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This is Saturn Rips n’ Tears some huge guts, with DOOM on SEGA Saturn

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Halloween is upon us; and so Tracker returns to delve into hell, with id Software’s classic first person shooter, DOOM!

The SEGA Saturn port of DOOM has received heavy flak over the years for being an awful port of the classic shooter. Is it really that bad? Tracker sets out to rip and tear his way through the game to find out.

This is Saturn is a video series created by British teenager Liam ‘TrackerTD’ Ashcroft, aiming to give an alternative and in-depth look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of SEGA Saturn gaming, all whilst maintaining a somewhat strong accent.

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The History of Sega Japan R&D, Part 2: The 90s Golden Age

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THE NUMBER ONE ARCADE ENTERPRISE

The Model series of arcade hardware by Yu Suzuki in co-operation with Lockhead Martin, where the next step in the Sega arcade world. Virtua Fighter sold Sega Saturns in Japan.

The Model series of arcade hardware by Yu Suzuki in co-operation with Lockhead Martin, where the next step in the Sega arcade world. Virtua Fighter sold Sega Saturns in Japan.

In Part 1, we looked at Sega’s origins and their Japanese game development during the 80s. In Part 2 we turn our attention to the golden age, when Sega was fought in the console wars and arcades were in full-force globally. Throughout the 90s, Sega would really grow up and mature and have individual divisions, splitting into arcade and consumer software and product development. Many of the programmers, designers and planners of the 80s and earlier would become managers and producers of their own divisions.
Let’s start Part 2 off with the growth of their AM studios, which is short for Amusement Machine Research and Development.

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This is Saturn strikes back with Dead or Alive

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After a longer break than expected, This is Saturn finally returns with Team Ninja and Tecmo’s fighting game début, Dead or Alive!

Known for its innovative mechanics, recognisable characters, and… some certain other things, Dead or Alive is now an incredibly well known series. But was the first game worth much of a toss? Find out in this new episode!

This is Saturn is a video series created by British teenager Liam ‘TrackerTD’ Ashcroft, aiming to give an alternative and in-depth look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of SEGA Saturn gaming, all whilst maintaining a somewhat strong accent.

Like this video? Subscribe to the SEGAbits YouTube channel.

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SEGA News Bits: Has SEGA of America moved in with Atlus USA?

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During the summer, SEGA of America closed their San Francisco offices and moved to Southern California. Oddly, SEGA had been pretty quiet when it came to revealing the exact location of the office, but after a little digging we may now know where they ended up! Based on various sources, it appears that SEGA has moved in to the existing Atlus USA offices in Irvine, California.

In this SEGA News Bits, Barry and George share how they came to this conclusion and give their thoughts on this development. As a bonus, enjoy a slideshow of pictures taken when Barry visited SEGA’s San Francisco offices in 2013, and check out the original SEGAbits Visits SEGA of America, Inc. articles here: Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 

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Review: Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX (Nintendo 3DS)

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If you read last week’s preview, you’d know that I was feeling quite positive about what I had experienced in playing SEGA’s latest Nintendo 3DS title Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX. Now that I’ve had an additional week, I’ve experienced a bit more of what the game has to offer. Rhythm modes have ramped up the difficulty factor, I’ve been able to experience the game’s StreetPass/SpotPass functions, and it was even a certain vocaloid’s birthday. SO without further ado, let’s turn on the lights, grab a mic, and hit the stage for our review of Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX!

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Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X officially announced for PSVita and PS4 for 2016

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Here it is folks! SEGA has officially announced Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X for Playstation Vita and Playstation 4! The teaser site for the game still appears to be counting down, but regardless we now know Miku will be back on Sony hardware in 2016.

The trailer takes a look back on the last nine Hatsune Miku Project Diva games, and confirms various musicians involved with the project; as well as our first glimpse at the Playstation Vita version of the game! It’s unknown if there’s a PS4 trailer inbound but we’ll keep our eyes peeled. As for release dates, the Playstation Vita version is planned for March 2016, whilst the Playstation 4 edition is targeting Fall 2016.

It’s certainly a very exciting time to be a Miku fan though, what with Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX also being released on 3DS in a couple of weeks! It’s been stated SEGA will be bringing along a demo of the the game to the Miku Magical Mirai 2015 event, so we may get more information.

