SEGA News

Valkyria Chronicles sold over 200,000 copies on Steam

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Ars Technica put together a list of the most popular games of 2014 (meaning 2015 sales don’t count), ranking games that had the most owners and how many hours the games got played. As you know, SEGA released Valkyria Chronicles, a 6 year old Playstation 3 game on Steam last year. How did it perform?

According to the post Valkyria Chronicles ranked just above Telltales Games’ Game of Thrones series with 210,299 owners and almost 2 million hours played by fans. That is pretty incredible if you ask me and further proves that Japanese games do have a place on PC services like Steam.

Even though Valkyria Chronicles was an older port, it sold comparable to SEGA’s new Alien: Isolation game which had 329,649 owners on steam and over 3 million hours played.

I think the biggest success for SEGA digitally in 2014 was (by no surprise) Football Manager 2015 which had over 850,000 owners on the service and fans have logged in over 130 million hours into it (in little under two months!).

Seeing as Valkyria Chronicles‘ PC success has shocked even SEGA, what older console games do you think will do well on Steam? 

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The Chaotix are playable in Sonic Runners today

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For a limited time only, the Chaotix are available to play in Sonic Runners starting today. The Chaotix campaign will last from 3/5 to 3/15 They increase ring bonuses by 75%. Vector is a power type, Espio is the speed type and Charmy of course, is the flight type.

Only thing is, I haven’t figured out how to play as them. I finished my latest mission as Sonic and Tails, but the Chaotix don’t seem to be available anywhere (although, since it’s not technically 6 AM in the U.S. as of this posting, thy just might not be available yet). There’s still no set release date for the U.S. version yet, but we will inform you the moment it’s known so stay tuned!

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Alien: Isolation pre-release footage released, features unused third person view

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Games change during development, even change after media journalists have gotten a good look at the game. Creative Assembly’s Alien: Isolation is no different. The footage above shows what could have been Alien: Isolation before they changed it to first person prospective.

Personally think they did the right move making it first person due to the nature of using melee combat and I hate using melee combat in 3rd person shooters (see: Gears of War, Binary Domain and Uncharted series).

So what do you think?

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Official Nintendo listing reveals 3D OutRun release date

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Nintendo 3DS owners looking to add to their SEGA 3D Classics library needn’t wait long, as Nintendo’s official site lists 3D OutRun for a March 12th release! Priced at $5.99, the game includes all of the original’s content, two new songs and 60 fps gameplay. Check out the full description below:

3D Out Run™ is the critically acclaimed 1986 driving game designed by Yu Suzuki, re-mastered and enhanced for the Nintendo 3DS™ hand-held system. 3D Out Run includes all of Out Run’s original content, alongside two new songs and runs at 60 frames per second, which is twice the speed of the original version. The game features a built in Stage Select option that allows players to save and resume progress mid-game, has adjustable difficulty settings, and includes unlockable car customization options. Additionally, players are able to choose from a number of real-life arcade cabinets wherein everything from the appearance to the environmental sounds of the specific cabinet are recreated, providing a true and authentic arcade experience.

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Game Freak and SEGA tease something for March 11th

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The Twitter account of RPG Site tweeted that they had received a postcard from SEGA and Game Freak teasing that they’ll seemingly reveal a new game on March 11th. Nothing is known about it aside from its cartoony look.

Game Freak is most well known for being the studio behind the Pokémon games, but you may also know them for making Pulseman for the Mega Drive. This is the first time SEGA has collaborated with the developer since the release of that game.

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Swingin’ Report Show #76: Interview with Stealth, co-developer of Sonic the Hedgehog 1&2 Remastered

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On this week’s SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show podcast, we’re joined by Stealth, who worked on the official recent remasterings of Sonic The Hedgehog CD, Sonic The Hedgehog, and Sonic The Hedgehog 2 alongside fellow developer The Taxman.

Stealth talks to us about how the remasters began development, the process of remaking classic Sonic titles, the much talked about the remastered Sonic The Hedgehog 3 proof of concept, and what fans can do to try and make Sonic 3 remastered a reality. Also featured is discussion of Sonic The Hedgehog 4 and the recent decisions SEGA has made with the franchise. If you love classic Sonic games and behind-the-scenes stories of game development, this is the show for you!

