Joining Super Hang-On, Space Harrier and Sonic in the 3D remakes is the Genesis and arcade classic, Altered Beast. It was announced on SOJ’s archive site that the game will be released next week in Japan at 600 yen. New features include…
Sonic Lost World is all the rage on the internet and when I say rage I literally mean rage. Seems that most fans online aren’t very happy with the announcement that SEGA will be releasing the next three Sonic titles as Nintendo exclusives. We already wrote an article outlining why this isn’t such a bad thing. The next question is when will the game come out?
Well, according to SEGA Japan’s Facebook page you should expect to see it this holiday season. As expected, right? So start saving your pennies!
If you see below this post, you will noticed the Yakuza 1&2 HD screenshots for the Wii U Edition. Above you can see the game in action in its first ever trailer. The game is set to be released in Japan on August 8th, for both download and retail services.
The Wii U port will have all the features included in the Playstation 3 release (including the new Easy Mode) and will take advantage of the Wii U’s gamepad screen to see the map while you play. It will also allow you to play the game on the pad’s screen if you decide you want to. The game will retail for 5,229 yen (About $51.13 usd) and the download version will cost you 4,700 yen (about $45.83).
It’s weird that SEGA has decided to port over Yakuza 1&2 HD to the Wii U. Maybe this is their first step in planning on bringing over the other Yakuza titles. Regardless, these two Yakuza titles (especially the second one) are the best Yakuza titles ever made. So if you never played a Yakuza game and they bring this over to America, do yourself a huge favor and pick it up.
Here we have screenshots. I know it isn’t fancy graphics, but they look rather nice for what they are; HD ports of Playstation 2 games. Hit the jump to see the rest of the screens.
Arc System Works announced their latest game: Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- today. This is the first new big entry in the Guilty Gear franchise since 2007 and also the third entry to be published by SEGA.
This new title uses Epic’s Unreal Engine, they used the engine to give the game a 2D sprite look in a 3D world, which like the video above shows looks pretty damn impressive. No release date or platforms have been announced yet, but you can probably expect it to be released in Arcades as well as on consoles.
Nintendo announced the following Game Gear games would be coming to North America on their Nintendo Direct presentation. The list of games you can expect are:
Details on Sonic’s latest Nintendo-exclusive adventure remain scarce, with a single concept photo among our only clues for where the Blue Blur’s next journey will take him. Today we’ve received a slight bit of info courtesy of Sega of America President John Cheng, who divulged some vague teases to the Associated Press.
“With ‘Sonic Lost World,’ we’re going to introduce new gameplay and enemies, which is always fun,” Cheng said. “In terms of Sonic and his friends, he’ll have his same friends there, and I think there’ll be some new ones as well. It’s not a reiteration. It’s going to be all new.”
We’re going to introduce new gameplay and enemies, which is always fun”- John Cheng
Sonic’s last major title, Sonic Generations, was mainly a throwback, taking place in re-imagined levels from the series’ past and featuring gameplay similar to its immediate predecessors, Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Colors. It’s currently unknown if Sonic Lost World will continue to feature the same mix of 2D/3D Sonic gameplay present in those games, whether it will use the Hedgehog Engine, or whether it will be starting things entirely from scratch.
Sonic Lost World is the first of three Nintendo-exclusive Sonic titles, and it’s said to see release this year for the Wii U and 3DS. For the latest news on the title, keep it glued to SEGAbits.
The official Nintendo Magazine has revealed that SEGA’s digital rerelease of Space Harrier, dubbed 3D Space Harrier, will be shown off at the Nintendo Unleashed tour which makes its first stop at May 24th’s MCM London Comic Con. This is the first sign we’ve had that the game will be released outside of Japan. The 3D Classics series also includes 3D Hang-On and the recently revealed and released 3D Sonic the Hedgehog (no relation to Sonic the Hedgehog remastered).
Via (shudder) Kotaku comes news that Yakuza 1&2 HD is making its way to the Wii U in Japan. Already released to PS3, the collection will be hitting the Wii U in August, and will utilize the GamePad by way of in-game maps and GamePad-only play. No mention has been made of a Western release, and given that the PS3 version has not made its way West, a Wii U Western release would be a bold move for Nintendo. Given the recent Sonic exclusivity announcement, making such a bold move isn’t such a crazy possibility for Nintendo and SEGA.
During today’s Nintendo Direct, the latest Sonic title was announced: Sonic Lost World. Iwata stated that Nintendo and SEGA have entered into a “worldwide partnership in the Sonic franchise”, and as such, Sonic Lost World will be exclusive to Wii U and 3DS owners. No date was revealed, but November is a safe bet.
Update: It was also announced that another title in the Mario & Sonic Olympic Games series is in the works. Check out a video after the break.
