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SEGA News Bits: Shenmue III Delayed Until 2019

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Unsurprisingly, the next chapter in Ryo Hazuki’s Saga, Shenmue III has been delayed. On this episode of the SEGA News Bits, Barry and George discuss why it was delayed, our thoughts on the delay and ramble on about features that Shenmue III should try to include. Like always, our videos are just our thoughts and we would love to hear what you think regarding the delay in the comments below!

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Shenmue III delayed to 2019

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What should come as a surprise to nobody, publisher Deep Silver has announced that Shenmue III will be releasing in 2019, moving the release date from an unspecified 2018 date to next year. Deep Silver said in their statement, “The extra time will be used to polish the quality of the game even further, to the high standards it deserves and release the product in the best possible timeframe”. Yu Suzuki added “To all of our backers, we are very sorry for the delay. After much discussion with our partners, Deep Silver, we have concluded that extending the release will allow us to deliver Shenmue III at its best. We promise to use this time to improve the quality of Shenmue III. We cannot thank you enough for your enduring support.”

The extra time, in my opinion, is good news. From what little we saw of the game thus far it is clear that they do not have a game ready for a release in the next 7 months. To be honest, I was surprised the Kickstarter gave a December 2017 release date given the Kickstarter campaign was only announced in the summer of 2015. With development truly underway in 2016, a three year timeframe makes much more sense.

It also helps that SEGA is rereleasing Shenmue I and Shenmue II later this year, giving gamers a year to purchase and play both titles before the release of the third game.

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Persona 5 has shipped over 2.2 million units world wide

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Atlus/SEGA have put out their latest financial reports stating that they have shipped more than 2 million units of their highly acclaimed JRPG Persona 5 world wide. If you didn’t know, the game has been a massive success for Atlus/SEGA, selling more than five times that of Persona 4 in the USA. We also know this November the game broke its 2 million milestone, meaning that since November 2017 the game has shipped an additional 200,000 units.

The way that Atlus seems to do their Persona titles, don’t be shocked if they announce a re-release with extra content on it and manage to outsell this version of the game. Maybe Persona 5: Crimson on Switch? Regardless, its most likely going to happen. If SEGA and Atlus really wanted to sell a ton, they would make the re-release available on all major platforms.

[Source: Gematsu]

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New IP from Ryu ga Gotoku Studio, the Yakuza studio, in development

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SEGA has released their 2018 performance summary, which falls under the “Road to 2020” initiative, and among the information contained within is a confirmation that Ryu ga Gotoku Studio, the creators of Yakuza, are working on an “unannounced new title” which falls under the New IP section. For comparison, other New IP in this section include Kotodaman and 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim – the former being a smartphone game and the latter being a console game.

Longtime Ryu ga Gotoku Studio fans might remember their previous attempt at a new original IP, Binary Domain. Binary Domain wasn’t the success Ryu ga Gotoku Studio had hoped it would be (in my opinion, part of the blame falls on SEGA badly marketing it in the west), but it is great to see that the studio is hard at work on another new IP.

Remember, it took Sonic Team a few attempts at original non-Sonic IPs before they found success, so here’s hoping Ryu ga Gotoku Studio’s next attempt is a success!

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Fan created ‘Super Mario 64 Online’ returns, adds Sonic & Knuckles as playable characters

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Back last year there was a mod for Super Mario 64 that made a splash online. This mod was called Super Mario 64 Online by Kaze Emanuar and would allow up to 24 players to play the Nintendo 64 classic at the same time. The mod gained massive popularity online and of course it was only a matter of time before Nintendo struck this project down. They started by taking down the creator’s Patreon account.

Now, after eight months of silence, Mario 64 Online has returned with the new, less exciting name of ‘Net64 2.0‘, being a very similar project with new additions. One of those additions is the inclusion of SEGA’s popular Sonic & Knuckles.

This isn’t just some ‘skin’ on Mario, the characters have actually been changed. If you look at the video above, they break down the changes made to Sonic & Knuckles. Start at 1:36 for Sonic and Knuckles at 2:00. What do you guys think?

[Via: Nintendo Life]

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New Sakura Wars Game out before March 31, 2019

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If you have been waiting since 2005 for a brand new Sakura Wars game, you might not have to wait much longer. According to SEGA’s the latest financial statement, the new Sakura Wars game should be out before March 31, 2019.

The New Sakura Wars game is listed with other titles that are suppose to release as packaged goods including: Yakuza 6: The Song of LIfe, Shenmue I & II and “New Sakura Wars (working title)”. As far as what the new Sakura Wars will be, it is not known. We do know that Sakura Wars V or Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love featured a brand new cast of characters and a new setting.

I guess we will find out more about the game very soon, expect more information in September during the Tokyo Game Show.

[Via: SIliconera]

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The Top 10 SEGA Genesis Classics Games

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In 2017 we announced the Top 100 SEGA Games, as decided by the SEGAbits staff, readers and social media followers. With the upcoming SEGA Genesis Classics collection for Playstation 4 and Xbox One, releasing May 29, we thought it would be fun to use the data collected for the Top 100 SEGA Games and see what the top 10 most popular games in the SEGA Genesis Classics are. After the break, check out the list and in the comments below let us know your favorite Genesis/Mega Drive games!

Continue Reading ➜

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Yakuza series producer: “In my personal opinion, Kiryu is a virgin”

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Thanks to a series of translated interviews with Yakuza series directors and producers, specifically one with Masayoshi Yokoyama, we learned that in Yokoyama’s personal opinion the series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu is probably a virgin. Yokoyama has long been involved in the Yakuza series, being in charge of script, sound direction and stage direction for all the numbered games as well as Kenzan and Ishin, and has been a producer since Yakuza 5.

