News

Yakuza 5 announced: 5 playable characters and a brand new engine

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Yakuza 4 was the first game to allow new playable characters outside of Kazuma. They actually had 4 playable characters since it was the 4th game. Seems that SEGA is continuing that gimmick with Yakuza 5 , since they have announced 5 playable characters. Who are they?

  • Kazuma Kiryu
  • Taiga Saejima
  • Shun Akiyama
  • Haruka
  • Tatsuo Shinada

So we have two new playable characters and one of them is Haruka? Yes, the little girl you rescue in the first game and take care of throughout the series is now a playble character. Intresting? Hit the jump for more details on the title.

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Anarchy Reigns demo hits Japan May 31st

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Famitsu has reported that a demo of Anarchy Reigns will be hitting Japan on May 31st. The demo will feature a small sample of the single-player campaign and two online modes. It also states that Bayonetta will have some new moves that weren’t included in her game and that she will have different costumes and colors. What it doesn’t say is what system the demo will land on, but I’m guessing PS3 as 360 is not exactly a big enough system in Japan to promote your game on.

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Samba De Amigo and Rhythm Thief developer would love to create a Nintendo All Star Musical

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Shun Nakamura earned his SEGA respect back in the day when he created Samba De Amigo that apppeared in Arcades, SEGA Dreamcast and later ported over to the Nintendo Wii. He is now working on his new IP known as Rhythm Thief & the Emperor’s Treasure on the 3DS. In the interview he was asked if he could work on a Nintendo franchise what would it be?

” I would rather pick out no titles! Honestly, I would like to enjoy Nintendo titles just as a user rather than developer, because most of them are too great and seem so hard to develop. If I had to, I’d ideally create something like Nintendo All Star Musical, a rhythm game like Rhythm Thief using Nintendo characters and background music. Mario rhythmically follows the stage while Koopa Troopa’s location is based on the rhythm, and that makes a track, for example. Nintendo, I’m looking forward to your offer!” – Shun Nakamura

Sadly the interview conducted by Computer and Videogames is very Nintendo related, disappointing me since I have like 30 questions I would love to ask Shun Nakamura about Samba de Amigo.

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SEGA Japan files trademarks for Veil of Dark and The Shooting Coaster

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SEGA Japan have filed two new trademarks that could be anything. The names they trademarked? Veil of Dark and The Shooting Coaster. To me Veil of Dark sounds like a horror themed game and The Shooting Coaster a simple arcade game. Who knows, they could both be arcade games we will never play.

Still sort of exciting knowing that SEGA is still working on new IPs, despite a bad year for them.

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SEGA publishing new game by Double Fine Productions

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SEGA’s Twitter has recently posted a mystery image on Flickr, seen here, of a forest setting with a chunk missing from the image and a question mark. Clearly they are teasing a new game, but what game could it be? Well, we shared the initial image on our Facebook page, and a kind reader by the name of Marius Theßeling speculated that the art matched the style of Ron Gilbert’s unannounced upcoming game from Double Fine Productions. And sure enough, it matches up! We simply grabbed the image from SEGA’s flicker, and dropped in all the character art from Gilbert’s blog onto the image. Just like a puzzle, an image came together and you can see the completed image above. So it’s official: SEGA is teaming with Double Fine to publish a game! Sorry if we ruined the surprise, SEGA. But all the pieces were there.

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Meatbun offers up three cool new SEGA inspired shirts

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Meatbun have some crazy talent designing their gaming related tees, and I get the feeling they may have a bit of a Sega fan streak in them judging by how 3 out 4 of their latest designs are Sega inspired. Many are quite surprising mash ups too! First up, Passing Breeze. This looks like it could have come directly out of a mid to late 80s Japanese indie fan magazine, right down to the manga like toning. A gorgeous illustration that nails the vibe of the classic Outrun.

Check out SEGA Memories for the other two designs!

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Aliens: Conlonal Marines gets delayed into 2013, over half a decade since the game was announced

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Today, SEGA has revealed a final release date for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC versions of their upcoming Aliens game. The game will be available February 13th, 2013, more than six years after it was first announced on December 11th, 2006, alongside the canceled WRPG Aliens game from Oblivion. By the time gamers will finally be able to play the game, an entire console generation would have nearly come and gone.

Will the wait be worth it? Who knows, but above is a trailer to help you pass the time. The Wii U version of this game still doesn’t have a confirmed release date.

Hit the jump for the press release

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Saturn launch makes Cracked’s list of worst marketing failures in video game history

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Cracked.com posted an article titled “The 5 Worst Marketing Failures in the History of Video Games” and happen to use a Virtua Fighter image to promote the article. Since I’m a SEGA fan I decided it was worth a read. The SEGA Saturn comes in at number 5, with Jamie Kennedy’s E3 presentation coming in at number 4. Yeah, I guess fucking up a whole console generation is not as bad as having Jamie Kennedy talk for an hour super high at your E3 press conference.

