SEGA News

SEGA West Restructuring, Downsizing and Canceling Certain Games

by

Ah, it’s Friday. Let’s check the news. Wonder if we’ll see a Sonic 4 trailer today… wait. What the fuck is this?! Pardon my language, but some breaking news!

SEGA Sammy announced today that it will carry out “structural reform” of consumer business. SEGA Sammy also said it will “streamline” video game operations in the west to “create a smaller company positioned for sustained profitability”. Part of this streamlining will include cutting the number of SEGA games produced and canceling some titles already in development.

The statement read as follows:

The Sega consumer business is expected to post operating loss due to the challenging economic climate and significant changes in the home video game software market environment in the US and Europe.

It is essential to streamline [our] organisation in the field of home video game software, while shifting to a structure that corresponds to a change in environment, including strengthening development in the field of digital content.

We decided to narrow down sales titles to strong IPs such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Football Manager, Total War and Aliens which are expected to continue posting solid earnings. In accordance with this, we are cancelling the development of some game software titles.

SEGA will still post profits of £152m for the 12 months ending March 2012. However, it will see a one-off “extraordinary loss” of £54m. This money will be spent on cutting back and restructuring. No word on what games are being cancelled or just who will be laid-off. Is this the end of crazy unique SEGA games? Or are the more risky games being relegated to digital services, and only the big IPs will get disc releases? Freak out in the comments section.

Update: According to IGN, with information said to come from sources within SEGA, all non-franchise titles will be dropped:

Earlier today, four franchises were overtly announced as being safe: Sonic, Football Manager, Total War, and Aliens. Our sources have revealed that any currently announced game that isn’t included on that list will not be published by SEGA, leaving a decent amount of the publisher’s upcoming publishing roster in jeopardy.

What does this mean for upcoming games like Rhythm Thief? At this point, it’s anybody’s guess. The source goes onto report that North America’s QA team has been axed entirely, with staff cuts also being made in the following departments: marketing, social, design, and development.

45 Comments

Japanese Charts: Yakuza on PSP debuts at #2, Shining Blade still charting

by


The weekly Japanese charts came in and have Black Panther 2: Yakuza Ashura Chapter debuting at number 2. The Black Panther series is a spin-off of the Yakuza series on the PSP. This is the second title. Unlike console versions of Yakuza, the handheld version features its own playable main character and not Kazuma Kiryu. The game sold 104,937 units. The game came out March 22nd and since the chart ended on the 25th, the game only got 3 days of sales counted. We should be seeing it next week.

The second SEGA title to chart this week was another PSP game, this one Shining Blade. It’s funny actually, Shining Blade came out a week ago and charted at number 2 when it was out selling 122,257 units. So yeah, Shining Blade debuted better than Black Panther 2. This week Shining Blade dropped to number 10 and pushed an additional 19,032 units. So far Shining Blade has sold  141,289 units.

Not bad at all. I guess SEGA was in the right when they decided to still release PSP games in Japan instead of moving development to Playstation Vita.

Continue Reading ➜

2 Comments

Samurai & Dragons is probably one of Vita’s best free games

by

There was some confusion when Samurai & Dragons was first revealed, hype was built up thanks to the fact that none other than Jet Set Radio’s director Masayoshi Kikuchi was announced to be working on a Vita game. Soon after however hype died down when the graphics left much to be desired. Somewhere lost in translation was that Samurai & Dragons will be free to download off PSN (With a boxed version being released with extra items) and when you take that into account, the title is looking like it could be an enjoyable ride.

Inspired from SEGA’s iOS title Kingdom Conquest, Samurai & Dragons promises to have a multiplayer aspect that would no doubt entice people who are looking for a free co-op game. The title is releasing in retail on 29th March for Japan and 26th April for Japanese PSN. A Western release date is yet to be confirmed.

1 Comment

XBLA Monster World and Alex Kidd Vintage Collections Revealed

by

Thanks to the spoileriffic xbox360achievements.org, two XBLA SEGA Vintage Collections have been revealed! Unlike past Vintage Collection releases, these bundle three games in one. The first collection is Alex Kidd & Company. A weird collection, the release combines Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Revenge of Shinobi and Super Hang-On. Because, you know, those all go well together. Thankfully, this odd assortment will have some cool features: an option to turn on the original Japanese dialogue in Alex Kidd, a 3D mode for Super Hang-On and in-game juke boxes.

The second collection is really exciting: Wonder Boy’s Monster World trilogy! The Monster World collection has Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Wonder Boy in Monster World and the long awaited english version of Monster World IV. Screens reveal an awesome 3D menu of a Monster World themed room, complete with an arcade machine and two Genesis consoles. Both collections will have leaderboards, achievements, recordable and downloadable game sessions and new trial modes. SEGA has not officially announced the titles, nor have they mentioned a release date, but they’re sure to soon. After the break, check out the many screens!

Continue Reading ➜

8 Comments

Rumor: Two More Virtua Fighters to Cameo in Dead or Alive 5

by

Akira isn’t the only SEGA fighter looking to kick some Tecmo ass. A NeoGAF member claims to have hacked into the Dead or Alive 5 demo code and discovered alternate costume data. This data, in turn, revealed what very well could be the final roster. Given that we’re a SEGA fan site, I’ll skip the Dead or Alive characters and get to the characters we really care about, the Virtua Fighters! Sarah Bryant and Pai Chan will be joining Akira Yuki as crossover guests. Very exciting, if it proves to be true. What do you all think?

Akira and SEGA All-Stars Fighters with Dead or Alive releases September, 2012.

