In Archipel’s “Caravan” game documentary series, the crew interviews Takenobu Mitsuyoshi on his career at SEGA and music performances.
This documentary gives us good insight on the origins of the composer on how he joined SEGA and has a few iconic SEGA songs in the video.
Be sure to check it out and let Archipel know what you think!
As you know that the arcade business has been shrinking over the last few decades. This was one of the main reasons Yu Suzuki left SEGA in 2008, stating that they would no longer fund larger scale arcade games. As time went on, it seemed that only a handful of arcade titles continued to profit and the market kept shrinking. This year we got hit with Covid-19, which had a huge impact on the arcade market.
Because of these trends and the events of 2020. SEGA has sold off a majority stake (85.1%) of their SEGA Entertainment arcade business to GENDA, “a company created in 2018 by former President of Aeon Fantasy. Genda specialises in the rental of amusement machines and owns the LIFTる。website and mobile application which allows players to remotely play cranes and have their won prizes delivered home” (Source: Arcade Belgium). SEGA is now a minority shareholder of the business at 14.9%.
It has only been a couple of months since Arcarde1up surprised us with the Golden Axe: Revenge of Death Adder cabinet and now they come and shock us again with a replica cabinet of the iconic OutRun Deluxe! Pre-orders are up on their site and will cost you a cool $499.99 USD (yo send me one for review, I’m poor!).
The cabinet will include the following games:
Outrun™
Turbo Outrun™
Outrunners™
Going to be honest, this is the sickest cabinet that Arcade1up has produced and that is saying a lot considering each new cabinet gets me to want to buy one. UPDATE: Some things I wanted to update about that Sean Tagg posted on Twitter: The device doesn’t have Ferrari licenses so all the original games are going to be modified and the cabinet will omit Ferrari logos, the cabinet doesn’t have SEGA logos and the steering wheel is made out of foam.
[Via: Arcade1up]
The SEGA Forever social channels have shared a new video looking back on the Jet Set Radio franchise. The pop-up video delves into some more obscure aspects of the franchise, including the underrated isometric Game Boy Advance port. Check out the video above and be on the lookout for more SEGA Forever retrospectives!
SNK’s arcade board Atomiswave, which was created in collaboration with SEGA and Sammy (before the merger), was very close to SEGA’s arcade board NAOMI. NAOMI happens to be what the SEGA Dreamcast was based on. Recently, the arcade community has been porting Atomiswave arcade titles to NAOMI, and now thanks to Megavolt85 we are getting our first port to the SEGA Dreamcast… Metal Slug 6!
We’re not sure if this is technically considered a port, but according to Megavolt85: “Atomiswave is Dreamcast with small changes. all the information you need is in the MAME source code”.
Could be interesting seeing more Atomiswave titles ported, you can check out the full list of Atomiswave games below:
IDW has announced “Sonic The Hedgehog: The IDW Collection, Volume 1”, the first in a series of hardcover oversized books spanning the IDW Sonic series in recommended reading order. This means that the ongoing series, annuals, and mini-series will all see release under this format as future volumes release. Meanwhile, IDW will also be releasing the trade paperback editions which are priced at $15.99 each and usually collects 4 issues at a time.
Now, this is all speculation in my part, but the naming convention here opens them up to a possible “The Archie Comics Collection” in the future, which I would love to see, but am not holding my breath for. Still, stranger things have happened. After the break, check out some additional information on this upcoming series.
Shenmue III, which released almost a year ago, will see a complete soundtrack release from Ys Net, Brave Wave Productions and Limited Run Games. Weighing in at 195 music compositions, which consists of both old and new tracks, the soundtrack will see release on CD, vinyl and digital. If you want options, you better believe they have them!
The CD edition consists of 6 discs, and includes a special box and liner notes for $49.99. The digital edition will be available on all major streaming services for $30. The vinyl edition comes in three flavors: a 2-LP Music Selection release with 33 of the game’s most iconic tracks (which would fit well along side the Data-Discs releases of Shenmue and Shenmue II) for $39.99, a 5-LP Volume 1 which features the Bailu Village music for $124.99, a 6-LP Volume 2 which features the Niaowu music for $149.99, and finally an 11-LP Definitive Soundtrack Complete Collection release in a massive box for $299.99. There will also be a limited run of 500 Complete Collection LP box sets featuring a poster autographed by Yu Suzuki for $349.99.
All physical releases will be available for pre-order starting November 20 from Limited Run Games and BigWax (for European customers). After the break, check out the complete breakdown of all the editions. Which one/s do you plan on picking up?
The SEGA Forever social channels have shared a cool video looking back on the Crazy Taxi franchise. The pop-up video style format gives some interesting factoids on the series, including a look at the Game Boy Advance version which plays better than you’d think. Check out the video above and be on the lookout for more SEGA Forever retrospectives!
On this SEGA News Bits, we share our thoughts on the newly released mini games as a part of SEGA’s 60th anniversary. How do the games play, which is our favorite and what is all this drama around the Golden Axe game?
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While SEGA of Japan kicked off the SEGA 60th anniversary celebrations earlier this year, SEGA West has officially started celebrations today with a 60 day long GO SEGA event and a dedicated website, SEGA60th.com. During the next 60 days, there will be let’s plays, competitions, employee interviews and content covering the company’s history. Additionally, a large Steam sale has begun, with themed weeks planned.
