SEGA News

Valkyria Chronicles 4 live stream promises first in-game footage on Dec. 27

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SEGA has declared that they will be hosting a live stream for Valkyria Chronicles 4 before the end of the year. On December 27, SEGA has promised to show off the very first gameplay footage of the upcoming SRPG.

The live stream will start on December 27, 2018 at 8:00pm JST and can be viewed at:

SEGA has confirmed that guests on the stream include the following voice actresses: Naomi Ohzora (voices Nikola Grev) and Yukiyo Fujii (voices Kiara Rosina). Hashiyan Kosaka has been confirmed to MC the event. Of course the creators behind the game will also be on the stream, explaining things. I would hope.

Valkyria Chronicles 4 hits Japanese PlayStation 4 owners on March 21, 2018 and later in 2018 for Nintendo Switch. As for us Westerners, we will get the game on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch sometime in 2018.

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Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games to be removed from Japanese 3DS/Wii U eShop

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Bad news for the few people out there that are fans of the Mario & Sonic Olympic Games crossovers. It’s been announced that the most recent game in the series, Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, will be pulled from the Japanese 3DS/Wii U eShop on 27 December 2017 at 10:00 JST. This will also include the demo version of the game. It’s unknown if other regions will also pull the game from the respective 3DS/Wii U eShops.

No reason has been specified as to why the game is being pulled. The most likely theory is that the license to use the Mario or Olympic branding has been expired, and as a result the game will be pulled to not violate laws. This may also foreshadow the series being quietly cancelled, if the license to use the Mario or Olympics is not being renewed. Considering that the next Winter Olympics is coming in 2018 with no Mario & Sonic title announced yet, it’s a real possibility.

[Source: Japanese Nintendo]

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Hokuto ga Gotoku unleashes trailer, details Pressure Point Action system

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First up we have a new debut trailer for Hokuto ga Gotoku, which was revealed by SEGA via their live stream. This trailer has about six minutes of gameplay. We get to see a few things displayed in this trailer, including the “Pressure Point Action” system, various mini-games and even shows of Kenshiro racing in customized cars. Just like the Manga (wait, was that in the Manga?). Also, we see a SEGA Mark III console!

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Check out the Official Shenmue themed Yokosuka Tourist Guide – Now in English!

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Earlier this month we shared the news that SEGA teamed up with The Yokosuka Action Promotion Committee to design a map of Yokosuka, Japan. Why? Well, because Yokosuka was the setting of SEGA’s hit game Shenmue. Since the game’s release, fans have visited the locations from the game, using fan made guides and videos. But now, SEGA has officially put their stamp on the region with this guide! The guide was originally Japanese only, but now we have the English language version, which you can download here.

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Retro-bit announces SEGA partnership – creating USB and Bluetooth Genesis, Saturn and Dreamcast accessories

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Have you ever played a rerelease of a classic SEGA game and felt that it just didn’t feel quite right with a modern controller? Well we could be seeing classic SEGA controllers for modern hardware soon, as retro gaming hardware manufacturer Retro-bit has announced a collaboration with SEGA. The official press release states that the plan is to produce accessories for SEGA’s platforms which includes, but is not limited to, SEGA Genesis, Saturn and Dreamcast. The first products to be released will include accessories that match the quality of the originals, made for use on original hardware as well as USB for PC use and Bluetooth wireless. These new products will debut in the Innex booth #21023 in the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center during CES 2018.

This is very exciting, as games like Sonic Mania, Jet Set Radio HD and NiGHTS HD all would benefit from the original controllers. Also, the notion of a new Dreamcast pad for original hardware being made in 2018 is just sort of crazy and cool. Also, new USB Saturn pads would be amazing.