6 Comments

Virtua Tennis Challenge gets gameplay trailer, out now for Xperia Play users

by

Virtua Tennis Challenge is SEGA’s newest Virtua Tennis game, only this one is for mobile devices.  The game will allow you to play 18 stadiums world wide, face up to 50 players and some console quality graphics? Looks really nice.

If you have an Xperia Play Android device, you can now download the game via Google Play (aka Android Market). Yep, its getting good ratings. Now i’ll wait till this exclusivity is done so I can buy it.

 

1 Comment

Anarchy Reigns – Bayonetta Trailer!

by

Good news everyone. We begged, we pleaded and it finally happened! Bayonetta joins Jack of Mad World fame and a host of other off the wall characters as a playable fighter in Sega and Platinum Games’ 16 player online beat-em-up Anarchy Reigns!

Which begs the question, who could possibly be next? I’m holding out hope for Sam Gideon from VANQUISH, which is probably my all time favourite 3rd person shooter. (Go buy it!) But I would also LOVE to see Shinobi make an appearance, am I asking for too much? I don’t think so!

9 Comments

Phantasy Star Online 2 – New Lobby, Mags and Weapons

by

Check out this new video presentation from the Dengeki Festival.
In it Sakai-san demonstrates lots of great new additions to the PSO2 formula, including the return of some pretty cool Mags!

I cannot wait to get my paws on this game, I’ve been waiting for a true sequal to PSO for a decade now, this looks like it’ll be the one!

4 Comments

ChuChu Rocket and Brick People free for iPad users for limited time

by

So Apple is launching the new iPad 3 today and SEGA is celebrating by giving away a free copy of ChuChu Rocket HD and Brick People to iPad users. This is according to SEGA, I don’t know if you can snatch them up on iPhone, iPod Touch or even on an older model iPad.

If you guys own an older apple device with access to the iOS store, get on and see if you guys can get it for free and let us know in the comments. Happy gaming!

2 Comments

Four Sonic the Hedgehog titles being removed from Nintendo’s Japanese Virtual Console

by

Most of the retro Sonic titles are being removed from the Japanese Virtual Console service. There has ben no word if these games will also be removed from the American and European Virtual Console. Games removed from Virtual Console can’t be bought by any new users, though they can be redownloaded once bought.

The Sonic titles being removed:

  • Sonic the Hedgehog 1
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2
  • Sonic and Knuckles
  • Sonic the Hedgehog (MS)
Reason wasn’t given for the pull.

7 Comments

Rumor: Shenmue and Shenmue II HD have been completed for quite some time

by

Rumors continue to heat up after a not-so-cryptic hint from SEGA’s Ben Harbone earlier this week regarding current-gen digital ports of Shenmue and Skies of Arcadia. Now a site called Gamerzines is reporting with a strong degree of certainty that not only are Shenmue and Shenmue II on the way, but they’re completed and have been for over a year.

Citing an industry source with close ties to SEGA, the rumor goes on to say that SEGA chose to wait on the release of these two digital titles “until it had a clearer picture of the future for the Shenmue franchise, namely, whether or not Shenmue III would ever see the light of day.”

That little tidbit adds a whole other level of intrigue to all of this, but of course it’s important to keep in mind that this is very much a rumor and we’ve had rumors like this before regarding the continuation of the Shenmue saga. Gamerzines does look like a legit website, however, and apparently IGN thought so too, since they’ve also reported this rumor. Thought I’d share it with all of you.

20 Comments

Free Japanese Binary Domain DLC on Xbox 360 is region free

by


So if you didn’t know, Japanese consumers have been treated to free DLC for Binary Domain. We English speakers haven’t received such luxury. But you know what? I really want this DLC, since it lets you play as Yakuza characters in mulitplayer. Sadly, I own the Playstation 3 version and I tried downloading the DLC from the Japanese PSN store.  Guess what? Nothing.

 
Though the Xbox 360 version will work with the Japanese DLC. Isn’t it ironic that it doesn’t work on the Playstation 3 after they boasted so much about it being region free?  Thanks to Sanus, who wrote about the Xbox 360 DLC being region free. The DLC adds Goro Majima as the ‘Crusher’ class with a shotgun, Shun Akiyama as the ‘Gunner’ with a submachine gun, and Ryuji Goda is the ‘Defender’ with a heavy machinegun. Kazuma Kiryu sadly isn’t free DLC, it was a pre-order bonus in Japan. More screenshots of the DLC can be found here.

No Comments

Game Gear games are now on your 3DS

by

Your Game Gear library restarts now with Sonic Triple Trouble, Shinobi and Dragon Crystal available now on your 3DS. Each priced diffrently (most likely based on probable demand), these games will bring back memories from back in the 90’s. Only this time you don’t need to bring fresh batteries with you when the system drains of power in 2 hours. These games also get a really cool new screen feature. You can have the original blur from the Game Gear system (Why?), have dot-by-dot resolution with a smaller screen showing the GG system on the sides, stretch out the image to fit your widescreen, or just have a standard 4:3 mode. Also, you can now save your game at anytime using restore mode. Let’s look at the game line up shall we?

Continue Reading ➜

3 Comments

Toejam and Earl invade Steam with the funk

by

Fan favorite Genesis games Toejam and Earl and  Toejam and Earl in Panic on Funkotron are now available to download on Steam. These games were actually on Steam before but were taken down, most likely due to copyright issues. The issue first cropped up serval years ago when SEGA had a poll asking fans what Genesis games they wanted released on XBLA. Toejam and Earl took home the trophy but the creator and copyright owner wasn’t so happy to hear about these plans.

Maybe with this release SEGA and Toejam and Earl creator Greg Johnson have settled their dispute. Who knows, we might be seeing more of Toejam and Earl, maybe a guest spot in the next SEGA All-Stars game?

1 Comment