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SEGA News Bits: SEGA Removing Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse From Online Shops

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On this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry react to the sudden announcement of the delisting of Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse. Released in 2013, this remake of the classic SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive game received praise from fans and critics, and even was awarded an A- in our own SEGAbits review. We discuss why the game is being pulled, the platforms it can be found on, and share our thoughts on SEGA’s licensed games.

Like always if you like our SEGA News Bits segments and want to throw us some love, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel.

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Mobile strategy game War Pirates is now available in select countries

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Last week we reported that SEGA’s free-to-play mobile game War Pirates had opened pre-registration, and now the game is releasing in select countries. If you live in Australia, Canada, the U.K., the Philippines or Singapore you can hop on the App Store right now to download the game! There is also mention of an Android marketplace having the game available, but the link provided lead to a 404.

Created by Jet Set Radio director Masayoshi Kikuchi, War Pirates is a turn based naval combat game mixed with city building and stars, get this, pirates. The game has had positive early impressions, and we look forward to the eventual U.S. release. Live in any of the above countries and playing the game? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, or on our forums!

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Pre-registration opens for SEGA’s mobile game War Pirates – created by Jet Set Radio director Masayoshi Kikuchi

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Way back in December 2015 we reported that SEGA had quietly launched War Pirates on Android. Known in Japan as Sen No Kaizoku, War Pirates is a turn based naval combat game mixed with city building starring pirates, and was created by Masayoshi Kikuchi – best known for his work on the Jet Set Radio and Yakuza franchises. The free-to-play game has been testing for a while now, but it seems thing are finally ramping up to a full release as a pre-registration page has opened, allowing future players to sign up to obtain a special character. War Pirates is set to release soon to the App Store and Google Play store.

While we know mobile gaming is the red headed step child when it comes to SEGA gaming platforms, we do hope once it releases people give it a fair chance. I mean, a pirate game from the director of Jet Set Radio sounds pretty cool, right?

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SEGA Network’s new teaser site shows world map and countdown

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SEGARepairSEGA Network’s new teaser site is titled ‘Repair’, with a world map and a clock that counts backwards. At first, when Siliconera posted it the map only pin pointed on Florida but now it moved its point to somewhere in Europe. I want to say Italy or one of the small surrounding countries. Another clue is what happens when you click the red location dots, if you click on Florida it says 1492 AD which was the year of the European Discovery and Settlement of the State. But if you highlight the European red dot you get the year 0027 BC which would mark the end of the Roman Republic.

So what do I think it is? I think its going to a be SEGA Network’s new mobile game that will have to do with world history. Maybe something like Civilization series but on mobile.  At least if the years on the teaser page are anything to go by. SEGA Network’s new teaser site is set to stop its countdown clock on August 8, 2016.

What do you think it is?

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SEGA asking for Easter Eggs in “new mobile game”

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In one of the oddest requests for fan input in a while, the SEGA Facebook page is asking for fans to submit ideas for Easter Eggs for a “new mobile game that will include many of your favorite SEGA characters.” Responses seem to vary from character cameos to sly references, but at the least everyone has done one thing; share some love for their favorite franchises.

The “new mobile game” referred to here is possibly SEGA Blast Heroes, the recently leaked SRPG crossover game dug up by Segalization. The fact that they’re asking for franchises in general and the header image above features Sonic alongside Streets of Rage, Shinobi, and Crazy Taxi not only points to the game being a crossover, but also likely teases their inclusion in whatever game SEGA has planned. It is possible SEGA Blast Heroes was nothing more than a testing the waters from SEGA Networks, with only mock-up screens created, and other concepts are also being developed internally. It is also possible that SEGA Blast Heroes was not even created by SEGA Networks. If any more direct or indirect info on SEGA Blast Heroes – or whatever the mobile game is – should surface, we’ll let you know.

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Rumor: SEGA Blast Heroes a new mobile SRPG gets leaked

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According to the mobile game website PocketGamer there is a new mobile game by SEGA, which features classic game IPs. Not only that, mobile ads for SEGA Blast Heroes (the games name) have been popping up. The ads describe the title as a ‘strategy RPG’. The Facebook page behind the ads leads to a page called ‘SEGA Mobile’ which has a bit over 150 likes at he moment. If you click to download the app from the ad, it takes you to StoreMaven, which is a service to help test upcoming app store conversion rates.

Below are some screenshots of the supposed game called SEGA Blast Heroes. Of course, it looks like it would play like Chain Chronicle. Just looking at the screenshots leaked so far I see Samba De Amigo, Space Channel 5, Sakura Wars, Valkyria Chronicles, Jet Set Radio, Wonder Boy, Alex Kidd, and a lot of unknowns populating the screens. It also seems that you will be fighting generic looking villains, which is a bummer.

This game doesn’t surprise me considering SEGA’s mobile division put out a survey asking fans about classic SEGA franchises. What are your thoughts on the rumor? Would you play SEGA Blast Heroes?

[Via: Segalization]

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

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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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SEGA News Bits: SEGA to Shut Down Sonic Runners

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Sonic Runners has traversed a rocky road, after personally disappointing us in 2015 and ending up a financial failure in SEGA’s eyes. Now, SEGA Networks has confirmed that the game will be shutting down in late July. In this SEGA News Bits, Barry and George break down what they think caused Sonic Runners to be killed, if we can expect to ever play the game after its servers shut down and what lessons SEGA could learn from the game’s failures. It’s not all negative, as we also talk about what we liked about the game and give it a fitting eulogy.

