News

SXSW 2017 Gotta Go Fast panel to show new Sonic Mania and Sonic Project 2017 content

by

Gotta Go Fast panel at SXSW 2017Those of you waiting for new Sonic Mania or Sonic Project 2017 news won’t have to wait long. Next month at SXSW 2017, there will be a Gotta Go Fast panel featuring Aaron Webber, Mike Pollock, Roger Craig Smith, and Takashi Iizuka. This follows last year’s fairly divisive panel with the same set of speakers.

At this year’s panel, they’ve promised some new Sonic Mania and Sonic Project 2017 content will be revealed for the first time, in addition to answering questions about both games.

This year’s panel will happen at 5-6PM CT on March 16th, 2017. That’s just over a month from now, folks! With new game content promised, I’m sure the reception to this one will be a lot better this time.

Are you looking forward to seeing what the panel reveals? Do you plan on attending it like the hardcore Sonic fan you are? Let us know in a comment below!

The full panel description is below:

Dive into the world of Sonic the Hedgehog in this exclusive behind-the-scenes look at both Sonic Mania and the upcoming Sonic 2017! With presenters from SEGA and Sonic Team’s Takashi Iizuka, this panel will answer questions about both games, showcase a new reveal for each title, and will discuss Sonic’s resurgence in the world of gaming since the reveal of both games. Of course, with Sonic involved, who knows what other surprises might be in store?

1 Comment

Lighting mod for Sonic Adventure DX restores Dreamcast lighting effects

by

SAVCbkT

Sonic Retro user Morph and several others have gone through Sonic Adventure DX and created a mod that restores the lighting effects that were previously seen in the original Sonic Adventure into the PC version. The difference gives off more vibrant colors in the environment that also reacts to objects and characters. You can download the mod from the discussion thread in Sonic Retro’s forums.

Lighting can be used to set a specific tone or mood in an environment. But why is it such a difficult thing to remain consistent when converting this to other game platforms? The game featured an artistic shift that occurred when the game was converted to other platforms. A combination of technical hurdles and creative liberties can dampen the original artistic intent, and Sonic Adventure is no exception. The original Dreamcast version featured a “Lantern” engine which provided impressive looking lighting effects using palettes on SEGA’s then cutting edge game console. However the dozens of ports of the game left out these lighting effects in favor of using drop shadows instead, until now. Check out additional videos, comparison screenshots and an interview with Morph on the mod after the jump!

Continue Reading ➜

13 Comments

SEGA Sammy third quarter review for fiscal year ending 2017

by

KiryuSuitcasefullofcash

The ship seems to be sailing just fine at Sega with their recent report showing off good results in all their sectors, but there might still be some trouble brewing. Though with big hitters like Yakuza 6 and Football Manager 2017 making a charge in the gaming division, Sega Sammy might have enough firepower to hold back any trouble that approaches them. After the break to find out how the company’s latest set of financials turned out as they released the third quarter results for the fiscal year 2017.

Continue Reading ➜

4 Comments

Rare Yakuza titles get reprinted – including PlayStation 2 titles

by

YakuzareprintedDid you want to pick up the first two Yakuza titles on the PlayStation 2, brand new and at a decent price? You are in luck as rare Yakuza titles get reprinted thanks to Amazon seller JADD ENTERTAINMENT. Yakuza 2, before the reprinted offer, was over a hundred bucks used, so having it for $50 dollars brand new is a great deal. I first assumed these were actually ‘newly found stock’, but according to producer at Atlus USA, Sam Mullen, these are ‘reorders’. I would totally pick up Yakuza and Yakuza 2 on the PlayStation 2, those are the rarest titles.

There is also a ebay seller, by the name of vgp_videogameplus that is selling these same titles with free shipping option. If you want to save as much as possible.

Rare Yakuza titles get reprinted, but do you think its worth the price? Thankfully, if you aren’t happy with your copy, Amazon has a good refund policy even on 3rd party sellers. Supplies are limited, so be warned that they can disappear at anytime. What Yakuza title are you picking up? Let us know in the comments below.

9 Comments

SEGA-AM2’s Soul Reverse gets first gameplay footage

by

SEGA-AM2’s Soul Reverse will be the first ‘new IP’ by the company since they launched Border Break back in 2009, unless you count Operation G.H.O.S.T which was tied to the Ghost Squad franchise. When we first told you about SEGA-AM2’s Soul Reverse we mentioned that it looked a bit like Dark Souls and now with gameplay footage released, I’m not too sure about that.