Stay tuned for this one folks!

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This is Saturn burns rubber with VATLVA

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This is Saturn comes back, engines blazing and rubber freshly burnt.

This time, we’re looking at a relatively obscure title in the Saturn’s back catalogue, Ancient’s VATLVA. This game boasts artwork by Hitoshi Ariga (responsible for various manga, particularly of the Mega Man variety), and a soundtrack by none other than Yuzo Koshiro! But is the game actually any good? Watch and find out on this episode of This is Saturn!

As mentioned in the video, you can grab a shirt to support the show by clicking here!

This is Saturn is a video series created by British teenager Liam ‘TrackerTD’ Ashcroft, aiming to give an alternative and in-depth look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of SEGA Saturn gaming, all whilst maintaining a somewhat strong accent.

Like this video? Subscribe to the SEGAbits YouTube channel.

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Round Table: How much did you pledge to Shenmue 3?

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shenmue3rt

It is hard to grasp that it has been over 14 years since Shenmue 2 came out and left us all with that cliffhanger in the end of the game. There has been a strong fan reaction for a third installment and Yu Suzuki stood at Playstation’s E3 stage to finally give fans what they have been asking for. Ys NET launched their Kickstarter campaign which broke funding records, cementing that fans are willing to give their hard earn cash in order to see a third installment of their favorite franchise. In this week’s Round Table we talk about how much we funded and why. You can let us know how much you funded in the comments below.

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

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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.

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Review: Tembo the Badass Elephant (PC)

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Temboreview

SEGA and Game Freak Inc (Pokemon series, Pulseman) partner up once more to bring us a brand new platformer starring Tembo the Badass Elephant. I have been itching to get my hands on this game since SEGA first showed it earlier this year and now that I have beaten it was all my excitement worth it? Is Tembo the Badass Elephant a good enough game to earn the honor of having ‘badass’ in its title?

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Swingin’ Report Show #81: Shenmue 3 Kickstarter Countdown

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Join George and Barry as they count down the final hour of the record breaking Shenmue 3 Kickstarter campaign! It has been as wild month, from the game’s E3 Sony stage announcement, to the ups and downs of Awesome Japan’s handling of the campaign. Hear our thoughts on how the Kickstarter was managed, the new tiers, and the recently revealed details of what we can expect in the finished game. Also in this episode, the recent comments from SEGA Games president on the company regaining the trust of gamers.

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

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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!

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Hit Reset sharpens his skills in Wild Woody for the SEGA CD

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This time on Hit Reset, we take a look at a long forgotten footnote in SEGA’s history, a mascot platformer by the name of Wild Woody. Barely remembered at its release and even less remembered now, Wild Woody is generally considered to be one of the worst platformers ever made during the era.

However, I see things just a little bit differently. Wild Woody has some things no other game ever had, for better or worse. So, if you wanna learn what in the hell this odd platformer is, or watch me defent a notoriously bad game, well, this is your shot, and trust me, i have quite a bit of help to do this…

Thanks to Joesph Kerska (the real, original voice of Woody), Bumblefoot (the game’s composer), and everyone else who helped make this video far better then it had any right to be.

Like this video? Subscribe to the SEGAbits YouTube channel, and make sure to check out more of my videos!

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Classic SEGA Ads: F-Zero GX for Nintendo Gamecube will make your heart race

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It has been a little over 14 years since SEGA went third party, and while at the time it was a shock to learn that the company would be releasing games on once rival consoles, now most fans have grown accustomed to third party SEGA. In fact, it has been so long since the announcement that now we have a whole new generation of fans who pinpoint a third party SEGA game as their introduction to the company! I’m not one to use the tired expression “I feel old”, but that realization almost makes me want to utter it (almost). Back in the early 2000s, when third party SEGA went into full swing, fans were seeing the likes of Crazy Taxi on PS2, Sonic Adventure on Gamecube, and Jet Set Radio‘s sequel JSRF on the Xbox. Shocking, sure, but nothing could give SEGA fans whiplash like the announcement that SEGA’s own Amusement Vision team were to develop a new game in a fully Nintendo owned classic franchise – enter F-Zero GX and F-Zero AX.

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