SEGA News

Idola Phantasy Star Saga Producer and Director talks changed setting, link to past games

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As you guys already know, I wrote a long whiny post on why I wasn’t too into Idola Phantasy Star Saga mobile game and now we get some more clarification from the Director and Producer on the changes in setting. Gathered by Siliconera, according to the change in setting:

“The reason why Idola has a different setting and worldview from Phantasy Star Online 2 and Phantasy Star Online 2 es, is because it could become a hurdle for people who don’t play PSO2 if it were directly related. Although the game has been made to be easy to get into even for those new to the series, the common elements in the series still remain. Idola is also meant to bring back those who stopped playing PSO2 and PSO2 es, as something “Phantasy Star-like”. That said, there may be some smaller connections to the world of Oracle from PSO2.”

As for having some connection to the past games, considering this game is a 30th Anniversary title, they said:

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Yakuza 3 PlayStation 4 demo hits Asian PSN stores

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We already knew that Yakuza 3, 4 and 5 was going to hit the PlayStation 4, with Yakuza 3 coming out August 9th. What I didn’t expect was them to do a demo for the Yakuza 3 release. But it seems SEGA has launched a demo on the Asian PlayStation Store which includes: Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and other Asian countries. The demo hasn’t even hit the Japanese PSN store yet!

If you didn’t already know this Yakuza 3 port will be the definitive experience on console, running at 1080p resolution and 60 frames per second. As for a Western release, SEGA hasn’t discussed it but don’t be shocked if they do end up announcing it sooner than later.

[Source: Gematsu]

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Rare SegaSonic Bros. arcade prototype to be playable at California Extreme this weekend

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This upcoming Saturday California Extreme arcade & pinball event is happening in the Hyatt Regency hotel in Santa Clara, California. The event will last 2 whole days (July 28-29) and feature quite a number of speakers. While all that is nice and fun, one of the biggest surprises is that the long lost SegaSonic Bros. prototype will be playable at this event.

If you didn’t know, SegaSonic Bros. is a 1992 puzzle game for the Sega System C2 designed by Fukio Mitsuji (Bubble Bobble fame), the game never got a full release due to bad location testing in Japan and was considered lost until arcade board collector ShouTime revealed that he had a working board back in 2016. ShouTime will be bringing that working prototype board to California Extreme for arcade enthusiast to play. I sort of wish I had a heads up on SegaSonic Bros. being playable so I could have made plans to go and try it. Are any of you guys going to California Extreme? Check out more info here.

[Via Arcade Heroes]

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SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive Classics’ free VR update for PlayStation 4 out now

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If you have been playing the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive Classics and wished you could use your PlayStation VR headset, you are now in luck my friend. SEGA has just tweeted that the free PlayStation 4 VR update for the collection is out now.

I went online and saw some streamers try the VR update to see how it worked and it looks pretty cool. Obviously most of the impressive ‘immersive’ VR experience comes from the 3D game room when selecting the games, when you are in-game its just a regular screen (in VR!). You can check out GAMERTAG VR’s Stream of it to see what its like. This is cool, I like free updates. I think SEGA should do this more with their games especially Sonic Team games that never seem to get issues ironed out.

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Phantasy Star mobile countdown website launched, celebrates franchises 30th Anniversary

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SEGA has launched the following Phantasy Star website, according to the site this upcoming announcement will be part of the Phantasy Star 30th Anniversary. The first Phantasy Star launched in Japan way back in 1988 on the SEGA Mark III (Master System outside of Japan).

According to the website this announcement is slated for iOS and Android mobile users. According to the site this will be a RPG, no idea if this means that they will go back to the franchises roots or if this is just another mobile cash grab. I will say I’m digging the Phantasy Star 30th Anniversary logo, looks like they included a silhouette of Myau from the orginal Phantasy Star.

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SEGA News Bits: IDW Sonic @ SDCC 2018 – New Character & Team Sonic Racing Comic Revealed

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Today was the day of the big IDW Sonic the Hedgehog panel at San Diego Comic Con where several reveals were made! On this SEGA News Bits, Barry and George take a look at what was revealed, including new covers, new Team Sonic Racing info and a new character in the IDW canon.

