SEGA News

Yakuza Zero is a prequel, will star a young Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima

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It seems that the latest issue of Famitsu has leaked and in that issue there have been a few things that are Yakuza related. It is confirmed that the game is set to take place in 1988 and will feature a darker, more Yakuza ran Kamurocho and Osaka district. Kazuma will be 20 years old in this game and takes place when he was the Tojo Clan’s debt collector. The other star of the game is no other than fan favorite Goro Majima who is 24 years old in this prequel and takes place while he was building the most popular cabaret club in Soutenburi.

The developers promise that many of the game’s characters will get origin stories within the game. This is a true ‘prequel’ since the events in this game lead up to the first Yakuza game. Its going to be interesting to see what they do with the new 80’s theme for the game, especially considering SEGA has had a 80’s theme game before: Shenmue. I would like to see the development team add some classic AM2 games in those Club SEGA arcades.

Color me excited for more information come TGS next month.

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Amazon’s Sonic Boom Wii U pre-order offer includes luminous costumes

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More like “Tronic”! Am I right?……I’ll shut up now.

Amazon has it’s own Sonic Boom:Rise of Lyric pre-order offer separate from GameStop’s deal. This one is costume-based DLC that gives Sonic and Crew sports tape a huge glow. Here’s the details from Amazon’s site.

Pre-order Bonus Offer – Get Exclusive Luminous Costumes
Pre-order at Amazon and receive a code to unlock exclusive luminous costumes for Sonic, Tails, Amy and Knuckles. Code will be delivered upon shipment. Offer valid when shipped and sold by Amazon.com. Amazon reserves the right to change or terminate this promotion at any time. Offer will be extended to all existing pre-orders.

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The upcoming Yakuza game is called Yakuza Zero

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SEGA has announced that the new upcoming Yakuza game on the Playstation 3 and Playstation 4 is being called Yakuza Zero (in Japan: Like a Dragon Zero: The Place of the Vow). Sadly that is all that they really mentioned considering that most of the news will be coming next month during the Tokyo Game Show.

But if ‘Zero’ trends continue this could be a prequel to the franchise. Considering that in the first Yakuza game you control Kazuma Kiryu ten years after coming out of prison. Not only that, there has already been a prologue of sorts written in movie form to promote the first game.

What do you guys think?

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Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F 2nd gets pre-order bonuses via Amazon and Gamestop

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Are you ready to pony up the pre-order cash for the upcoming release of Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F 2nd and just don’t know if you should pre-order it? Well, it seems that two retailers are having their own exclusive offers, those being Amazon and Gamestop in America.

If you pre-order the game via Amazon you get two extra live songs. No biggie. But if you pre-order the game via Gamestop you get a ‘Americana Module and Character Pack’. This will allow you to dress up your vocaloid in some cute Red, White and Blue outfits. That isn’t all, it also comes with a character pack that includes Akita Neru, Yowane Haku and Kasane Teto.

Personally I hate all this DLC stuff but if you care and want to get the best version with the bonuses get it at Gamestop.

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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!

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

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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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