SEGA News

Bitmap Books cancels The unofficial MD/GEN: a visual compendium, no thanks to SEGA

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Bitmap Books has been hard at work on their next visual compendium book, this time centering on the SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis, but today they have announced the project is cancelled. Past visual compendium books have been a mix of official and unofficial releases.

SEGA fans might remember years back Bitmap Books covered the Master System, in fact we newsed, interviewed, backed and reviewed Bitmap’s endeavor. While the Master System book was officially licensed, their now cancelled Mega Drive book was unlicensed. According to Bitmap, they attempted to obtain the license, SEGA declined and they then attempted to go the unlicensed route.

Unfortunately, SEGA threatened legal action and now the project is cancelled. Given Bitmap Books is in the UK, I have to wonder if this is another case of SEGA Europe being jerks to well intentioned publishers. Some years back, The Dreamcast Junkyard attempted an unofficial book acting as a checklist for every Dreamcast release. SEGA Europe told them to take it down or suffer legal action.

You can read more here, and hey if you work for SEGA and are reading this: rethink this. It is a shitty way to treat publishers covering video game history.

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Sakura Wars 2 Receives Fan Translation for SEGA Saturn; Demo Available for Download

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Translated by the same team behind the original Sakura Wars game for the SEGA Saturn, the sequel, Sakura Wars 2: Thous Shalt Not Die, will be receiving a fan translation for the SEGA Saturn. The project was worked on last summer for a year in a half. Not only that the game will be translated, the team has released the special edition demo of the game for everyone to try out.

Sakura Wars 2: Thou Shalt Not Die, is the sequel to the original game developed by Red Company and SEGA for the Sega Saturn and was released in Japan in April 1998 and ported to other systems, including the Dreamcast in September 2000. The game takes place one year after the first game following Ichiro Ogami and the all-female Flower Division of the Imperial Combat Revue as they fight against new supernatural entities in Tokyo as well as hostile political forces led by Keigo Kyogoku.

Not only Sakura Wars 2 is getting a fan translation, the third game in the series is also receiving one as well. It’s only a matter of time that all four main Sakura Wars games will be available to play.

Here is the link to the demo and screenshots to check out to below.

 

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Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack updated with Golden Axe II, Alien Storm, Columns, and Virtua Fighter 2

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On Thursday, December 15th, Sega has added 4 more of their own Genesis classics to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack online subscription service. Alien Storm, Columns, Golden Axe II, and Virtua Fighter 2 are immediately accessible after updating the Sega Genesis – Nintendo Switch Online app to it’s latest version. Japanese players get the same four games in their own update as well, and this is despite the fact Virtua Fighter 2 Genesis did not originally release in Japan. (Although it was developed by Sega of Japan.)

Of course, these four games are all some of the usual mainstays in Sega’s many Genesis compilations, including the Sega Genesis Classics Collection also available on Switch and other consoles, (Golden Axe II is also on the recently released Sega Genesis Mini 2) so chances are many of you are already quite familiar with these games. If you still wanna hear me ramble on about what these games are, then make yourself comfy and check in after the break.

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Sonic Prime sneak peek gives us the story of how Sonic met Tails, Roblox premiere announced

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Sonic Prime, the Netflix animated series which sees video game Sonic entering a multiverse of realities, is set to release December 15, 2022. However, fans can get an advance look in two places! First, the embedded video above, which details a scene in which Sonic meets shatterverse Tails. The scene is interesting, as it details the moment Sonic met Tails, which matches up with the same scene that played out in this year’s Sonic Origins. Ian Flynn, scenario writer for the game’s cutscenes, had said at the time that the meeting was the new game canon of the historic event. However, the fact that Sonic Prime, which is releasing less than a year after the game, is retelling the story is a clear sign that SEGA is serious about Sonic canon connecting across media. Heck, we might see other game events referenced in the series, which is exciting!

So how does one see the first episode before the Netflix premiere? Roblox of course. That’s right, the first episode will be shown on Saturday, December 10th at 10am EST in Sonic Speed Simulator. Weird venue, but cool. Will you be checking out the premiere?

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3D After Burner II to be delisted from 3DS eShop on December 21st, 2022

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M2 has announced that the Nintendo 3DS SEGA 3D Classics title 3D After Burner II will be delisted from the Japanese eShop, along with Sega 3D Fukkoku Archives 3 FINAL STAGE. The delisting is also likely to affect storefronts worldwide, though M2 has not confirmed this. The reasoning? Nothing has been said, but it is likely a licensing issue. Given the eShop will close anyway in 2023, it’s only a few months early, but still worth knowing about so you can grab 3D After Burner II before it’s gone!

[Thanks gosokkyu!]

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SEGA of America moves to new offices in Irvine, California

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Back in 2015, SEGA of America went through a great deal of change with the biggest physical change bring their move from San Francisco to Irvine, California. We reported the news back when it happened, and even mourned the San Francisco HQ that the social media team invited us to visit. The 2015 move saw SEGA move out of their own space and into the existing ATLUS USA offices, and seeing as we had to dig around for the details ourselves it was clear that it was not a celebratory move. However, as 2023 approaches SEGA has revealed that they are moving once again and this time it comes with a press release and everything!

