Peter Moore talks SEGA Dreamcast days in recent IGN Unfiltered Interview

Peter Moore talked about the SEGA Dreamcast days in a Unfiltered interview posted up by IGN. The video is an hour and a half talk about the man’s career and what led him to be EA’s Chief Competition Officer. Some of the games that he said made him smile from the Dreamcast era included Seaman, Samba De Amigo and he even mentions Yu Suzuki’s SEGA-AM2 studio with Shenmue.

Peter Moore worked for the underdog brands which included Reebok, SEGA and later the Xbox division. Peter Moore is a interesting guy and this interview shows it with a few more bits like his son being a SEGA Saturn owner before he worked at SEGA, pitching his ideas to SEGA Japan and the mysteries behind his marketing TV spots. Really makes you miss the days of SEGA hardware, huh?

Pokémon GO releasing to the Dreamcast VMU in 2017

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The creator of Flappy Bird for the Dreamcast VMU, known as guacasaurus_mex on Instagram, has been hard at work on cool fan made VMU games since we last featured him. His Flappy Bird follow-up, Street Race, featured six OutRun-style tracks and a unique grayscale graphics trick which has to be seen to be believed. His latest project dives back into the smartphone remake world with a Dreamcast VMU version of Pokémon GO. Due to the time it takes to draw all the Pokémon, and laziness, the game won’t be ready until 2017. However guacasaurus_mex does promise a randomly generated map grid, in place of a GPS map, and a timing-based mini game to throw Pokéballs. More info on the game, including the release, as we hear it.

Note: Yeah yeah, I know. Any Pokémon GO article in gonna get us clicks, but to be fair we don’t make any money off of site traffic nor do we have ads. At least we didn’t try and tie No Man’s Sky into SEGA… yet.

Seaman creator returning to the gaming industry

lancado-primeiro-no-dreamcast-seaman-mostra-um-perturbador-homem-peixe-que-conversa-com-o-jogador-por-meio-do-microfone-do-videogame-1344280599341_956x500.0Yoot Saito the Seaman creator who also developed games like SimTower and Odama will now be returning to creating more video games. He announced this while speaking at the fourth annual BitSummit festival in Japan where he said he needed to get out of R&D and back into making video games for money.

“That’s the motivation. Computer games make money.” – Yoot Saito (Seaman Creator)

Seaman creator’s last released title was 2012’s luggage friendly 3DS title Aero Porter and then Earthbook which was a iOS app that no one cared about according to Saito, which ended up losing money. He didn’t go into specifics as to what he wanted to do for his next game but he didn’t rule out a spiritual successor but said the average player isn’t ready for a brand-new genre. I have to agree with Yoot Saito, while I would love a new wacky crazy genre created by him, I don’t think the average gamer would care, sadly.

I wouldn’t mind seeing a spiritual successor to Seaman, even if its just a mobile phone app. As long as the microtransactions to don’t take away from the game’s unique fun factor. Who knows, it could be the next wacky app to make it big. What are your thoughts on Yoot Saito returning to game development?

[Source: Destructoid]

Garou: Mark of the Wolves coming to PS4 and PS Vita

28188666492_30270b131d_zIt seems that Sony Interactive Entertainment America Third Party Production team have teamed up with SNK Playmore to bring Garou: Mark of the Wolves to the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita as a digital release. The PlayStation blog post says that it is the ‘Neo Geo’ classic meaning that this will be a port of that version being coded by Code Mystics, inc. The game will feature cross play functionality and promises high quality netcode. It seems that their last port, The Last Blade 2 used Code Mystic’s proprietary netcode and was well received. This release will also feature a gallery mode that allows you to collect artwork from the history of the Fatal Fury franchise and a sound testing mode that will allow you listen to the game’s soundtrack whenever you want.

Earlier this year SNK Playmore revealed that there was a sequel to Garou: Mark of the Wolves planned (then scrapped) and there was even some artwork released. Personally I played the game quite a bit on my SEGA Dreamcast, there have of course been various ports. Who knows if this release sells well we might finally get that sequel we all wanted. No release date announced yet. How many of you are going to check out this release? Let me know in the comment section!

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SEGA News Bits: Sonic the Hedgehog turns 25 years old

Sonic the Hedgehog’s 25th anniversary officially kicked off on June 23rd, which was of course the release date of the eponymous game that started it all. In this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry look back on 25 years of Sonic by spin dashing through all the main series Sonic Team developed console games. There are quite a few to get through, so consider this more of a SEGA News Smörgåsbord. Why are you still reading this? Click play and enjoy!

What are your favorite Sonic games? Let us know the comments below and like always thanks for watching! If you like our SEGA News Bits videos, make sure to subscribe to us on our YouTube channel.

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Dreamcast homebrew game Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles getting reprinted

The 2007 indie Dreamcast game Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles will be receiving a re-release this year, it has been confirmed.  Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles had been sold out for years and now developer Yuan Works Co., Ltd has teamed up with DragonBox Shop to re-release their famed puzzle game.

The studio announced that it was working on a new title called ‘Little Ninja‘, after Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles but it seems they are gauging interest for homebrew games, since Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles came out almost a decade ago. Yuan Works Co., Ltd also set up a Patreon to get development for Little Ninja off the ground.

If you haven’t played it Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles it mixes Bejeweled type puzzle gameplay with a over world map and old school JRPG like story elements. The re-release will have bug fixes and is up for pre-order for only $9.36 (plus shipping). Not a bad price at all.

