Hell Yeah! developer shuts down their studio

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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?

Hell Yeah! Pocket Inferno debuts on iOS today!

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If you’re a fan of Arkedo’s and SEGA’s recently released Hell Yeah!, I’ve got a surprise for you! A new Hell Yeah! game, called Pocket Inferno, will be debuting on the iOS store today. The game is a simple, fifty-level long, two button autorunner starring the Prince of Hell we all know and love from the previous game.

As usual with iOS announcements, I’m afraid that’s all the news we have for you right now. If you’re interested in a new Hell Yeah! game or a new autorunner in the vein of Rayman Jungle Run, be sure to check it out when it debuts on the app store later today!

Round Table: Our Favorite SEGA Games of 2012

Another year, another batch of SEGA games for us to play, critique, argue over, and enjoy. As is tradition here at SEGAbits, our writers have come together and each have selected their favorite SEGA games of 2012. Looking back, 2012 offered up a number of excellent rereleases, sequels to franchises both old and new, crazy and unique mobile and digital titles, and not a single crappy licensed Marvel title in sight. So, from all the games SEGA had to offer, which ones did we like best? Find out after the break!

Hell Yeah! DLC releases today, adds Shenmue, Jet Set Radio and more!

Shenmue, Jet Set Radio, Crazy Taxi, Kid Chameleon, Fantasy Zone and more appear as customizable hats and vehicles in one half of the DLC being released today for Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit. The other half of the DLC being released today adds fifty new challenges to the game, totaling over three hours of gameplay. SEGA has released a trailer showing off all this awesome new content. Do you own the game? Give this stuff a download ASAP. Do you not own the game? Well what the hell are you waiting for?

Hell Yeah! DLC coming October 23rd, features numerous SEGA cameos

We’ve been seeing a LOT of SEGA cameos and crossovers this year: All-Stars Racing, Project X Zone, Samurai and Dragons, Yakuza in Border Break and now Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit! DLC. SEGA has just announced DLC that will be available on October 23 in North America and October 24 in Europe on XBLA, PSN, and PC Digital Download. The Pimp My Rabbit pack ($2.99 /240MSP /£1.99 /€2.49 /AUD$4.25) will offer over 50 masks for Ash and 11 driller skins with appearances from SEGA franchises including Jet Set Radio, Super Monkey Ball and Crazy Taxi. One screen shows off a sweet Shinobi mask and driller skin combo. Another DLC pack will be The Virtual Rabbit Missions ($4.99 /400MSP /£3.69 / €4.49 /AUD$7.75) which adds 50 new challenges totaling over three hours of gameplay. They missed a trick in calling it “Virtua Rabbit”.

After the break, check out additional screens of the DLC!

Review: Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit (XBLA/PSN/PC)

Before I jump into my review of Arkedo and SEGA’s brilliantly demented and gloriously fucked up Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit, I want you to take a good long look at the above image and see what you can spot. The torrents of blood that make up your health meter? The fact that your Loot chest has eyes and teeth? The demonic two-faced being that your headphone-wearing puffy-haired main character is taking out with his rocket launcher?

The fact of the matter is, Hell Yeah! has enough craziness for 10 games; its eagerly demented presentation plays a major role in what makes this XBLA/PSN/PC download title so unique and enjoyable. It may not prove to be everyone’s cup of tea, but if this is your thing, then you’re in for a wildly fun and surprisingly nostalgic (if you’ve been a SEGA fan for a while) journey through the colorful and insane depths of Hell.

Hell Yeah! – Pimp It Up Trailer

In other Hell Yeah related news here is a brand new trailer. As the title suggests this trailer focuses on the customization featured in Hell Yeah which includes pimping your drill and wearing masks. We’re not yet sure if those customizations effect the gameplay or if they are just aesthetic changes. We’ll get back to you on that.

Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit gets priced and dated

The SEGA Blog has revealed the price and release date of Arkedo Studio’s digital title Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit, published by SEGA. The game will be available to download in North America on September 25 for PlayStation Network, September 26 on Xbox LIVE Arcade, and October 3 for PC digital download for $14.99/1200MSP/$14.99 respectively. In Europe, the game will be available for all three platforms on October 3 for 1200MSP/£9.99/€12.99/AUD$19.95.

After the break, check out the new trailer and “box art”.

E3 2012: Arkedo Studios talks with us about Hell Yeah!


While waiting in the ridiculously long line for Metal Gear Rising, I let Nuckles87 hold my place in line while I went to speak with Aurelien Regard and Dimitri Pean of Arkedo Studio to talk all things involving Hell Yeah! This is the developer’s first time working with a big publisher and Hell Yeah! looks to be the studio’s most successful game to date. Read on to see what they had to say.

E3 Day 2 Update

 

Hi guys! Apologies for the lack of updates yesterday. We were so busy playing games and setting up interviews, charging cameras and running to and from the media lounge…we didn’t actually have much time to write. Hope you enjoyed Jason’s take on Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed!

I am currently in the midst of writing previews for Aliens: Colonial Marines and Hell Yeah!, the latter I ended up spending about thirty minutes playing…to which you’ll know why when you read the preview. Sonic Stadium visitors will, unfortunately, not be getting much content this year, due to the sheer lack of actual material to write about. We have gotten an interview with All-Stars Racing producer Joe Neate, though, as well as a full rotational look at the new ASR branded car, which will hopefully be going up later today. My Hell Yeah! preview will also be going up on Sonic Stadium, so you guys can read about another SEGA platformer that doesn’t star Sonic.

SEGAbits will, of course, be receiving previews for every game on the show floor. We also managed to score a last minute interview with Gearbox and their new Aliens game, which you can expect to see on the site Friday. There will likely be other interviews as well, but nothing that I can confirm.

Sonic Team gives Hell Yeah! their approval


Arkedo Studios, the French developer behind the upcoming digital title Hell Yeah! had a meeting with two main members of Sonic Team, where they played the game and told them what they thought about it. One of the guys was the infamous and lovable Takashi Iizuka.

“They said, not a lot sucks, but you should pay attention to what happens when you’re jumping, the stop and go, the inertia you have when you’re jumping on platforms. You should add this little thing, this little thing… We said, hey yeah, it’s much better. Thank you very much. That’s the craftsmanship. Those guys, they are bright yellow, they glow. Okay, this guy knows what he’s talking about. We loved it.”

Yeah, there are now developers asking Sonic Team what they think about their platforming game. I consider this to be a positive step and I’m glad that Arkedo Studios is so open to feedback. I think this is something that more developers need to do. If something is broken, fix it. Make a great game! Hit the jump to hear more quotes on what they thought!

Are we ever going to get tired of writing “Hell Yeah!” headlines? Hell no!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uP6QpUWs_I

A new gameplay trailer has arrived for SEGA and Arkedo Studio’s Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit. The trailer reveals a bit of the game’s plot, which I won’t spoil. You’ll have to see it in the trailer. It is – ahem – quite odd. The art style is definitely influenced by Rayman Origins and Splosion Man, complete with wacky over the top environments and lots of meat flying about. Gameplay looks very fun, it’s like if General Grievous of Star Wars went on a rampage on his wheel bike. The game is set for a summer release to XBLA, PSN and Steam.

Thanks to SEGAbits forum member max_cady for the heads up!