Update 2: The Japanese SEGA site is up, and while it doesn’t offer much, it does confirm a Fall 2013 release date as well as the title being styled as Sonic Lost World.
Update 3: According to The Wall Street Journal SEGA and Nintendo have entered an exclusivity agreement, stating that the next three Sonic titles will be Nintendo exclusives:
SEGA(R) of America Inc. and SEGA(R) Europe Ltd. today announced details of an exclusive partnership with Nintendo of America Inc. and Nintendo of Europe GmbH for the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. The new agreement will make Nintendo consoles the number one destination for Sonic gaming over the next three titles with more details of the individual games being revealed in the coming weeks.
Deefy on our forums has done some sluthin’ and found out that Sega of Japan has registered the trademark “Sonic Lost World”. Meanwhile, TSSZ discovered that Sega of Europe has registered the domain soniclostworlds.com. So which is it? Lost World or Lost Worlds? Is this a new, Next gen game? An iOS mobile title? A new chapter in the Storybook series? With E3 right around the corner, we should hear more about this title very soon.
Via our broniks at Sonic Retro comes news that Taxman and Stealth’s remastering of Sonic the Hedgehog is releasing to iOS today and tomorrow! While some fans have bemoaned the fact that its the same game we’ve seen released again and again, Sonic the Hedgehog remastered has more than enough goodies to warrant a purchase. The game offers up Time Attack modes, remastered music, spin dash feature, slightly updated boss patterns, smoother motion in the Special Stages, and… unlockable characters! We’ll give you a hint as to who they are: one is red and the other is orange. Given Taxman’s work on Sonic CD, there are surely more surprises to be had, but we won’t know of them until the game arrives. Owners of the original Sonic the Hedgehog iOS App will receive the game as a free update. Android owners take note, according to Taxman on the Sonic Retro Forums: “Thursday 16th PST for Android, US & Canada so you’ll have to wait a bit longer sorry.”
After the break, sweet screens of the game and the cool new menus.
Capcom-Unity in collabration with Namco Bandai Games and SEGA West are hosting a fan art contest for Project X Zone, which is set be released on June 25 in the US and July in Europe, to have your favorite Capcom character dressed as another character from Namco or SEGA. Will someone draw Jin from Cyberbots in Ogami Ichiro’s outfit from Sakura Wars, Frank in Bruno Dillenger’s attire from Die Hard Arcade (Dynamite Deka in Japan), or go all out drawing Felicia with Sonic the Hedgehog’s gloves and shoes? The possibities are endless! The contest runs from today through Friday May 31, 9pm PST and Capcom-Unity will pick up to 3 winners for the limited edition of Project X Zone. There’s also another contest if anyone is attending MCM Expo this year for cosplaying as one of the cover characters in Project X Zone.
For much of the last 6 years, SEGA’s stock price has been known as a “penny stock”, or a stock traded below five dollars a share. In recent months, however, this has begun to change. The stock price has been soaring, finishing on a new fifty-two week high every week, if not every few days. Today, SEGA’s stock price has reached its highest point in six and a half years, closing at exactly $7.
Now, keep in mind that a stock price typically says very little about a company’s health. From my very limited experience, I find it says more about investor confidence then anything else, not just in a company but in the stock market in general. Nevertheless, I’m sure SEGA’s recent fiscal report, an improved forecast and promises to pay out dividends have not hurt their stock price’s speedy rise. It should be interesting to see where it goes from here.
While most SEGA fans, myself included, spend much of their time focusing on the home console releases, it’s important to remember that another important side of SEGA exists: the arcade developer and distributor Sega Amusements. That’s right, SEGA is still producing physical hardware! You just have to leave your home to experience it. Over in the SEGAbits forums, we’ve been lamenting the fact that SEGA.com (home of the home console and home/handheld games of things) has done a poor job of directing fans to SEGAarcade.com (home of Sega Amusements). While SEGA has over a million Facebook likes and over 500,000 Twitter followers, Sega Amusements has only 10,000 Facebook likes and a mere 700 Twitter followers. You’d think that SEGA’s arcade division, which predates the home console and games side of SEGA by nearly four decades, would have more love! It would be fantastic if SEGA.com allowed Sega Amusements to make the occasional blog post announcing a new arcade game or a look back at a SEGA arcade classic, or SEGA dedicated a week to directing fans and followers to also like their sister site Sega Amusements on Facebook and Twitter. Share the love.
Rant over, now onto the point of this article. Despite these missteps, Sega Amusements have done a great job on their own increasing their social network presence by way of sharing archival arcade adverts, holding contests and, most recently, starting up their own features by way of a brand new interview series on their own site entitled “Meet Team Sega”. Each entry will profile a member of the Sega Amusements team, and first up is UK Sales Manager Phil Mander. Head on over to the interview and check it out and make sure to like, share, follow, and tweet Sega Amusements to show your support!