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Funimation acquires English dubbing rights to BAYONETTA: Bloody Fate

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FUNimation® Entertainment announced today that the company has acquired U.S. & Canadian rights to the full-length feature film BAYONETTA: Bloody Fate. BAYONETTA: Bloody Fate, which was produced by GONZO animation studio and internationally acclaimed director Fuminori Kizaki, was released in theaters on DVD & Blu-ray in Japan last year and faithfully retells the story of the first BAYONETTA game in full anime glory.

Director Fuminori Kizaki will also be making an appearance as a guest of honor at this year’s Anime Expo in Los Angeles, July 3-6 where a “sneak peek” of the English dub of BAYONETTA: Bloody Fate will be shown for fans at the convention, along with a special Q&A with Director Kizaki following on Saturday, July 5th, at 8:15pm in Video 1.

FUNimation plans to release the animated movie on DVD and Blu-Ray sometime this year with a released date that has yet to be announced. BAYONETTA 2 is also set for a release this year in October, so be sure to check out our E3 impressions on the sequel sometime this week.

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SEGAbits at E3 Interview: Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F 2nd Interview with Producer Sam Mullen

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Sam Mullen, Localization Producer for SEGA, joined us for an interview at E3 2014 to discuss Hatsune Miku Project Diva F 2nd and our hopes for future Western releases of SEGA’s Japanese titles. Hatsune Miku Project Diva f 2nd is due out Fall 2014 for the Playstation 3 and Vita. We’re especially looking forward to the title, as we gave the original game for the Vita a well deserved “A” grade.

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SEGAbits at E3: A Tour of the SEGA Booth

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Let’s take a first person walkthrough SEGA’s booth at E3 2014! On the way, we’ll encounter SEGAbits/The Sonic Stadium writer Shigs playing Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric for the Wii U, check out the Sonic Boom, Hatsune Miku, and Alien: Isolation booths. We even run into SEGA of America Community Manager Julian Mehlfeld for the shortest SEGA interview ever. Enjoy!

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SEGAbits at E3 Interview: Sonic Boom Producer Stephen Frost

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Our E3 coverage continues with an interview with Sonic Boom Producer Stephen Frost! Stephen was nice enough to sit down on the final day of the expo to answer our questions about the upcoming Wii U and 3DS games Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal. Developed by Big Red Button Entertainment (Wii U) and Sanzaru Games (3DS), both titles are due out November 2014.

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Persona Q could be the second Atlus game priced at $49.99 on 3DS

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No doubt that handheld gaming has increased in cost over the years. One of the things that always surprises me is how slowly software prices have risen as well. Atlus seems to have been trying to add a premium price tag to their titles, starting with last year’s 3DS exclusive Shin Megami Tensei IV. They justified their price tag due to the fact that it was translated and released so quickly (2 months after its Japanese release).

It seems that they want to continue this trend with the upcoming Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth since Amazon and Gamestop have both listed the title for $49.99. Speedy translation? This title took 4 months, 50% more time to be brought over than their last premium priced title, Shin Megami Tensei IV. Shin Magami Tensei IV also came in a nice limited edition box set if you bought a first print run of the game. That included an awesome 176 page strategy guide with concept art, eight track CD and a collectible slipcase while Persona Q only has 12 tarot cards.

What do you guys think? Is $49.99 too steep for any Nintendo 3DS game? Let us know in the comments.

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SEGAbits at E3 Preview: Super Monkey Ball Bounce (iOS, Android)

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I’m not really all that experienced with the world of mobile gaming. Though I’ve played my share of Angry Birds and a handful of SEGA games, most of my portable gaming is done on proper handheld systems with buttons and analog sticks. Needless to say, I was a little out of my depth at the SEGA Network party, which was showcasing several upcoming mobile SEGA games to the press, including Super Monkey Ball Bounce.
 

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Sonic Boom games heading to Japan, retitled “Sonic Toon”

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It looks like SEGA has reversed their decision to keep Sonic Boom as a Western-only series, as Nintendo Everything reports, the latest issue of Famitsu revealed that the Wii U and 3DS titles will be releasing in Japan under the name of Sonic Toon. No word on whether the TV series will also see release in Japan, but given the new title of Sonic Toon it is possible that the TV show will also be localized and the whole franchise is to be seen as a cartoonish Western branch of the series in Japan. Hey SEGA, as long as you’re sending games Japan’s way, why not localize some of the Japanese SEGA titles for us Westerners, we can consider it a trade.

More news on Sonic Boom Toon as we hear it!

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SEGAbits at E3 Preview: Citizens of Earth (PlayStation 4, PSVita, Wii U, 3DS, & PC)

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Some games just have this irresistible charm about them. The moment you see it, you just know you want to play it and see if it lives up to just how awesome it looks. At E3, Atlus’s Citizens of Earth was one of those games. As a man who is interested in politics and is always open to some political satire, and the concept on display here is way too hilarious to ignore.

