJam and Earl Collector’s Edition Goes Live on Friday

Don’t adjust your dial-up modem! ToeJam and Earl are “Back in the Groove” in their newest title in almost 17 years. With plenty of funky music and smooth gameplay, the duo also comes with a limited Collector’s Edition thanks to the folks of Limited Run. Along with a physical copy of the game (PS4 or Switch) you also get:

– Themed packaging based on the game’s aesthetics
– Map puzzle board (with 25 possible maps)
– 6 enamel pins (ToeJam, Earl, Latisha, Lewanda, 2 mystery bond box earthlings)
– 10 pin stands for setting up your own level
– Environment cutout standees
– Cassette soundtrack + download code of the game
– A cool and funky 18×24 poster

There are up to 6 possible earthling pins with additional blind boxes sold separately.

And for $69.99 that is not a bad deal, considering the game will probably be $30 upon release. The pre-order goes live on Friday February 15, 2019, with Batch 1 @10am and Batch 2 @ 6pm EST. Considering the love and hype around the series, I have no doubt that this game will be a smash hit. But the orders will go quick, so be ready to boogie on over to the website when they go live! For more updates and info, check the Limited Run twitter and website. And congratulations Greg; here’s to you!!!

New Yakuza 0 PC patch removes Denuvo DRM and adds other fixes

SEGA has just released a new (beta) patch for Yakuza 0, this patch removes the controversial Denuvo DRM. The beta patch was posted by SEGA over on the Steam forums where he goes more into on what the patch fixes. Of course this is a beta patch, it might still have bugs, so if you are a regular user you might want to wait for SEGA and other users to test how it runs.

Here are some other highlights:

  • Fix shaders and shadows on skin tone
  • Improved Ultrawide display support
  • Target monitor output for multi monitor setups

It seems that the biggest update will be the removal of Denuvo, which wasn’t confirmed by SEGA’s developers but by a user. It is nice to see SEGA continue to support their PC games with consistent updates. I just wish SEGA would do this more for console games, especially the Sonic the Hedgehog titles which always seem to ship with a lot of issues.

ChuChu Rocket! might be making its return to mobile

ChuChu Rocket! is one of those little oddball titles from SEGA that I feel was a great game that just didn’t get the recognition it deserved. Originally released to the SEGA Dreamcast, the game was puzzle game that could be played in a variety of ways. One style was a Bomberman-style battle between multiple players where cats (KapuKapus) and mice (ChuChus) ran about the screen and the goal was to direct the most ChuChus into your rocket. The other style was a single player experience where KapuKapus and ChuChus released and you had to place arrows into the right places to satisfy the puzzle’s requirements. Players could also create their own puzzles.

The game saw release on the GameBoy Advance as well as a 2010 iOS and Android version. Call it blasphemy, but I always thought the handheld versions were the better way to play, especially on a tablet, as it made a lot more sense to tap the screen to place arrows rather than dragging a cursor with your thumbstick.