ITV is reporting on a bit of bizarre marketing from SEGA West, in which a giant 20 foot tall alien egg has on the lawn of London’s Potters Field Park today. The egg is reported to be guarded by Colonial Marines who are also on the lookout for a Xenomorph. ITV appears to be the first to report on the marketing event, and given the quality photos credited to Lunch PR, it could be that SEGA tasked Lunch PR to put this event together and the PR agency reached out to ITV to “report” on the event. Once we learn more about the event, and receive more photos, we’ll be sure to share!
Right now Microsoft is a big player in the game console race, but a decade ago they weren’t in the same position as they are now. Like a bad stereotype, before Microsoft entered the market with the Xbox, there were tons of rumors about them purchasing a gaming company, and one of those comapnies was SEGA.
So why didn’t Microsoft ever pick up SEGA? Well, according to then-CEO Bill Gates, he thought that the house of Sonic lacked the ‘muscle’ to compete with a company like Sony. This is what Joachim Kempin, who worked at Microsoft from 1983 to 2003, had to say:
“There were three companies at that point in time, I think this was [Sony,] Sega and Nintendo. There was always talk maybe we buy Sega or something like that; that never materialized, but we were actually able to license them what they call Windows CE, the younger brother of Windows, to run on their system and make that their platform. But for Bill [Gates] this wasn’t enough, he didn’t think that Sega had enough muscle to eventually stop Sony so we did our own Xbox thing.”
He did state that SEGA was “a very different bird” which we can all agree. But its not like they hated everything SEGA did, I mean, they did put the Xbox in the hands of Dreamcast era SEGA COO Peter Moore.
Hey, we are back on the grind. A brand new episode of the Swingin’ Report Show. This week we talk about being around for 3 years, the Relic SEGA buy out and much more. Take a seat and enjoy the show…
We have posted on here before about Shirt Punch putting up some pretty nice looking SEGA shirts. The site puts up shirt designs for a limited time, today happens to have a Mario themed shirt and also a blue Sonic t-shirt. For only $10 dollars? Totally worth the pick up, especially since it will only be on sale for 24 hours. Get it now before its gone forever.
After Burner Climax is fast and frantic arcade-style action, putting you in the cockpit of the world’s fastest fighter plane. Dodge planes, rockets and bullets while trying to target multiple on-screen enemy aircraft. Built for all skill levels, everyone will be able to take to the air and blaze through a branching storyline of over 20 stages. Unlock achievements along the way to activate exclusive power ups using your experience and expertise.
Features include the ability to choose from three fighter planes: the F-14D Super Tomcat by Northrop Grumman, the F-15E Strike Eagle or F/A-18E Super Hornet by Boeing. Each fighter plane has four paint schemes to choose from. In addition to the 20+ stages, the game features Arcade Mode, Score Attack Mode and Climax Mode. iOS features include Airplay support, HDMI support, Retina Display on iPhone 4/4S/5 and iPad 3rd and 4th Gen, and iPad Mini support. After the break, check out a gallery of images of the game running on both iPhone and iPad.
Update: SEGA’s message to Android users: “Android version is coming out too, just around the corner!”
The Sonic Stadium is reporting that Sonic Brand Manager Aaron Webber, also known as Ruby Eclipse on various social platforms, will be hosting a panel at Animation On Display 2013 entitled “Super Sonic: Behind the Scenes of Sonic the Hedgehog”. The panel is described as follows:
Explore the rise, fall, and recent resurgence of Sonic the Hedgehog in games and other media. An in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at Sonic’s creation, his rise to fame in the early 90′s, and his transition into 3D and the present day. Bring your questions and your passion for Sonic – all are welcomed! With Aaron Webber, Brand Manager, SEGA America
The event itself takes place from February 16th-17th at Hotel Kabuki in San Francisco, CA. The Sonic panel takes place on Saturday February 16th at 3pm PST in the Live Events 1 room. Early registration closes today, and tickets can be purchased here. Many fans are speculating that the next Sonic title will be revealed at the event, and this lines up with a rumor that the next main series Sonic title will be revealed mid-February. It is also important to note that Ken Pontac, the writer responsible for co-writing Sonic Colours and Sonic Generations, will also be at AOD 2013 and early materials list Ken as a writer for an upcoming Sonic game.
