SEGA News

SEGA’s Sonic the Hedgehog publishing partnership with Archie Comics comes to an end

by

SEGAArchieCancelledArchie Comics and Sonic the Hedgehog are splitting up, it was just confirmed on the Sonic the Hedgehog twitter account. Sonic the Hedgehog Archie Comic was known as the longest running video game based comic book, spanning over 24 years! We did a SEGA News Bits about this whole drama and we basically guessed that SEGA and Archie Comics wouldn’t come to terms with a licensing agreement. Guess what? We where right. As you can see, SEGA isn’t done with the Sonic the Hedgehog comic books, as it says they are heading in a different direction.

“After 24 years of memorable storytelling, SEGA of America will conclude their Sonic the Hedgehog publishing partnership program with Archie Comics. This does not mark the end of Sonic in comics, but signifies, SEGA of America’s decision to take a different direction for the series that will be announced at a later date. SEGA would like to thank Sonic’s amazing fans for their loyalty and passion over all the years. SEGA looks forward to providing more information soon.”

So what would that direction be? In my opinion, San Diego Comic Con would be the perfect time to announce that SEGA will be doing license comics with IDW, which has a plethora of great IPs, great staff and have delivered some amazing stories to licensed properties. What is your opinion on the whole thing? Are you glad SEGA is moving on from Archie or do you wish there was a resolution between the publishers? Let us know in the comments below.

3 Comments

SEGA to share some Archie Comics news this week

by

archiecomicscancelledDid you know that San Diego Comic Con is happening later this week? Its no surprise that the Sonic PR team did a live stream that actually mentions the whole Archie Comics and SEGA drama. If you don’t know what we are talking about, we did a whole SEGA News Bits episode discussing the matter, you can check that out. But basically comic pre-orders where cancelled for upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog comics, with people saying Archie Comics and SEGA have been working out a new deal for the hedgehog license. Its been months of radio silence on both ends but according to Aaron Webber, “the silence will be broken soon”, I assume we will have big news either way prior or at SDCC. The only thing that will be interesting is if SEGA stays with Archie Comics or if they move on with a new publisher.

The last Sonic the Hedgehog issue to be released has been Sonic the Hedgehog #290, which hit store shelves on December 28, 2016. So its been almost half a year. Its not like Archie Comics didn’t have more Sonic the Hedgehog issues planned as they sent out solicitations for #291, #292 and #293. They also haven’t released the super hyped, Sonic Mega Drive – Orverdrive one-shot that a lot of fans have been looking forward to.

Along with that, Aaron Webber has also promised more Sonic Mania and Sonic Forces news later this week, as teased in the live stream. What is your thoughts on the whole Archie Comics and SEGA licensing situation? Let us know in the comments below!

No Comments

Yakuza Creator and Persona Director to host SEGA live stream on July 25

by

AtlusSEGALiveStream

Its not uncommon for SEGA’s general director and creator of the Yakuza (then Spikeout, Super Monkey Ball, Daytona USA, and more) series Toshihiro Nagoshi to have a stream. Its a very regular thing he does over in Japan. On the live streams he likes to bring on other SEGA creators to talk about various topics including movies, music and even their projects they are working or worked on.

We should be having a pretty good live stream later this week as Toshihiro Nagoshi has invited Persona 5 director and producer Katsura Hashino and will stream on July 25, 2017. Not to mention Katsura Hashino is also working on a new game, with a new studio within Atlus, this project is being called Project Re: Fantasy. Maybe the stream will offer more details on that project and even the next Yakuza title? Maybe, maybe not. Tokyo Game Show 2017 is only a couple of months away, so it wouldn’t be crazy if they hint at something.

You can catch the live stream, if you are fluent in Japanese or watch anime, on July 25th at 8:55pm JST on Niconico. I guess we shall see what comes of this, stay tuned to the site as we post an update on what went down on the stream.

1 Comment

Data Discs Sonic Mania vinyl pre-order starts July 22, releases September

by

MOCK_UP.indd

Data Discs have announced that their Sonic Mania vinyl will be available to pre-order this coming Saturday, July 22nd, from their website. The album will be available in three editions: 180g Clear with Blue, Red, Orange & Yellow Splatter (Limited Edition), 180g Translucent Blue, and 180g Classic Black. The LP features 16 new tracks by composer Tee Lopes, as well as new gatefold art featuring Sonic, Tails and Knuckles in Green Hill Zone Act 2.

