Japan

SEGA AGES Puyo Puyo releasing on March 28th in Japan

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A lot going on with SEGA’s SEGA AGES series. While people in western territories will be enjoying Alex Kidd in Miracle World and Gain Ground on March 28th, fans in Japan will be instead be enjoying SEGA AGES Puyo Puyo on the same day.

SEGA AGES Puyo Puyo is based on the arcade version, with several enhancements available. In addition to the familiar blob popping puzzle fun from the original, players also have the addition of an optional double rotation feature that was absent from the original arcade version, online multiplayer, and most interestingly the inclusion of the extremely rare English arcade version that changes most of the names and the voice clips. SEGA AGES Puyo Puyo is slated for a price of ¥925 (roughly $8.50), so if you have spare yen, maybe pick this up along with the aforementioned SEGA AGES Alex Kidd in Miracle World and Gain Ground titles.

[Source: Official Website]

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Yakuza 5 for PlayStation 4 launching in Japan on June 20

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While we are still waiting for SEGA West to announce release dates for Yakuza 3, 4 and 5; Japan is already finishing up their releases of the PlayStation 4 ports. Yakuza 5, the last of these ports is slated to release on June 20, 2019.

Its going to be interesting to see what SEGA West will do with these titles, especially a entry like Yakuza 4 which replaced one of the main actors due to him being accused of using cocaine.

[Via: Gematsu]

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SEGA shows off ‘Remote Reality RPG’ attraction in Japan called ‘Jungle Treasure’

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Picked up by Arcade Heroes, SEGA has unveiled a new concept in ‘kid-taintment’, called ‘Jungle Treasure’. If you check out the SEGA website, you can see that the game uses miniature vehicles that the kids control with a tablet, which means this sort of set up is way too expensive to work in America. I’m pretty sure there is way more to the game than that, but that’s all I’ve gathered from their official site.

SEGA is calling this type of game a ‘Remote Reality RPG’ because we all know that SEGA loves to create brand new genres. Like Arcade Heroes has stated, this isn’t the first time SEGA has created something like this, back in the late-80s they did the Sega Super Circuit attraction that was quite insane. But if you are in Tokyo, you can give ‘Jungle Treasure’ a try at the Musashi Murayama Aeon Mall.

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SEGA’s Judgment debuts third on the Japanese sale charts

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SEGA’s Judge Eyes (Judgment in America) came out in Japan this month and now we have the games first weeks sales. The game came in third place on the chart behind Super Smash Bros Ultimate (still on top) and the newly released God Eater 3. While both these established franchise got the two top spots, Judgment did pretty well for a new IP selling 148,773 units in just three days. For example God Eater 3 sold 150,523, so SEGA was just 2,000 sales away from topping a well established Japanese brand. Judgment will hit English speaking countries, with a English dub, this summer.

Hit the jump to see the full media create sales charts starting on 12/10/18 through 12/16/18:

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Japanese PlayStation Awards certify Persona 5 as a million plus seller, Yakuza: Kiwami 2 wins ‘Users Choice Award’

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The Japanese only PlayStation Awards have announced all the winners, a few included SEGA made/owned IPs like Persona 5 and Yakuza: Kiwami 2. Persona 5 was one of the only two recently released titles in Japan to sell over a million copies earning it the Platinum Prize. To get this award you have to ship over a million units, which could include digital sales. The only other game to get the Platinum Prize was The Last of Use Remastered! On the other hand Monster Hunter: World got the ‘Quadruple Platinum Prize’ which means it sold over 4 million units! That’s Japan and Asia only, which is freaking insane.

To show you how big this is for the Persona franchise, we found out that God of War, Gran Turismo Sport, Marvel’s Spider-Man, and Call of Duty: WWII all managed to get the Gold Prize, which means they sold just over 500,000 units (under a million of course). Those are all big titles. As for Yakuza: Kiwami 2, it was part of the top ten titles voted by Japan and Asian users (games released from October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018). My only issue is that games that didn’t come out in this time period (Assassin’s Creed Odyssey) got into the top ten user voted list. You can check out all the awards given over at Gematsu.

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Shenmue I & II releases in Japan, selling over 30k units its debut week

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If you guys didn’t know, we actually got Shenmue I & II early in the West. Some folks say we got it early to bug test it for its Japanese release, who knows. What we do know is that Shenmue I & II hit Japanese store shelves on November 22, 2018 and charted number for on the Japanese Media Create charts. The top spot was given to Pokemon: Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee! (which seems to track both games as one) but the impressive debut this week came from EA’s Battlefield V which garnered 110,653 sales in its debut week, really making Shenmue I & II’s 37,529 units seem rather weak. But at the end of the day, Shenmue I & II is a port and Battlefield V is a brand new game, so comparing them sales wise is useless.