Read the full press release after the break

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Phantasy Star Online 2 shows off Virtual-On in-game crossover content

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SEGA and the team behind Phantasy Star Online 2 have revealed that the game will get Virtual-On unlockable items coming this upcoming February. This update is being released to promote the upcoming A Certain Magical Virtual-On crossover game hitting Japan during the same month. The thing is, Virtual-On already had items available in the game, way back in 2014 along with Shining Force Cross Exlesia. Back then it was released to promote the digital only re-release of Cyber Troopers Virtual-On: Force. It seems to be a re-release of the DLC, so if you play and missed it back in 2014! This Virtual-On DLC is pay for content…

SEGA also, according to the badly google translated description of the YouTube video, are celebrating 4.5 consecutive login-ins with SEGA ID. If you don’t know, SEGA ID is a service you have to sign up for to play Phantasy Star Online 2. I have also seen it used for some mobile games, so who knows if its just Phantasy Star Online 2 logins or if they’re counting anyone that just randomly logged into their SEGA ID account.

Yes, I know. I want Phantasy Star Online 2 in the west and no its not going to happen. Yes, it sucks. What else can we do about it besides play on the Japanese server?

 

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Sammy teases upcoming Valkyria Chronicles pachislot machine

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Sammy, the division within SEGA-Sammy that does pachinko and pachislot machines, which is why no one is really surprised that they announced a Valkyria Chronicles pachinko machine. SEGA’s console division is reviving the Valkyria Chronicles brand with Valkyria Chronicles 4 in 2018, seems that Sammy finds the IP enticing enough for a pachislot machine. Sammy previously did a Bayonetta pachislot machine in 2015.

As far as when its coming, we don’t know anything outside of ‘coming soon’. I guess no one here will get to or want to play a Valkyria Chronicles pachislot game.  According to this tweet by Sammy, they will have a preview tomorrow.

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Dinosaur Games shares their Jet Set Radio Visual Proof of Concept that was rejected by SEGA (UPDATE)

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The YouTube channel for the game developer Dinosaur Games shared this Jet Set Radio ‘Visual Proof of Concept’ that they created, at first it was just models but when Sony saw it at GDC 2017, they said they where interested in seeing it in motion. This is the concept they created. The issue happen when they sent the video to SEGA to approve, according to them, SEGA rejected it. Here is what they posted in the description of the video:

“We made this Visual Proof of Concept after Sony expressed interest in seeing the characters in motion at GDC 2017. We spent a week animating and building the city for this presentation which was ultimately turned down by Sega.”

As for this being a ‘brand new Jet Set Radio‘, I have a few issues with what this Visual Proof of Concept showed. I’m not a huge fan of the ‘light’ outlines around the characters, the over use of green and how slow the speed feels. Though I do feel they nailed a lot of the presentation and ideas from both Jet Set Radio and Jet Set Radio Future. What are you’re thoughts on this ‘Visual Proof of Concept’ by the team?

UPDATE AFTER THE BREAK!

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SEGA and Humble Bundle giving away Company of Heroes 2 keys

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SEGA and Humble Bundle have teamed up for holiday giveaway. What are they giving away? Company of Heroes 2 keys! What if you already have the game? According to Relic Entertainment’s blog, they want you to pick up a key for your friend and teach them how to play the game.

Get your free Company of Heroes 2 keys here. 

According to the blog post, the number of keys are limited and there is also a time limit. I guess it will close either when they run out of Company of Heroes 2 keys or after a day and 20 hours (when this post goes up). If you ever wanted to try a Relic’s Company of Heroes 2 game, this is your chance to give it a go for free!

[Source: CoH’s Blog]

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SEGA Japan delays Hokuto ga Gotoku, issues apology

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SEGA Japan has just announced that their upcoming Fist of the North Star based game, being titled Hokuto ga Gotoku, has been delayed. The game was suppose to come out on February 22, 2018 and now has been moved to March 8, 2018. Not a huge change. SEGA also issued this apology letter to fans and thank them for their understanding.

As to why Hokuto ga Gotoku was delayed, the apology letter doesn’t say anything specific. I have a few different theories, one being that the game might need extra time for development seeing as the studio just released Yakuza Kiwami 2 on December 5th. The other theory is that they might have moved it to March because A Certain Magical Virtual-On comes out on February 15, 2018, a week before Hokuto ga Gotoku was set to release. As for us in the West, we still don’t know if SEGA America plans on localizing it. I guess we will find out sometime in 2018.

