Interview

SEGA answers our burning SEGA Forever questions, tells us what to expect next

by

sega-forever-980x420

After weeks of teasing, SEGA Forever was officially revealed to be a classic games collection initiative to bring everything from the SG-1000 to the SEGA Dreamcast to mobile platforms, with the big surprise being that all the games are free to play (with the option to buy). The collection kicked off with five SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis titles, including four emulated games including Altered Beast, Kid Chameleon, Phantasy Star II and Comic Zone, and the remastered Sonic the Hedgehog from Christian Whitehead. After playing the games and experiencing how the service works, we had a ton of questions for SEGA. Thanks to mobile games community manager Danny Russell, we received a speedy reply and every single one of our questions got answered!

Read on for our interview with Danny.

Continue Reading ➜

9 Comments

Swingin’ Report Show #88: Night Trap 25th Anniversary Edition – Screaming Villains, Developer Interview

by

In this episode we are joined by Tyler of Screaming Villains, who is developing the upcoming Night Trap 25th Anniversary Edition set to release to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PCs, with a limited physical run exclusive to the PS4. Tyler discusses how the project began, how the game differs from the SEGA CD and SEGA CD 32X versions, what new features fans can expect from the game and what future plans he hopes to have in the world of FMV games and beyond! Keep your ears peeled for some exclusive reveals, but watch out for those Augers!

Night Trap 25th Anniversary Edition Website | Screaming Villains Facebook | Screaming Villains Twitter

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

No Comments

SEGAbits at E3 2017 Interview: Sam Mullen – Yakuza Kiwami & Yakuza 6

by

Our E3 coverage continues with an interview with Sam Mullen, Senior Localization Producer of SEGA products at Atlus U.S.A., who has worked on Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. We talk to Sam about these upcoming games in the Yakuza series and what both longtime fans and newcomers can expect.

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

No Comments

SEGAbits at E3 2017 Interview: Aaron Webber – Sonic Mania & Sonic Forces

by

Our E3 coverage continues with an interview with Aaron Webber, PR and Social Media Manager for Sonic the Hedgehog. SEGAbits swingin’ reporter Kori-Maru asks Aaron about the upcoming Sonic Mania and Sonic Forces, including questions about the recently revealed villains trailer and the mysterious Infinite.

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

No Comments

Swingin’ Report Show #87: Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary Art Book – Cook & Becker CEO Maarten Brands

by

The SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show is back, bringing you an interview with Maarten Brands, CEO of Cook & Becker who is behind the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary Art Book! In this, his first public interview talking about the book, Maarten goes into the history of the international art dealership Cook & Becker, how the SEGA partnership began and what fans can expect from the Sonic art book.

The book releases soon and comes in two editions, which you can pre-order now:
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 25TH ANNIVERSARY ART BOOK – COLLECTOR’S EDITION
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 25TH ANNIVERSARY ART BOOK – STANDARD HARDCOVER

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

No Comments

A look at Virtua Fighter ‘No Matter the Cost’ fan tournament

by

Hi SEGAbits readers! Kori-Maru here! Giving you all another event report covering a a fan dedicated Virtua Fighter ‘No Matter the Cost’  tournament which is being hosted by NWO and VFDC. The event featured many Virtua Fighter iterations starting from Virtua Fighter 2 through Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown spanning over three days. While Virtua Fighter has a small tournament scene in the West, fans of the series continue to show strong support for SEGA’s elite fighting game franchise.

Prizes were given out for each tournament and raffle giveaways included rare items such as Japanese Virtua Fighter player BunBunMaru’s jacket, Virtua Fighter 10th Anniversary for PlayStation 2, a copy of Yakuza 6, and a flight ticket to EVO Japan 2018 as the grand prize. Pretty good haul for a fan ran tournament.

Continue Reading ➜

1 Comment

SEGAbits at New York Comic Con 2016: Interview with Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Comic Colorist Matt Herms

by

While covering New York Comic Con 2016, SEGAbits writer FlareHabanero had a chance to talk to Archie Comics freelance colorist Matt Herms. Matt has worked on a variety of Archie’s video game books, including Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Universe, Mega Man and the incredibly popular Sonic Mega Drive. Check out the interview for yourself to learn about how Matt got his start in the industry and what it’s like to work in comics as a colorist!

Enjoy our video content? Please give us a like and subscribe on our YouTube page. Thanks!

After the break, check out a bonus video of Matt drawing Sonic!

Continue Reading ➜

1 Comment

SEGAbits at New York Comic Con 2016: Shenmue 3 Interview with Cédric Biscay

by

SEGAbits attended New York Comic Con 2016 and had the opportunity to speak about Shenmue 3 with Cédric Biscay, president and CEO of Shibuya Productions. Cédric was kind enough to sit down with our own Kori-Maru to tell us how he got his start in the industry, what it’s like to work with Yu Suzuki and more!

Enjoy our video content? Please give us a like and subscribe on our YouTube page. Thanks!