The translated interview, which can be read in full here, touches on Yokoyama’s approach to the characters and the inspirations he takes in portraying them. When it comes to Kazuma, Yokoyama mentions that Kazuma is probably a virgin. While this is just his own opinion and is not official in any way, the notion went a long way in the development of the character. Yokoyama also cited that this what if scenario is a fun discussion one could have at a bar between friends who are fans of the Yakuza series. [WARNING: Yakuza 1 spoilers!]

Continue Reading ➜

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New OverClocked ReMix album VROOM: Sega Racing releases, celebrating SEGA racing game music

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VROOM: Sega Racing is the latest OverClocked ReMix album, which celebrates the music of SEGA’s arcade and console games. The free to download album features 11 tracks from 14 artists featuring new remixes and arrangements from games which include Daytona USA, SEGA Rally Championship, Indy 500, OutRun, NASCAR Arcade, Metropolis Street Racer and Virtua Racing Deluxe. As with previous OverClocked ReMix releases, the album is completely unofficial.

Download and listen for yourself here!

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Gucci reveals ugly overly expensive SEGA inspired(?) sneakers

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Yeah, it’s a slow news day. Set to release in July are a pair of Gucci sneakers that bizarrely use the SEGA logo lettering for the Gucci name. With prices starting at $1430 and up, you’re sure to be the envy of nobody when you walk into a room wearing these ugly things. Covered by the website Geek.com, it is noted that the shoes take some “some not-so-subtle nods to the game Bejeweled“. Which would make sense if SEGA developed or published Bejeweled, which they don’t.

Even stranger, the official Gucci instagram account makes note that the SEGA font is used with permission of SEGA Holdings Co., Ltd. However, as we’ve pointed out before, it is more likely Gucci is using the fan made font NiseSEGA which makes it clear on the download page that these fonts cannot be used for business. Of course, that didn’t stop Mr. Robot from using the fan made font. It’s a shame that when illustrated fan art is misused, people raise hell – but when fan art in the form of fonts is misused nobody bats an eye.

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CNBC interviews Sega Sammy Holdings President Haruki Satomi

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Recently CNBC’s Christine Tan sat down with Sega Sammy Holdings President Haruki Satomi to discuss video games, including the flagship series Sonic the Hedgehog, as well as the pachinko business and more. The interview was held as part of the CNBC show Managing Asia and is available in full as a transcript and offers a revealing look at Satomi’s thoughts on the company and his family’s legacy. Most amusingly, Satomi reveals that his favorite games are the Yakuza and Valkyria Chronicles series. Guess we know why they make so many of them now!

Give the interview a read and once the full video is posted online we will be sure to share it!

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SEGA News Bits: Are chao gardens returning to Sonic games?

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The Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter account recently held a poll asking fans what their favorite Sonic game feature was. Among the choices was the chao garden, which ended up winning in a landslide. Given Sonic Forces came and went with a mixed response, it’s interesting that SEGA is now asking such a question. On this SEGA News Bits, we share our thoughts on the original chao gardens, what this poll could mean and what SEGA could do to update them.

If you want to support this type of content, you can check out our Patreon!

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.

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Support SEGAbits, be entered to win a Jet Set Radio hoodie

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Just giving you guys an update on our SEGAbits Patreon,if you want to support our site at any level (lowest being $1), you will automatically be entered to win this awesome Jet Set Radio limited edition hoodie. The hoodie was previously only available as a promotional item for Jet Set Radio HD!. If you donate $5 for the month, you unlock the ability of watching our Patreon exclusive web show “SEGA News Bits Extra” which rounds up bits of SEGA news from the week! The winner will be picked at the start of June, hoodie size is large. Winner to be chosen at random.

Click here to support SEGAbits on Patreon!

All the money we get from Patreon will be re-invested into making more quality SEGA content. One thing I want to personally do is get a set up to record various retro game footage directly from hardware so we can do more retrospects and other type of videos on obscure SEGA games (and some takes on popular franchises as well). So, if you’ve enjoyed our free content throughout the years, don’t hesitate in supporting us.

 

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Sonic Twitter launches poll to vote for favorite Sonic game feature, we all vote for Chao Gardens

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The Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter account has launched a new poll asking fans ‘Which was your favorite feature from pas Sonic games?’ with the ability to answer:

  • Time Attack Mode
  • Customizable Character
  • Chao Gardens
  • 2P Competition Mode

Guess what is winning at the moment by a overwhelming margin? Chao Gardens, a feature that hasn’t been in a Sonic the Hedgehog game since Sonic Adventure 2 on Dreamcast (OK, it was in Sonic Chronicles, but does that even count?). Who would have thought that Sonic Team might be a bit out of touch with its fanbase. Who knows what will come out of this poll, hopefully a Chao Gardens return in the next game.

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Data Discs announces Space Harrier vinyl – Get Ready!

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Finally! Data Discs has announced that Space Harrier will be the 16th vinyl in the line of video game music releases. The vinyl will go on sale Saturday and will begin shipping on May 31. The release promises the complete music from the 1985 arcade classic, remastered, as well as a bonus arrangement of the main theme by SEGA’s in-house band S.S.T. Band. Space Harrier is presented as a remastered 180g LP, pressed at 45RPM. Also included are liner notes from composer Hiroshi “Hiro” Kawaguchi and a lithographic print.

A special 3D edition of the vinyl will be sold, which will feature a 3D lenticular cover, and 50 random copies will be signed by Hiro.

Space Harrier is available in the following editions:
2 x 180g Translucent light green with purple/green splatter and 3D lenticular cover. STRICTLY LIMITED EDITION (26.99 GBP)
2 x 180g Translucent dark green (19.99 GBP)
2 x 180g Classic Black (19.99 GBP)

You can listen to audio samples here.

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