SEGA News

Swingin’ Report Show #69: Night Trap ReVamped with Digital Pictures Co-Founder Tom Zito

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Digital Pictures was a pioneer in the world of interactive full motion video, bringing a cinematic feel to games at a time when players were used to two dimensional sprites. Their titles, which included Night Trap, Sewer Shark, Corpse Killer, Supreme Warrior, the Make My Video series, and many more, spanned a number of genres and appeared on several platforms throughout the 90s. Now, their most famous title Night Trap is set to make a return to modern platforms with former Digital Pictures members leading the way. Director/co-designer Jim Riley, co-designer Rob Fulop, technical director Mark Klein, and executive producer Tom Zito have formed Night Trap, LLC and have established a Kickstarter initiative dubbed Night Trap ReVamped.

Tom Zito joins Barry on our latest Swingin’ Report Show to discuss the creation of Digital Pictures, the never released Control-Vision game console from Hasbro which was to use VHS tapes as cartridges (originally codenamed NEMO), Night Trap‘s releases both past and present, and his team’s plans for the Night Trap ReVamped Kickstarter. This episode is a must for retro SEGA fans and fans of innovations in the video game industry – give it a listen and be sure to check out Night Trap ReVamped!

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PuyoPuyo Tetris to be ported on PS4 & Xbox One consoles this winter

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SEGA has recently announced that PuyoPuyo Tetris, the crossover action puzzle game that combines elements from PuyoPuyo and Tetris, will be released physically on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One platforms. The game is set for release on December 4, 2014 for 5,480 yen ($54 in US).

If you’re a PlayStation 4 owner, you can import the title by making a Japanese PSN account. Here are some useful tutorials on how to make a Japanese PSN account here. There are more SEGA titles available to enjoy (take a look at our previous news article on the re-release of Phantasy Star I & II remake) on the Japanese PlayStation Store.

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New Hero Bank 2 screenshots/artwork surfaces and set for release on 11/27 in Japan

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With Hero Bank successful in Japan with the 3DS title receiving great amount of sells and views from the anime series, SEGA is working on a sequel to the title with a brand new character joining Kaito (Enter the Gold) and Nagare (Dominion Dollar) in Hero Battles. The sequel also features a tag battle mode to play with your friends.

The story takes place two months after the events of Hero Bank. Kaito prevented the ambitions of Adachi and must face a new challenge to face the Seven Clothes Gods by receiving a special mission from Prime Minister Nagata Musaku.

For those who are able to purchase the game early will receive a bonus of a QR code to unlock Sutsu Shi Fu.

We hope that SEGA of America could localize the first game and bring the anime series to a cartoon station in the West soon. The concept of Hero Bank is very unique and the anime is pretty good show to watch.

The game is set for release on November 27, 2014 for the Nintendo 3DS. Artwork and screenshots are available to view by hitting the jump button.

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Pay what you want for the Humble SEGA Mobile Bundle

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SEGA has teamed up with Humble Bundle again, with them selling a bundle including various Android games for a price decided by you. The games included in this bundle are Sonic 4 Episode 1, ChuChu Rocket! and Virtua Tennis Challenge. If you pay more than the average price, you will also get Sonic 4 Episode 2, Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing, Crazy Taxi and other games that will be added to the bundle in the near future.

Like most other Humble Bundles, all of the games are DRM-free and a part (or all) of your money can go to charities. With this one they can go to Child’s Play, WaterAid and/or Unicef. You can also decide how much of your money goes to the charities, the games or the Humble Bundle. You’ll be able to get the bundle for the next two weeks, so there’s no hurry for if you want to get it.

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Phantasy Star I & II remakes hit PS2 classics on Japanese PSN

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[Above is a fan translated Phantasy Star Generations I]

The remakes of Phantasy Star I & II, titled Phantasy Star Generations I & II have made their way to the PS2 classics on the Japanese PSN store. The games are available to download only on Playstation 3. Both games are retailing on PSN for 864 yen ($8.60).

These remakes appeared under the SEGA Ages banner for the Playstation 2 and sadly neither of these releases made it West, so don’t hold your breath on them releasing on PSN anytime soon.