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SEGAbits at E3 Preview: Sonic Jump Fever (iOS, Android)

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While at E3, Nuckles87 and I were invited to a party hosted by SEGA’s mobile division, SEGA Networks, that was dedicated to mingling and showing off SEGA’s mobile titles. It was a great chance to relax after a hard day and to get some free food and drink. Those pretzel bun sandwiches with the roast beef and bacon were out of this world! But mostly, we where there to check out these games that have only been available to the lucky few… million in the Great White North. The one I’ll be talking about in this preview is Sonic Jump Fever, a sequel to the 2012 game that is both harder, easier and more fast-paced than its predecessor. It even has Chao. Yes, Chao are back!

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SEGAbits at E3 Preview: Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F 2nd

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Until a week ago, I had never owned a Hatsune Miku game. Until two days ago I had never played one. What I’m trying to tell you is I am extremely new to this franchise, so I would like to ask you to please excuse some of my noobish glee as I acknowledge several years after everyone else that Hatsune Miku Project Diva F is a really fun rhythm game and I am glad to have finally played it, even if it took the prospect of an E3 write-up for me to finally play it.

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SEGA in the Charts: MediaCreate charts for June 02 – 08 June 2014

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This is the first time “SEGA in the Charts” will be covering an Atlus game and what a time to start! As it is, this is SEGA’s first number one since Hatsune Miku released back in March and the first title published in Japan under SEGA’s ownership of the Atlus brand. It’s also the first time the Persona series has appeared on a non-Playstation console, so it will be interesting to see how things develop after the first week of sales. I think both Atlus and SEGA can be extremely happy with how it has turned out for them. Hit the break to see the full lowdown!

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SEGAbits at E3 Preview: Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric (Wii U)

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After you’re done reading, get a second opinion from Jason Berry over at Sonic Stadium!

Sonic has been reinvented countless times over the years, to the point where the character has time and time again become unrecognizable in every way except his name, speed and trademark attitude. Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric represents the latest of these reinventions and is one of the most radical re-imaginings since Sonic made the transition to 3D fifteen years ago. Nothing has been held as sacred here, with Sonic Boom effectively acting as a near complete teardown of what past games were.

For one, this game isn’t just about speed and platforming, but also features a variety of brawling-centric levels. Though very few speed areas were on display, the final game will apparently feature a mix of speed areas and brawling areas, rather than keeping them segregated from one another as they were in the demo. Since there were no real speed areas on display, this preview will be focusing mostly on the game’s combat areas.

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SEGAbits at E3 Preview: Abyss Odyssey (Xbox 360, PS3 and PC)

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This is going to be an interesting year for us here at SEGAbits, as we try to get accustomed to covering Atlus games. I’ve been trying to familiarize myself with the company, but I haven’t truly begun to introduce myself to their catalog until today, when I played several of their games on the showfloor. I’m going to do my best to provide coverage of this company, but I am somewhat out of my depth here. First on my docket? Abyss Odyssey!

I had a fun time with this game. It’s essentially a Smash Bros game with rogue-like elements. So pretty much a side scrolling brawler that can be really, really hard and brutal. Allies can hit and damage each other in this game, the labyrinth quickly becomes much more difficult the deeper you go, and dying will result in you going back to your previous checkpoint, sans all of your equipment and items. Death in this game carries a serious consequence! For a rogue-like this game is actually pretty generous, as you get to keep all of your collected experience, skills and gold.

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Sony and SEGA to team up for a series of Sonic the Hedgehog movies, films to be animated by Marza Animation Planet

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The Hollywood Reporter has dropped a bombshell on Sonic fans by way of the announcement of a Sonic the Hedgehog movie! The film is reported to be a partnership between Sony Pictures Entertainment and SEGA, with animation handled by SEGA’s own Marza Animation Planet (of Night of the Werehog fame). The movie is described as “a hybrid CG-animated/live-action feature” is to be produced by Neal Moritz (22 Jump Street), Takeshi Ito and Mie Onishi of Marza, and executive produced by Toby Ascher with a screenplay written by Upright Citizens Brigade alums Evan Susser and Van Robichaux. Sonic and Eggman are the only confirmed characters thus far. Columbia Pictures president of production Hannah Minghella said “There are limitless stories to tell with a character like Sonic the Hedgehog and a built-in international fan base. Along with our wonderful creative partners at Marza, we’re looking to capture everything that generations of fans know and love about Sonic while also growing his audience wider than ever before.” Marza CEO Masanao Maeda added, “Sonic has had dozens of adventures on the console and the small screen, and we’re thrilled that he’s now coming to the big screen. Sony Pictures has had great success with hybrid animated and live-action features, and we’re confident that this collaboration will bring a fresh take to Sonic, while still capturing everything that the fans love about him.”

We’ll share more info as soon as we hear it!

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Sonic Boom the TV series trailer releases in time for E3

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Do you like the humor in Sonic Boom, but you don’t want any of that “having to put effort into playing a game” stuff? Well, this new trailer for the tv show shows off plenty of that. While part of this trailer was already seen in the first trailer, it does show plenty of new plot and funny jokes from seemingly the first episode.

It also has Eggman standing on a tiny hoverboard. Yes, Eggman on a tiny hoverboard.

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