The footage for SEGA-AM2’s Soul Reverse is actually a tutorial showing off moves you can do, including using cards to summon Souls to attack (like a special movie). While the game may look like Dark Souls due to its medieval theme, it doesn’t have a stamina meter and seems to be timed stages. The combos shown on here remind me more of Phantasy Star Online where you have to get your timing right to execute the full combo. This to me looks more like a new version of Quest for D (2007) than something going after Dark Souls. Soul Reverse also has a tie-in mobile game called Soul Reverse Zero in Japan. If you want to try Soul Reverse Zero, here is a good guide for English speakers

Continue Reading ➜

1 Comment

Puyo Puyo Tetris gets a new trailer and release dates

by

Puyo Puyo Tetris is going to be released soon on both the Nintendo Switch and Playstation 4, and to help promote SEGA has released a new trailer highlighting several of the game’s modes. This includes the single player Adventure mode, along with the multiplayer modes Swap, Versus, Fusion (aka PuyoTetMix in the Japanese version), Big Bang, and Party mode. In addition, SEGA has confirmed release dates for both USA and Europe. Puyo Puyo Tetris will be released on April 25th in the USA, while in Europe it will be released on April 28th. You can pre-order Puyo Puyo Tetris today on both Playstation 4 and for Nintendo Switch.

For official descriptions for the modes, read on!

Continue Reading ➜

1 Comment

NWO & VFDC: No Matter the Cost Tournament

by

slide

Are you a fan of Virtua Fighter and looking into participating in causal tournament matches with other players? If you happen to live near Alexandria, Virginia, NWO (New Wolf Order) in association with VFDC, will be hosting a North American Virtua Fighter tournament next week starting from February 17th all the way through the 19th. The event will feature various entries in the franchise such as Virtua Fighter 2, Virtua Fighter 3 Team Battle, Virtua Fighter 4 Final Tuned, and Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown. All tournaments will also be streamed throughout the weekend.

I will be attending NMTC for SEGAbits next week to bring you all coverage on the Virtua Fighter fan event. For details on registration, schedule, and prizes, head over to VFDC for more info. Hit the jump to view the trailer for the event.

Continue Reading ➜

No Comments

Amazon says Sonic Mania coming out April 25, 2017

by

SonicManiaApril25SEGA hasn’t given a solid release date for Sonic Mania, outside that its set to come out this spring, but it seems that Amazon might have leaked the release date a tad earlier. According to their Sonic Mania product page, the game is set to release on April 25, 2017. Is that true? Who knows, Amazon has been known as being funky with their release dates. For example, the product pages for the PC and Nintendo Switch say its coming out May 31, 2017.

Honestly though, Sonic Mania coming out on April 25, 2017 seems to make sense, but I wouldn’t hold my breath until its officially announced. Thanks to Ghast06 on Twitter for the heads up. What is your opinion on the date change, you think Sonic Mania makes it to store shelves on April 25?

1 Comment

SEGAbits.com – Celebrating 7 Years

by

segabits7

Today marks the 7th anniversary of SEGAbits.com! Seven years ago today, SEGAbits admin George posted the site’s first article, simply titled “Welcome to SEGAbits”, and right out of the gate on that same day the first piece of news was reported. From day one, the goal of the site was to cover the latest SEGA news, review retro and modern content, and to host an ongoing podcast. But really, the reason SEGAbits was founded was that we felt the internet needed a great place for SEGA fans to visit and interact with each other, discussing their favorite games from the past and speculating what was on the horizon from our favorite company.

After the break, read special anniversary messages from George and Barry which look back on the past year and ahead to what to expect in 2017 from the site! As always, we really appreciate the support of our readers and also want to thank our team of writers and contributors (Moody, FlareHabanero, James, Adam, Aki-At, Kori-Maru, Happy Cat, Sharky, and Dakota) who put a lot of work in over the past year.

Continue Reading ➜

5 Comments

Rare SegaSonic Cosmo Galaxy Fighter game dumped

by

SegaSonic_Cosmo_Fighter_title

MAMEWorld has recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the well known arcade emulator MAME with a dump of several arcade games. One of the games is the rare SegaSonic Cosmo Galaxy Fighter from an anonymous donator. The original game was a vertical shooter that as the name suggests stars Sonic the Hedgehog as he has to shoot down Dr. Robotnik and his robots in space. The arcade cabinet was originally a Japanese exclusive, with the monitor having an interesting “swaying” effect as you play the game. SegaSonic Cosmo Galaxy Fighter is comparable to Waku Waku Sonic Patrol Car in terms of presentation.

This dumping means that as of this point, all known Sonic arcade games have been dumped in some way or another. However, the ROM of the game is not available publicly as of this writing, meaning currently it’s not possible to play the game yourself using MAME. Still, the fact a game like SegaSonic Cosmo Galaxy Fighter and the many other games recently donated being dumped means they won’t be lost to the trials of time.

[Source: MAMEWorld]

No Comments

Humble Monthly Bundle has Total War: Warhammer for $12

by

humbletotalwarmonthlybundleSEGA has teamed up with Humble Bundle, a charity driven PC game store to offer gamers Total War: Warhammer for $12 bucks. Getting Total War: Warhammer for $12 bucks is a huge deal, considering that this seems to be the lowest price for the title. But there’s more, you also unlock at least six more games at the end of the month. Last month’s bundle had big titles like X-COM 2, Ryse: Son of Rome, Abzu, and more. If you pay the monthly fee of $12 dollars now, you can download Total War: Warhammer today and start enjoying the game. Just make sure that at the end of the month, when all the games unlock, you cancel your membership or they’ll charge you for the next month.

