Sonic the Hedgehog augmented reality experience coming to San Diego Comic Con

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Via Sonic Stadium comes news that a Sonic the Hedgehog augmented reality experience is debuting at San Diego Comic Con. The AR experience was revealed on the event’s official site, and is said to take place in the Omni San Diego Hotel Grand Ballroom between Wednesday, July 19th and Sunday, July 23rd. Also planned is a Tuesday evening concert from Shota Nakama, creator of the Video Game Orchestra, and a dome takeover on Friday.

Sega is presenting an AR Sonic experience and a special concert with the awesome Shota Nakama on Thursday evening, and dome takeover on Friday!

WHERE: Omni San Diego Hotel, Grand Ballroom, 4th Floor

WHEN: Wed., 7/19: Developer & Public Preview, 6:00–9:00 PM • Thu.–Sat., 7/20-7/22: 9:30 AM–7:00 PM • Sun., 7/23: 9:30 AM–5:00 PM

Once more is revealed, we’ll be sure to share!

[Source: San Diego Comic Con]

Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap gets unofficial Turma da Monica mod

For those that have lived in Brazil or are familiar with the infamous Wonder Boy reskin woes, Wonder Boy III: The Dragons Trap was changed in Brazil to reference the cartoon/comic franchise Turma da Mônica, replacing all of the different animal forms with different characters from the series. This conversion was called Turma da Mônica em o Resgate, exclusive for Brazil, and an example of a Master System game being changed for the market.

With the recent remake of Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap on modern systems, dedicate fans decided to change the game to again reference Turma da Mônica. This includes replacing the artwork with new high quality artwork, and faithfully recreating the animations from scratch. Together, this creates a surprisingly high quality mod that is readily available for the PC version for you to play. The video description not only containing the mod, but also a presskit that contains screenshots and artwork for the mod.

In fact this mod is so good, even the official Lizardcube Twitter account threw their praise at the mod, describing it as incredible. So if you have the PC version available, maybe try it out for yourselves.

SEGA News Bits: Sonic Forces Fist Bump Vocal Theme Reaction

On this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry fist bump their way through the recently revealed main theme to Sonic Forces. The track, titled “Fist Bump”, features vocals and lyrics by Douglas Robb of Hoobastank and is composed and arranged by Tomoya Ohtani. How does the tune compare to past title tracks? What do we think of the lyrics? Who… bastank?

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

Atlus’ Project Re: Fantasy could be a PS4 game hints job listing

Project-Re-Fantasy-01512If you guys didn’t know Atlus launched a new in-house studio named Studio Zero which is being lead by veteran designers. The studio will have big heavy hitting names like Persona series producer and director Katsura Hasino, Persona artist Shigenori Soeijima, and even composer Shoji Meguro will be working on the studio’s first game going by the code name: Project Re: Fantasy. Outside of that, Atlus has been pretty hush on the game but now we have more clues as to what console Atlus’ Project Re: Fantasy might debut on. If you guessed PlayStation 4, you where right. Congratulations! The website Levtech Creators posted a job listing for a PlayStation 4 with the description: “the production of character motions in a newly in-development PlayStation 4 game.”

Oddly enough the position is for a series that is ‘popular worldwide’ and that one entry has sold over 1.5 million copies. This makes me question if this job listing is for Atlus’ Project Re: Fantasy because it hasn’t had a entry yet and for sure hasn’t sold 1.5 million copies. Though we do know that the Persona series, specifically Persona 5 is a world wide hit that has sold over 1.5 million units. Though a lot of veterans from Persona 5 are working on Atlus’ Project Re: Fantasy, so many they are using Persona 5’s success to hire talent for this new studio. 

The ‘last’ bit of info confirms that Atlus’ Project Re: Fantasy will be a “traditional RPG”, which won’t surprise Atlus veterans considering that is what their bread and butter is. Are you guys excited for Atlus’ Project Re: Fantasy? Do you think we will see more official news come Tokyo Game Show 2017?

