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SEGA releases “Help Us Make Our Games Better” survey – check it out!

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SEGA has just released a link to a survey which has the goal of improving the quality of their games. The survey, which can be found here, goes quite in depth. Users are asked to list consoles they own and currently play, including just about every major home console you can think of released from the 70s through to today including some that never made their way west, like the SG-1000). Users are also asked to name their favorite SEGA franchises from an incredibly long and varied list (everything from Panzer Dragoon to Fatal Labyrinth to Yakuza) as well as list off franchises they love that may be listed. Mobile gaming seems to be of upmost importance, leading me to believe that this survey will be utilized by SEGA Networks as well as SEGA of America and SEGA Europe.

One page that caught our attention was “Please select any of the following websites or channels that you have visited in the last 90 days:” which included SEGA Retro, Sonic Retro, The Dreamcast Junkyard, the SEGAbits YouTube channel, as well as others. Very interesting that our YouTube channel is on SEGA’s radar given our recent refocus which put news, commentary and interviews at the forefront.

If you haven’t taken the survey yet, check it out and we’ll see how our answers shape the future of SEGA!

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Shenmue 3 update shows off in-game environments

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Above is early footage of Shenhua’s house from the upcoming Shenmue 3. The Shenmue 3 Kickstarter also sent out various photos of these environments (which you can see below) giving you a closer look at how far the game’s graphics have come along compared to what they showed previously. The Shenmue Dojo twitter account also did a side by side comparison of Shenua’s house from Shenmue 2 to Shenmue 3 and it seems like everything is where we last left it 15 years ago.

I’m not really sold on the over use of lighting, but its looking rather impressive so far for being this early into development. I really can’t wait to see more updates, so far color me surprise. What do you guys think of Shenmue 3‘s new environments? Let us know in the comments below!

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SEGA in the Media: Seinfeld’s “The Comeback” has a great selection of Genesis games at Champagne Video

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Spotting video games on TV’s greatest sitcom Seinfeld is nothing new. Longtime fans of series know all about the Frogger episode as well as Jerry’s video shelf which features NES and SNES games sat next to cinematic classics like “Child’s Play 2”. When it comes to SEGA on Seinfeld, however, you’re going to have to look a bit harder. In the eighth season episode “The Comeback”, which aired January 30th, 1997, one of the plots involved Elaine becoming infatuated with a mysterious video store employee Vincent. Meanwhile, Kramer was more interested in the Gene picks. Champagne Video, a recurring location in the series, was the go-to spot for Jerry, George, Kramer and Elaine when they needed to rent some VHS tapes. Throughout the series, the store evolved to feature what were at the time current videos, and in the episode “The Comeback” the set decorator took things one step further by littering the store with classic SEGA Genesis games.

On this installment of SEGA in the Media, we’re going to see how many SEGA Genesis games we can spot! Start browsing the shelves after the break.

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Marza Animation Planet’s short film “Moom” gets a trailer

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SEGA’s in-house animation studio Marza Animation Planet has teamed up with Tonko House and Craftar to make a upcoming short film based on a illustrated book called ‘Moom‘. The film is set to be a 13 minutes long and will be directed by Oscar nominated directors Dice Tsutsumi and Robert Kondo (known for The Dam Keeper).

Moom is a illustrated book by Genki Kawamura and Yuki Mashiko, you can find more information on the project over at Tonko House’s website. Marza Animation Planet showed off animation shorts using some of the assets from this trailer, running in Unreal 4 before and its nice to see they are doing something with them.

[Via The Forums]

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Etrian Odyssey V listed as a 3DS title in latest Atlus survey

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EOV-TREEEtrian Odyssey V was announced all the way back in November 2014, it seems like almost a lifetime ago! Lots of fans thought that maybe Etrian Odyssey V was getting canned, but it doesn’t seem that way if this Japanese Atlus survey is anything to go by. While they didn’t announce a platform for Etrian Odyssey V back in 2014, according to this survey it will be a Nintendo 3DS title, which isn’t surprising seeing as each Etrian Odyssey game has been available on Nintendo’s handheld systems.

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Atlus still has announced a release window for the game, but at this point it will be in development for longer than two years. Could this be a much bigger entry into the franchise? SEGA fans might want to know that the franchises’ soundtracks have been handled by Yuzo Koshiro (of Streets of Rage fame).