Also, Barry and George discuss the recently revealed ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove Kickstarter by Greg Johnson (who will be joining us next week) and Sonic Team’s mobile release Sonic Runners, which soft launched yesterday.

Support the Sonic 3 Remastered campaign: http://sonic3remastered.com/


[Download] [RSS] [iTunes] [Archive]

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Sonic Runners assets uncovered, reveals new characters and upcoming events

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Sonic Retro forum member woun has been uncovering a plethora of data contained in the recently soft launched Sonic Runners. The new assets reveal upcoming characters and events that will take place in future episodes of the game. While several characters were shown off in the game’s latest trailer, new surprises include Metal Sonic and Big the Cat! Sorry, had to include an exclamation point, because c’mon… it’s Big the Cat!

Also revealed are upcoming events featuring characters and locations from Sonic and the Secret Rings, Shadow and Omega with creepy glowing purple eyes, and what appears to be Metal Espio and Metal Eggman. You can see woun’s findings as they come over at the Sonic Retro forums, and we have select images after the break.

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Final Worlds Unite teaser adds Skies of Arcadia, Panzer Dragoon, Monster Hunter, and Street Fighter

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Worlds UnitedWhat a great way to end the Worlds Unite teasers from Archie by announcing both Skies of Arcadia and Panzer Dragoon. As you know we have been celebrating games from Overworks, the developers of Skies of Arcadia. It’s good to see that the blue rogues never die. Its even more surprising that the comic crossover announced Panzer Dragoon as another SEGA IP it will be using for their mega crossover event. But I guess if you think about it, Monster Hunter and Panzer Dragoon ‘monsters’ battling it out would be rather interesting and appealing.

Here is a handy list of all the SEGA franchises this game will be using:

  • Sonic the Hedgehog
  • Sonic Boom
  • Alex Kidd
  • Billy Hatcher
  • Golden Axe
  • NiGHTS into Dreams… 
  • Skies of Arcadia 
  • Panzer Dragoon

Worlds Unite crossover is begins on May 2015. If you guys want to pick up the issues head over to your local comicbook retailer and add it to your pull list. Who is excited about this?

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Sonic Runners is out now on Google Play and iTunes

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If you are excited about the new Sonic Team developed Sonic game, Sonic Runners then the wait is over (maybe). The game is officially out on the Google Play for Android, but sadly many people (myself included) have been plagued with the ‘This app is incompatible with all of your devices.‘ message. Meaning you can’t download it at this exact moment. Many people have been saying the app won’t be officially up until February 26th (time zone differences from Japan). As for the Apple version, that has only appeared in the Japanese iTunes, which you can see below.

Android | iTunes

Android APK

If I get my hands on the APK file, then I will post it here later. If you get the game downloaded, tell us what you think in the comment section. Will keep you updated when its officially up to download in the US.

[Update] The game as of right now is out in the Canadian iTunes and in Japanese online stores. SEGA America and Europe have issued the following statement:

Sonic Runners is a new mobile game developed by the Sonic Team in Japan. We are soft-launching it in select countries to see how the game does and to work out any bugs.  No decision has been made yet whether it will be released in the US or Europe. It will depend on our observations during the soft-launch phase which could take several months.  

To learn how to download and install a APK on Android, please read this. Here is a work around for non-Canadian iPhone/iPad users to get Sonic Runners.

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SEGA announcing a new game and anime series at AnimeJapan 2015

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SEGA has been saying they are looking into crossing over into more multimedia projects. SEGA Japan has experimented with having animes based around their games for awhile now including the Shining series of anime, Valkyria Chronicles anime and even Hero Bank got one. Now SEGA is set to announce a new game along with its anime series day one at this year’s AnimeJapan event, according to Famitsu.

Since the popular (in Japan) Nanamori-chu Goraku-bu girl band will be there for the event, I would assume it will be a franchise similar to Yuri Yuri; which they voice.

The announcement will be made on March 21st, so mark your calendars and come back; we will definitely be posting it up.