If you still want to try these games the guys over at PSCave have translated Phantasy Star Generations I and are working on the second one. So you can always try that.

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PSO2 Live Event with new info on Episode III & Nova plus a live performance from Takenobu Mitsuyoshi

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During a live event for Phantasy Star Online 2 in Japan, SEGA announced more information regarding features for the upcoming Episode III update and Phantasy Star Nova. One of the newest features happens to be called “Ultimate Quests” which will launch in winter and new Wopel field, Ascended Facility, will be included in a update this fall. Episode III is still slated for release on August 27th, 2014.

PSO2 vol.3 Soundtrack has been announced for December 14th release with a 4 CD set for 5000 yen with Mining Base Defense included. A collaboration crossover was also announced for Phantasy Star Nova featuring main characters from PSO2 as long as the player has the game data stored on their PlayStation Vita. Phantasy Star Nova will also be playable at this year’s Tokyo Game Show.

For more information on other upcoming updates for PSO2, be sure to click this link on the entire live stream recap and for the awesome live performance of Burning Hearts performed by Takenobu Mitsuyoshi, hit the jump for video footage!

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Sonic dies in this new Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric trailer, also Metal Sonic and Shadow return

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This new trailer for Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric skips right to the point: Sonic dies. So there we go, franchise finished, I’d say it had a good run but every series has to stop sometime I guess. I mean, when was the last time Sonic got revived after dying? Probably in some game that never existed.

Also there are some new screenshots for this and Shattered Crystal and some concept art that reveals that Metal Sonic and Shadow are in this game with their designs unchanged, which you can see after the jump. SEGA also confirmed that both games will come out in Europe on November 21st.

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25 years ago today, the SEGA Genesis ushered us into the next level of gaming

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While we’re in the midst of 32X Month here at SEGAbits, we’re momentarily removing the black plastic mushroom to pay tribute to the console that changed how SEGA was perceived in North America – the SEGA Genesis. While the Master System failed to make a dent in the US market, SEGA’s Genesis (known as the Mega Drive outside of North America) hit the scene with jaw dropping graphics and impressive stereo sound capabilities. In the early days before Sonic the Hedgehog, marketing highlighted all the things Genesis did that Nintendo did not – more eloquently phrased as “Genesis Does What Nintendon’t!”. Rather than focus on their stable of characters, early Genesis ads featured celebrities such as Michael Jackson, Pat Riley, Buster Douglas, and Joe Montana – all who appeared in their own Genesis games.

When SEGA of America leadership made the transition from Michael Katz to Tom Kalinske, emphasis returned to in-house characters with the establishment of Sonic the Hedgehog as the company mascot, relaunching the Genesis with a new campaign and video game star. From there the console wars heated up, and thanks to the efforts of SEGA employees, SEGA attained 65% of the market in North America for period of time, making Nintendo number two. If you’d like to hear the story of the console wars from the men and women themselves, we urge you to watch the Console Wars panel that we had the honor of attending and recording at this year’s San Diego Comic Con.

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Sonic Boom GameStop US pre-order bonus revealed – an exclusive Sonic the Hedgehog action figure

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SEGA’s Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter account has revealed that those who pre-order Sonic Boom for either the Wii U or 3DS will receive an exclusive action figure. The figure, released by Tomy, features Sonic Boom‘s Sonic the Hedgehog with a “The Ancients’ Crystal” accessory. I assume the crystal accessory is what makes the figure unique, as we’ve already seen figures of Sonic and other characters on display at SEGA’s E3 booth.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a Sonic action figure as a pre-order bonus, as the UK saw a Sonic Colors Colours figure as a pre-order bonus. At the moment, however, the Sonic Boom figure is US only.

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SEGA agrees to pay $1.25M in Aliens: Colonial Marines suit, Gearbox will continue to fight

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Aliens-CM1As you know there is a class-action suit that has been brought against both SEGA and Gearbox Software for falsely advertising Aliens: Colonial Marines by using  fake demos at trade shows such as E3. Gearbox recently filed a request to get dropped from the lawsuit.

SEGA submitted their settlement agreement for approval on Monday for the class action settlement agreement. We won’t find out till September 17th if the courts will approve it.

