SEGA News Bits: SEGA Forever Officially Revealed Reaction

SEGA has officially revealed their SEGA Forever launch, which will offer an array of SEGA titles. While at launch SEGA Forever is sticking with SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive titles, the service makes promises of exploring a ever expanding catalog of retro games from across all SEGA platforms. On this episode of the SEGA News Bits we take a look at all the information we know regarding SEGA Forever’s launch, its promises, our thoughts the project and take a look at all the teased upcoming games in their launch trailer. It seems opinions for SEGA Forever has been mixed since it was shown off officially this morning.

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SEGA Forever Officially Revealed and Detailed

SEGA Forever has officially been revealed, the service has been a mystery to fans since it was leaked a while back as it was being tested. We even did a SEGA News Bits on SEGA Forever (expect a follow up one now that the product has been fully detailed) on what the service could be. But what is it? According to the press release, which you can read in full after the break, SEGA Forever is a mobile name for classic SEGA re-releases on both Android and iPhone. Prior to this, a rumor came around that it was supposed to be ‘a subscription service’, but this press release says you get the option to play either free, ad supported version of the game or unlock it forever (SEGA Forever) for $1.99.

They promise to cover the following SEGA consoles:

  • SG-1000
  • Master System
  • Genesis/Mega Drive
  • Game Gear
  • SEGA Saturn
  • Dreamcast

The service will launch on June 22nd with the following five games, new releases every couple of weeks:

  • Sonic the Hedgehog
  • Altered Beast
  • Phantasy Star II
  • Comix Zone
  • Kid Chameleon

The press release also goes into the fact that the games will support leaderboards, cloud saves, offline play, controller support, community news feed, and a ton of languages for menus. So the real question is, what is you opinion on SEGA Forever? Is this what you expected, another re-branding service for retro SEGA re-releases?

SEGA News Bits: Q&A #1 – Sonic, Rom Hacks and more

Today on the SEGA News Bits we don’t discuss any news. So what are we doing? We will be answering your questions. A week or so ago we decided to ask you guys if you had any questions and you guys submitted your Q&A on Sonic, Rom Hacks and more. Listen to us talk about our opinions on if SEGA should buy Capcom, Sonic’s anime influences, real opinions on Sonic Forces, and much more. Its a interesting discussion and I want to thank everyone that sent the Q&A questions on Sonic, Rom Hacks and more. If you guys want to see all the questions asked, check out the questions below.

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments 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. Thanks for the support.

SEGA News Bits: Top 100 SEGA Games Discussion

On this episode of the SEGA News Bits we discuss the Top 100 SEGA Games list we posted up earlier this month, so if you haven’t checked it out give it a gander. Join us to listen to us rant about how the list was put together, which games surprised us on the list, which games didn’t make the list, how SEGA games are under-appreciated on other top gaming lists, and much more. Sadly we don’t cover all the top 100 SEGA games that are represented on the list, that would take too long, but I hope the games we talked about was entertaining enough. Let us know if you agree or disagree with the top 100 SEGA games list and what your top three SEGA games would be in the comments below.

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments 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.

Rumor: Shenmue HD Remasters are real says Just Add Water CEO

shenmueOver on the infamous video game messaging board, NeoGAF the CEO of Just Add Water confirmed  that the Shenmue HD Remasters of the first two titles are real. First you’d ask yourself who the development team ‘Just Add Water’ really is. Well, I did some journalistic google searching and found their wikipedia page:

Just Add Water (Development) Ltd., doing business as Just Add Water, is an independent video game developer based in Otley, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom. Founded by Stewart Gilray in 2006, Just Add Water has worked on different titles for the PlayStation 3 and PC, notably the Oddworld series. They have teamed up with Oddworld Inhabitants, to recreate the series in high definition as well as working on new installments in the series.

The Just Add Water CEO didn’t confirm anything outside of a short ‘Oh, it’s real… :-)’ message, so we made this a rumor considering that he could just be kidding with fellow board members. Though you’d think someone that is a CEO of a company that specifically ports old games wouldn’t be joking about Shenmue HD Remasters being the works. Considering Shenmue news is serious business to fans that have been waiting for SEGA to port the games since forever. Maybe Shenmue HD Remasters will be shown off in some form come E3 next month? What are your thoughts about SEGA possibly doing Shenmue HD Remasters of the first two games? Would you purchase them again? Let us know in the comments below.