Is Total War: Warhammer worth the $12 dollars? Well the game has mix ratings over on Steam but manage to score well with critics. Why the mix feelings from fans? Most fans say this is the best Total War game created but are a bit disappointed on how SEGA and Creative Assembly have implemented DLC. Looking at the DLC for the game I don’t blame them, having two packs costing $18.99 for new races is a bit steep. There is also a few free pieces of DLC like Grombrindal the White Dwarf and Wurrzag.

Going to be honest, I think Total War: Warhammer for $12 plus more games at the end of the month is a steal. If you like Total War or these type of strategy PC games, give it a shot. There is also a Mac compatible version for those readers not running Windows.

No Comments

An update on the indie SEGA Dreamcast game SLaVE – why is it taking so long?

by

11011533_1035607469786900_3753981725575397025_n

Back in September of 2014 SLaVE, a Dreamcast game by indie developer Isotope and GOAT Store Publishing, was announced. The game was to combine the game design sensibilities and aesthetics of 80s arcade shooters with old school first person shooters like Doom and Wolfenstein. At the time of the games announcement, it looked as though the release was just around the corner with Goat Store taking pre-orders for a Limited Edition and a Limited Limited Edition. Since then, however, little has been said about the game aside from a mention in April 2015 of a “final bug test” and the cover art reveal.

And then? Nothing, at least until this week when Isotope developer Coraline released the following statement.

Continue Reading ➜

13 Comments

Yakuza 0 bursts into the UK top 10 at the 8th position

by

Yakuza0ChartTracker

There was a lot of pre-release hype for Yakuza 0 as reviewers lavishly praised the game and it had placed high in the UK Amazon preorder charts. Now the results are out and it looks like Yakuza 0 is a resounding success coming in at 8th, the highest position the series has ever managed in the franchise’s UK sales history. The previous record chart position was held by the 2010 release Yakuza 3 at 24th.

Interestingly, Yakuza 0 is 8th for both individual (games recorded by SKU) and multi-format (Where multiple SKUs are combined). Unfortunately for us, Chart Tracker doesn’t release sales numbers so it all comes down to the being able to work out what other titles have done to be able to work out roughly which position sold what. We do know that with Resident Evil 7 being the third best selling title in the franchise’s UK history, this means that sales would be no greater than 130,000 units. The split between the PS4 (73%) and Xbox One (25%) versions of Resident Evil 7, with the latter being the second best selling SKU, would allow us to know that Yakuza 0 has not sold more than 32,500 copies.

Looking at its position and if I had to hazard I guess, I imagine Yakuza 0 has achieved around 6,000 to 10,000 sales. A good starting point for the franchise, and of course the other European and American territories will only add to the number. Once we get updated numbers, we’ll keep you posted!

4 Comments

SEGA Japanese developers talk Nintendo Switch

by

SEGADevelopersSwitchSeeing as we are big SEGA fanboys, it is safe to say we care about what their developers think about a upcoming console. This month on Famitsu, SEGA Japanese developers talk Nintendo Switch and their thoughts on the big reveal presentation. The original news piece, posted by Nintendo Everything, also had other top Japanese developers. So check that out if you want to learn what other top Japanese talent from other publishing companies thought about the Nintendo Switch. So what SEGA Japanese developers talk Nintendo Switch? We have Takashi Iizuka (Sonic the Hedgehog series), Toshihiro Nagoshi (Yakuza series) and Mizuki Hosoyamada (Puyo Puyo series).

Continue Reading ➜

2 Comments

Cook & Becker’s Sonic The Hedgehog 25th Anniversary Art Book reveals exclusive Yuji Uekawa print

by

Sonic-art-print_UekawaLong time Sonic the Hedgehog artist Yuji Uekawa will be doing an exclusive print that will come with the Cook & Becker’s Sonic The Hedgehog 25th Anniversary Art Book Collectors Edition. If you missed the news, the art book will collect rare and exclusive art from the Blue Blur’s history and will come in two versions: standard hardcover and collectors edition. The Yuji Uekawa print will not be sold separately, as far as we know, meaning there will be about 2,500 copies printed. The Yuji Uekawa print focuses on the history of Sonic by showing him with his three major redesigns: Classic Sonic, Modern Sonic and Sonic Boom.

Cook & Becker was also nice enough to share what the Yuji Uekawa print looks like within the Sonic The Hedgehog 25th Anniversary Art Book Collectors Edition! Remember if you pre-order the collector’s edition before February, you get a 10% discount. The book is expected to ship to costumers sometime within April. What are your thoughts on the Yuji Uekawa print? Sound off in the comments below.

1-All_Collectors-Edition-(1a)

No Comments