[Source: Gemastu]

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SEGA News Bits: Sonic Boom Season 2 and Fire & Ice Coming This Fall

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SEGA has revealed that they are planning on releasing Sonic Boom Season 2 (TV) and Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice (Nintendo 3DS) this fall. Along with the announcement they have stated that they will be airing re-runs of Sonic Boom Season 1 this spring on Cartoon Network, Boomerang and Hulu. Now there really is no excuse for you not to watch if if you haven’t! Watch us give you chit chat and information about the announcement you  might have missed. Who is looking forward to Sonic Boom Season 2? How about Fire & Ice on the Nintendo 3DS? Let us know in the comments below.

If you enjoy the SEGA News Bits video formats make sure to like, share and subscribe to our YouTube for more.

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SEGA and Archie Comics announce Sonic the Hedgehog 25th anniversary one-shot comic book

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Via Comic Book Resources comes the announcement of a new one-shot comic book from Archie Comics and SEGA, entitled SONIC: MEGA DRIVE. The standalone story is being written by Ian Flynn with illustrations by Tyson Heese of Boxer Hockey fame. Tyson had been teasing something over the past few months, and it seems this is it!

The story is said to feature Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy Rose, and other characters from in the Genesis/Mega Drive era, and Flynn is crafting the story as though it is a never before seen Genesis-era Sonic game. SONIC: MEGA DRIVE is set to release July 6th. After the break, check out the full solicit from Archie Comics, featuring story details and more!

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7th Dragon III Code: VFD Nintendo 3DS launch edition to include art book

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In a clear case of SEGA’s acquisition of Atlus rubbing off on SEGA of America comes news of yet another launch edition of an upcoming physical release. SEGA 3D Classics Collection has decals, Valkyria Chronicles Remastered has a steelbook case, and now 7th Dragon III Code: VFD has been confirmed to include a 28-page art book and collector’s box. SEGA promises that the art book will contain “a closer look at the design work that went in to creating the game’s esoteric character classes, ferocious dragons, vile monsters, and the environments that span three time periods”. The box will likely be no different from the Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX launch edition, which is a cardboard box featuring the game’s case art. Still, it looks nice on a shelf.

7th Dragon III: Code VFD will arrive this summer in retail stores and on the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo 3DS in the Americas. The game will be available for $39.99/CA$54.99 and had been rated T by the ESRB. For more information please visit: http://7thdragon.sega.com

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Streets of Rage 2 vinyl coming to a record player near you

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SOR2_Full_OfferWe have had four SEGA soundtracks published by Data Discs, a awesome independent vinyl publisher of video game soundtracks and their fifth release has been confirmed as Streets of Rage 2 vinyl. This double LP will include four bonus tracks of demos and alternative versions of unused compositions.

Like always the Streets of Rage 2 vinyl will come in three versions:

  • 2 x 180g transparent vinyl with black smoke effect and blood splatter (limited edition, available exclusively from the Data Discs website) – £24.99 (about $35 USD)
  • 2 x 180g transparent vinyl with black smoke effect – £24.99 (about $35 USD)
  • 2 x 180g classic black vinyl – £22.99 (about $35 USD)

Pre-orders for the Streets of Rage 2 vinyl go live on Saturday, February 27th at the Data-Disc website, vinyls will ship sometime in April.

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Sonic the Hedgehog 25th anniversary events detailed, and more!

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The Tomy booth at New York’s Toy Fair was seemingly plastered with signs detailing Sonic information, as evidenced by our past two news posts. We’ve received word on game release dates, learned that Sonic Boom the TV series will be receiving a second season, and learned about several upcoming events planned for Sonic’s 25th anniversary. Upcoming events include a Game Developers Conference Party hosted by SGN (who we assume are these guys), with celebrations planned for Sonic Dash 2: Sonic Boom, as well as 25 years of Sonic as well as art and music. Expect this event to be held in mid-March as GDC runs from March 14-18. Next up, Sonic will be at SXSW with a History of Sonic panel. Details of the panel can be found online, with the panel taking place on Saturday, March 19th from 3:30PM-4:45PM and will be hosted by Sonic social media manager Aaron Webber, SEGA director of product development Austin Keys, voice actors Mike Pollock and Roger Craig Smith, Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka, and Sonic co-creator Yuji Naka. Wait, and they are only giving these guys 45 minutes? Sounds like a great panel that could easily run another hour.

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Sonic Boom season 2 confirmed, set to release on Cartoon Network in fall 2016

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New York Toy Fair has a ton of cool information regarding Sonic the Hedgehog’s 2016 plans, including release dates for games, event information, and news that Sonic Boom will have a second season. Tomy, which currently holds the Sonic toy license, had the above sign on display at their booth which reveals that a second season is in production and will be airing on Cartoon Network in fall 2016. The first season ran for 52 eleven minute episodes, and while there is no indication that season 2 will be the same length, it is likely.