Pix’n Love Editions announces The History of the Dreamcast book

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Just a few months after announcing a Shenmue history book, French publisher Pix’n Love Editions continues the SEGA love with the announcement of a “L’Histoire de la Dreamcast” book. The book, which at the time of this article is only in French, will be 350 pages and in full color. The book will cover the story of the console including behind-the-scenes documents, entries for nearly 600 games, special sections for notable games including Shenmue, Jet Set Radio, Sonic Adventure and Skies of Arcadia, interviews with SEGA game designers, accessories and cancelled games.

The book is currently available for pre-order with a standard edition priced at €37,82 (around $40) and two special editions. The special editions come in a Sonic Adventure Edition, which includes the book, a special art book featuring official artwork and unpublished design drawings, a transparent silk-screen plastic sleeve featuring Sonic artwork and a special color scheme, three art prints from Sonic Adventure, and a numbered collector card. The other special edition is the Shenmue Edition, featuring everything the Sonic Adventure Edition includes but swapping out the Sonic art with Shenmue art. Both editions are priced at €79,90 (around $85).

After the break, check out a gallery of product images. Thanks to The Dreamcast Junkyard for the heads up!

SEGA Talk Podcast #10: Jet Set Radio (2000)

This is DJ Professor K, baby, the master of mayhem you know what i’m sayin’ bringing you another Tokyo underground pirate SEGA Talk radio broadcast from Jet Set Radio! On this nitro driven episode we discuss the creation of Jet Set Radio, the game’s iconic soundtrack, regional changes, and a whole lot more. Shake your spray cans, tighten up your skates because we are diving into Jet Set Radio and never leaving Tokyo-to! Calling all GG’s! Like always let us know all your Jet Set Radio memories in the comments below, thanks for listening.

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If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

Unreleased Dreamcast version of Millennium Racer: Y2K Fighters uncovered

Screen Shot 2017-03-13 at 22.22.26

A new Dreamcast game has been recently discovered, specifically a Dreamcast port of the PC game Millennium Racer: Y2K Fighters. Millennium Racer: Y2K Fighters is a racing game created by a company called Creat Studio back in 1999, most comparable to the wipEout series on Sony consoles. The game was found in a Dreamcast devkit, playable and seemingly complete, yet strangely never received any type of publicity. The PC version was released, but the Dreamcast version was quietly cancelled for unknown reasons.

The original finder of the unreleased Dreamcast port of Millennium Racer: Y2K Fighters was a Dreamcast enthusiast named Kuririn84, who found the game in dev kit and distributed the game to two people in order to extract it. Since then another user by the name of japanese_cake successfully got the game to boot and provided a downloadable link for anyone to try out. Full comments from japanese_cake can be found here.

It’s nice to see another game has been discovered and preserved for future generations, and thanks to all the dedicated Dreamcast fans for preserving a small bit of history.

[Source: The Dreamcast Junkyard]

For more screenshots and video from The Dreamcast Junkyard, click below.

SEGA News Bits: Shenmue I & II HD Remasters coming in 2017?

Hello everyone and welcome to a new episode of the SEGA News Bits. This time George and Barry discuss the rumored Shenmue I & II HD Remasters that are suppose to come out by the end of 2017. We discuss the details of the rumor, how we feel SEGA should treat these classic games and what the Shenmue I & II HD Remasters should include. What are your thoughts on this Shenmue I & II HD Remasters rumor and do you think its true? Let us know in the comments below!

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Rumor: Shenmue I & II HD Remasters coming by the end of 2017

RoundTableShenmue2“But that’s none of my business”

According to Rice Digital, an online gaming shop who has had close sources in Atlus and leaked announcements in the past has said that Shenmue I & II HD Remasters are in the works. The source also tells Rice Digital that the games could be released together and should be out before the end of the year. The same person leaking this information over at Rice Digital also leaked that Atlus was publishing King of Fighters XIV, which turned out to be true.