The move isn’t as big as San Francisco, as the new office space is just 3 minutes from the old one and still in Irvine, however as the press release details this is SEGA of America’s new headquarters first and ATLUS is coming along for the ride. The 31,700 square foot space is within the Innovation Office Park, in building 140, suite 100 specifically, and will facilitate up to 235 employees. Congrats to SEGA on the new location, and once you’re settled DM us an invite.

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Sonic Frontiers advances to final round in The Game Awards’ Players’ Voice Award

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Over the past week, Sonic Frontiers has been sweeping the vote in The Game Awards’ Players’ Voice Award, with SEGA’s game advancing to the final round. Now, with just a day left, Sonic’s best game in over a decade is less than 20% behind Genshin Impact, a free-to-play game that wasn’t even released in 2022. Sonic deserves this win, so click on over to vote for Sonic Frontiers!

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SEGA reveals Sonic Frontiers 2023 DLC roadmap, FREE for all platforms

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SEGA has dropped a bombshell on fans in the form of a MASSIVE Sonic Frontiers DLC roadmap for next year! The content, which is free for all platforms, will drop in three updates. While SEGA is not giving specifics just yet, they did reveal this image and the below description:

The title’s 2023 content roadmap details plans for a series of future content updates to the new open-zone, action-packed adventure. These three content updates will include new features, modes, character skins and more. All three updates will be free to all Sonic Frontiers owners.

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Sonic Frontiers Holiday Cheer Suit DLC releasing December 21, 2022

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Today, SEGA announced a huge rollout of Sonic Frontiers content for 2023. But before we get into that, there is a special holiday treat for fans hitting December 21, 2022. The DLC, dubbed “Holiday Cheer Suit” will be free for all platforms and “offers new apparel for Sonic to wear and bring some holiday spirit to the Starfall Islands”. So you want Santa Sonic in a snowy setting? You got it!

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New trailer for Sonic Prime explores Shatterspaces

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Netflix has dropped a new trailer for Sonic Prime, the streaming series set for a December 15th release date on Netflix. The new trailer details the show’s plot, including a very Sonic SatAM alternate reality where Eggman has completely taken over. Or should I say… EggMEN? The trailer also showcases several alternate worlds called Shatterspaces, which is likely going to contribute to the episodic nature of the show with a new Shatterspace each week.

Check out the trailer above and mark your calendar for December 15th!

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Akira Nagai, Former Managing Director at SEGA, Has Passed Away

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We’re sad to report that Akira Nagai, Managing Director at SEGA from 1965 to 2004, has passed away. Nagai was one of the longest serving managing directors and representatives at the company, initially starting out in jukebox distribution in 1963 at Nihon Goraku Bussan and continuing in amusement machine sales in the 1980s. During the 1990s, Nagai managed SEGA’s Amusement Theme Park concept which went on to establish several Joypolis venues in Japan in addition to others. Fans might best remember his likeness from a cameo as a Yakuza boss in the first Shenmue game.

Akira Nagai passed on November 15, 2022 at age 79. If you would like a deep dive on his career, please read his full article on SEGA Retro.

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The SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show: Sonic & SEGA Fan Jam REMIX

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The Sonic & SEGA Fan Jam Remix convention has concluded, but our coverage hasn’t! Following our recap on SEGA News Bits Live here is another bit of the convention, the full audio I recorded of the Shenmue & Arcade All-Stars panel which featured a reunion of the Shenmue voice actors Corey Marshall, Eric Kelso and Lisle Wilkerson. Enjoy this historic moment in Shenmue history!

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

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Sonic & SEGA Fan Jam Remix: Shenmue & Arcade All-Stars Voice Actors Panel

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The biggest moment at this past weekend’s Sonic & SEGA Fan Jam Remix was the Shenmue & Arcade All-Stars Voice Actors Panel featuring the reunion of Corey Marshall, Lisle Wilkerson and Eric Kelso of Shenmue fame.

This is the first time all three have been together since recording audio for Shenmue II over 20 years ago. I was on hand as moderator, which was probably a SEGA fan “career” highlight for me.

Give the full panel a watch and enjoy!

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Sonic Frontiers dashes to number 4 spot in UK Game Charts and number 3 on Steam Charts

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Sonic Frontiers made a strong start to life in the charts, boosting a number 4 spot in the UK Game Charts and sold 5% more than 2017’s release Sonic Forces. While this might not seem a large increase this does not include digital sales so Frontiers’ actual increase over Forces could be quite significant yet. We know more than half of UK game sales are now digital. What was more interesting was the platform break down, while Sonic Forces enjoyed strong sales on the Nintendo Switch, this time the best selling platform for the franchise was as follows; Playstation 5 (40%) Switch (34%) Xbox (14%) and Playstation 4 (12%) But it wasn’t just the UK where Sonic Frontiers is enjoying a successful start to it’s sale life, hit the break to read more how it’s fairing on Steam!

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