I think SEGA got off easy, I’m sure they could have written a million ways SEGA has screwed up royally with their marketing or lack of marketing. Note: I like Clockwork Knights and Daytona USA so fuck the author of the article.

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Gearbox’s Randy Pitchford talks Aliens: Colonial Marines

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If you’re interested in SEGA’s upcoming Aliens title then you’ll enjoy Gamespot’s lengthy new preview.

Randy Pitchford of Gearbox discusses what separates Colonial Marines from other AAA shooters and licensed games, the studio’s love for the Aliens world, Left 4 Dead’s influences, the character growth you can expect, and what it will be like playing it on the Wii U (which he affirms will be the best-looking console version).

You can watch the preview over at Gamespot.

Aliens: Colonial Marines is a very pretty and incredibly ambitious project that hopefully does well for SEGA when it releases later this year.

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SEGA teams with Nike to present a run and jump Sonic mini-game

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From the Sonic Stadium comes this cool bit of Sonic news. Nike Football and SEGA have teamed up to promote football shoes (soccer shoes to Americans), and to do this they’ve created a rather ingenious interactive video that unlocks a Sonic mini-game. The game features a modified Green Hill Zone with Splash Hill music in which Sonic runs forward, with the space bar acting as the only way to control him. Sonic can jump and double jump (what is this, Sonic Colors?) as well as execute a killer soccer attack not unlike his recent move in which he can blast a box forwards to kill a string of enemies as seen in Colors and Generations. After the break, learn how to access the game.

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XBLA and PSN Vintage Collection titles finally priced and dated

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From the SEGA Blog comes news that is a surprise to nobody: The third wave of Vintage Collection titles are hitting XBLA and PSN next week. What we did not know were the dates and prices, thankfully SEGA has that covered. On May 22nd, PSN will receive the following titles for $4.99 each: Wonder Boy in Monster Land (Arcade), Wonder Boy in Monster World (Mega Drive), Monster World IV (Genesis/Mega Drive), Super Hang-On (Arcade), Revenge of Shinobi (Genesis/Mega Drive), Alex Kidd in Miracle World (Master System).

On May 23rd, XBLA will receive the following compilations: Monster World Collection (800 MSP) includes Wonder Boy in Monster Land (Arcade), Wonder Boy in Monster World (Genesis/Mega Drive) and Monster World IV (Genesis/Mega Drive). Alex Kidd & Co. Collection (800 MSP) includes Super Hang-On (Arcade), The Revenge of Shinobi (Genesis/Mega Drive) and Alex Kidd in Miracle World (Master System). But thats not all! After the break, more games, dates and prices.

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SEGA teases big Yakuza reveal for May 24th

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Looks like big things are a-comin’ for Yakuza fans. First noticed by Andriasang, the official Ryu Ga Gotoku website has been updated with a simple little animation, one which recalls past Yakuza installments while, at the end, teasing something new for May 24th.

With the Tokyo Game Show not being held until late September, it will be interesting to see whether this is going to be a major reveal or just a tease, or, come to think of it, whether this will indeed be Yakuza 5 or the announcement of another spinoff.

Stay tuned.

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Shining Blade characters will cameo in Samurai & Dragons

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Shining Blade was the last Shining title for the PSP, seems it will be making an appearance on the Playstation Vita via its cameo appearance in Samurai & Dragons. SEGA announced that they will be releasing a special pack of cards for their free-to-play Playstation Vita title that will include appearances from Shining Blade universe.

The special pack will be on sale from May 23rd through June 20th. The back will cost you 300CP. This game is Japan only with no announcement of bringing it over to America.

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Project X Zone gets more characters and is being developed by Xenoblade Chronicles developers

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Famitsu has announced lots of new details for the upcoming 3DS crossover video game called Project X Zone. Project X Zone will include characters from Capcom, Namco, and your favorite publisher, SEGA, in a tactical RPG game. The developer for the title has been announced as non other than Monolith Software. At first you will be excited since they created the Xenosaga franchise and the new(ish) Wii RPG Xenoblade Chronicles, but they also developed Namco x Capcom on the PS2; which wasn’t that great of a game.

Hit the jump to see new gameplay details, Famtisu scans and a full list of confirmed characters!

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Like blue skies and palm trees? Follow SEGAbits on Tumblr

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We’ve friended on Facebook and tweeted on Twitter, and now we’re tumbling on Tumblr! Rather than recycle news and articles that you can find at this very site, we’re trying something a bit different. SEGAbits presents Palmtree Panic! is a Tumblr devoted to SEGA’s iconic palm trees. Think palm trees are only found in Sonic games? Think again. Every day we’re posting a new instance of a palm tree in a SEGA game or a game on a SEGA console. Some famous, like Green Hill’s digital palms, and some obscure. So make sure to check up on our Tumblr for new trees and we’d very much appreciate submissions. Just click “submit a palm tree” to add to our digital garden.

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