Also revealed is that hulu will be streaming the first season in spring of 2016. This is great news for fans who want to catch up on the series, though it may also be bad news for those hoping for an American DVD release. While DVD volumes of the series has already started to release in the UK, there has been no news of a DVD release in America. The fact that hulu is streaming the series may mean that SEGA opted to stream rather than go the physical route. The plus side is that hulu will be, presumably, in HD whereas the DVDs are not.

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Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice 3DS and Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Wii U release date information

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A slew of Sonic the Hedgehog hit last night via information posted at Tomy’s booth at the New York Toy Fair. Tomy currently holds the license for Sonic the Hedgehog toys, following Jazwares, and as such their booth had not only upcoming action figures, RC vehicles and plush dolls, but they also had informational signs posted throughout the booth. The delayed Nintendo 3DS title Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice, originally planned for Fall 2015, has now been confirmed for a Fall 2016 release. This new date means the game has been pushed back a full year, and that it will now coincide with the release of Sonic Boom season 2. SEGA has already gone on public record saying that the delay is only good news, as it gives Sanzaru Games Inc. more time to refine and polish the title. Sanzaru’s first game in the spin-off franchise, Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal [read our review] also for 3DS, was notorious for having a rushed development. Though, it was a far better game in my opinion than Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, and the fact that SEGA is once again working with Sanzaru shows they still have faith in the developers.

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SEGA AM2’s KanColle Arcade shown off at Japan Amusement Expo

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Kan-Colle-Arcade_1The Japan Amusement Expo has been going on this week, one of SEGA’s big upcoming arcade games is SEGA AM2’s KanColle Arcade which is based off a license property. KanColle Arcade was set to come out sometime in 2015, but SEGA pushed the game back and now its set to come out in Japanese gaming centers this spring.

KanColle Arcade will include a ‘Kanmusume Cards’ dispenser, these cards will be used to create fleets. The game actually has a steering wheel and vessel speed lever for users to play with, which includes four attacks: ‘Main Gun’, ‘Secondary Gun’, ‘Torpedo Attack’ and ‘Air Strike’.

Hopefully after the game is released, SEGA AM2 can work on a in-house property for the virtua generation. Check out the new screenshots below, including a look at the new cabinet!

[Source: Gemastu]

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Viking: Battle for Asgard, Gunstar Heroes and Renegade Ops are free on Steam

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phase-3-unlockedSEGA continues their Make War Not Love event by giving another three games away for free. This is their third phase of free games. This time they are giving away the following titles:

  • Viking: Battle for Asgard
  • Gunstar Heroes
  • Renegade Ops (plus DLC)

To get the games, visit this page, click “REDEEM PRIZE” enter your email address under the Previous Content banner. You’ll see the instructions “In order to redeem the prize bundle, please enter your email address below.” You will then receive an email asking to add you to a list for the free content. Please allow up to 24 hours for a unique Steam code containing this content to be sent to you. Gunstar Heroes will appear in your library as ‘Sega Classics Collection’.

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SEGA Dreamcast Nintendo 3DS theme brings the nostalgia with the Phantasy Star Online lobby theme

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If you haven’t been following us on the social networks, earlier this week we shared that more SEGA themes are heading to the Nintendo 3DS for those in the west. Yesterday, Americans received a SEGA Dreamcast theme for $1.99 while today Europeans receive Dreamcast, Saturn and Hi-Tech (arcade) themes. Saturn and Hi-Tech had already released in America some time ago, so no surprises there, but what was surprising was that aside from the expected regional tweaks to the Dreamcast theme (blue swirl in Europe, different packaging designs on the top screen) there was also another change to the original Japanese Dreamcast 3DS theme. While the Japanese theme had some happy background music that I can’t quite place from the Dream Passport internet application, the western theme has the incredibly iconic Phantasy Star Online lobby music.

It may sound like I’m fanboying out over this, and I probably am, but man does the inclusion of that music make this theme a must own for any Dreamcast owner who has fond memories of 2am PSO play sessions. Not only did this music ensure that you have properly connected your console to the internet, but it was also the beginning of the adventure. Picture chat with your friends, pretend to be a Japanese girl, trade some guild cards, form a team, and hit the forest of Ragol for some rare blue Al Rappys. After the break, check out the theme in action and if you like it download it yourself. It’s well worth it.

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