SEGA teams up with Hollywood for ‘Singles’ project


SEGA has teamed up with Hakuhodo DY Holdings to launch a new project named ‘Stories’. The point of the project is to take Japanese content and team up with Hollywood writers, producers and directors to make TV or film programming.

The Japanese intellectual properties being looked at include games, books, anime, manga comics, toys, films and TV. The Stories producers will have access to the parent companies’ intellectual properties. So that means we might be able to see a Shinobi movie that is more brutal than Ninja Assassin. I wish .

They are already hard at work, trying to get rights to a title from Japanese Sci-fi author Yasutaka Tsutsui, who is known for  Paprika and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. They are also looking into getting the rights for an (as of right now) unknown Japanese show.

Sonic Advance now on Android in Japan

For those of you that want to relive the memories of the Game Boy Advance Sonic game, properly titled Sonic Advance, now you can. SEGA Japan have brought the game to the Japanese Android Market.

The game will cost you 415 yen (about $5). No idea if the game will be brought over West or other platforms. Here is hoping.

Total War: Shogun 2 gets new standalone expansion

Above is the new trailer for the expansion pack for Total War: Shogun 2. This expansion is called “Fall of the Samurai”. The new expansion is a standalone, meaning you don’t need the original game to play it. The game shows the conflict between the Imperial throne and the last Shogunate, taking place 400 years after the events of the original title. The game will also feature railway networks, ironclad warships and improved siege battle mechanics.

The expansion also has a major overhaul in the multiplayer component of the game, now being called multiplayer 2.0. Included is over 40 new retainers, over 30 new armor pieces and a brand new skill tree for 19th century avatar. Should be a solid release for Total War addicts out there.

Hatsune Miku 3DS has changing vocals depending on selected vocaloid

SEGA has decided to show some new things you will be able to do in Hatsune Miku and Future Friends: Project Mirai. In the old Project Diva titles, you could select a different vocaloid outside of Miku that would have them dancing while you played. In Project Mirai, if you select a new vocaloid the vocals in the songs change as well.

What sucks? Its not all the songs that have this feature, its selected tracks. Which makes sense. Also outfits are now called costumes and not modules like the older games. Also six songs have been confirmed:

  • Piano Girl (artist: OSTER project)
  • Watashi no Jikan (artist: Kuchibashi)
  • Sing & Smile (artist: Re:nG)
  • Trilcolor Airline (artist: Atsuzou-kun)
  • Daughter of Evil (artist: Mothy)
  • LOL -Lots of Laugh- (artist: Ken and Endcape).
To see screenshots of how the songs look like while played, hit the source.

Shining Blade – Animated Opening

It’s a sorry state of affairs when a new Shining title is announced and I’m not excited in the slightest, but that has been the case for almost every announcement since the series was rebooted back in the early 00’s.

Shining Blade may not be the Shining Force 4 I’ve been waiting for but it has certainly gained my interest. It has been said that Shining Blade will take many cues from Sega’s other big SRPG series Valkyria Chronicles. It’ll use the same canvas style graphics engine and similar game play mechanics. This is already a huge step up from the horrible D-list Action-RPGs from a few years back.

This animated intro is quite nice too but I’m still having one big problem and that is the sheer number of half dressed woman clogging up the roster. Where are the quirky dwarves, centaurs, birdmen and the rest made the series stand out in the first place? Personally I don’t care if they add a bunch of skanky girls but don’t get rid of the characters I like to do it…

Oh well, I’m cautiously optimistic this could be the game changer in terms of game play, it’s coming to the PSP and probably wont leave Japan. Stay tuned kids!

Happy Thanksgiving from SEGAbits

To all the readers of SEGAbits, a very happy Thanksgiving! Even if you aren’t in America, eat some turkey. I’m sure a lot of you are tuned to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, in which Sonic is the main attraction! From what I’ve heard, Sonic was the first float featured, and just moments ago he was featured again floating through New York City accompanied by the Splash Hill music. After the break, check out Sonic’s appearance!

ChuChu Rocket! hits Android devices, buy it now for 99 cents


I love my phone, but lately have been sad that I can’t get those cool SEGA games that they release on iPhones. Well, seems that SEGA is finally sharing the love and at a killer price too. If you have an Android device, you can now own ChuChu Rocket! for 99cents.

The game looks beautiful and runs buttery smooth (at least on my device). It comes with over 500 puzzles to go through and its under a buck. Apparently there is a time out bug on some devices and no multiplayer at the moment. You can grab it here.

Oddly enough SEGA of America only has this and a game I never heard of called ‘Fallen Realms’ on the US Android Market. The game Fallen Realms actually looks quite good and is free. Get that here.