Want to know how SEGA’s $1.25 million will be split up if this is approved? Hit the jump.

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SEGA announces Hero Bank 2

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Morning reports from Japan have confirmed the 3DS exclusive Hero Bank, SEGA’s latest new IP aimed at children, will be getting a sequel later this year. For those following the SEGA in the Charts articles I post, people will remember Hero Bank originally entered the charts with below average numbers, debuting with disappointing sales of 15,060. But unlike most titles, Hero Bank did not simply end up leaving the charts the next week, infact the title continued to sell over the course of the next few months and eventually managed to garner over 50,000 sales.

It seems that was enough to convince SEGA to move forward with not just an arcade game but a full blown sequel.  I think we can chalk down Hero Bank as another IP from SEGA that would be left in their native land without any announcement of localising either the anime or the game. Hero Bank 2 will be releasing later this year on 27th November and helps to stack up a very busy Q3 period adding to heavy hitters like Alien, Sonic Boom and Phantasy Star Nova.

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Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F 2nd gets a release date and pre-order bonuses

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It looks like Miku will be joining Sonic Boom when it comes to SEGA games that will be released in November. With Gamescom coming up, SEGA has just announced that Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F 2nd will be releasing on November 18th in the US and on the 21st in the rest of the world.

Besides that, if you pre-order at select retailers you can get extra costumes. At select retailers around the world you can get an America-themed Miku module with red, white and blue colors. Meanwhile at Gamestop you’ll also get an extra character pack featuring Akita Neru, Yowane Haku and Kasane Teto. Finally, if you don’t like Gamestop and/or pre-order bonuses in general, you’ll also be able to get these characters for free if you own Project Diva F and the Extra Character Pack DLC.

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The SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works is approved – book goes to print on August 11th!

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Darren Wall of Read-Only Memory has officially announced that SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works has been approved by SEGA and will go to print this upcoming Monday! In a detailed Kickstarter update, Darren shows off the book’s sexy cover, and details the exhaustive (but necessary) process in receiving approval from SEGA. The book will be 352 pages long, with 8 fold-out pages featuring hardware design drawings and jumbo versions of box art from Space Harrier 2, Alien Storm, Super Thunderblade and The Super Shinobi II/Shinobi III. The book will contain 80 pages of developer interviews, a guide to SEGA logotypes, and a chapter devoted to game art totaling 60 pages. The one downside, which is really not that bad, is that the approval process has delayed the expected shipping date. Darren promises “a firm delivery date from the printer very shortly”. To see hear and see more from Darren, check out the latest update.

A big congratulations from all of us at SEGAbits to Darren Wall! We can’t wait to hold the book in our hands.

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3D Thunder Blade announced as the next Nintendo 3DS SEGA 3D Classics title

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SEGA Japan has revealed that Thunder Blade is the next SEGA arcade title to receive the 3D remastering treatment. 3D Thunder Blade is set to release on August 20th, 2014, priced at 926 yen (excluding tax), and like other second series 3D Classics releases, there is no Western release planned as of yet. Hey SEGA, we want more 3D Classics! Features include a reproduction of the arcade cabinet experience, gyro sensor gameplay, and a special mode featuring the game’s final stage.

After the break, check out a gallery of screenshots, and while you’re at it let SEGA know (nicely, not rudely) that we want more 3D Classics in the West!

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Alien: Isolation’s creative lead states that his game is not Colonial Marines

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IGN has conducted an interview with Al Hope, creative lead developer for the upcoming Alien: Isolation.

In it, he specifies a number of different things, many of which should make Alien fans quite happy. His team, he says, from the start set out to create a different Alien game than Colonial Marines was: a true horror experience, something completely unlike the shooter-focused direction its predecessor took on.

Isolation, which according to Hope has been in development for the past four years, has always aimed to take the series back to its roots; the first movie, in particular, where the horror, not the action, took center stage.

“It would be awesome to show Ridley Scott what we’re doing,” Hope said. “I’d like to think he’d really appreciate the care and attention and level of detail we’ve put into re-creating his original vision and original universe and I think he’d appreciate it.”

Alien: Isolation hits stores this November.

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