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Cancelled 1992 SegaSonic Bros. arcade puzzle game detailed – here’s how it played and a new screen!

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The SegaSonic Bros. saga continues with a new screen and a detailed description of how the cancelled 1992 arcade game played. First off, it is now abundantly clear that the game was not a prototype of 1993’s SegaSonic the Hedehog. Despite a similar name and title screen, and the appearance of two additional characters colored red and yellow, SegaSonic Bros. was actually a drop down puzzle game from Bubble Bobble creator Fukio Mitsuji – a far cry from SegaSonic the Hedgehog‘s isometric platforming controlled with a trackball. Amazingly, SegaSonic Bros. was revealed as far back as June 2014 when SEGA 3D Classics developer and SEGA legend Yosuke Okunari tweeted a zoomed in screen of the game in action in reply to a tweet from Kenjoh Kohji who had shared a link to a site describing SegaSonic Bros.. Unfortunately, the conversation went unnoticed by fans, likely because Okunari was replying, it was in Japanese, and the screen was not overtly Sonic the Hedgehog.

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SEGAbits Celebrates Six Wonderful Years

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6-pakCartIts crazy to think that we have had this site constantly running for six years now, with a lot of support from not just our staff and web developer but also our readers. I’m glad to say that our past year as a website was great, we saw a surge in traffic and we’ve been seeing a spike in our forum activity (if you haven’t, join!).

So what can you expect from SEGAbits for the rest of 2016? We are working on updating our forums with new software (trust me, they are going to look great), we will be doing original content for upcoming SEGA game anniversaries, we will continue bringing you some of the best SEGA interviews, and of course we will continue to make a ton more SEGA News Bits throughout the year. Did I mention SEGA news? We will definitely be doing that. We are also hoping to get new writers to contribute and hopefully become a influence on the future direction of the website.

But outside of this, what do YOU want us to be doing and focusing on? What features would you like the site to have? Let us know in the comments below. Thank you again and here’s to another great year!

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Metacritic ranks SEGA as their #1 publisher of 2015

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SEGAMetacriticPublisher2015While SEGA didn’t release a lot of games during their 2015 year, the critics seemed to like the games they did release. From their SEGA 3D Classics to niche Japanese titles like Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX.  Metacritic ranks SEGA as their #1 publisher of 2015, beating the likes of companies like Sony Computer Entertainment, TellTale Games and yeah, even Nintendo. It seems that people already are calling this unfair due to most of the titles being re-releases, but their really good and add new content. I suggest people having issues with this to ask Metacritic to change the rules. When was the last time you could say ‘Metacritic ranks SEGA #1’?

Here are the list of publishers and how they ranked:

  1. SEGA – 77.1%
  2. Telltale Games – 74.6%
  3. Sony – 74.4%
  4. Activision Blizzard – 72%
  5. Devolver Digital – 73.5%
  6. Nintendo – 71.7%
  7. EA – 71.9%
  8. Bandai Namco – 69.5%
  9. Ubisoft – 69.9%

Seems that SEGA’s new stradegy of releasing fewer titles but making sure the titles that are released are of ‘good to great’ quality might be the solution to rebuilding their brand. This year we have (in the west) games like Valkyria Chronicles Remastered, Yakuza 0 (maybe), 7th Dragon III: Code VFC, Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice, Total War: Warhammer, SEGA 3D Classics Collection, and even that rumored Sonic 25th Anniversary game. If all goes as planned, SEGA might top the list again. Metacritic ranks SEGA #1, how do you feel about this?

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Cancelled SegaSonic Bros. arcade game designed by Bubble Bobble creator – check out the new screen

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Yesterday we posted a presumed prototype of 1993’s SegaSonic the Hedgehog arcade entitled SegaSonic Bros.. Today, the Tumblr user It’s ShouTime, who came across the game, has shared a new screen and new details. The screen, seen above, was accompanied by the caption “Play with yourself or against your bro. Designed by the creator of Bubble Bobble, Fukio Mitsuji, this went to location test and failed.”