SEGA Europe opens a Sonic Merchandise online store

SEGA Europe have opened up an online shop so you can get your Sonic merchandise directly from SEGA themselves. The store has posters, collectibles and much more. If you aren’t from Europe, you can always go on the site and window shop. Check out the store here.

[Thanks: ミクのディルド]

Hatsune Miku’s 3DS game officially named Hatsune Miku and Future Stars Project Mirai

This week Famitsu released the date and name of the new 3DS Hatsune Miku game. The game is being titled Hatsune Miku and Future Stars Project Mirai.

The game is going to be released in Japan on March 8th 2012. This also happens to be the release date for Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater 3D, meaning that SEGA really isn’t good at picking release date for their games.  SEGA also has two versions of the game planned, the regular version (¥6,090) and the limited edition version (¥7,140).

Above is the debut trailer that SEGA showed back in September. Not much new is known outside the above info.

[Thanks: ミクのディルド]
[Source: AndriaSang]

Sonic Generations 3DS is out now; check out the launch trailer

Sonic Generations has released yesterday on the 3DS in North America, and is set for release on the 25th of November for Europe. The 3DS version features a set of mostly exlusive levels and is said to play quite differently from its console counterpart. It will also feature a multiplayer mode.

Crush3D – Tutorial Trailer

Confused about how Crush3D works? Check out this Crush3D tutorial trailer.

If you didn’t already know, Crushed first released on the PSP in 2007, the critics raved about it but the game did not sell as well as it should have, which is sad because it’s such a great and unique game. I’m glad that Sega are giving it another chance and I think the 3DS is perfect for Crush3D because of the ‘crushing’ and ‘un-crushing’ nature of the game. Let’s hope that it can find better sales on the 3DS.

Yakuza 5 – Details Leak (Edit: More info)

Some juicy tidbits have escaped from Famitsu today regarding Yakuza 5 (Ryu Ga Gotoku 5) The first bit of news is that Yakuza 5 will again be released on the Playstation 3. Considering four Yakuza games have already been released for the PS3 and every game in the series have been exclusive to Playstation consoles and handhelds I’m sure anyone could have guessed that one.

The second bit of info is a lot more interesting-

Shinobi 3DS – History of Shinobi Trailer

Here’s a Shinobi trailer where members of Sega of America, such as producer Stephen Frost, feel like they need to prove to us that their new Shinobi game is a ‘real’ Shinobi game. But in doing so, they kind of just remind everyone that it isn’t a real Shinobi game. At one point, Stephen says that they took what was great about the classic Shinobi games and made it better, and those are some pretty strong words.

Na- Just kidding! From what I’ve heard it’s- well- not terrible! Which is a real achievement for Sega of America who like to farm out our most beloved Sega classics to unknown developers that previously only made license games… I only hope that when Sega of America re-imagine the next Sega Classic they make sure it’s treated like a classic and not like Golden Axe: Beast Rider.

Sega of America “Re-Imagining a beloved IP” According to a Job Ad

Pleasedon’tbeSonic.Pleasedon’tbeSonic.Pleasedon’tbeSonic.Pleasedon’tbeSonic.

According to an ad for a new executive producer, it looks like one of Sega’s IP’s will be getting a reboot. With Iizuka’s confusing talks about “a new standard for Modern Sonic”, I worry that it may be our favorite blue Hedgehog again. Just when he’s making good ground and Modern Sonic’s finally finding his feet. We’ll probably know more in 2012 I’m sure. Until then, start biting those fingernails.

 

[Source: Gamerzines]

300 Page Sonic History Book Releasing in France

The French are such lucky dogs (or should I say, “lucky frogs”? sorry, bad joke), they’re getting a beautiful 300 page book spanning the history of the Sonic franchise. Released by Pix’n Love Publishing, with approval from SEGA of Japan, the initial release touts a blue hardcover with a gold printed logo and a unique serial number. The book is up for pre-order with an expected January 2012 release and Pix’n Love ships worldwide for a nominal fee. I was able to preorder the book for 35.50 euros, that’s 30 euros for the book and only 5.50 euros for shipping, roughly $47. The downside? Most of it is in French, the upside, a bit of it is in English and there are a lot of pretty pictures to look at. Also, Pix’n Love Publishing has an English language site and they have released a few of their more popular French books in English. So if their History of Mario book is anything to go by, there may be a softcover English release of the Sonic book in late 2012. For more images of the book, check out their virtual preview on their pre-order page.

UPDATE: A rep from the UK Pix’n Love shop has said that an English version is coming, and pre-orders should start in a few weeks. Time to cancel that order from France!