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SEGA News Bits: SEGA & Atlus E3 2016 Game Lineup and Stage Show Schedule

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Its that time of year, when gamers and nerds from across the country come to LA to see upcoming video games. I’m talking about E3 2016 and this time we will be looking at what SEGA & Atlus has in store for you. We will be talking about their confirmed game lineup which includes titles like Yakuza 0, Dawn of War III, 7th Dragon III Code: VFD and even Persona 5.

On the second half of this SEGA News Bits we will be talking about SEGA & Atlus’ E3 2016 stage show schedule which will even include a Q&A with Yakuza series developer Toshihiro Nagoshi! Tell us what you think about SEGA & Atlus’ E3 2016 presence in the comments below. If you like the video don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel.

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SEGA News Bits: Dreamcast 2 Fan Project Shuts Down Reaction

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Late last year a group of SEGA Dreamcast fans announced they where petitioning SEGA to start Project Dream, which was basically a Dreamcast 2 console. The users behind the project used a Change.org petition to garner support for their Dreamcast 2 project. After getting over 30,000 signatures from fans around the globe, getting some mainstream press coverage and showing off a few Dreamcast 2 video concepts the team has now called it quits.

We give you all the information you might have missed on the project, talk about why they shut down and our opinions on the whole thing. Tell us what you think in the comments below. If you haven’t, make sure to subscribe to get more SEGA News Bits videos.

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SEGA News Bits: Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice Launch Day Edition Revealed

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After a lengthy delay, Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice for the Nintendo 3DS is on its way with a release date of September 27th in the Americas and a recently revealed launch edition. In this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry discuss the upcoming game, the delay, its E3 showing and the Launch Edition itself. As for the European release, no word yet on a Launch Edition, however the game will be releasing across the pond on September 30th. We’ll know ourselves how the game plays after this year’s E3 and the Sonic 25th Anniversary party.

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SEGA News Bits: SEGA Teases Possible Sonic Crossover Games?

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SEGA put out a new survey that asked fans a ton of questions of what they would like to see the company do. One of the questions that stood out to Sonic the Hedgehog fans was the on about what franchises people would be interested in seeing Sonic crossover with. The list included Adventure Time, My Little Pony, Pixar, Capcom, Looney Toons, Disney, Nintendo, and Dragon Ball Z. As you can see this list of franchise both upset and delighted most Sonic the Hedgehog fans.

We all know this isn’t the first time Sonic the Hedgehog has had a crossover game, right now the blue blur is still crossing over with Nintendo’s Mario franchise with their Mario & Sonic Olympic titles. We sit down, discuss the franchises listed and even get to the bottom of where this survey came from! Like our video content? Don’t forget to subscribe to us on YouTube.

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SEGA News Bits: SEGA to Shut Down Sonic Runners

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Sonic Runners has traversed a rocky road, after personally disappointing us in 2015 and ending up a financial failure in SEGA’s eyes. Now, SEGA Networks has confirmed that the game will be shutting down in late July. In this SEGA News Bits, Barry and George break down what they think caused Sonic Runners to be killed, if we can expect to ever play the game after its servers shut down and what lessons SEGA could learn from the game’s failures. It’s not all negative, as we also talk about what we liked about the game and give it a fitting eulogy.

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Convention Report: MomoCon 2016

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Conventions never really…felt like something I’d enjoy doing. Crowds of people, loudness everywhere, difficulty in navigation, pains to manage, and sore legs did not sound like an experience that was worthwhile. I experienced all of these at some point or another, and truth be told…it was incredible. MomoCon was an experience I’ll never forget; my first con, my first meetup with people I only knew from internet interactions, my first time helping with a panel, etc.

But it wasn’t a solo experience. Me, my coworker and friend Kori-Maru, and a twenty four pack of bottled water had a mission: do something cool. Something we could return to the site and say “we bring you news!” or “we bring you neat things!”. Unfortunately, SEGA was not at MomoCon in any official capacity this year. So we had to rely on the old fan community to do something worthwhile. Hit the jump to see what we did.

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SEGA News Bits: 7th Dragon III: Code VFD First Impressions

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On this SEGA News Bits we will be giving you our first impressions on 7th Dragon III: Code VFD a JRPG exclusively on the Nintendo 3DS. The video covers the first few chapters of 7th Dragon III: Code VFD and gives you a feeling on what to expect July 12th, 2016 when the game launches in North America.

7th Dragon III: Code VFD features music by Yuzo Koshiro (Streets of Rage) and is co-produced by Rieko Kodama (Phantasy Star & Skies of Arcadia), which are a couple of big names to make die hard SEGA fans happy. Give the video a play and tell us what you think in the comments below. Like always, if you want to see more don’t forget to subscribe to us on YouTube.