Update: Aaron has clarified for us on Twitter just what to expect from the panel: “Like the title and description read, it’s a look at Sonic’s history, from creation to now. No new game announcements – sorry! :)”
SEGA of Japan have posted up a teaser site for an upcoming game, with the date of “2.12” being the only text floating atop a series of painted fantasy lanscapes. Could it be a new Phantasy Star? A Sonic Chronicles 2? Shenmue 1.5: How Goro Got His Groove Back? No, the game being teased is in fact a Korean massive online battle arena game known as Chaos Online. Most likely, SEGA will be localizing and releasing it for Japan. As you can see after visiting the site, the above image appears in the rotation, without the character and game logo of course. Most likely, the game will not be released outside of Japan, so as they say “move along, move along”.
The number three is quite an important one for SEGA fans: the highly successful Mega Drive/Genesis was the third SEGA console (excluding the many variations of the SG-1000 and Master System), Sonic 3 & Knuckles is considered to be Sonic’s greatest 2D epic, and fans often request Sonic Adventure 3 and a Shenmue 3. It is fitting, then, that we make such a big deal of our three year anniversary. While three years may not seem like a long time, for a website it is quite a feat. For three solid years our writers, admins and mods have strived to bring SEGA fans the best general SEGA fan site we can. We’ve done our best to keep up to date on SEGA news and reviews, from official stories to fan projects, and strived to create as much original content as we can. As such, we are very proud of our many features including the My Life with SEGA video series, Tuesday Tunes, writer round tables, the Friday Five (which will return soon), the Sonic Talk podcast, and our general SEGA podcast the SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show. We have also redesigned the site a number of times, but always for the better, to give readers and followers the best visual experience we can.
Of course, all of the above means nothing without a crucial element: our readers and community members. Without all of you, SEGAbits probably wouldn’t have lasted as long as it has, and would be nowhere near the success that it is. As such, we want to give a huge “thank you!” to our readers. Thank you for frequenting the site, thank you for the comments and news tips, thank you for the hours spent in our forums and thank you for making us the number one general SEGA fan site on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr. Also, a big thank you to the many members of SEGA’s staff who helped us out with articles, interviews, contests, and events. You know who you are, and you’re awesome. So here’s to three years, and here’s to many more!
Numbers nerds rejoice, SEGA has released their 3rd quarter earnings for 2013! Of course, to the average SEGA fan, it’s a lot to take in and a bit difficult to work out the positives and negatives. Thankfully, the SEGAbits community has members who know their stuff. So a big thanks to Aki-at for sharing the news and making sense of the many PDFs. Overall net profits currently stand at ¥3 billion (£20,433,810/$32,003,400), this is from an original ¥7 billion which dropped to ¥3 billion due to costs. SEGA arcade sales operating profits were ¥2,6 billion (£17,742,998/$27,993,160) while the consumer division profited ¥519 million (£3,541,775.37/$5,587,865.40) and arcade centers profited ¥984 million (£6,715,042.32/$10,594,334.40).
Sammy, meanwhile, recorded ¥7.7 billion operating profits (£52,512,691/$82,168,240), a decrease from last year’s ¥71 billion (£483,600,170/$757,413,800). It is important to note, however, that the arcade division had no new major titles being sold and that some pachislot machines were delayed. A Fist of the Northstar pachislot machine was forecasted to sell over 200,000 units. As such, numbers were adjusted to account for this changing the net income projection down from ¥40 billion to ¥12 billion.
