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SEGA asking for Easter Eggs in “new mobile game”

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In one of the oddest requests for fan input in a while, the SEGA Facebook page is asking for fans to submit ideas for Easter Eggs for a “new mobile game that will include many of your favorite SEGA characters.” Responses seem to vary from character cameos to sly references, but at the least everyone has done one thing; share some love for their favorite franchises.

The “new mobile game” referred to here is possibly SEGA Blast Heroes, the recently leaked SRPG crossover game dug up by Segalization. The fact that they’re asking for franchises in general and the header image above features Sonic alongside Streets of Rage, Shinobi, and Crazy Taxi not only points to the game being a crossover, but also likely teases their inclusion in whatever game SEGA has planned. It is possible SEGA Blast Heroes was nothing more than a testing the waters from SEGA Networks, with only mock-up screens created, and other concepts are also being developed internally. It is also possible that SEGA Blast Heroes was not even created by SEGA Networks. If any more direct or indirect info on SEGA Blast Heroes – or whatever the mobile game is – should surface, we’ll let you know.

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Persona 5 shows off opening movie, first 18 minutes, new characters, anime, and more

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Persona5OpeningMovieI warned you the other day that Atlus was teasing seven new announcements for Persona 5 during its Premium Event Niconico stream. Well, that happen earlier today and what did they announce for Persona 5? A ton of stuff, including showing off the first 18 minutes of gameplay from the game. Want to catch all the action?

Hit the jump for all the new information:

[Via: Gematsu]

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Atlus shows off 15 minutes of Persona 5 gameplay

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Atlus has officially premiered 15 minutes of Persona 5 gameplay during its live stream this morning. This is just a teaser for tomorrow’s big Persona 5 Premium Event being held in Japan, that promises SEVEN new announcements! The footage above shows returning skills, fishing mini-game (froggy?!, movie date with Futaba Sakura and lots more.

Persona 5 hits the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 on September 15 in Japan, February 14, 2017 in the Americas. Persona 5 does have plans to release in Europe with publisher Deep Silver, like discussed before, but they haven’t announced a release date.

[Via: Gematsu]

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Discotek Media announces Sonic X seasons 1 and 2 English dub release date

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Earlier today, American based anime and asian films DVD and blu-ray company Discotek Media announced on Facebook details on their upcoming “Sonic X” DVD. First revealed back in April of 2015, Discotek Media plans to release the first two seasons of the “Sonic X” English dub to DVD in a 52 episode collection with a release date of September 27th, 2016. Season 3, containing the remaining 26 episodes, will be released in another collection at a later date. I really love the SEGA Mega Drive inspired cover art, which has been confirmed to carry over to the menus.

It should be noted that there are no plans at this time for the original Japanese version of the show. Discotek Media also has plans to release the complete English subbed “Sega Hard Girls” to DVD, and once we learn more about that release we will be sure to news it.

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Garou: Mark of the Wolves coming to PS4 and PS Vita

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28188666492_30270b131d_zIt seems that Sony Interactive Entertainment America Third Party Production team have teamed up with SNK Playmore to bring Garou: Mark of the Wolves to the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita as a digital release. The PlayStation blog post says that it is the ‘Neo Geo’ classic meaning that this will be a port of that version being coded by Code Mystics, inc. The game will feature cross play functionality and promises high quality netcode. It seems that their last port, The Last Blade 2 used Code Mystic’s proprietary netcode and was well received. This release will also feature a gallery mode that allows you to collect artwork from the history of the Fatal Fury franchise and a sound testing mode that will allow you listen to the game’s soundtrack whenever you want.

Earlier this year SNK Playmore revealed that there was a sequel to Garou: Mark of the Wolves planned (then scrapped) and there was even some artwork released. Personally I played the game quite a bit on my SEGA Dreamcast, there have of course been various ports. Who knows if this release sells well we might finally get that sequel we all wanted. No release date announced yet. How many of you are going to check out this release? Let me know in the comment section!