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Multiplayer Showcase looks at Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing

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Multiplayer Showcase is the review show where you get to see me and some friends of mine play multiplayer games that have been long forgotten and give it a proper analysis by sharing our opinions on the game in a roundtable discussion to see how things have held up for gaming’s past brightest stars and lowest points.

This episode compares the boxing gloves to the green shells with the Mario Kart-inspired Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing. I never got to play this game much with friends locally. I’ve certainly played it online some time ago, but as you might recall, there are limitations added when playing online, so playing with a group of people with everything unlocked lets everyone dig in for some four player action coupled with SEGA nostalgia.

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SEGA News Bits: Shinobi movie adaptation reaction

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Way back in December 2014 it was announced that SEGA was planning to move many of their classic franchises into the realms of movies and television. Stories International, a joint venture between SEGA and Hakuhodo DY Group launched in 2011, would manage and maintain these brands and work with external studios and creatives to make SEGA franchise based movies a reality. Now, we have news that Shinobi is the first of these SEGA franchises heading to the big screen with Marc Platt (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Drive, Josie and the Pussycats) and cohort Adam Siegel producing. In this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry break down the story, take a look at Platt and Siegel’s background in the motion picture industry, and speculate how a Shinobi movie might play out.

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

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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!

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SEGA News Bits: Atlus and SEGA Europe Localization Discussion

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Life as a SEGA and Atlus fan in Europe has been tough. Between SEGA Europe not releasing titles like SEGA 3D Classics Collection, 7th Dragon III: Code VFD and Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA X and Atlus severing ties with NIS America, the promise of new games appears hopeless. In this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry put themselves in the European state of mind and discuss the latest on SEGA Europe’s localization woes and what the Atlus and NIS America break-up could mean for the future of the Persona and Etrian Odyssey franchises.

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SEGA News Bits: Mega Drive Classics on Steam to support hacked ROMs

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Just over a week ago, SEGA Mega Drive Classics on Steam was announced to have a free update that adds additional features to games you may already own. Features include a new hub from which you can access all your games from a virtual bedroom complete with a TV and a games shelf. While that is neat and all, what really caught our attention was the mention of modified and hacked ROMs being supported. If the game is in the collection, you are free to mess with the code and share your creations with the Steam world. Pretty crazy, right? Join George and Barry as they discuss this strange turn in SEGA being cool with us messing with their games. Check the updated SEGA Mega Drive Classics out today and tell us what you think of it in the comments below!

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SEGA Memories: Looking back on Fleetway’s Sonic the Comic

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s5Remember when Knuckles used to ride a pterodactyl? Remember that time Eggman was called “Kintobor”? And who could forget how Super Sonic was Sonic’s evil split personality? What’s that? You don’t remember? Well then, you’ve probably never seen Fleetway’s unique spin on the Sonic universe before.

Whether you’ve read it or not, most people are at least a little familiar with Archie’s long running comic series based on the blue blur. However, as a poor little English boy, I grew up with quite a different set of comics in my youth. In this installment of SEGA Memories, I look back on this unique moment in Sonic history.

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SEGA Talk: Our Ideal Sonic 25th Anniversary Game (Feat. Matt from Tails’ Channel)

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Welcome to our newest video series, SEGA Talk! Like SEGA News Bits, SEGA Talk features hosts George and Barry discussing all things SEGA. However, instead of detailing the latest in SEGA news, we bring on a guest to take part in a round table SEGA discussion. To kick things off we are joined by Matt from Tails’ Channel to share what we think the ideal Sonic 25th anniversary game would be.

Want the SEGA Talk crew to tackle a topic? Submit topics and questions for future SEGA Talk episodes, as well as suggestions for guests, using our handy contact form or you can leave a comment below or on the YouTube video.

If you enjoy the SEGA Talk, make sure to like, share and subscribe to our YouTube for more.

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SEGA Retrospective: From Wonder Boy to Monster World to Adventure Island and beyond

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Over the years, video game franchises have come in many styles. Platforming, fighting, puzzle, shooting, the list is never ending. But one thing many franchises have in common is that they have to start somewhere, setting up the foundation for future titles to follow up and improve on. However, on occasion, something happens down the line that causes the franchise to become twisted, causing things to become complicated. Copyright issues might make the prospect of new titles impossible so spiritual successors might be necessary (For example Bayonetta being the successor to Devil May Cry), or the franchise suffers from an identity crisis when localized like with Puyo Puyo, or games having inconsistent releases cause confusion like the infamous Final Fantasy I to VI problem.

By far one of the most curious cases is with a franchise called Wonder Boy (Aka Monster World).

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