[Source: Gematsu]

SEGA answers our burning SEGA Forever questions, tells us what to expect next

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After weeks of teasing, SEGA Forever was officially revealed to be a classic games collection initiative to bring everything from the SG-1000 to the SEGA Dreamcast to mobile platforms, with the big surprise being that all the games are free to play (with the option to buy). The collection kicked off with five SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis titles, including four emulated games including Altered Beast, Kid Chameleon, Phantasy Star II and Comic Zone, and the remastered Sonic the Hedgehog from Christian Whitehead. After playing the games and experiencing how the service works, we had a ton of questions for SEGA. Thanks to mobile games community manager Danny Russell, we received a speedy reply and every single one of our questions got answered!

Read on for our interview with Danny.

Swingin’ Report Show #88: Night Trap 25th Anniversary Edition – Screaming Villains, Developer Interview

In this episode we are joined by Tyler of Screaming Villains, who is developing the upcoming Night Trap 25th Anniversary Edition set to release to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PCs, with a limited physical run exclusive to the PS4. Tyler discusses how the project began, how the game differs from the SEGA CD and SEGA CD 32X versions, what new features fans can expect from the game and what future plans he hopes to have in the world of FMV games and beyond! Keep your ears peeled for some exclusive reveals, but watch out for those Augers!

Night Trap 25th Anniversary Edition Website | Screaming Villains Facebook | Screaming Villains Twitter

[Download] [RSS] [iTunes] [Archive]

Data Discs announces Altered Beast vinyl record

19437497_1779005802411641_1363039717141303446_nData Discs’ release of SEGA soundtracks continue with their newly announced Altered Beast vinyl record. The Altered Beast vinyl record will be the 12th release in the series, which isn’t counting their upcoming Sonic Mania release. While I’m not a huge fan of the Altered Beast game, I am a big fan of it the game’s soundtrack which I feel is a rather nice, but short collection of tunes. The Altered Beast vinyl record will ship with one LP containing the game’s full SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive soundtrack. Every copy will also include an Altered Beast poster containing artwork from the game’s cover.

The Altered Beast vinyl record will be released in three versions:

  •  Clear with Orange Splatter (Limited Edition)
  • Opaque Orange
  •  Classic Black

The release will cost £19.99 (about $26 USD) and go on sale on June 30 at 11 AM PST. If you plan on picking up the limited edition versions, I suggest you get on a bit early before 11 AM on June 30th and check this link. What is your opinion on Data Discs’ release of Altered Beast? What other SEGA games would you want to get a vinyl record release? Let us know in the comments below.

SEGA to show off new Yakuza game in two months

1446300098252While we won’t be getting Yakukza 6 until sometime in early 2018, SEGA Japan is already set to tease a new Yakuza game. While on a stream, long time Yakuza producer Toshihiro Nagoshi said that they will show ‘something’ relating to the new Yakuza game, he also mentioned that we will have to wait about two months for information regarding the new game. He also thinks people will be happy with what the game will be about. I guess we will find out where the new Yakuza game is heading, seeing that Yakuza 6 is Kazuma Kiryu’s last game.

It is quite obvious that this new Yakuza game will be SEGA’s big game at this years Tokyo Game Show and now we know that SEGA will start the teasing it in two months. So what direction do you guys want to see the new Yakuza game take? Are you excited for another go into the Yakuza world? Let us know in the comments below.

[Source: Siliconera]

SEGA News Bits: Yakuza 6 & Kiwami E3 2017 Hands On Impressions

Welcome to a new episode of the SEGA News Bits, our YouTube show where we discuss all things SEGA News as they hit. This last week we have been posting our E3 2017 hands on impressions for both Sonic Forces and Sonic Mania, this time we are doing our Yakuza 6 & Kiwami E3 2017 hands on impressions! So give it a listen as SEGAbits staff writers Kori-Maru and Bartman3010 give you the low down on the upcoming remake, the new graphics engine in Yakuza 6, extras found in Yakuza Kiwami, and the overall perception of these games at the event.  So tune in and listen to our Yakuza 6 & Kiwami E3 2017 Hands On Impressions and if you guys have any questions regarding the upcoming Yakuza games, you can ask them in the comments. Now that you have seen our Yakuza 6 & Kiwami E3 2017 Hands On Impressions, what are your impressions of these games so far?

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us: Give us a sub and give this video a like so it shows up on more like minded fans YouTube recommendations. You know, how that new YouTube algorithm is. Thanks for the support. If you want to read our full Yakuza 6 & Yakuza Kiwami E3 2017 hands on impressions in written format, check that out here.

