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Yakuza 6 charts in pal regions, from obscure Japanese game to chart topper

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I have been a huge fan of the Yakuza series, if you have read this blog in the last 8 years, you will see that I push the franchise quite a bit. Sadly the general public is finally getting addicted tot he franchise, ever since SEGA brought over Yakuza 0. It seems whatever the new team at SEGA is doing to promote Yakuza games, its actually working because against all odds Yakuza 6: The Song of Life has been charting in pal regions.

Seeing the new charts over on ResetEra, Yakuza 6 went from the 3rd best selling game in United Kingdom down to 39th. While its a big drop, its a lot better to chart than to never have charted at all. Over in France, Yakuza 6 is the 5th selling game only being outsold by three different God of War versions (SKUs) and Far Cry 5! The game also came in 3rd in Italy and 7th in Denmark! Sadly didn’t chart in Germany. What’s wrong with them?

Its nice to see that Yakuza 6 is charting in Europe and hopefully we see good sales in America as well. Yakuza 6 in my opinion, is one great game that is worth picking up.

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Takashi Iizuka says Sonic Mania Plus physical release is ‘everything we could do for the Sonic Mania Project’

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Sonic Mania was a hit for the indie developers behind the project which included Christian Whitehead, Stealth from Headcannon and PagodaWest Games. It made a lot of older fans come back to the Sonic the Hedgehog brand with delight and soon we will be getting Sonic Mania Plus with added Ray and Mighty.

One thing a lot of hardcore fans want to know, will we see a sequel to Sonic Mania?

“Maybe the next one will be Sonic Mania’ (Dash) then [laughs]. Jokes aside, with the release of the physical version in Sonic Mania Plus, it feels like we did everything we could for the Sonic Mania project.” – Takashi Iizuka

You can check out the fully translated Famitsu interview over at Siliconera, where he even talks about how Ray and Mighty are ‘sealed’ characters that where never mean’t to be in a future game. Interesting?

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Rare 1987 SEGA arcade game Bullet now playable at Galloping Ghost Arcade

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The largest arcade in the world, Galloping Ghost Arcade in Brookfield, IL, has appeared quite a bit on our news page thanks to their continued efforts to make as many games playable as possible in their ever expanding lineup of machines (at well over 600). Their latest addition is a unique title from SEGA’s arcade past: 1987’s shoot ’em up Bullet. Developed by AM1 and playing similarly to Smash TV, the game is quite rare. According to Galloping Ghost only a few boards are known to exist and the one in their possession is the only one in the United States. The game uses two sticks, one for shooting and one for moving. Aesthetically, the game resembles Alien Syndrome and appears to recycle assets from Golden Axe.

If you want to play the game for yourself, head on over to Galloping Ghost the next time your in the Chicagoland area. If you can’t make it over, stay tuned to SEGAbits as we plan to head over there for an arcade game review. Thanks to Galloping Ghost for reviving this lost game!

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Sonic Mania Adventures Part 2 releases online, co-starring Tails

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The second Sonic Mania Adventures episode has released, this time co-starring Sonic’s longtime friend Tails! Rather than one off episodes, it looks like we’re getting an ongoing story arc. While Metal Sonic doesn’t appear in this episode, we do get a peek at Knuckles and a hint that Eggman is going to fly the Tornado. Check the latest episode out above and share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown to have Side Tourney at EVO 2018

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Calling all Virtua Fighter players in the West Coast or any part of the world. VFDC members will be hosting a Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown Side Tournament at EVO 2018 on August 3rd at the BYOC area inside the Mandalay Bay. The tournament bracket will be set for Double Elimination and if it gets at least 32 entrants, the top 4 finalist will be taken to the side stage from 3PM to 4PM.

The EVO Staff will provide with monitors from their partner GAEMS and we are also welcomed to bring our own monitors and consoles with any version of Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown (PS3, 360). Click the link for more details about the event and how to register for the tournament.

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Space Channel 5 VR coming to America as ‘Kinda Funky News Flash’

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Lots of SEGA Dreamcast fanatics will tell you lots of positive things about Space Channel 5 and Part 2, the games had a cult following of hardcore fans. Sadly SEGA has been quiet on the IP, until they showed off a Space Channel 5 VR demo in 2016 (then dubbed Ukiuki Viewing Show).  In February we talked about how the game was getting a downloadable demo and being renamed Arakata Dancing Show. It seems that the game is getting yet another rename for the West, this time being titled Space Channel 5 VR: Kinda Funky News Flash.

The game will debut at the Los Angeles VR event VRLA, which will have a 15 minute demo on May 5 and 6. Like we covered before, this game is being developed by Grounding Inc, who did Crimson Dragon for Microsoft and headed by a few long time SEGA veterans.

As of right now Space Channel VR Kinda Funky News Flash! has only been confirmed for HTC Vive, we also haven’t gotten a release date and/or pricing on the game. The US site for the game does mention that they will do a VR Arcade Version… whatever that means.

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What is the best 3D Sonic the Hedgehog video game?

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Sonic the Hedgehog launched in glorious 3D back on the Dreamcast (at least officially, there where other attempts prior) and since 1998 it seems that the blue blur has had some trouble really defining what a 3D Sonic the Hedgehog game should be. We have went from the Adventure style games to the boost gameplay that we know now.

But what is the best 3D Sonic the Hedgehog game? 

