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7th Dragon III Code: VFD coming to North America on July 12

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SEGA has confirmed that 7th Dragon III Code: VFD will be hitting North American store shelves on July 12th exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS. The upcoming 7th Dragon III Code: VFD will also have a day one limited edition that will come with a collector’s box and a art book, this will be a free upgrade to anyone that buys the game when it comes out (while supplies last).

Amazon Prime subscribers get 20% off of 7th Dragon III Code: VFD  pre-orders, so you can always pick it up there.

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Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone to launch with two versions, 220 total songs

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Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone is coming to PlayStation 4, but we didn’t know before is that it will be coming in two different variants. Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone is set to hit Japanese PSN later this year and according to the latest issue of Famitsu this is what each version will come with:

  • Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone – Future Sound: will include 120 songs focused on the Hatsune Miku: Project Diva home console series.
  • Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone – Colorful Tone: will include 100 songs focused on the arcade game and 3DS Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai series.

Both will include 220 songs and 340 modules to keep your Hatsune Miku addiction going. The game has been confirmed to run at 1080p and 60fps, giving gamers the ability to customize six characters that can appear in-game music videos. This will be the first game in the series to also offer key configuration, which allows one button to trigger multiple presses. No western release has been announced for Hasune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone.

[Source: Gematsu]

 

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Yakuza 0 confirmed for Europe, early 2017 release date planned and new trailer released

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SEGA has good news for European Yakuza fans, as it has been confirmed that Yakuza 0 will be releasing to both the Americas and Europe. Prior, only an American release was confirmed when the localization was revealed at the Playstation Experience in December 2015. Even better, the game will be released both physically and digitally! SEGA’s plan is a simultaneous release in both territories and the release window is “early 2017”. While the game was released on both PS3 and PS4 in Japan, westerners will only be receiving the PS4 version. Given the PS4 version is obviously superior, I’m not going to complain. Better that than give us the one for older hardware. SEGA was also quick to point out that the localization is 100% SEGA, and that Sony and PlayStation have no involvement on a production level.

If early 2017 is too long a wait, SEGA has more good news. If you’ve yet to play Yakuza 5, the game is currently on sale for 25% off through April 5th. We loved the game, and we’re certain you will too. Now’s the time to pick it up, support the franchise, and play a great game. Win-win-win!

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Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary SXSW Panel

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The Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary SXSW Panel took place on Saturday and was live streamed on Twitch.TV. Now you can watch the panel at your own leisure on YouTube. The panel had Yuji Naka (ex-head of Sonic Team), Takashi Iizuka (head of Sonic Team), Roger Craig Smith (voice of Sonic) and Mike Pollock (voice of Eggman).

Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary SXSW Panel is a little under 40 minutes long and goes through the history of the franchise. The biggest announcement was the Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary party that we posted about.

So what are your thoughts on the Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary SXSW Panel?

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Rumor: Treasure to stop making new games

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TreasureRIPLong time SEGA-collaborative developer Treasure Games might be out of the gaming biz, at least for brand new titles according to the latest Giant Bombcast (time stamp: 2:22:20 – 2:24:38). The hardcore cult studio seems to be moving towards becoming more of a license holding company, which isn’t surprising when you consider they hire under 30 employees.

The last full game developed by the company was a license game for Gaist Crusher, that came out in 2014 and was exclusive to Japan. While getting re-releases of their older games on new consoles isn’t terrible, I think we will all miss that Treasure Games magic that we grew up with.

What are your thoughts on all this? Are you surprised? Let us know in the comments.

[Via: NeoGAF]

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Welcome your new SEGAbits writers!

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Last month, we put out a call for new writers to join our team. We received several applications from SEGA fans all over the globe, and in the end we landed on three who we think are best suited for a fan site like SEGAbits. That’s not to say that those who didn’t make the cut weren’t bits-worthy, and as with any application process we have your information on file should we ever need help in the near future.

So who are the new writers?

