360

SEGA Europe admits Aliens: Colonial Marines trailers don’t reflect final product

by

aliens_colonial_marines_squad_large_verge_medium_landscape
Hey, after the game has sold a truck load of copies over in Europe, SEGA is finally going out of there way to tell people they were right. The trailers they created and posted are a bunch of hog wash. Do they reflect the final product? Nope!

“Sega Europe acknowledged your objection that the trailers did not accurately reflect the final content of the game, [Sega] agreed to add a disclaimer, both on their website and in all relevant YouTube videos, which explains that the trailers depict footage of the demo versions of the game. The disclaimer will be visible when each online trailer is played.” – Niall McVeigh, Advertising Standards Authority

The ASA has received four complaints of misleading advertising. Thanks to Reddit, SEGA will now put disclaimers on their trailers. A bit too late, since the game has already sold a ton of copies. Oh well, justice is justice.

3 Comments

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed on consoles getting a software update as early as Monday

by

SonicTransformed
Steve “SOL” Lycett who happens to be producer over at Sumo Digital posted the following message on the SEGA America forums.

…as I figured I’d have some interested parties 😛 All being well we’ll be able to push the PS3 and 360 updates live on Monday. I’m waiting for confirmation on Wii U but that also shouldn’t be too far behind.  I know it’s a been a wait, but hopefully it’ll be worth it! The updates feature lots of tucks and tweaks, should address many of the issues you’ve reported to us and also pull in improvements we’ve been doing on PC. Don’t expect any extra tracks or characters though, just before you ask…!

So there you have it, expect an update for Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing Transformed on Monday if you are playing it on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. If you are on Wii U, you might have to wait a bit longer.

No Comments

Video Review: Aliens: Colonial Marines

by


Welcome to our review of Aliens: Colonial Marines. See that YouTube video embedded above? It is our very first SEGAbits Video Review! We’re trying to sort out a way to get these video reviews put up for all upcoming games. Seeing as how this is our first one, there is always room to improve. So positive criticism is definitely welcomed. Let us know what you think in the comments section. After the break, an old school written review.

Continue Reading ➜

12 Comments

Aliens: Colonial Marines charts at number six for February in the US

by

aliens__colonial_marines_13467184271782
We usually don’t post much NPD numbers here because SEGA really never charts. Well, I guess the Aliens license does make quite a bit of cash. In the UK it hit number one the week it released and in America it came in sixth for its release month. Only to be beat by heavy hitters like Dead Space 3, Crysis 3 and Metal Gear Rising.

Want to see the full top ten chart? Hit the jump.

Continue Reading ➜

2 Comments

Aliens: Colonial Marines still charting in the UK

by

ACM_2013-02-13_20-04-19-11
We already reported that Aliens: Colonial Marines had a fantastic first week, coming in at number one in the charts. The second week it came in at number 5 and now in its third week it came in at number seven. That means that the game is dropping down slower than expected. Well, I guess SEGA made some nice change from the title.

If you want to see the 20 sold games in the UK from February 23rd – March 2nd.

Continue Reading ➜

No Comments

Aliens: Colonial Marines still doing great in UK this week, drops to #5 spot

by

Aliens-Colonial-Marines-UK-39-s-best-selling-game-1095909
Even with big budget new titles like Crysis 3 and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Aliens: Colonial Marines still takes up a spot on the UK charts coming in #5. Frankly, the game doesn’t deserve to chart at all, but I guess in a perfect world most of these titles wouldn’t chart.

Last week Aliens: Colonial Marines took the #1 spot, beating out Dead Space 3 which took #2. This week it beats that game at the same pace, since Dead Space 3 is #6 on the charts this week. So, at least in the UK, Aliens: Colonial Marines is more successful than the higher rated Dead Space 3. So, in the end, do reviews matter?

8 Comments

Hell Yeah! developer shuts down their studio

by

next6

Arkedo studio, the French team behind Hell Yeah! are now out of business according to their blog. They basically stated they won’t be developing anymore games due to the fact that they don’t have anymore employees due to not having enough money. Seems that Hell Yeah! cost the developers too much to make. They also stated that they have two little games completed and might release them later on.

The founders said they are moving on, one of them wants to enter publishing while the other wants to start a new mini-studio. It really sucks when developers go out of business, hopefully SEGA will take some of the employees and start a small digital studio. I mean, why not? I’m sure SEGA liked working together, no? Your thoughts?

10 Comments

Aliens: Colonial Marines enters the UK at #1 on the charts

by


Say what you want about Aliens: Colonial Marines, just to allow some people from the UK to overhear you. Aliens: Colonial Marines debuted at number one in the UK charts, beating out Dead Space 3. This is one of the rare moments that SEGA gets number one on charts, I just wish it was a game that was actually good or that I wanted to see more of. Like Binary Domain or Rhythm Thief.

This isn’t surprising since Aliens vs Predator (the SEGA published one) also did really well. Actually it did better than this one and is the most successful Aliens game in UK history. Now imagine if SEGA released an actual triple A Aliens game? Well, might happen since Creative Assembly (Total War franchise) has been working on an Aliens game for awhile. Hit the jump to see the UK charts ending on February 16th.