To me this is hard to answer, like the retro Sonic the Hedgehog games that first came out all had a feel and flow to them, but the 3D ones seem to be all over the place. Even Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 are completely different in tone. For me, it has to be Sonic Adventure and that probably has to do with nostalgia, the fact that I preferred the flow of the game compared to Adventure 2 (letting you pick who you wanted to play instead of forcing you to switch between characters).  Is Sonic Adventure perfect? Nah, but no game is. I will also like to give a special shout out to Sonic Generations, which I enjoyed quite a bit. What about you?

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SEGA considering bringing Yakuza 3, 4 and 5 to PlayStation 4 if there is enough demand

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While I’m glad that the Yakuza series has finally gotten the attention it deserves, its just a bit sad that it happen over a decade after its initial debut on PlayStation 2. Its not surprising that every new fan that has jumped on the series since Yakuza 0 has wanted ports of all the past games for their current generation console of choice, the PlayStation 4. We already got Yakuza Kiwami (remake of the first game) and Yakuza Kiwami 2 is coming in a few months. But what about Yakuza 3, 4 and 5?

Yakuza series producer Daisuke Sato talked to PlayStation Access and stated that Yakuza 3, Yakuza 4 and Yakuza 5 are all available on PlayStation 3. As for PlayStation 4 “If we get a lot of requests to make them, we may consider it.” 

What do you guys think? Do you guys want to see ports of Yakuza 3, Yakuza 4 and Yakuza 5 on PlayStation 4? Maybe we’ll finally have a physical version of Yakuza 5 in the west!

[Via: Nichegamer]

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What Shining Resonance Refrain looks like on Nintendo Switch

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SEGA Japan have released new screenshots for Shining Resonance Refrain on the Nintendo Switch. The upcoming Nintendo Switch port, which was previously a PlayStation 3 game, looks basically the same in screenshots (seems to have more bloom in the Nintendo Switch version, or am I crazy?).

As far as how the game will run when you purchase it, we do know that the game will run at a full 1080p when docked, I assume it will drop to 720p in handheld mode. The game hits English speaking countries on July 10 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC! Hit the jump for the screens:

Continue Reading ➜

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SEGA News Bits: IDW Sonic the Hedgehog #3 & #4 Discussion

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As April draws to a close, so too does the first arc of IDW’s Sonic the Hedgehog comics. On this SEGA News Bits, Barry walks George through issues 3 and 4 which feature the IDW debut of Knuckles, Blaze and new characters Rough, Tumble and Tangle. How do these issues compare to the first two? What direction is the comic series heading? Give the latest News Bits a watch to find out!

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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SEGAbits staff uniforms arrive by way of Wave One Co., Ltd’s new SEGA clothing line

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File this one under “I WANT IT! GIVE ME!”.

Via Famitsu comes the news that Wave One Co. will be selling short sleeved jersey shirts featuring Fantasy Zone and Virtua Fighter art as part of their classic game series clothing line WAVEONE CAST. The shirts come in a variety of sizes and will sell for 13,500 yen. Expected release date is in a few months.

We’re not sure what their international shipping rules are, but you can check out the pre-order page here and see a gallery after the break!

Continue Reading ➜

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Sonic Mania Plus trailer arrives – welcome back, Mighty and Ray!

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Sonic Mania Plus releases July 17th! Up from the previously reported August 28th!

SEGA has released the trailer for the upcoming physical release of Sonic Mania, dubbed Sonic Mania Plus. The release will contain new content, including playable Mighty and Ray, an Encore Mode and more! If you already own the game digitally, this content will appear via DLC. The physical edition comes with special packaging, a reversible cover, and a 32 Page Art Book.

You can pre-order the game today for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One via Amazon, and in turn support the site.

Continue Reading ➜

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What franchise can SEGA resurrect that would excite you?

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Its hard being SEGA, the company has a long history of delivering cult classic games and continuously moving on. This has lead to the company always being ‘ahead of its time’ due to them giving their developers freedom and always moving forward, but it also makes older fans miss key franchisees. For example there is a huge fanbase for franchises like Jet Set Radio, Streets of Rage, Golden Axe, Shining Force (original, not whatever we have now), Shinobi, OutRun, Phantasy Star, Virtua Fighter, and honestly the list can go on forever.

But the question here is, what franchise would you love to see SEGA resurrect?

We all have different tastes, so it should be interesting to read what you guys want. Personally, I have a hard time picking one franchise. Its like trying to pick which one of your kids you like best. Can I want them all? I guess if you forced me into a corner it would be cool to have a legit follow-up to OutRun 2. But what about you?

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SEGA & Atlus North American eShop sale is live until May 7th, 2018

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SEGA and Atlus are having a digital sale on mostly Nintendo 3DS titles. If you missed some of the more recent (last few years) SEGA 3DS games, then you are in for a treat. I totally recommend titles like Stella Glow, SEGA 3D Classics Collection, 7th Dragon III Code: VFD, and even Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX (if you like rhythm games).

Nintendo Switch: 

  •  Sonic Forces – $23.99 (was $39.99)

Nintendo 3DS

  • 7th Dragon III Code: VFD – $19.99 (was $39.99)
  • Attack on Titan: Humanity in Chains – $9.99 (was $14.99)
  • Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars – $9.99 (was $19.99)
  • Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX – $19.99 (was $39.99)
  • The Legend of Legacy – $14.99 (was $19.99)
  • SEGA 3D Classics Collection – $14.99 (was $29.99)
  • Stella Glow – $14.99 (was $19.99)

Anything you are picking up?

[Via: Go NIntendo]

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