Here is the weird part of the rumor, Shenmue I & II HD Remasters are said to be set for PC/Steam release but doesn’t indicate other consoles such as PlayStation 4, Xbox One or Nintendo Switch. While I personally game on PC and would be more inclined to play it on PC, it also needs to be on at least the PlayStation 4. Of course the rumor doesn’t rule out that it could be coming to consoles, only that they know there is a PC/Steam release. Shenmue I & II HD Remasters are looking more and more like a solid thing. Remember a few months back we talked about the leaked domains, last year in September SEGA teased saying the Shenmue I & II HD remasters had their full attention and now this rumor starts popping up. What is your thoughts on this rumor and what would like to see changed or updated for the Shenmue I & II HD Remasters? Let us know in the comments below.

 

Rush Rush Rally Reloaded re-releasing on SEGA Dreamcast

Remember the Senile Team indie Dreamcast game Rush Rush Rally Racing that came out way back in 2009? The game also got a WiiWare release back in 2012 featuring two new modes titled challenge and time attack. Now Senile Team is set to re-release the game as Rush Rush Rally Reloaded back on the SEGA Dreamcast with the two modes that used to be exclusive to the Wii version.
Senile Team isn’t stopping there since they have said Rush Rush Rally Reloaded will also feature re-designed menus, improved graphics, faster loading, optimized video code, and a lot more features. If you want to see everything that is new in Rush Rush Rally Reloaded has to offer hit the jump to check that out.

Pre-order page

Fred Durst signed Dreamcast hits eBay

freddurst

I remember way back when the Dreamcast was still in its prime that The Official Dreamcast Magazine ran a feature about how SEGA signed a contract with Fred Durst to help promote SEGA Net. While Fred Durst has fallen off the mainstream stage in recent years, back in the yearly 2000’s he was everywhere and a big multi-platinum recording artist. I know, makes you wanna break stuff.

Part of the promotion was a contest where winners would get a Fred Durst signed Dreamcast. He seemed to have signed a bunch of them, considering a few have popped up on eBay in the last decade. This Fred Durst signed Dreamcast is the official, launch Dreamcast. Comes complete with the box.

eBay Auction Here

Bid starts at $700 and you can buy it now for $1,000. Below I attached some photographs that are related to the auction. Are you in need of a Fred Durst signed Dreamcast?

 

 

Lighting mod for Sonic Adventure DX restores Dreamcast lighting effects

SAVCbkT

Sonic Retro user Morph and several others have gone through Sonic Adventure DX and created a mod that restores the lighting effects that were previously seen in the original Sonic Adventure into the PC version. The difference gives off more vibrant colors in the environment that also reacts to objects and characters. You can download the mod from the discussion thread in Sonic Retro’s forums.

Lighting can be used to set a specific tone or mood in an environment. But why is it such a difficult thing to remain consistent when converting this to other game platforms? The game featured an artistic shift that occurred when the game was converted to other platforms. A combination of technical hurdles and creative liberties can dampen the original artistic intent, and Sonic Adventure is no exception. The original Dreamcast version featured a “Lantern” engine which provided impressive looking lighting effects using palettes on SEGA’s then cutting edge game console. However the dozens of ports of the game left out these lighting effects in favor of using drop shadows instead, until now. Check out additional videos, comparison screenshots and an interview with Morph on the mod after the jump!

SEGA Talk Podcast #07: Power Stone (1999)

We have gathered all the Power Stones and are now ready to talk all things Power Stone related on this episode of the SEGA Talk Podcast. George and Barry have a sit down discussion talking our history with the Power Stone franchise, why we think it still holds up, our favorite Power Stone characters, and even our thoughts on the anime tie-in. So put down that SEGA Dreamcast controller, turn up the volume and join us for some Power Stone talk! Tell us in the comments why you enjoyed Power Stone and if you think its due for a comeback.

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If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

Yoot Saito to host Classic Game Postmortem for Seaman at GDC 2017

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What?

The 2017 Game Developers Conference is just a little over a month away, and just last week it was announced that Japanese game designer Yoot Saito is set to host a behind-the-scenes look at the hit Dreamcast game Seaman in a Classic Game Postmortem. Yes, that’s right, I said “hit”. Despite the quirky nature of Seaman, it went on to become one of the most popular Dreamcast games in Japan – even outselling Shenmue!

The postmortem is set to be an hour long, and given Saito’s unique ideas for games it is sure to be an incredibly interesting discussion. The conference runs from February 27 to March 3, and date and time for the Seaman postmortem are still to be determined. You can learn more about the postmortem and GDC 2017 here.