What is interesting about this latest development is that is moves SegaSonic Bros. away from being a prototype to SegaSonic the Hedgehog and makes it appear to be its own unique title that went as far as location tests and failed. Perhaps this is what EGM’s 1992 magazine rumor writer saw or heard about? Also interesting is that despite apparently being a separate game, there are still similarities between this and SegaSonic the Hedgehog, namely the title and the colors of the additional red and yellow characters. Could this title have at least influenced SegaSonic the Hedgehog?

Keep an eye on the blog for more SegaSonic Bros information as it hits.

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SEGA News Bits: 7th Dragon III: Code VFD is coming to America

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Another SEGA of Japan game is making its way to the Americas, and this time its 7th Dragon III: Code VFD for the Nintendo 3DS. In this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry share their thoughts on this happy development and discuss both the upcoming game and the franchise. While the first 7th Dragon released back in 2009 to the Nintendo DS to Japan, 7th Dragon III: Code VFD is the franchise’s debut in the west. Is SEGA taking a gamble with the game, or is this a brave new world of SEGA of America releasing niche titles with little expectation of games attaining “pillar franchise” status? All this and more is discussed in the video above. Click play and check it out!

If you enjoyed the video make sure to like, share and subscribe to us on YouTube if you haven’t already. Thanks for the support!

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Play Fatal Smarties, a new scrolling shooter for the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive

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At this year’s Global Game Jam a group of indie developers had a special treat for SEGA retro fans, a new scrolling shooter called ‘Fatal Smarties‘ made its debut for the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive.

The game was developed by four students that represent the University of Southampton. The students tried to think out of the box for this co-op game, having an interesting mechanic where one player shoots and the other navigates the on screen characters.

The game was developed on a deadline during the Global Game Jam and seems very promising. Want to try it out on an emulator or flash cart? Get the rom here.

[Via: RetroCollect]

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UPDATED: SegaSonic the Hedgehog arcade prototype supposedly uncovered – presenting SegaSonic Bros.

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Remember when the SegaSonic Popcorn Shop ROM was dumped and playable on MAME? Well that same person who did that is now teasing something else Sonic arcade related! Originally shared on Tumblr is what appears to be a working prototype of SegaSonic The Hedgehog the arcade game. The user tagged the Tumblr post with “#unreleased” and added the caption “…it’s the megaton…”. The megaton indeed. For those not in the know, SegaSonic the Hedgehog was a trackball controlled arcade game released exclusively to Japan and North America in 1993. Given the control scheme, the game has not released outside of arcades as Sonic Team has claimed it is too tricky to make the game playable with standard control pads. The game featured the debut of Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Squirrel, but as this supposed prototype dated 1992 reveals the game was initially known as SegaSonic Bros. and featured blue hedgehog Sonic and a yellow and orange version of our hero (or perhaps two new hedgehogs?). Let’s just hope this hedgehog trio don’t form a band and look for their long lost mother.

We hope to hear more details on this soon, so in the meantime consider this a rumor. Fingers crossed this game gets dumped as well.

Discuss multi-colored Sonics and more in the SEGAbits forums, and after the break check out a small update on this story!

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Sonic the Hedgehog amiibo outsold Pikachu and Mario in North America

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amiibo-store-shelf.jpgSEGA’s blue blur is very popular not only in North America but also with Nintendo gamers, so much so that he ranked in number five on their amiibo sales chart in North America. Sonic beat the likes of Mario, Pikachu Pac-Man, and Mega Man. The most popular Amiibo in North America? Link. Surprised?

Here is the North American sales of amiibos:

1. Link
2. Bowser
3. Toon Link
4. Mewtwo
5. Sonic
6. Pikachu
7. Classic Mario
8. Pac-Man
9. Mega Man
10. Ganondorf

These charts come from Nintendo themselves . They have announced that they have shipped over 31 million amiibos, including 9.9 million in the third quarter alone. Check the best selling amiibos from Japan Europe after the break.

[Source: NeoGAF]

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Nintendo 3DS RPG 7th Dragon III Code: VFD announced for summer 2016 Americas release

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The localizations keep on coming! SEGA has just announced that the Nintendo 3DS dungeon crawling RPG 7th Dragon III Code: VFD will be receiving a physical release in the Americas. The original game released in Japan on October 15, 2015, while the localized release is set for a summer 2016 release. Not too bad a gap!

