The Sonic movie Twitter account has officially named the date for the third film, with Sonic the Hedgehog 3 set for a December 20, 2024 release date in North America. The announcement was timed with the home video release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which hits 4K Ultra HD, blu-ray and DVD today.
Yakuza fans are getting their first look at the eighth game in the franchise by way of a behind-the-scenes video shared by MMA fighter and YouTuber Mikuru Asakura. The video sees Mikuru Asakura visiting SEGA HQ and speaking with staff, followed by a tour of the offices and then a 3D scan of his body. The video reveals that Mikuru Asakura will play a role in Yakuza 8, and off screen footage shows Ichiban with tied back hair. An article from Famitsu states the game will feature a new town.
Another live stream has taken place in which more SEGA Mega Drive Mini 2 games have been revealed! In addition to the games announced, we got our first look at both the SEGA Genesis Mini 2 and Mega Drive Mini 2 side by side with their packaging. So what games did SEGA reveal?
SEGA Genesis Mini 2 has been revealed! Let’s talk about it. Oh, and is that Bayonetta? She’s back as well! And what’s Barry’s Beef this week? It’s Green Hill Zone.
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Pre-Order the SEGA Genesis Mini 2
SEGA has officially announced the SEGA Genesis Mini 2. The console is an Amazon exclusive and you can learn more on the official website.
Our original news story, which broke before SEGA made the announcement, follows:
An Amazon listing has appeared for an American version of the SEGA Mega Drive Mini 2, appropriately named the SEGA Genesis Mini 2. Interestingly, the product is being sold by Amazon Japan despite being listed on Amazon US and ships from Japan. The listing title says “For North American sales only” in Japanese. Currently, it is priced at $103.80. We are still confirming the validity of this listing as the seller Amazon Japan could very well be an official sounding name used by anybody. So if you plan to pre-order, be mindful of this. Amazon will not take any money until the release date of October 27, 2022.
Another interesting bit is that Sonic 3D Blast is shown in the screenshots, and this game has yet to be revealed as a Mega Drive Mini 2 title. You can see the screenshot after the break.
An Amazon Japan listing has also appeared, with similar information but lacking screenshots but the item is sold by Amazon.co.jp itself. The listing also has a list of announced titles, including the aforementioned Sonic 3D Blast. Other newly announced titles include Rainbow Islands Extra, OutRunners, Super Hang-On, VectorMan 2, The Ooze and Rolling Thunder 2. See the full list after the break.
Publisher Nintendo and developer Platinum Games announced today that Bayonetta 3 will launch on October 28 for Nintendo Switch with a new game play trailer along with an introduction of the new playable character, Viola, who is ready to unleash hell on the Homunculi with her sword and her capricious companion, the feline demon Cheshire.
Bayonetta 3 will launch with “A Trinity Masquerade Edition” with a full-color 200-page art book, and display the whole Bayonetta trilogy with three reversible game cases, one for each title, that combine to form stunning panoramic artwork. More details regarding the Trinity Masquerade Edition will be announced in the future.
In addition, Nintendo announced it will launch the original Bayonetta as a standalone physical release on September 30. A limited number of copies will be available to pre-order via select retailers and available at launch in the My Nintendo Store at a suggested retail price of $29.99.
Source: Gematsu
Data Discs had been pretty quiet on the vinyl front, likely due to international shipping issues and other pandemic problems, but they’re picking up steam with new releases and this is a big one! Sonic Spinball is releasing to vinyl as the 25th entry in their numbered line of video game soundtracks. This isn’t Data Discs first Sonic vinyl, as the company also released Sonic CD and Sonic Mania vinyls, the latter which is seeing a repressing along with OutRun. Sonic Spinball and the rereleases release July 9th and will ship immediately. Read all the details after the break!
Since the launch of Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, Nintendo and Sega have been updating the service with new Sega Genesis games every two months. On June 30th 2022, they surprised everyone once again with four more games for subscribers to play. This time, Expansion Pack subscribers now have access to Comix Zone (1995), Mega Man: The Wily Wars (1994), Zero Wing (1991), and Target Earth (1990). As a quick fun fact, this is the first update to the service to feature third party Sega Genesis titles since the initial launch lineup. The same four games have also been added to the Japanese NSO + EP service at the same time.
Spread out throughout the month of June 2022 was news that Persona 5 Royal, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 3 Portable would soon be launching on Xbox consoles, PC platforms (Persona 4 Golden has already been on Steam since June 2020), and PlayStation 5. For Xbox and Windows PC users, all three will also be part of Xbox Game Pass following their launch on Microsoft platforms. It was finally also revealed at the end of Nintendo’s Mini Partner Showcase Direct from June 28th that all three will now finally release worldwide on Nintendo Switch as well. This is all part of Atlus’s celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Persona series of games.
Given the runaway (Pun unintended) success of both Sonic The Hedgehog movies thus far, Sega has been doubling down on gearing up their other beloved IPs, such as Streets of Rage, to grace the silver screen, If all goes well, Atlus titles will soon have their chance.
If you’ve been holding out on Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis to play on PlayStation 4, the wait will soon be over. In a surprise announcement at Anime Expo 22, PSO2 NGS will finally launch on PS4 in the western world on August 31st 2022. Both NGS and PSO2 will be fully playable on all PS4 and PS5 consoles, including all updates that have been made to both games up to that point. The game will also extend its cross platform compatibility so that PlayStation players can play with Xbox and PC players. You can also purchase ARKS Cash, the game’s premium currency, directly from the PlayStation Store.
You hear that? It’s the sound of engines revving, which can only mean we got a roundup of SEGA rumors to drop on you today! While some of these are indeed just rumors, others are cold hard facts. Which is which? We will leave that for you to decide. Because there are so many little bits of SEGA rumors, I’ll break it down into bullets.
A new Nintendo Direct brought with it new footage and information for the upcoming Sonic Frontiers, due out for PC and all major consoles this holiday season. The biggest news was the reveal of a new enemy, named Sage, as well as information about high speed Cyber Space levels which should feel right at home with fans of Sonic Generations. You can check out the new footage above, and after the break read through all the new information from SEGA!
Famitsu hosted a live stream to debut additional games for the upcoming Mega Drive Mini 2, as well as a revival of a unique controller. Yosuke Okunari was on-hand to make the reveals and give a little additional insight into the games.
Yu Suzuki’s return to arcade gaming arrives today in the form of Air Twister, an Apple Arcade exclusive. Now before you moan and groan about it being on Apple products only, as revealed in our exclusive interview with Yu Suzuki it was Apple who asked him and his team for an arcade-style game. Apple is also listed in the game’s credits as a producer. So without Apple, this game would not have happened.
If you have an Apple Arcade subscription, the game is available to play now! I’ve tried it myself on an iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and iMac and all platforms play the game very well. My preferred method is a gamepad on the TV. I’ve tried the old iCade arcade stick and sadly it does not work due to how the iCade maps its buttons. Still, I am certain a bluetooth flight stick or arcade stick would work.
Stay tuned to SEGAbits for more Air Twister news!