You can check the full media create chart on Gematsu or after the break:

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SEGA Dreamcast turns 20 years old in Japan, what are your favorite Japanese Dreamcast games?

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The SEGA Dreamcast is one of my favorite consoles released, while we got the console in North America with the iconic release day of September 9th, 1999; over in Japan they got the Dreamcast almost a year earlier on November 27, 1998! While it isn’t the 27th quite yet in North America, it is in Japan where the anniversary takes place. This anniversary got me thinking about what I would consider my favorite Dreamcast Japanese only release and I think I narrowed it down…

My favorite Dreamcast import is Napple Tale: Arsia in Daydream, a fun little 2.5D platformer developed by Chime and published by SEGA only in Japan. The game was notable for trying to cultivate a ‘feminine sensibility’ by hiring a staff of mostly females which really gives the game a very unique feel to it. One of the bese aspects of the game is also the soundtrack which was composed by Yoko Kanno which featured a ton of great tracks.

But what I really want to know is what is your favorite SEGA Dreamcast import and why? Let me know in the comments below!

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SEGA Japan reveals Shenmue I & II special collector’s edition for PlayStation 4, with CD soundtrack, poster and box

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File this one under: “The Japanese get the coolest stuff!” SEGA of Japan has released a new trailer for the upcoming Shenmue I & II release for PlayStation 4, and in addition to the footage we got the reveal of a special collector’s edition of the game. Like the Japanese Sonic Mania Plus release, this edition will include the game in a handsome box with a special two CD soundtrack. The soundtrack will feature music from both games. Also included will be a two sided poster and, if it is anything like the other regions, a reversible cover. The special edition will retail for ¥5,990, just a little over $50, however sites like Amiami or Amazon Japan should mark it down a little.

While the game releases this month to the Americas and Europe, Japan will have to wait until November 22, 2018. You can pre-order the game now at Amiami for ¥5,300 and at Amazon Japan for ¥6,469, which includes bonus digital smart device wallpaper downloads.

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SEGA announces Idola Phantasy Star Saga for mobile, looks terrible

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The trailer is the new debut trailer for the brand new Idola Phantasy Star Saga, which is mean’t to celebrate the franchieses 30th birthday. The only issue here is that they stripped out almost everything that made ‘Phantasy Star‘ a Phantasy Star game and made it a cheap,  generic JRPG mobile cash grab. Instead of having cool characters, art from the franchises history they just turned everyone into waifus because it sells. The good news is that the game has Producer, script writer and world builder Shuntaro Tanaka (Valkyria Chronicles, Sakura Wars, Phantasy Star Online 2), Tomomasa Chin (Valkyria Chronicles 2, Phantasy Star Online 2 )as director, and Sho Mutsuura (Phantasy Star Online 2) as art director.

Going to be honest, its a bit sad state of affairs being a Phantasy Star fan right now. First we got screwed from a Western Phantasy Star Online 2 release and now SEGA has this planned for the franchise. SEGA West hasn’t talked about bringing the title over to Western mobile, I personally wouldn’t bother. The game is set to come out later this year. Hit the jump for more info on the characters and their backstories:

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Sonic collaborating with Sou Sou to release traditional Japanese tabi socks

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You thought the Sonic collaboration with Puma was great? You haven’t seen the half of it, as Sou Sou has just announced their latest collaboration with the blue blur will be… a pair of old fashioned Japanese socks?

That is right, Sonic x Sou Sou will be releasing Sonic themed Tabi style socks, which are a traditional Japanese style ‘sock’ dating back to the 15th century. You can tell they are Tabi style because of how the big toe is separated, this was done so it could be worn with a zori or geta sandals.

These Sonic the Hedgehog tabi style socks aren’t just made by Sou Sou, they teamed up with collaboration with Ritsumeikan University following the the concept of “promoting a university’s idea using Sonic the Hedgehog“. The higher priced Sonic the Hedgehog tabi socks also feature soles and can be worn with shoes. The premium Sonic tabi socks will cost you 8,000 yen (about $71 USD) plus tax, a bit pricey for socks that aren’t guaranteed to make you go fast. The standard sock without the soles run you only 550 yen (about $4.89 USD) plus tax! Pre-orders go live on July 19, 2018!