Continue Reading ➜

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Game Symphony Japan SEGA Special Event to focus on anniversary titles

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Game Symphony Japan, a Japanese concert that focuses on creating orchestrated music from varies video game titles, will host a special SEGA themed event as part of it’s 17th line of concerts, which will focus on the anniversaries of Sonic the Hedghehog, Puyo Puyo, and NiGHTS into Dreams…. This is the second time a special SEGA event will be hosted on Game Symphony Japan, with the 14th line also including a SEGA event last year that focused on varies classic SEGA titles.

The concert will open on July 17th 2016 at 17:30pm (5:30pm) Japan Standard Time at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space Theater Concert Hall, with the price of submission ¥8,500 ($76), ¥7,500 ($67), or ¥6,500 ($58) depending on seating. Tickets can be purchased from PIA Japan, ePlus, or I-tike.

[Source: Game Symphony Japan official site]

 

 

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SEGA Announces Sonic 25th Anniversary Party in July during San Diego Comic Con

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Sonic25thAnniversaryPartyDuring SEGA’s SxSW panel, which was filled with Sonic the Hedgehog alumni including series developers Yuji Naka and Takashi Iizuka. SEGA announced that they will be having a Sonic 25th Anniversary Party on July . The party will be held in San Diego and tickets are already on sale! Tickets cost $25 dollars and can be purchased online at Universe.com/Sonic25.

This was the announcement that Sonic the Hedgehog teased for the event, even if Sonic fans want it to be the Sonic 25th Anniversary game instead. Who knows, maybe that’s what will be shown at the Sonic 25th Anniversary party?

After the break, read the full event description.

Continue Reading ➜

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Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X Gets PS Vita demo on March 24th in Japan

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HatsuneMikuX.jpgIf you own a PlayStation Vita, have a Japanese PSN and can’t wait to try Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X, you will be able to give it a spin on March 24! That’s right, SEGA will be launching their Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X demo on the Japanese PSN store which will include the following playable songs:

The game will also have a tutorial song (levan Polkka). Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X demo will also let you try the new “Rush Notes” system and the heart-racing modules. At the same time SEGA has oddly announced launch day DLC for the game, which you can view after the jump.

Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X hits PlayStation Vita on March 24 in Japan, later this year on PlayStation 4. No Western release plans announced yet.

[Via: Gematsu]

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The Truth About Ben Kalough video hints at things to come

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For months, the Sonic the Hedgehog social media accounts have been hinting at something. It could be the reveal of the new Sonic game, or it could be something bigger. Whatever it is, another piece of the puzzle has arrived in a video titled The Truth About Ben Kalough. The video, seen above, catches us up on what the former SEGA of Antarctica staffer has been up to and what the future holds for him. Memes, the word “big” and Aaron Webber all come into play. Could this be it? Or are we all about to be taken for buffoons? Who knows, but once we learn more we will certainly share it in a cryptic article that keeps using the word “big”.

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Total War: WARHAMMER – Vampire Counts In-Engine Trailer

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Far from home, an Empire Witch Hunter seeking the source of this corruption will soon find that there are fates in the Old World far worse than death. The Vampire Counts have arisen, and today in this brand new Total War: Warhammer in-engine trailer, they are unleashed.

Vampire Counts are the forth and final race to be revealed for the first of the Total War: Warhammer trilogy. Other races in the first game include; Empire, Dwarfs, Greenskins and if you pre-order Chaos Warriors. The combinations of all three games will eventually cover all major Warhammer races and much of the land combining into one epic game, Shining Force 3 style.

Total War: Warhammer releases 24th of May 2016, for PC.

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Sonic and SEGA print collections from Iron Gut Publishing announced for the UK, art event revealed

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Iron Gut Publishing has announced via a press release that they will be creating art prints for SEGA’s Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, as well as other SEGA IPs including Shinobi, Golden Axe and Streets of Rage. The collection is timed to release alongside Sonic’s 25th anniversary, and Iron Gut Publishing promises an art event which will feature the upcoming prints. At the moment, this is UK only. No word on if those from outside the UK can import the prints.

