SEGA Talk #80: The History of the SEGA Logo and Name

On this episode of SEGA Talk we dig deep into the history of the SEGA logo. What is Standard Games? What is Service Games? When was SEGA really founded and why is the SEGA logo blue? Find out on this episode of SEGA Talk!

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SEGA has a ‘surprise announcement’ at SEGA FES 2018

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SEGA will be holding a celebration next month in Akihihabara, Tokyo on April 14-15, where they will celebrate their history by including new and old SEGA game in a museum style event.

But that isn’t all that they will have, they will also host Q&A panels, have merchandise stands, competitions, and special guests. But even better, SEGA has also stated that they will have a “surprise announcement” at the event. They are teasing this as a announcement that is “unique to SEGA.” You know what that means? We’ll be disappointed. Sounds like a event I wish I could attend.

But  maybe, just maybe, this could be the official announcement of Virtua Fighter 6. We can dream, can’t we?

[Via: Destructoid]

Google makes Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary infographic

SEGAgraphic
Google AdMob has created a Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary infographic showing neat little facts about Sonic the Hedgehog‘s long gaming history. While its a nice thing that is done by Google AdMob to celebrate Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary, its also to let people know that they provide mobile phone ads. I guess you have to promote your product, even if your blog post is about Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary.

SonicInfoGraphOne of the cool aspects is that we got listed on the infographic under sources used. Thanks for visiting the site, Google AdMob! You can see their inforgraphic here or hit the jump.

SEGA launches ‘SEGA Arcade Game History’ interactive site


SEGA has launched an interactive site called ‘SEGA Arcade Game Historydetailing most of their published arcade machines, to celebrate the history of their long running arcade brands. The timeline starts with the release of 1973’s Pong-Tron and ends with the 2012 release of maimai. Obviously the site isn’t complete since SEGA has released more arcade games, their latest big one being SEGA-AM2’s KanColle that came out this year.

Going to be honest, I love when SEGA puts up sites like this celebrating their glorious arcade past. I wish SEGA West had a English version of this SEGA Arcade Game History on their site, but whatcha gonna do, right?

[Via: Arcade Heroes]

The History of Sega Japan R&D, Part 1: The Origins and the 80s

THE ORIGINS

Sega is an interesting company when it comes to their origins. There are companies like Namco, Taito and Konami that started in the 60s with electromechanical games and there are those like Capcom and Square that started in the 80s with video games. Sega is different.

Sega had its roots even earlier with slots and jukeboxes in the 1940s in Hawaii, when they were known as Standard Games. Today, Sega of Japan would rather say that Sega didn’t start until it was moved to Tokyo and renamed to Service Games in 1951. However all that expertise in manufacturing slots and jukeboxes during the Standard Games days really gave Sega the boost they needed when they entered the market to manufacture their very first “Amusement Machine” in 1965, Periscope, which the company still prides itself for as it was their first worldwide commerical success.

GDC 2013: Take a tour of SEGA’s history exhibit

Courtesy of GameSparkChannel is a walkthrough of SEGA’s history exhibit at GDC 2013. SEGA set aside a sizable exhibit filled with a variety of SEGA items including arcade games, consoles, and collectables. In the video above you can see old store displays for SEGA consoles, rare SEGA consoles like the JVC X’Eye, promotional posters, and more!

After the break, check out another walkthrough courtesy of The Inquirer.

English version of The History of Sonic book coming courtesy of Udon?

GoNintendo has stumbled upon a pre-order listing on Amazon for Pix’N Love’s The History of Sonic book. The fact that there is an English language version isn’t a surprise, since Pix’N Love confirmed that one is in the works earlier this month. What is a surprise is that the book is not being sold on Pix’N Love’s English site, and that the book looks to be published by Udon Entertainment. Udon Entertainment, for those who don’t know, is a Canadian based publisher responsible for gaming art books both original and imported including the Valkyria Chronicles 2: World Artworks book and the upcoming The Eyes of Bayonetta art book. So has Pix’N Love left the English language duties to Udon? Seems like it. The English translation already exists, as it was approved alongside the French translation several months ago. So at most, Udon would have to handle printing and perhaps a slight redesign to the cover to accomodate their logo. Pix’N Love estimated that the book would sell for between $45 and $50, and the MSRP on Amazon matches that guess at $49.99. However, Amazon currently lists the book for a cool $32.14. The release date is tentatively October 9, 2012. An Amazon.co.uk listing also exists, however a price is not given. The UK release date is listed as September 19, 2012.