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Former SEGA of America CEO Tom Kalinske has harsh words for the company

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Tom Kalinske oversaw SEGA of America in the early 90s during the Genesis era, arguably the company’s most successful time in the console space. Despite their incredible Western success under his leadership, his relations with SEGA of Japan were sometimes strained, most notably with regard to the launch of the Saturn. He departed the company in 1996.

Speaking to Gamesindustry.biz at the DICE Summit, shortly after the recently-announced downsizing and relocating of SEGA’s American headquarters, he does not mince words when discussing his former company.

“[Their departure from hardware] was not inevitable,” Kalinske said. “It could have been avoided if they had made the right decisions going back literally 20 years ago. But they seem to have made the wrong decisions for 20 years.”

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Worlds Unite comic book reveals continue, bringing us NiGHTS, Golden Axe and more!

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The third day of IGN’s roster reveal for “Worlds Unite” brings us a few surprises and at least one everyone predicted. From the arcade classic, “Golden Axe” comes the bikini-clad warrior Tyris Flare. Along with her, comes the wolf goddess Ameratsu from “Okami”. Next up is Red Arremer AKA Firebrand from the controller-chucking classic, “Ghosts and Goblins” and last but definitely not least is the one everyone saw coming. The dream warrior itself, NiGHTS.

Stay tuned as the final two days reveals the rest of the cast.

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Yakuza Zero gets an hour demo walkthrough on PS4, running at 60fps

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The new Yakuza Zero title is set to hit both Playstation 3 and Playstation 4 this upcoming March in Japan, that means its time to hype up the fans by releasing tons of press materiel. Not sold on the 60fps upgrade on the new Playstation 4? Don’t worry, someone has posted an hour long demo walkthrough in full quality for you to enjoy. This is the demo that is already on the PSN store, but if you don’t have a Playstation 4 yet, this is a nice video to watch.

As of today Yakuza Zero is a Japanese exclusive, but I guess if people buy Yakuza 5 that is coming out later this year, we might get a Yakuza Zero port (possibly a year+ late, like always). Tell us what you think! Young Kazuma or old Kazuma?

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Alex Kidd, Billy Hatcher and more join the “Worlds Unite” crossover

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More characters have been officially revealed in the lineup for the upcoming Sonic/Mega Man (or is it now Sega/Capcom?) crossover event “Worlds Unite”. IGN has started day 2 of the reveals. Now entering the fray will be Billy Hatcher, Alex Kidd, Viewtiful Joe and Nina from the Breath of Fire series. In fact, Ian Flynn has revealed that the full cast of Breath of Fire 3 will be involved. Ian has also stated on Twitter that should NiGHTS appear (hypothetically speaking, of course) that it would be the game universe and not a revisit to the Archie comic universe of NiGHTS last seen in 1998. The full roster of characters will be revealed day by day this week so stay tuned!

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Archie Comics First Looks: Sonic Universe Issue 73 – “Spark of Life” Part Three

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In addition to yesterday’s solicits, Archie Comics has sent us preview pages for Sonic Universe issue 73, which features part 3 of the 4 part “Spark of Life” story arc. Below is the plot description and release details, and after the break a five page preview and a look at the two available covers.

SONIC UNIVERSE #73

It STARTS with a SPARK! “Spark of Life” Part Three: Shocking truths are exposed as Dr. Ellidy reveals the tragic origin of the beloved A.I., Nicole! Meanwhile, Phage erupts from the shadows of the Digital World to sew chaos on the island! Can our heroes rally to save Nicole and drive off this new threat? Night is falling, and terrible monsters are closing in! Don’t miss this exciting next chapter in the latest Sonic Universe epic, featuring all-new cover art from Sonic artist supreme Tracy Yardley, and a special new “EXTREME BFFs” variant cover from My Little Pony artist Agnes Garbowska!


Script: Ian Flynn, Aleah Baker

Art: Tracy Yardley, Jim Amash, Jack Morelli and Matt Herms

Cover: Tracy Yardley

Extreme BFFs Variant Cover: Agnes Garbowska

On Sale Date: 2/25
32-page, full color comic
$3.99 U.S.

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