If you want to support this type of content, you can check out our Patreon!

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us: Give us a sub and give this video a thumbs up so it shows up on more like-minded fans YouTube recommendations. You know, how that YouTube algorithm is.

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Shining Force & Golden Sun artist Hiroshi Kajiyama passes away

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Hiroshi Kajimyama’s son has revealed via Twitter that he’s father has passed away. The son didn’t give any details on when he passed away, what the causes or any other information. This is all probably a close family matter and I respect that.

Hiroshi Kajimyama worked on a ton of games, but most SEGA fans like ourselves will remember he’s amazing art from his SEGA games such as doing character designs, illustrations for Shining Force Gaiden, Shining Force Gaiden II, Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict, Shining Wisdom and Shining Force III. He would later go on to work with Camelot by doing the art for the Golden Sun games as well.

If there is any way that Hiroshi Kajimyama wants to be remembered, its probably by he’s amazing artwork so let’s look at some incredible pieces of art that he created throughout he’s career.

[Via: AnimeNewsNetWork]

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Sonic Mania Plus developer diary part two features Takashi Iizuka and Christian Whitehead

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SEGA has released the second Sonic Mania Plus developer diary, in a series of two, this time featuring Sonic Team’s Takashi Iizuka and the Taxman himself Christian Whitehead. The video is a lively discussion about the genesis of Sonic Mania and the recently released Sonic Mania Plus, as well as a breakdown of the new modes and characters. You can check out the first part here.

If you have yet to pick up Sonic Mania Plus, you can order the game today for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One via Amazon.

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SEGA AGES debuts on Nintendo Switch with Sonic the Hedgehog & Thunder Force IV next month

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It was a surprise to a lot of SEGA fans when SEGA announced that they wouldn’t be porting the SEGA Genesis/Megadrive Collection to Nintendo Switch. Instead SEGA Japan would be bringing its downloadable titles by reviving their SEGA AGES brand. We finally got the first details including the debut games, release date and pricing.

According to the latest Weekly Famitsu magazine where they confirmed that the first two debut titles will be Sonic the Hedgehog and Thunder Force IV! Each title will cost you 925 yen (£6.30 / $8.20) and will release in August. Just like the SEGA 3D Classics, Sonic the Hedgehog will include the added Spin Dash, Drop Dash and the Mega Play arcade version. While Thunder Force IV will introduce online leaderboards and the Styx Mode from the SEGA Saturn version!

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SEGA releases Valkyria Chronicles 4 opening movie

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Valkyria Chronicles 4 releases September 25, 2018, and to hold us over SEGA has released the opening movie to the game. You know, that bit that plays when you boot up the game? Check out the video above and in the comments let us know your thoughts on the upcoming sequel.

Valkyria Chronicles 4 will release in the Americas and Europe for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, and will see a “Memoirs from Battle” Premium Edition priced at $99.99. This will include the game for your platform of choice, an exclusive vinyl statue of the “Hafen” Tank, “Claude’s Travel Journal” exclusive 100-Page themed artbook and a pair of DLC adventures featuring Squad 7 characters.

Pre-order the Valkyria Chronicles 4 “Memoirs from Battle” Premium Edition
PlayStation 4 | Xbox One | Nintendo Switch

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Sonic Mania Adventures concludes with episode 5 – Sonic Mania Plus releases today!

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SEGA has released the fifth and final episode of their Sonic Mania Adventures animated web series. The episode features all five heroes taking on Metal Sonic and Doctor Eggman in a final(?) battle. Also released is an official supercut combining all five episodes into an 11 minute video, seen after the break.

You can order the game today for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One via Amazon, and in turn support the site.