If you enjoy the SEGA News Bits video formats make sure to like, share and subscribe to our YouTube for more.

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Mobile game Sonic Runners to shut down on July 27th

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Sayonara, Sonic Runners. According to the Sonic Runners official site, the mobile experience from SEGA’s Sonic Team is coming to an end on July 27th, 2016. Released in late February last year, Sonic Runners made waves as being the first smart phone Sonic game to carry the Sonic Team label and seemingly be developed by members of Sonic Team themselves. Unfortunately, one year later it was revealed that SEGA Japan deemed the game a failure. While it was raking in over 30 million yen per month, it wasn’t enough to keep it afloat as SEGA has announced the game’s service will close on the aforementioned date of July 27th.

After this date, the game will no longer be playable at all as it relies on a mobile connection to the game’s servers to operate. There has been no word of an offline version being available. After the break, check out the full announcement.

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SEGA and Motorsport Manager teasing reveal for tomorrow

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Back in October it was announced that SEGA Europe and Motorsport Manager developer Playsport Games formed a publishing partnership. For those not in the know, including myself up until 15 minutes from writing this, Motorsport Manager is a number one paid-for game on the iOS App Store and Google Play Store and features realistic motor-racing management with the ability to create your own racing team, hire drivers, sign engineers, develop your car and invest in technology. The game has received high praise from several mobile game sites, so clearly SEGA was drawn to the company after seeing the quality of their product.

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Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 1 for iPhone and iPod Touch receives graphical update

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Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 1, that highly controversial 2D episodic game that has since released to just about every platform, has received a long overdue graphical update for the iPhone and iPod Touch version of the game. When Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 1 first released, there were several different versions out there. Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 received the version of the game with the best graphics and sound while the Wii version was a step below, with less than stellar graphics and sound. Below that was the iPhone and iPod Touch version which not only featured very blocky graphics, but also had stages that existed before SEGA overhauled the game and did away with the mine cart and pinball machine levels. SEGA marketed these as “2 EXCLUSIVE LEVELS!!!”, but savvy fans knew that SEGA likely just didn’t have the time or resources to retool the mobile versions as they did the console versions.

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Heroki is now available for Apple TV – owners of the mobile iOS app can download for free!

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SEGA and Picomy Games’ Heroki, which released to iOS last year and was among the App Store’s ‘Best of 2015’ collection, is now available for Apple TV. I guess this sort of makes it a home console game? Whatever you classify Apple TV as, it is Heroki on your home television! The game, which is classed as action-adventure and features a propellor-headed protagonist, is compatible with many Apple TV hand-held controllers as well as the default Siri remote. New elements include additional checkpoints, and improved controls and camera.

Those who already purchased Heroki need not worry, as the Apple TV download is free. If you haven’t picked it up yet, the game is a cool $4.99.

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SEGA News Bits: SEGA Considers Sonic Runners a failure – reaction and analysis

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SEGA’s mobile gaming division, SEGA Networks, recently released a report looking back on their success and failures and surprisingly Sonic Runners has been deemed a failure! The main reason is, of course, money. SEGA says over 30 million yen a month is simply not enough to be a success. In this SEGA News Bits, Barry and George discuss why the game likely did not catch on with consumers and suggest what SEGA could do to fix the game. Or, it may just be too little too late.

So click play and hear our thoughts, and if you want more Sonic Runners analysis make sure to watch our Most Disappointing SEGA Games of 2015 video. If you like what you saw don’t forget to like, share and subscribe. Thanks for the support. In the comments, share your thoughts on the game’s failure and what could be done to improve things.

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Chain Chronicle Global shutting down February 29th

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chain-chronicle.jpgIf you play Chain Chronicle outside of Japan, I got some bad news for you, it will be closed down next month, and the app has already been removed from the appstores. Before you go blaming SEGA, Chain Chronicle Global is actually published by Gumi and not SEGA.

This is the game closure notice they gave fans:

Dear Captains,

It is with heavy hearts that we must announce that Chain Chronicle Global is closing on February 29th, 2016.

It was a very hard choice to make, but despite the overwhelming support of our loyal fan base, it was the way it had to go. We appreciate your participation in what ended up being a very positive experience for us all, and we would like you all to know that it was thanks to you that Chain Chronicle Global made it as far as it did.

The app is to be removed from the stores, though you will still be able to play the game for a period of time afterwards. Sales of Prysma, however, will end on January 18th, 2016.

While Gumi dropped support, the franchise is far from dead. SEGA is planning to release a anime series based in the game’s universe this year and the game still gets updated in Japan. Maybe now that Gumi has dropped the title, SEGA Networks can relaunch it with all the same content the Japanese version has (the Gumi version was behind).

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Liberation of the Blue Sky revealed to be a Japanese smartphone RPG from SEGA

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Back in November we revealed two new trademarks from SEGA, one of which was “Soukuu no Liberation” (Liberation of the Blue Sky). While it was most likely a new game, some fans were hoping it was another Skies of Arcadia (though as I pointed out, the series is Eternal Arcadia in Japan and “sky”/”skies” aren’t unique enough to make such a connection). In any case, the cat is out of the bag and Liberation of the Blue Sky has been revealed to be a mobile RPG from SEGA heading to iOS and Android in Japan.

Based on the official game site, the game is a 2D free to play RPG and tasks the players with recapturing an Imperial City that has been invaded by an Empire. The protagonist is a guy named Roland who leads a Revolutionary Army. Gameplay features the usual RPG elements such as forming parties and a variety of character types. The game will feature both single player and four player modes and is due out this winter. After the break, check out some art from the game as well as a screenshot.

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