Most exciting are the reveal of four exclusive mini games. Available on Steam for a limited tile, the games include: Relic Entertainment’s Armor of Heroes, a multiplayer tank battle game featuring assets from the Company of Heroes games. Amplitude Studios’ Endless Zone, a mashup of the developer’s Endless franchise and SEGA’s Fantasy Zone franchise. Streets of Kamurocho, a Streets of Rage and Yakuza mash-up from SEGA. And finally… Golden Axed, the never thought to ever be released working prototype of SEGA Studios Australia’s SEGA Reborn project! The last one we are especially excited to play, as it is a cancelled project we covered quite a bit on this site in the past.
After the break, the full press release and a gallery of mini game screenshots!
It seems like video game industry creatives stuck at home have been spent some of that time unearthing and sharing hidden treasures from past development projects. First we had Craig Stitt sharing cool STI game concepts, and now we have former SEGA sound designer Kazuhiko Nagai sharing music demo tracks from the late 80s!
Posted to his YouTube channel, demo tracks from the Genesis/Mega Drive release of Ghostbusters, the Genesis/Mega Drive release of Rambo III and a track from the Genesis/Mega Drive game Mystic Defender have appeared in recent weeks. The tracks are labeled as rough sketches and “maybe rejected”, with Nagai providing his best guess at times for what the intention of the track was. As of writing, a new video was just uploaded (after the break) with fingers crossed for many more over the coming days.
In June 2020, SEGA revealed the Game Gear Micro. Prior to the full announcement, fans speculated on if this would be the successor to the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive Mini, how big the actual device was, how many games would be on the handheld and if it would receive a western release. Once the details were confirmed, internet reaction – specifically from westerners – was largely negative. With dimensions of 80×43 mm (about the size of a Dreamcast VMU) and four colors featuring four unique games each, the Micro truly was living up to its name. Micro in size, micro in game lineup, and micro in not living up to expectations set by the Genesis/Mega Drive Mini.
Now, five months later, I have the full lineup in hand (literally, I can hold all four in one hand!) and can make my own determination on the Game Gear Micro. Is it worthy of an import?
With the Game Gear Micro now releasing in Japan, SEGA’s Yosuke Okunari talked about what’s next in a recent issue of Famitsu Magazine. Thanks to Siliconera, we have some translated tidbits from the article:
“For the next Mini, we are considering everything that has been imagined by everyone.”
“Of course, it doesn’t mean we can realize all of them. We are also thinking about projects that nobody has imagined.”
“The projects are moved by a substantial amount of money, so we’re working first on the one that, realistically speaking, has the highest possibility.”
“The Game Gear Micro is only sold domestically in Japan. When we do the next one, I feel like the project scope will be much bigger as we gaze upon the world. So we won’t be able to release it at this time the next year or two years after the Mega Drive Mini. We can’t make it that quickly. (laughs)”
“I think for the next one, we may go with a concept close to the Mega Drive Mini. If I have to say some names, it could be an SG-1000 Mini or a Dreamcast Mini…”
It’s interesting that the Astro City Mini is not mentioned, and that SEGA are considering everything from their earliest console to their last console. What would you like to see next from SEGA? Sound off in the comments below!
[Source: Siliconera]
[Image Credit: KIDULT SHARINGS]
SEGA has just dropped a new trailer for Yakuza Like A Dragon. In the trailer, the down-and-out Yakuza scrapper, Ichiban Kasuga, describes his videogame-esque heroic journey that will take him through an amazing array of minigames in a veritable underworld playground. Yokohama features a plethora of fun and hilarious distractions, including kart racing, batting cages, SEGA arcades, high-octane vocational school tests, and the ability to manage and grow your own company! Ichiban and his ragtag crew of friends have endless fun activities to engage with as they try to restore justice to the streets of Yokohama.
And for the first time, players can play English renditions of fans’ most beloved karaoke songs from previous entries in the series, as well as several brand-new songs. The full list of English-voiced karaoke songs includes:
Yakuza: Like a Dragon launches on Xbox Series X | S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Windows 10 and Steam on Nov. 10, 2020. The Xbox Series X | S versions will offer a Smart Delivery upgrade path for Xbox One owners of the game, and the PlayStation 4 owners will receive a free upgrade to the PlayStation 5 version, both physical and digital, upon its release on March 2, 2021.
From the makers of “The Legend’s Cookbook” and “Mother’s Cookbook” alumni, with guidance from TJ&E co-creator Greg Johnson, comes ToeJam & Earl’s Funky Fresh Foods of Funkotron Cookbook which has officially launched on Kickstarter.
Owners of this cook book will be able to make 35 unique recipes, and the book features fresh photos and original illustrations with an authentic ’90s vibe taking inspiration from the Toe Jam and Earl franchise. This cook book is great for beginners and hardcore fans alike if you want to try out food from Toe Jam and Earl’s home planet, Funkotron.
You can pre-order the cook book on the official Kickstarter page until October 30th with additional backer rewards available such as stickers, enamel pins and your very own TJ&E apron. There will also be community events and challenges for a chance to win free copies of the “ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove” game on Steam with more details coming soon on the official Kickstarter and Twitter pages. Hit the jump to see sample pages of the recipes to try out for yourself!