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The King of Fighters XIV demo hits PSN on July 19

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The-King-Of-Fighters-XIVBeen waiting to try The King of Fighters XIV? You won’t have to wait long, Atlus and developer SNK Playmore have announced that The King of Fighters XIV demo will be out July 19 on the North American PSN.

The King of Fighters XIV demo will allow you to try seven of the game’s 50 playable fighters. The demo will be strictly offline, but the full version of The King of Fighters XIV will have online play. SNK Playmore have also announced a new mode for the full retail version titled Cooperative Online Multiplayer. In Cooperative Online Multiplayer you can match against two teams of three players. Meaning instead of you playing the three characters on your team, its a team of three separate players.

Atlus will publish the North American version of The King of Fighters XIV for PlayStation 4 on August 23rd!

[Via: Gematsu]

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Blade Arcus from Shining EX releasing to PC on July 28th in the west

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Blade Arcus from Shining EX, a fighting game featuring characters from SEGA’s Shining series, has been announced to be coming west to the PC through Steam thanks to the developer Studio Saisenzen, who is also acting as publisher. The game originally released in Japan in late November of 2015 for the PS3 and PS4 and was published by SEGA. Fans of the original Genesis/Mega Drive era games should put a damper on their excitement as the Shining characters appearing in this game are from the recent titles in the series. Still, it is very cool to see titles that typically would never release west receiving localizations. The game will be re-titled Blade Arcus from Shining: Battle Arena and is set to release on July 28th.

You can learn all about the game on the Steam page, and stay tuned to SEGAbits for a potential review once the game releases.

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Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X PS4 demo out now in Japan

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3077071-gameplay_hatsunemikuprojectdivax_20160606_gsHave you been counting the long days for the release of Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X and need something to tide you over the long wait? If you have a Japanese PSN account, you can try Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X on your PlayStation 4 right now! SEGA’s Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X  demo is out now and weighs in at 525mb!

Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X demo features:

Not a bad set of songs for a free demo. Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X hits the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in North America on August 30th. As for Japan, the PlayStation 4 version hits them a few days early on August 25th, they already got the PlayStation Vita version back in March. Who is giving this demo a try?

[Via Gematsu]

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This is Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Arcade Edition

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Don’t throw away your lose change because SEGA has just released a trailer for their Mario & Sonic At the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Arcade Edition, try saying that ten times fast. Mario & Sonic At the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Arcade Edition was mean’t to launch back in February but has now been pushed back to June. The game is now out in limited locations and we have gotten the trailer above to promote the arcade unit.

Mario & Sonic At the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Arcade Edition features a pretty massive cabinet, something that most arcade manufactures have scaled back on. Due to its twin stick and foot control support Mario & Sonic At the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Arcade Edition plays differently than its home release counterparts. Let us know what you think of Mario & Sonic At the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Arcade Edition‘s cabinet in the comments below.

[Source: Arcade Heroes]

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SEGA News Bits: Crossover SRPG “SEGA Blast Heroes” Leaked

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Earlier in July, a mobile game called SEGA Blast Heroes was seemingly leaked via Facebook ads. In this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry discuss this rumored new game that sets out to assemble an all-star cast of SEGA characters in a SRPG setting. Could SEGA Blast Heroes be the real deal, or is SEGA simply testing the waters and the game is nothing more than some mocked up screenshots?

If you enjoyed this episode of the SEGA News Bits, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and never miss an episode!

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SEGA News Bits: Deep Silver to bring SEGA and Atlus titles to Europe

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In this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry discuss the recent announcement that publisher Deep Silver has teamed with SEGA of America and Atlus USA to release Atlus and select SEGA titles to Europe. That’s right! While SEGA Europe lets great games slip through the cracks, these two American companies are picking up the slack (“Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers” anyone?) .

Europeans can expect Atlus’ Persona 5 and Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse as well as SEGA’s 7th Dragon III Code: VFD in both physical and packaged releases thanks to a deal made with Deep Silver, and that is just the beginning. More games are to come! Listen to our thoughts on what this means for SEGA Europe and why SEGA of America and Atlus USA had to do what they did in our latest News Bits.