It is also worth noting that “art collaborations” were revealed last month at Tomy’s booth at New York Toy Fair. This seems to be what that Sonic poster was referring to.

Iron Gut Publishing, the company that specialises in creating limited edition art collections for global brands have signed a UK license with SEGA® Europe Ltd.

The art collection will feature the iconic video game character Sonic the Hedgehog, as well as a host of other classic brands from the SEGA video game portfolio including Golden Axe™, Streets of Rage™ and Revenge of Shinobi™.

2016 is the 25th anniversary year of Sonic and we will be organising an art event to celebrate this which will showcase the collection to fans. The event will allow us to drive awareness and increase visibility of both the brand and collection available.– Anthony Marks, M.D Iron Gut Publishing.

Framed products will be available from bricks and mortar stores and unframed for mail order and online sales. The range will be available from Q2 2016.

[Via: GoNintendo]

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Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA X gets high praise from Famitsu

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On this week’s Famitsu issue, the Japanese magazine reviews a bunch of new games including the PlayStation Vita version of Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA X.

Here are all the reviews:

  • Dance with Devils (PSV) – 8/7/8/7 [30/40]
  • Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Fortune (PS4) – 8/8/8/8 [32/40]
  • Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Venus (PSV) – 8/8/8/8 [32/40]
  • Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X (PSV) – 9/9/9/9 [36/40]
  • Nobunaga’s Ambition: Sphere of Influence Sengoku Risshiden (PS4) – 9/9/9/8 [35/40]
  • Nobunaga’s Ambition: Sphere of Influence Sengoku Risshiden (PS3) – 9/9/9/8 [35/40]
  • Nobunaga’s Ambition: Sphere of Influence Sengoku Risshiden (PSV) – 9/9/9/8 [35/40]
  • Shirogane x Spirits (PSV) – 7/6/6/6 [25/40]
  • Trackmania Turbo (PS4) – 8/8/7/8 [31/40]
  • Trackmania Turbo (XBO) – 8/8/7/8 [31/40]

That’s right, it was the highest rated game of the week by getting all 9s. If you don’t know how Famitsu reviews work, they get four writers to review one game and rate it from 1-10; adding up the scores in the end. Thus Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X gets a 36 out of 40.

[Via: Gematsu]

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Alton Towers Sonic Spinball ride has been re-themed, Sonic branding gone

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Note: “Closed” in the above graphic refers to how long the wait times are, not the permanent closure of rides. As the park was closed at the time of this screenshot, all rides are closed as well.

It is an end of an era for Sonic the Hedgehog at the English theme park Alton Towers. The rollercoaster ride Sonic Spinball, which has been in operation under the Sonic branding since February 2010 (almost exactly as long as SEGAbits has been in operation), has been re-themed as Spinball Whizzer. The ride originally opened in 2004 under the Spinball Whizzer name, but was given a Sonic re-theming with a lot of fanfare back in 2010. Not only was there a Sonic themed ride, but there was also a Sonic-themed hotel room as well as Sonic merchandise throughout the park. I’ve heard from fellow fans that the Sonic merch has been slowly drying up, signaling that the Sonic license may be coming to an end, and this recent news all but confirms it. It is unknown if the Sonic-themed hotel room has also been removed or will be removed. The room is best known to fans for being one of the earliest instances of Roger Craig Smith voicing Sonic the Hedgehog, as audio of Sonic would greet guests as they entered the room. Hilariously, due to an audio snafu the voice sounded much lower leading to the infamous “check out the consoles” line and many fans freaking out that the new Sonic sounds a lot older and slower. The audio was soon fixed, but it was funny while it lasted.

Roger spoke about recording for Alton Towers, as well as the audio mistake, on our Swingin’ Report Show podcast interview which can be heard right here.

[Via Sonic Stadium]

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