Continue Reading ➜

2 Comments

Gearbox developer takes to Reddit to shed light on Aliens: Colonial Marines let down

by

400d373062e065e430f1862f39f919dfc7f06bf9.jpeg__939x820_q85

The developer on Reddit basically confirms that Gearbox didn’t have too much to do with Aliens: Colonial Marines due to the fact that the developer was doing Borderlands 2. They basically got TimeGate to do most of the single player campaign due to this. In my opinion, Gearbox and SEGA should never work again. This game was in the works for 6 years and Gearbox couldn’t give less of a shit about it, it seems. Pecan = code name for Aliens: Colonial Marines.

“Additionally, campaign (which was being developed by TimeGate) was extremely far behind, even as Pecan’s Beta deadline got closer and closer. In April or May (can’t remember which), Pecan was supposed to hit beta, but GBX instead came to an agreement with SEGA that they would push the release date back one more time, buying GBX around 9 mos extension.

Considering that SEGA was pretty close to taking legal action against GBX, asking for an extension wasn’t an option, and so Pecan crash-landed through certification and shipping. Features that were planned were oversimplified, or shoved in (a good example of this are challenges, which are in an incredibly illogical order). Issues that didn’t cause 100% blockers were generally ignored, with the exception of absolutely horrible problems. This isn’t because GBX didn’t care, mind you. At a certain point, they couldn’t risk changing ANYTHING that might cause them to fail certification or break some other system. And so, the product you see is what you get.”

You can read more over at Reddit, even ask the guy some of your questions.

15 Comments

Ex-Gearbox employee says game was outsourced, SEGA denies (sort of)

by

Aliens
Well, seems that Aliens: Colonial Marines isn’t being as well received as we would have hoped and now everyone is pointing fingers. First comes a statement made by a ex-Gearbox employee, stating that Gearbox didn’t really develop most of the title and that the game was outsourced. The anonymous employee who goes by the forum handle “mugwurt” posted:

“Hate to say it, but I wouldn’t get your hopes up too high for Colonial Marines. I used to work at Gearbox, and the development of that game has been a total train wreck, going on what, 6 years now? Gearbox isn’t even making the game, except for the multiplayer. Primary development was outsourced to TimeGate Studios, which has a less than stellar past.” – Link to response 

When asked about this, SEGA’s Senior Producer Matthew J. Powers had this to say:

Continue Reading ➜

2 Comments

Review: The Cave

by


How could I not be excited for The Cave when SEGA was publishing, Double Fine was developing, and the man behind The Secret of Monkey Island, Ron Gilbert, was behind this title? Now that I have finished the game, was it everything that I expected it to be? Were my hopes too high? Read on and find out.

Continue Reading ➜

No Comments

Aliens: Colonial Marines “Bug Mode” coming in March

by


We posted that Aliens: Colonial Marines was going to get a season pass, this obviously means that DLC was going to be announced very soon and guess what? Here is the first pack, titled “Bug Mode”. If you pick up the upcoming Aliens: Colonial Marines at Wal-Mart, you will get the Bug Mode DLC for free. How much does it cost solo? Well, Gearbox Software  or SEGA haven’t revealed that just yet. Wal-Mart says its a ‘$14.99 dollar value’.

We also posted about the season pass DLC here before, back then the season pass  was only confirmed for PC. Now Gearbox has confirmed it for all consoles. You pay $29.99 dollars now and you recieve all four DLC packs at a discounted rate. If the first ‘Bug Mode’ is going to cost $14.99, then that is a pretty good deal. Bug Mode will basically be Horde Mode (Gears of War) or Invasion Mode (Binary Domain). Basically you and friends take on waves of enemies that increase in difficulty as you progress.

No Comments

Review: Anarchy Reigns (Xbox 360)

by

Let’s all take just a second to look back to what feels like an eternity ago: the year 2006. It was in this year that Capcom announced the closure of Clover Studio, a developer of such incredibly unique gaming experiences. It was a move that painted a rather bleak picture for the future of innovation and risk-taking from major Japanese publishers, and fans of Clover and the awesome games they created had little choice but to wait it out and see, eager to learn what, if anything, would happen to this legendary staff.

As it turned out, they needn’t have worried too much. Platinum Games was the ultimate result, and their partnership with SEGA was a surprising and exciting move for both companies. Things are a bit different today, with Anarchy Reigns representing, at least for now, the final game in Platinum’s publishing agreement with SEGA. The question is, is this online-driven beat-em-up any good?

Continue Reading ➜

No Comments

GameStop posts Aliens: Colonial Marines DLC season pass prices

by


Sadly SEGA has had a pretty bad history of DLC, sometimes promising that they will release content for a game then hush up after they release a few pieces of content. It seems they will try to fix this issue with Aliens: Colonial Marines by offering season passes priced at $29.99 (this price being 33% off if you buy the four packs they include individually). It is said that these packs will include new “campaign content, additional multiplayer maps, new modes, character customization and more.”

One more tidbit, the season passes are only being posted for the PC version of the game. I’m assuming they will also be released for their console brethren, but who knows. Remember SEGA dropping support for AVP on consoles? Could the console version of this game also be an inferior version? I guess we will find out when it is released.

No Comments