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SEGA rarity A.B. Cop now playable at Galloping Ghost Arcade in Brookfield, IL

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Released around 1989, A.B. Cop (Air Bike Cop) is a Sega X Board rarity that few know about and even fewer have played. A super scaler game, like After Burner and Thunder Blade (also Sega X Board titles), A.B. Cop was jointly developed by Aicom and SEGA. In the game, you control an air bike cop who is out to arrest criminals by crashing into their vehicles, thus disabling them. The game is played on a sweet dedicated cabinet in which you perch yourself on a seat and use handlebar controls to move left and right, a button to jump and a lever to accelerate.

Sounds great, right? Want to play it? Well Galloping Ghost Arcade in Brookfield, IL just added the game to their arcade floor in a lovely dedicated cabinet! Revealed as their Monday Mystery Game via live stream, A.B. Cop came to the arcade direct from Japan. You can hear the story of how they acquired it and check out some gameplay footage on the stream. I plan to check the game out this weekend, and if you want to give A.B. Cop and 600+ more games a spin head to Galloping Ghost Arcade for yourself!

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Sonic Mania Plus infomercial is a retro flashback to a classic Sonic commercial

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SEGA has released a great Sonic Mania Plus infomercial which itself is a throwback to the classic Sonic the Hedgehog commercial featuring a sleazy salesman trying to upsell a customer on the competition. The original ad featured the SNES and Super Mario World going up against Sonic the Hedgehog and a SEGA Genesis, which was $50 cheaper. In the case of the new ad, a $60 first person shooter is going up against the $30 Sonic Mania Plus.

There are a lot of funny moments including the FPS graphics featuring finger guns as weapons, the customer – played by Aaron Webber – getting dizzy from the holographic box art, and the salesman – played by actor/comedian/dancer Nathan Barnatt (aka Keith Apicary) hanging up from a phone call in the same way the original ad began. A big thumbs up to SEGA for producing this!

You can order the game today for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One via Amazon, and in turn support the site. Sonic Mania Plus releases tomorrow!

After the break, check out the original commercial.

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New Sonic the Hedgehog movie details revealed – filming location, possible title and logo

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Via Twitter user KyroDRX and the Sonic Stadium comes some new details about the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie from Paramount. A friend of KyroDRX received a notice for an upcoming filming on their streets of the movie. The scene will take place in a residential area and will feature a car pulling up to a house, scenes will then take place inside the house. The scenes will be taking place during the day and night, so it is possible that this is a home of a main character and will be featured at various points throughout the movie.

There will be no action or special effects scenes films, only atmospheric smoke will be used. The home address given is a lovely little home just off of an inlet from the Pacific Ocean and the area has a very “Californian” vibe. You can see the home after the break.

Also worth noting is that the movie logo and title might be revealed in the image above. The title is a simple “SONIC” in italics. If you want my graphic designer expert opinion, I don’t like it. Dropping “the Hedgehog” and using italics makes it read like Sonic Drive-In, and the addition of Sonic’s silhouette in the C looks clunky. Sonic already has a logo, so why not use that one?

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Read-Only Memory announces SEGA Arcade: Pop-Up History book – Kickstarter launches today

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Our friends at Read-Only Memory, who published the excellent Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works and is hard at work on the upcoming Sega Dreamcast: Collected Works, have announced a new SEGA focused book with a very different spin. SEGA Arcade: Pop-Up History will be a large format, high production book of pop-up sculptures of SEGA’s greatest arcade cabinets. The deluxe arcade cabinets include: Hang-On, Space Harrier, Thunder Blade, After Burner, and Out Run. The Holy Quincunx as I call them (I had to Google “trinity but for 5”).

Each pop-up model in this officially licensed book will be accompanied by schematics, game artwork and historical context from by Guardian games writer Keith Stuart – plus everyone who backs the project during the Kickstarter campaign will receive an exclusive limited version, sporting a silver foil, deep embossed cover design.

Read-Only Memory have proven time and time again that they produce the best quality video game history and art and design books, and we urge readers to show their latest project their support. You can learn more about the upcoming book on their Kickstarter campaign page. We will continue to share news about SEGA Arcade: Pop-Up History as we hear it.

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