[UPDATED] Data Discs to release Sonic Mania soundtrack vinyl

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Announced via a press release sent out on Sonic the Hedgehog’s 26th anniversary, Data Discs will be releasing a vinyl soundtrack for Sonic Mania! The exclusive vinyl is another SEGA release from the vinyl record company, and Sonic Mania is NOT the next in their numbered series of vinyls. The company has confirmed there will be no OBI (that paper strip found on the edge of other Data Disc releases) and the catalog number is DATA-S. The album will feature select tracks from composer Tee Lopes and exclusive gatefold art in the classic style of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles in the remixed Green Hill Zone. Three variations will be released: blue, black and a limited edition version. Pre-orders start in mid-July, and the album will include a download code of the album tracks in both lossy and lossless formats.

After the break check out the press release and the cover art!

Sonic the Hedgehog’s 25th anniversary comes to an end as the blue blur turns 26

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Happy Birthday, Sonic – now give us our presents! Today marks Sonic the Hedgehog’s 26th anniversary, which officially signals the end of Sonic’s 25th. While the past year has been light on games, the biggest moments for the franchise has been a change in focus in several areas. Sonic Boom has seen a massive downgrade. Originally a multimedia alternate branch from the main Sonic franchise, featuring games, toys, comics, an animated show and a big fan event in New York in 2014; now only the animated series remains. As of this moment, no season 3 is confirmed and less than twenty season 2 episodes have yet to be aired. Could Sonic Boom be on the way out? Funnily enough, Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice was the only Sonic game to release during the 25th anniversary timeframe, making it technically the 25th anniversary game. A Japan only special edition with 25th anniversary swag supports this.

SEGA reveals Valkyria Revolution free DLC schedule

VAR_Oct282016_07SEGA has now revealed the upcoming Valkyria Revolution free DLC schedule, which will have free DLC coming on launch. TheValkyria Revolution free DLC will start coming out at the end of this month and continue till late July 2017. Unlike Atlus’ timed free DLC content, it seems that Valkyria Revolution free DLC is indeed free, as in free beer. Though looking at the list of DLC that is mean’t to come out, its mostly small additions, like one of the ‘Valkryia Revolution free DLC’ pieces is 30 free ragnite shards every week. Not really blowing anyone’s mind with that sort of DLC, but there is more story based stuff being given away  dealing with the lore of the game’s world.

Valkyria Revolution hits store shelves in America on June 27, Europe on June 30 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PlayStation Vita. Hit the jump to see all the free DLC and when its heading to your console of choice in less than a week!

[Via: Gematsu]

SEGA News Bits: SEGA Forever Officially Revealed Reaction

SEGA has officially revealed their SEGA Forever launch, which will offer an array of SEGA titles. While at launch SEGA Forever is sticking with SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive titles, the service makes promises of exploring a ever expanding catalog of retro games from across all SEGA platforms. On this episode of the SEGA News Bits we take a look at all the information we know regarding SEGA Forever’s launch, its promises, our thoughts the project and take a look at all the teased upcoming games in their launch trailer. It seems opinions for SEGA Forever has been mixed since it was shown off officially this morning.

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

SEGA Forever Officially Revealed and Detailed

SEGA Forever has officially been revealed, the service has been a mystery to fans since it was leaked a while back as it was being tested. We even did a SEGA News Bits on SEGA Forever (expect a follow up one now that the product has been fully detailed) on what the service could be. But what is it? According to the press release, which you can read in full after the break, SEGA Forever is a mobile name for classic SEGA re-releases on both Android and iPhone. Prior to this, a rumor came around that it was supposed to be ‘a subscription service’, but this press release says you get the option to play either free, ad supported version of the game or unlock it forever (SEGA Forever) for $1.99.

They promise to cover the following SEGA consoles:

  • SG-1000
  • Master System
  • Genesis/Mega Drive
  • Game Gear
  • SEGA Saturn
  • Dreamcast

The service will launch on June 22nd with the following five games, new releases every couple of weeks:

  • Sonic the Hedgehog
  • Altered Beast
  • Phantasy Star II
  • Comix Zone
  • Kid Chameleon

The press release also goes into the fact that the games will support leaderboards, cloud saves, offline play, controller support, community news feed, and a ton of languages for menus. So the real question is, what is you opinion on SEGA Forever? Is this what you expected, another re-branding service for retro SEGA re-releases?