2 Comments

Swingin’ Report Show #86: Strike Harbinger Game Designer and SEGA Tournament Champion Chris Tang

by

On this episode of the Swingin’ Report Show podcast, Barry sits down with game designer and gaming tournament champion Chris Tang at the Galloping Ghost Arcade’s SEGA Week. SEGA fans may know Chris best as the winner of SEGA’s Sonic & Knuckles Rock the Rock competition in 1994, and before that Chris was a finalist in 1990’s Nintendo World Championships. Since then, Chris has worked on games at Atari and Capcom, including Gauntlet IV, Primal Rage, Street Fighter III, Rival Schools and Power Stone. Now, Chris is hard at work on a new game inspired by classic SEGA titles like Space Harrier and Phantasy Star. The game, titled Strike Harbinger, combines the fast paced forward flying gameplay of Space Harrier with the RPG and combat elements of Phantasy Star while utilizing a unique control structure that evokes Virtual On.

Strike Harbinger – developed by Chris’s company HitSparks Games – was revealed Saturday, April 30th at Galloping Ghost Arcade where I had the pleasure to meet Chris and the game’s Senior Artist Kiyoshi Okuma, whose past work includes Gauntlet: Legends, World Series Baseball 2K2, The Sims 2 and Darkspore. I also had the honor to be the first member of the public to play the game, and following that experience I chatted with Chris about his life as a tournament gamer, his career, and his plans for Strike Harbinger. 

Want more information on Strike Harbinger? Stay tuned for an upcoming SEGA News Bits as well as a SEGA Week writeup!

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

3 Comments

Shmuplations releases translated interview with SEGA of Japan hardware legend Hideki Sato

by

SegaHardware

Thanks to shmuplations.com, we now have the full interview with SEGA of Japan’s Hideki Sato, the legend who helmed SEGA’s console R&D during the 16-bit era and later became the company president in 2002. The interview initially appeared in the Japanese publication Famitsu DC in 1998 and was later republished in the 2001 “SEGA Consumer History” book. Several hardcore fans, myself included, have that book in their collection, but were unable to read the interview due to the obvious language barrier. Now we have the whole thing in english! Check out the full translated interview here. The interview is in two parts, with part one covering the Dreamcast and part two covering past hardware.

Thanks shmuplations.com!

 

4 Comments

Swingin’ Report Show #82: Interview with Brian Silva of Visual Concepts, Midway, Accolade and more!

by

Video game designer and voice actor Brain Silva joins us on our latest episode to discuss his work on Bubsy and Bubsy II, Floigan Bros., Hydro Thunder, and H2Overdrive as well as many other games created during his time at Accolade, Visual Concepts, Midway, Blizzard Entertainment and Specular Interactive. Brian also discusses several unreleased games including Hydro Thunder 2 for arcades, Congo: The Secret of Zinj for Genesis and SNES, and Floigan Bros. for the original Playstation!

Brian currently works at Specular Interactive, having helped create the arcade titles H2Overdrive (Hydro Thunder‘s spiritual successor), Project HADES, Dirty Drivin’, and Batman. Learn more about Specular Interactive by checking out their website.

Also, make sure to check out Brian’s website where you’ll find some excellent design docs for Floigan Bros. and Crank the Weasel.

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

No Comments

Swingin’ Report Show #80: Interview with Aaron Webber, Sonic the Hedgehog PR & Social Media Manager

by

He’s back! After leaving SEGA of America in 2014, Aaron Webber has returned as the PR & Social Media Manager for the Sonic the Hedgehog brand. Since returning, Aaron has been making waves on the Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts, catching both fan and media attention with his sly wit and deep knowledge of the franchise.

Aaron was kind enough to sit down with us for an hour in his first interview since returning to SEGA to talk about his new role, SEGA’s move to LA, his approach to interacting with fans, Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice, his favorite Sonic games, and answers to some burning canon questions!

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

5 Comments

Swingin’ Report Show #77: Interview with Greg Johnson, co-creator of Toejam and Earl

by

Toejam and Earl: Back in the Groove is a Kickstarter campaign from Greg Johnson, video game designer and co-founder of ToeJam & Earl Productions. On this week’s Swingin’ Report Show podcast, Greg joins us to talk about how he plans to bring the funky aliens back in a new game, and how he and Mark Voorsanger pitched and developed the original three games of the series for SEGA.

Learn how Toejam and Earl made the transition from Greg’s subconscious to video games, what it was like working with SEGA throughout the 90s, his thoughts on the sequels Panic on Funkotron and Mission to Earth, and how Toejam and Earl: Back in the Groove is set to reimagine and build upon the famous first game. If you’re a game developer, or simply want to know more about how games are made, this episode is a must listen!

Show your support for Greg and his team, check out the Toejam and Earl: Back in the Groove Kickstarter today!

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

No Comments

Swingin’ Report Show #76: Interview with Stealth, co-developer of Sonic the Hedgehog 1&2 Remastered

by

On this week’s SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show podcast, we’re joined by Stealth, who worked on the official recent remasterings of Sonic The Hedgehog CD, Sonic The Hedgehog, and Sonic The Hedgehog 2 alongside fellow developer The Taxman.

Stealth talks to us about how the remasters began development, the process of remaking classic Sonic titles, the much talked about the remastered Sonic The Hedgehog 3 proof of concept, and what fans can do to try and make Sonic 3 remastered a reality. Also featured is discussion of Sonic The Hedgehog 4 and the recent decisions SEGA has made with the franchise. If you love classic Sonic games and behind-the-scenes stories of game development, this is the show for you!

Also, Barry and George discuss the recently revealed ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove Kickstarter by Greg Johnson (who will be joining us next week) and Sonic Team’s mobile release Sonic Runners, which soft launched yesterday.

Support the Sonic 3 Remastered campaign: http://sonic3remastered.com/


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

2 Comments