SNK shows off cancelled Garou: Mark of the Wolves 2 character roster

Garou 2During an interview with 4Gamer, SNK’s Yasuyuki Oda (Game Director), Eisuke Ogura (System Designer), Hidetoshi Ishizawaka (Battle Designer), and Hayato Watanabe (Battle Designer) talked about their upcoming game King of Fighters XIV. Sure there is a lot of hype in the community for that game but what surprised me was that they showed the character roster for a cancelled sequel to Garou: Mark of the Wolves. Garou: Mark of the Wolves is a 1999 Arcade game that got ported to systems such as Neo Geo, PlayStation 2, Dreamcast and a lot more. It is also one of the most underrated fighting games on the SEGA Dreamcast library and that is saying a lot.

It seems that SNK’s Garou: Mark of the Wolves 2 would have used sprites, as seen above in the character art they recently released which is way different than the 3D look that King of Fighters XIV took. What are your thoughts on Garou: Mark of Wolves 2 being worked on rather recently? Let us know in the comments below. King of Fighters XIV is being published by Atlus in the United States.

Celebrating Sonic the Hedgehog’s 25th anniversary with 25 great underrated moments

sonic 25 headerSEGA’s Sonic the Hedgehog franchise turns 25 today, and while we’ve celebrated franchise milestone years in the past, there is something really special about this one. A quarter of a century is a long time, and it is a testament to SEGA’s perseverance and the devotion of the Sonic fanbase that the franchise is still going strong. Sonic Lost World and the Sonic Boom franchise – particularly the games – are often pinpointed as the franchise’s recent weak points and signs that the franchise as a whole needs to be put down or at the very least take a long break. While I am not here to debate the merits of Sonic Lost World and Sonic Boom, I will say that to end a series or take a long break because of either is both incredibly shortsighted and far too extreme a reaction. I would also argue that Sonic is about much more than just the main series games, as fans like to label the major titles, and that there has always been great Sonic things happening even during the franchise’s darkest years.

In celebration of 25 years of Sonic the Hedgehog, join me in looking back year-by-year as I shine the light on great moments in Sonic history that more people need to be talking about.

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Alpha build of Ecco II: Sentinels of the Universe leaked

Ecco the Dolphin is a familiar face for SEGA fans, appearing in 4 different games and gaining a bit of a cult following due to it’s bizarre and surprisingly dark premise of a dolphin traveling through time to save his comrades from evil aliens. What many people didn’t know is that there was a fifth game in the series that was in development, acting as a sequel to the Dreamcast game Ecco the Dolphin: Defenders of the Universe. The game titled Ecco II: Sentinels of the Universe started in development sometime in 2001-2000, around the time the Dreamcast was on it’s last legs, with the build leaked in particular being made on February 19th, 2001. The game did not reach far into development, not receiving press coverage of any type and being silently cancelled when SEGA started to move away from the console business, though Ecco the Dolphin: Defenders of the Universe receiving mixed reception may of also contributed to the cancellation.

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SEGA News Bits: Dreamcast 2 Fan Project Shuts Down Reaction

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.

Dreamcast 2 Fan Project Shuts Down

sega-dreamcast-2Last year a group of fans got together to try and get a Dreamcast 2 console off the ground. They aggressively tried to use petition sites like Change.org and showed off several videos showing off concepts like the menus. We even did an opinion piece on the project, pointing out concerns we had with how it was being handled.

It seems that what we expected came true and now ‘Project Dream’ is officially dead. Yes, that means there is no Dreamcast 2.  They have now shut down their website and facebook group. But left this message as an explanation:

“The project has been taken offline. This is due to a schism within the team caused by inefficient and amateurish conduct resulting in members being removed and others leaving the team. In light of such unprofessional behavior and an embarrassing lack of progress, seasoned members of the gaming industry have chosen to distance themselves from the project. I too am stepping away from Project Dream. Please note the Twitter account @Project_DreamDC is no longer associated with this group.”

According to a inside source from Dreamcast Junkyard, there is a lot of ‘schism’ within the team and in-fighting. This turned into a rift between core members of Project Dream. Let’s be honest, SEGA said in 2001 that they were leaving the console hardware space, they aren’t coming back. This was bound to fail even without the in-fighting between the members. I mean why would SEGA even call it the Dreamcast 2? What are your thoughts?

[Source: Dreamcast Junkyard]

Original Sonic Adventure Sega Dreamcast website returns thanks to a true blue fan

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Remember the days of logging on to the Internet using your Sega Dreamcast? Even when games didn’t tout online multi-player, more often than not you’d encounter a webpage option which allowed you to visit the game’s website through the in-game menu. Of course, as time passed many of the Dreamcast webpages have since gone offline, into disrepair, or were bought up by some porn site. Thankfully, fan and friend of TSSMB member JmTsHaW purchased the sonic-adventure.com domain and has (mostly) restored the Sonic Adventure’s original site in all its 640 pixel wide glory! Features include the Updates Archives, Community links including Chao Gardens, Hints and Support information. Very cool to see this piece of SEGA internet history back up and running. Check it out for yourself here, bonus points if you use the Dreamcast.

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

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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!

 

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SEGA News Bits: Flappy Bird Comes To Dreamcast’s VMU

Remember Flappy Bird, the mobile game that apparently destroyed people’s lives because of its simplicity? A SEGA fan going by the name of guacasaurus_mex has recreated Flappy Bird for SEGA’s Visual Memory Unit, so if you want to play it make sure you have some spare CR-2032 lithium batteries and lots of patience. Hit the play above and listen to me and Barry talk about Flappy Bird, VMUs and even Rappy Bird?

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