SEGA dropped a bomb today, revealing that After Burner Climax will be receiving an iOS port. The game, which will be playable on iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch platforms, looks to be completely rebuilt to support touchscreen play. Graphics appear to be scaled down, but presumably the smaller screen and super fast speeds will make the scaling down not so noticeable. In case you can’t tell, I’m trying to pad this article out to make it a paragraph, because SEGA has shared little else other than a screen, the platforms and a promise that more info is to come. Given the announcements of past SEGA iOS titles, we could very well see the game releasing within a week.
The SEGA Blog has today revealed new screens and details regarding the Nintendo 3DS release of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. The screens, seen after the break, look rather jaggy and blurry. However, as we’ve seen the game looks a lot better when it is actually being played, which is typically the case with 3DS titles when it comes to screenshots. The game is still set for a February 8, 2013 release in Europe and a February 12, 2013 release in North America. Other features include:
StreetPass challenges and features
The ability to play with up to seven friends using multi cart or single cart play
22 playable SEGA All-stars characters
Over 20 tracks and arenas
Also noted, like the other versions of the game there will be a bonus edition available for a limited time. Bonus edition content features: Metal Sonic along with his transforming vehicle and Mod Pack, an additional Outrun Bay Track plus challenges and time trials, and stickers for your in-game driver’s license.
Despite being a week away, there has been a severe lack of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed gameplay footage. That is, until today! YouTube user Dafstervideos has uploaded a whopping sixteen and a half minutes of gameplay footage. I have to say, the game is looking surprisingly good, for a handheld port of a console title. It is far better looking than the DS version of the first game, that’s for sure. Give the video a watch and let us know what you think of the 3DS iteration. The game is due to release in the EU on the 8th, and in the US on the 12th.
I figured it’d be fun to post something a bit out of the normal since it’s the weekend. Every Sonic fan knows who MarioTehPlumber is. Turns out he wasn’t happy with SEGA’s blog entry today for Hedgehog Day, and thinks Sonic Adventure 3 is coming and it upsets him greatly. Skip to the 2:40 mark for the good stuff if you aren’t patient. Language warning, NSFW, etc.
While SEGAbits.com doesn’t officially turn three years old until February 6th, we were too excited to wait and want to officially announce the SEGAbits 3rd anniversary My Life with SEGA contest! AJ lays out all the rules and prizes in the video above, but to nail the details into your heads here is a recap:
WHAT TO DO:
Create a review of a SEGA game, a game on a SEGA console, or a piece of SEGA hardware. The format is up to you: written, video, a drawing, a photo of a sculpture. As long as it is a review of something SEGA, and you’re able to share it with us, you’re in the running.
WHAT YOU GET IF YOU WIN:
The top three winners will be featured in a SEGAbits.com article. First place will receive AJ’s personal copy of Technocop for the Genesis, a Genesis model 2 and a copy of the official “SEGAbits Presents My Life with SEGA” DVD. Second place will receive AJ’s copy of Outlander as well as the My Life with SEGA DVD. Third place will receive a copy of the DVD. The best runners-up will also be featured in an article.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE:
Submissions must be sent to us by the end of February (the 28th). Winners will be announced the second week of March and prizes will be sent out at the end of March.
Written reviews can be submitted via the contact button in the navigation bar at the top of the site, or emailed to us at: SEGAbits@gmail.com
Drawings can be submitted the same way, either as a link to a page where your drawing is hosted or by attaching the drawing to an email.
Videos can be shared by being posted to your personal YouTube account and then shared with SEGAbits as a video response to the above video, or by emailing us a link.
GOOD LUCK, SEGA FANS! We can’t wait to see what you come up with.
SEGA Japan has released a new trailer for Phantasy Star Online 2 for the Playstation Vita. The PC version has been released in Japan since early last year and now they are preparing to release the Vita version this February. Yes, the Vita version will also be free to download and play, which of course is awesome.
The best news? You will be able to play with PC players on the Vita and also use ‘character data transfer’.