The limited edition is exclusive to the Data Discs site and will only be available to pre-order for a set amount of time. The sale will begin at 8:00am (BST) on Saturday 22nd July and finish at 12:00pm (BST) on Monday 24th July. Anyone ordering during this period will be guaranteed a copy. Once this period is over, they will not accept any further orders of the limited edition. However, the other two editions will remain available.

Data Discs also mentioned that their Streets of Rage 1 and 2 vinyls will be reissued and will be available for pre-order July 22nd with an August ship date.

No Comments

Virtua Tennis Challenge joins SEGA Forever mobile collection

by

Virtua Tennis Challenge, originally released to mobile devices in 2012, has been given the SEGA Forever upgrade and is now free to play or $1.99 to remove ads. Users who originally downloaded the game before the update can restore their purchase and remove the ads. Virtua Tennis Challenge was teased in our SEGA Forever interview, in which mobile games community manager Danny Russell confirmed that SEGA Forever would see existing titles brought into the service. This is great news, as Virtua Tennis Challenge was one of those games badly needing a 64-bit support update.

The game is available to download now on the App Store and Google Play.

No Comments

Yakuza Kiwami digital pre-orders nets you free theme

by

Theme_1_1499447461If you are planning on picking up the digital version of Yakuza Kiwami, you might want to look at pre-ordering it for $29.99/£29.99 if you care about PlayStation 4 themes. If you pre-order the game right now you will get a Yakuza Kiwami digital pre-order theme that features both Kazuma Kiryu and Akira Nishikiyama.

I personally recommend all users get the day one steel book edition of Yakuza Kiwami, since its the same price as the digital and you get a cool limited edition case. But, if you are the type of person that hates having physical games, having a cool free theme is a nice extra. Yakuza Kiwami comes out on August 29, 2017; only on PlayStation 4.

Theme_2_1499447464

[Source: Siliconera]

No Comments

SEGA News Bits: SEGA Answers Our SEGA Forever Questions

by

On this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry discuss the answers SEGA gave to our questions about the SEGA Forever retro gaming collection. SEGA Forever is an initiative from SEGA Networks to bring games from the SG-1000 through to the Dreamcast to mobile devices and beyond! What future games can we expect? How will the Genesis/Mega Drive emulation improve? How will light gun games play?

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us: Give us a sub and give this video a like so it shows up on more like minded fans YouTube recommendations. You know, how that YouTube algorithm is.

No Comments

SEGA News Bits: Sonic Forces Fist Bump Vocal Theme Reaction

by

On this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry fist bump their way through the recently revealed main theme to Sonic Forces. The track, titled “Fist Bump”, features vocals and lyrics by Douglas Robb of Hoobastank and is composed and arranged by Tomoya Ohtani. How does the tune compare to past title tracks? What do we think of the lyrics? Who… bastank?

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us: Give us a sub and give this video a like so it shows up on more like minded fans YouTube recommendations. You know, how that YouTube algorithm is. Thanks for the support.

2 Comments

SEGA answers our burning SEGA Forever questions, tells us what to expect next

by

sega-forever-980x420

After weeks of teasing, SEGA Forever was officially revealed to be a classic games collection initiative to bring everything from the SG-1000 to the SEGA Dreamcast to mobile platforms, with the big surprise being that all the games are free to play (with the option to buy). The collection kicked off with five SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis titles, including four emulated games including Altered Beast, Kid Chameleon, Phantasy Star II and Comic Zone, and the remastered Sonic the Hedgehog from Christian Whitehead. After playing the games and experiencing how the service works, we had a ton of questions for SEGA. Thanks to mobile games community manager Danny Russell, we received a speedy reply and every single one of our questions got answered!

Read on for our interview with Danny.

Continue Reading ➜

9 Comments

Data Discs announces Altered Beast vinyl record

by

19437497_1779005802411641_1363039717141303446_nData Discs’ release of SEGA soundtracks continue with their newly announced Altered Beast vinyl record. The Altered Beast vinyl record will be the 12th release in the series, which isn’t counting their upcoming Sonic Mania release. While I’m not a huge fan of the Altered Beast game, I am a big fan of it the game’s soundtrack which I feel is a rather nice, but short collection of tunes. The Altered Beast vinyl record will ship with one LP containing the game’s full SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive soundtrack. Every copy will also include an Altered Beast poster containing artwork from the game’s cover.