The 7th Dragon franchise has been a Japan-exclusive series, releasing to handhelds like the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP. 7th Dragon III Code: VFD is the franchise’s third main series title and the franchise’s first appearance on the 3DS as well as the first title to receive a western release. If you’re afraid jumping into the third game in the series will leave you lost, don’t worry. SEGA knows that too, as their press release specifically mentions that the game is a “self-contained episode”. The game will retail for $39.99/CA$54.99 and, as mentioned, will be a physical release (feels so good to type that). No word on Europe yet.

Check out the trailer above, and more information about the game and screenshots after the break!

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Swingin’ Report Show #84: Interview with SEGA-16.com founder Ken Horowitz

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On this episode of the SEGAbits podcast, Barry and George are joined by Ken Horowitz, founder of SEGA-16.com and writer of the upcoming book Playing at the Next Level: A History of American Sega Games. Even if you don’t know his name, any SEGA fan with internet access has stumbled upon SEGA-16 to find a helpful review, interview or retrospective. Now, Ken is using his knowledge of SEGA as well as close to one hundred newly conducted interviews to create a book which looks back on the games developed by SEGA of America during the 80s and 90s.

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

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Club Sega Shibuya location has closed

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Some sad news for SEGA fans at the start of the week. We learned that Club Sega Shibuya has closed its doors as of yesterday. News of the arcade’s closing became known with the posting of signs outside the arcade, politely advising customers of the impending closure. The location’s website also has a message, which also gives the January 31, 2016 closing date as well as a thank you to customers for their patronage. No word on why the arcade had closed, though it may simply have to do with the fact that it is a dwindling business in the country. There has also been speculation that the closure could have to do with the renovation of Shibuya Station, which Club Sega sits just outside of.

Club Sega can still be found in Akihaba, Nagoya-Fushimi and Nishiguchi. For a full list of operating SEGA amusement centers, check out this link.

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Yakuza 6 full demo playthrough now available for your viewing pleasure

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People who bought Yakuza: Kiwami were given demo codes for Yakuza 6 and sure enough one of those lucky fans have uploaded a playthrough for the up and coming Kazuma Kiryu simulator. In it we can see a whole host of new features added to the series and it seems that loading of any kind has been done away with. Yakuza 6 is stated for a Fall 2016 release exclusive on Playstation 4 in Japan.

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Yakuza 6 demo playthrough now available in HD

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SEGA have added Monday’s presentation for Yakuza 6 on their official Ryu Ga Gotoku Channel which just shows how much better the graphics are looking for the latest entry. If this you’re first time viewing the video then you’re in luck, the actual segment for Yakuza 6 starts on the 11:15 mark, prior to that Nagoshi and his co-hostess are discussing and playing Yakuza Kiwami.

Tell us what you think of this PlayStation 4 exclusive, does it make use of the new hardware’s power?

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Accessorize yourself with new classic SEGA console products from Numskull, and save 10% with our promo

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There has been a serious uptick in quality of SEGA products over the past year, and UK company Numskull is one of the offical SEGA licensees to thank for this. In the past month they have released a variety of cool everyday and formal accessories that pay tribute to classic SEGA hardware. Products include keychains, wallets, and cufflinks that feature SEGA Mega Drive, Genesis and Master System designs. They also have notebooks that are in the shape of the Mega Drive, Game Gear, Saturn and Dreamcast. Numskull were nice enough to send us some samples, which we will detail in a soon to come video.

The quality is top notch, and I especially love how the products are both true to the original hardware and stylish enough not to make you look like a little kid. I mean, only a real sophisticated man wears Mega Drive/Genesis controller cufflinks. I took some time actually using these to see how durable they are day to day, and am happy to report that they stand up well to everyday use.

If you live in the UK, you can check out their line of products at the Numskull online shop. As an added bonus, using the promo code SEGABITS10 at checkout will knock 10% off all non-sale items.

If you live in the US, you can find the Genesis controller cufflinks on Amazon.

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