A big thanks to Tracker the Doggy for the heads up!

Shinobi 3DS – History of Shinobi Trailer

Here’s a Shinobi trailer where members of Sega of America, such as producer Stephen Frost, feel like they need to prove to us that their new Shinobi game is a ‘real’ Shinobi game. But in doing so, they kind of just remind everyone that it isn’t a real Shinobi game. At one point, Stephen says that they took what was great about the classic Shinobi games and made it better, and those are some pretty strong words.

Na- Just kidding! From what I’ve heard it’s- well- not terrible! Which is a real achievement for Sega of America who like to farm out our most beloved Sega classics to unknown developers that previously only made license games… I only hope that when Sega of America re-imagine the next Sega Classic they make sure it’s treated like a classic and not like Golden Axe: Beast Rider.

Sonic making his return to Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade


[Sonic the Hedgehog, rocking Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in 1993]

Back in 1993, Sonic the Hedgehog broke ground for video games by being the first video game character to be featured in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Now SEGA has confirmed that Sonic will be returning to the parade this year.

For those readers that love their parades, this parade will take place on November 24th. If you live in New York and attend, send us pictures. We love pictures.

[Via: The SEGA Source]

UK Resistance closes its doors

[1996 – 2011]

UK Resistance was a comedy site started by SEGA fan Commander Zorg. The site has a long history and was one of the sites that influenced me to start my own SEGA blog. You know, tap away at keys and bore you all.

UK Resistance has really been all over the place for awhile, but started off as a SEGA news and reviews site. Goodbye UK Resistance, you shall be missed. Why did the site shut down? Check out the video. Announcement is a bit too close to April 1st for my liking, might be a prank.

[Source: UK:R]

Total War Presentation, Series History and More

Hey Total War fans, check out this presentation detailing the history of the Total War series as well as showing off some of the newest features in Total War: Shogun 2.

It’s a very interesting watch and worth your time! I mean, did you know that originally Creative Assembly was going to make an RPG based on the Japanese myth ‘Monkey’? No? Me neither. Watch and find out more!

Bizarre Creations studio might be sold or shut down


Bizarre Creations, a studio founded in 1994 , found their first big title with SEGA as a publisher. If you didn’t know, Bizarre Creations developed the Dreamcast racing title Metropolis Street Racer. After this the developer expanded its wings with Fur Fighter, a 3rd person shooting adventure with talking animals. Bizarre indeed. Metropolis Street Racer led into Microsoft  partnership for a new racing franchise, Project Gotham Racing.

SEGA and Bizarre Creations  relationship didn’t end there, almost 8 years after Metropolis Street Racer hit the Dreamcast, SEGA wanted to do another IP with the developer, this time The Club. The Club was a unique take on 3rd person shooters, using score based kills. Shortly before the game came out, Activision announced they aquired Bizarre Creations. SEGA had plans to make The Club a series, but turned it into a one title affair after the buy out.

With Activision they did their own IP, this time called Blur, a pretty good arcade racing title. The issue is that the game didn’t sell. Their last game was James Bond 007: Blood Stone that came out at the start of the month. Seems that this title, which was critically panned will be the last title from the studio. SEGA Europe, give these workers a home.

“Over the past three years since our purchase of Bizarre Creations, the fundamentals of the racing genre have changed significantly. Although we made a substantial investment in creating a new IP, Blur, it did not find a commercial audience. Bizarre is a very talented team of developers, however, because of the broader economic factors impacting the market, we are exploring our options regarding the future of the studio, including a potential sale of the business.”

Activision is taking 90 days to decide whether they want to sell, restructure, or close down the studio.

[Source: PCGamer]
[Via: NeoGAF]