The Altered Beast vinyl record will be released in three versions:

  •  Clear with Orange Splatter (Limited Edition)
  • Opaque Orange
  •  Classic Black

The release will cost £19.99 (about $26 USD) and go on sale on June 30 at 11 AM PST. If you plan on picking up the limited edition versions, I suggest you get on a bit early before 11 AM on June 30th and check this link. What is your opinion on Data Discs’ release of Altered Beast? What other SEGA games would you want to get a vinyl record release? Let us know in the comments below.

No Comments

SEGA to show off new Yakuza game in two months

by

1446300098252While we won’t be getting Yakukza 6 until sometime in early 2018, SEGA Japan is already set to tease a new Yakuza game. While on a stream, long time Yakuza producer Toshihiro Nagoshi said that they will show ‘something’ relating to the new Yakuza game, he also mentioned that we will have to wait about two months for information regarding the new game. He also thinks people will be happy with what the game will be about. I guess we will find out where the new Yakuza game is heading, seeing that Yakuza 6 is Kazuma Kiryu’s last game.

It is quite obvious that this new Yakuza game will be SEGA’s big game at this years Tokyo Game Show and now we know that SEGA will start the teasing it in two months. So what direction do you guys want to see the new Yakuza game take? Are you excited for another go into the Yakuza world? Let us know in the comments below.

[Source: Siliconera]

2 Comments

SEGA News Bits: Yakuza 6 & Kiwami E3 2017 Hands On Impressions

by

Welcome to a new episode of the SEGA News Bits, our YouTube show where we discuss all things SEGA News as they hit. This last week we have been posting our E3 2017 hands on impressions for both Sonic Forces and Sonic Mania, this time we are doing our Yakuza 6 & Kiwami E3 2017 hands on impressions! So give it a listen as SEGAbits staff writers Kori-Maru and Bartman3010 give you the low down on the upcoming remake, the new graphics engine in Yakuza 6, extras found in Yakuza Kiwami, and the overall perception of these games at the event.  So tune in and listen to our Yakuza 6 & Kiwami E3 2017 Hands On Impressions and if you guys have any questions regarding the upcoming Yakuza games, you can ask them in the comments. Now that you have seen our Yakuza 6 & Kiwami E3 2017 Hands On Impressions, what are your impressions of these games so far?

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us: Give us a sub and give this video a like so it shows up on more like minded fans YouTube recommendations. You know, how that new YouTube algorithm is. Thanks for the support. If you want to read our full Yakuza 6 & Yakuza Kiwami E3 2017 hands on impressions in written format, check that out here.

No Comments

[UPDATED] Data Discs to release Sonic Mania soundtrack vinyl

by

Sonic_Mania_Vinyl_Image_02_1498103304

Announced via a press release sent out on Sonic the Hedgehog’s 26th anniversary, Data Discs will be releasing a vinyl soundtrack for Sonic Mania! The exclusive vinyl is another SEGA release from the vinyl record company, and Sonic Mania is NOT the next in their numbered series of vinyls. The company has confirmed there will be no OBI (that paper strip found on the edge of other Data Disc releases) and the catalog number is DATA-S. The album will feature select tracks from composer Tee Lopes and exclusive gatefold art in the classic style of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles in the remixed Green Hill Zone. Three variations will be released: blue, black and a limited edition version. Pre-orders start in mid-July, and the album will include a download code of the album tracks in both lossy and lossless formats.

After the break check out the press release and the cover art!

Continue Reading ➜

No Comments

Sonic the Hedgehog’s 25th anniversary comes to an end as the blue blur turns 26

by

Sonic-art-print_Uekawa

Happy Birthday, Sonic – now give us our presents! Today marks Sonic the Hedgehog’s 26th anniversary, which officially signals the end of Sonic’s 25th. While the past year has been light on games, the biggest moments for the franchise has been a change in focus in several areas. Sonic Boom has seen a massive downgrade. Originally a multimedia alternate branch from the main Sonic franchise, featuring games, toys, comics, an animated show and a big fan event in New York in 2014; now only the animated series remains. As of this moment, no season 3 is confirmed and less than twenty season 2 episodes have yet to be aired. Could Sonic Boom be on the way out? Funnily enough, Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice was the only Sonic game to release during the 25th anniversary timeframe, making it technically the 25th anniversary game. A Japan only special edition with 25th anniversary swag supports this.

Continue Reading ➜

No Comments