[Source: SEGA Japan]

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A Certain Magical Virtual-On Demo Out Now on Japanese PSN

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If you have been excited to try the upcoming A Certain Magical Virtual-On for the PlayStation 4 or PlayStation Vita, the demo is now available. As for sizes of the demos, the PlayStation 4 comes in at 2.37 gigabytes and the PlayStation Vita version hits a much smaller 431.55 megabytes. The demo will feature all 13 playable Virtuaroids from the full game, include a tutorial and CPU battle mode. No online, of course.

SEGA is set to release A Certain Magical Virtual-On in Japan on February 15, 2018. SEGA West hasn’t announced any plans on localizing it. The last Virtual-On title to come West was Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram port on the Xbox 360 back in 2009, so its been awhile. I say make a Japanese PSN account, try the demo and if you like it, bother SEGA to release the game West.

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Shenmue 3 introduces new character and new production team

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The team behind Shenmue III has recently revealed a brand new character via their latest Kickstarter update.As far as how this new character fits in the world of Shenmue and what her relationship with the temple behind her is, you’ll have to wait until you play the full game to find out. Unless, you know, they tell us via a Kickstarter update.

Most of the Shenmue III Kickstarter update was focused around a character production studio out of India called ‘Lakshya Digital’. According tot he update, Shenmue III will feature a ton of ‘new, compelling’ characters ‘from all walks of life’. According to the studio they will be outsourcing the creation of these NPC characters to the Indian studio. Below we have some photographs of the team, which is located in Gurgaon, India but have online meetings with the team in Tokyo. I never heard about the company, so I took a gander at their site and according to this they have help work on games like Lara Croft and the Guardians of Light, Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two , DC Universe Online, Counter Strike Global Offense, and The Elder Scrolls Online. What they helped with on those games is unknown since the site is down and the front page doesn’t go into detail.

This is obviously a way for YS Net to focus more on building the game instead of taking all that time to create NPC characters. I hope it works out for the better.

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TOMY reveals new Sonic the Hedgehog action figures, plush toys and comic books for 2018

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2018 might be a quiet year for Sonic the Hedgehog games, but the world of merchandise appears to be heating up. Not only will IDW debut their spin on the Sonic franchise, but TOMY will be releasing many more action figures and plush toys from the modern, classic and Sonic Boom character lineups. TOMY has been in the Sonic action figure business for two years, so they have released some figures but there are still several characters that they have yet to release. Let’s take a look at what collector’s can expect in 2018!

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Brave Wave announces “Resurrection: Panzer Dragoon Saga 20th Anniversary Arrangement” on CD & Vinyl

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DQ2sRCwUEAAHVyMThe music publisher Brave Wave Productions, who is known for its line of video game soundtracks has announced “Resurrection: Panzer Dragoon Saga 20th Anniversary Arrangement” coming to digital, CD and vinyl. The project will contain 20 tracks from the SEGA Saturn classic, Panzer Dragoon Saga, rearranged by the original composer Saori Kobayashi.

We are in a weird spot where there are two music publishers doing SEGA soundtracks. If you guys didn’t know the first Panzer Dragoon soundtrack was published by Data Discs, while this 20th Anniversary Arrangement soundtrack will be done by Brave Wave. It makes sense since Panzer Dragoon Saga‘s original composer, Saori Kobayashi is actually officially signed to Brave Wave. As far as to what 20 tracks made the cut for this release, we don’t know yet. We do know is that we will be getting more information (most likely pre-orders) on January 29, 2018, according to Brave Wave. We will keep you posted as more information comes out. Personally can’t wait for them to do some crazy 300 limited edition run of the soundtrack so I can miss out on getting it and hate myself for it. Yes, I’m talking about the Sonic Adventure soundtrack they published.

[Via: Brave Wave]

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