[Via: Siliconera]

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Valkyria Chronicles 4 debuts in 2nd place in Japan, beating Ni no Kuni II

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The battle of the Japanese RPGs (of sorts) is underway in Japan. This week we got a few notable releases in the land of the rising sun including Valkyria Chronicles 4 (PS4), Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom (PS4), Dectective Pikachu (3DS), and Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition (Switch)! While Valkyria Chronicles 4 beat all these debuting games, it was Kirby: Star Allies that still took first place even though it came out last week. Kirby has some staying power over in Japan.

Valkyria Chronicles sold 62,921 units in its debut week, while Ni no Kuni II (3rd place) sold 56,014. As for Kirby: Star Allies, it got a whopping 84,625 units (bringing its title to 306,656 units!). Valkyria Chronicles will also get a Nintendo Switch version released later this year in Japan while we in the west will be getting it on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch day one, sometime in 2018. Check out the full chart after the break:

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Valkyria Chronicles 4 getting Japanese PSN demo on February 26

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Oh boy, SEGA is releasing these Japanese demos faster than I can keep up. Just a few days ago we got the Hokuto ga Gotoku demo on Japanese PSN, now less than a week from that one we will be getting a Valkyria Chronicles 4 demo. According to SEGA they will be unleashing the playable demo they have been showing at events in Japan. The demo releases on February 26, 2018.

According to early players, the demo allows users to play from the prologue all the way through chapter 2. It also seems that the save data can be transferred over to the full game when its released (in Japan). So if you are going to import the game, you can continue where the demo ends and not replay it from the start.

Valkyria Chronicles 4 on PlayStation 4 is launching in Japan on March 21, 2018. As for us Westerners, we get the game later in 2018 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. I also hope SEGA releases a similar demo for all platforms, since I think it will move more copies.

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A Certain Magical Virtual-On shifts 27k units on its debut

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SEGA has released A Certain Magical Virtual-On  in Japan, a game that is meant to crossover SEGA’s Virtual-On mech franchise with A Certain Magical Index manga series. The Media Create sales chats recorded sales from February 12th to the 18th, since A Certain Magical Virtual-On came out on February 15th, this would be about 3 days of sales counted.

Here is the breakdown:

  • A Certain Magical Virtual-On (PS4) – 17,938
  • A Certain Magical Virtual-On (PSV) – 9,284

Another ‘SEGA game’, Bayonetta 1+2 which SEGA owns the character IP of sold a combined total of 21,226 units on the Nintendo Switch combining the Bayonetta Ultimate Climax Edition and Bayonetta 2 (regular edition) sales. That makes A Certain Magical Virtua-On sales at 27,222 not seem too shabby. Though do note that Bayonetta 1+2 is a port on one platform while A Certain Magical Virtual-On is a brand new title on two platforms. To check out the full sales charts, hit the jump:

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Valkyria Chronicles 4 getting limited edition PS4 in Japan

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Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan Asia and SEGA have teamed up to announce the Valkyria Chronicles 4 Limited Edition PlayStation 4, which will come on March 21st.

The Valkyria Chronicles 4 Limited Edition PlayStation 4 is now up to pre-order at the Japanese Sony Store and will cost you 33,480 yen (about $302 USD) for the 500 GB model or 38,480 yen (about $347 USD) for the 1TB model. The Valkyria Chronicles 4 Limited Edition PlayStation 4 will come with a Valkyria Chronicles 4-themed top cover, Valkyria Chronicles 4 original theme (see it below), and of course Valkyria Chronicles 4 themed packaging.

[Via: Gematsu]

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Valkyria Chronicles 4 live stream promises first in-game footage on Dec. 27

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SEGA has declared that they will be hosting a live stream for Valkyria Chronicles 4 before the end of the year. On December 27, SEGA has promised to show off the very first gameplay footage of the upcoming SRPG.

The live stream will start on December 27, 2018 at 8:00pm JST and can be viewed at:

SEGA has confirmed that guests on the stream include the following voice actresses: Naomi Ohzora (voices Nikola Grev) and Yukiyo Fujii (voices Kiara Rosina). Hashiyan Kosaka has been confirmed to MC the event. Of course the creators behind the game will also be on the stream, explaining things. I would hope.

Valkyria Chronicles 4 hits Japanese PlayStation 4 owners on March 21, 2018 and later in 2018 for Nintendo Switch. As for us Westerners, we will get the game on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch sometime in 2018.

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