If you enjoyed this episode of the SEGA News Bits, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and never miss an episode!

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Atlus announces Etrian Odyssey V DLC plans

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etrianodysseyvIn the latest issue of Famitsu, Atlus revealed its DLC plans for the upcoming Etrian Odyssey V: The End of the Long Myth, at least in Japan. While I hate the idea of pre-released DLC plans, ill just post the list of Etrian Odyssey V DLC instead of preaching why this is bad for the industry.

August 4

  • New Adventurer 1 (300 yen) – Choose a “School Uniformed Boy” during character creation.
  • New Adventurer 2 (300 yen) – Choose a “Sailor Uniformed Girl” during character creation.
  • New Adventurer 3 (300 yen) – Choose a “Sweater Wearing Girl” during character creation.
  • New Adventurer 4 (300 yen) – Choose an Etrian Odyssey 1 Paladin New Illustration” during character creation.
  • New Adventurer 5 (300 yen) – Choose an Etrian Odyssey 1 Medic New Illustration” during character creation.
  • Adventurer Training Plan (300 yen) – Take on the “Adventurer Training Plan” quest at the bar. (On top of the fact that you get a lot of experience points for clearing the quest, you can also obtain an accessory that multiplies your acquired experience by three.)
  • Adventurer Good Luck Plan (300 yen) – Take on the “Adventurer Good Luck Plan” quest at the bar. (On top of the fact that you’ll get a lot of en for clearing the quest, you can also obtain an accessory that makes the availability rate of materials without drop conditions of enemies 100 percent.)

Still to be Dated

  • FM Sound Source Addition (800 yen) – Adds a Frequency Modulation Sound Source version as a BGM option, which can be switched from in the options menu.
  • New Adventurer 6 – Contents, release date, and price to be announced.

What are your thoughts on Atlus and how they have been handling DLC in the past few years? Are you thinking of picking up Etrian Odyssey V?

[Via: Gemastu]

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SEGA Saturn copy protection cracked after 22 years

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The SEGA Saturn has long been that one SEGA console that was near impossible to crack, and console owners could forget trying to easily play copied games (which currently relies on a mod chip and burning CDs). But now, thanks to electronics fellow and coder James Laird-Wah aka “Dr Abrasive”, the Saturn’s copy protection has finally been cracked.

Detailed in the extended video above is the process which Dr Abrasive took to achieve this. Essentially, games are loaded from USB via the expansion card port. The Saturn was so difficult to crack due to DRM requiring discs to have a physical mark on them (called a wobble) which was etched into the CD. Dr Abrasive got past this by figuring out how the disc drive worked and emulating it via USB. The project is still in the testing phase, but there are plans to make boards available for sale. The work will eventually open up doors to homebrew communities and preserve the console’s functionality years beyond the eventual death of the CD drive.

You can follow the project at Dr Abrasive’s Twitter account and at the official Assembler Games topic, and you can join the discussion at the SEGAbits forums.

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Stories International to adapt SEGA’s Rent A Hero into a movie

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Via Deadline comes news that Stories International, a joint media venture between SEGA and Hakuhodo DY Group launched in 2011, plans to release a movie based on the 1991 Mega Drive game Rent A Hero. The movie will be spearheaded by filmmakers Steve Pink and Jeff Morris, with Pink’s credits including Hot Tub Time Machine, High Fidelity and Grosse Pointe Blank and Morris’ most recent credit being the upcoming Netflix project The True Memoirs of an International Assassin starring Kevin James. The original Rent A Hero starred the character Taro Yamada as the “Rent A Hero”, a hero for hire that needs to complete various tasks to save the day and pay for his suit. The game never saw release in the West, though a fan made english hack exists and an Xbox remake almost released to the West but was cancelled – though the finished translated version exists and is playable.

Stories International’s president and CEO Tomoya Suzuki and Hakuhodo DY Group are slated to produce. Meanwhile, Evan J. Cholfin of Stories International will oversee the film as executive producer.

So… first Shinobi and now Rent A Hero! What do you think of SEGA’s upcoming films? Sound off in the comments below!

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