SEGA Talk #70: Snatcher (1994)

This time on SEGA Talk, George and Barry dive deep into the cult classic Konami visual novel Snatcher, directed and written by video game legend Hideo Kojima. This episode is dedicated to all those cyberpunks who fight against injustice and corruption every day of their lives.

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

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.

Lock your windows! Night Trap director promises that the infamous game “will come back”

night-trap-infamous-bathroom-scene-auger-in-shower

Big news for Night Trap fans – the game’s director James Riley has promised the game’s Facebook community that Night Trap will return on an unspecified platform. Fans have been pressuring Riley to rerelease the game, and Riley has replied “I appreciate your on-going interest, but please understand I do plan to re-release Night Trap and have been talking with a number of interested parties to do so. However, the specific platform(s) have not been confirmed (including online) and I will let you know once we have a definite plan and release schedule. Night Trap will come back, in better resolution and game play than before, we just want to be sure it’s the best strategy for all involved.”

The original Night Trap was a controversial video game developed by Digital Pictures for DOS and Macintosh computers, the 3DO and the Sega Mega-CD. It is also one of six Mega CD 32X games. It was notable for being one of the games that led to congressional hearings on violent video games, and the creation of the ESRB.

Hideo Kojima’s SNATCHER being remade on Dreamcast

SNATCHER
Have you ever wanted to play SNATCHER, Hideo Kojima’s awesome SEGA CD game, on the SEGA Dreamcast? You might be able to do that soon enough, since Collectorvision is planning on remaking the game for the Dreamcast with ‘enhanced visuals’ and a remixed soundtrack.

Outside of this, not much else is known. You can check their facebook post, where they posted the above image (comparing the graphics of the SEGA CD version to the Dreamcast remake). Don’t expect it to be out soon.

Let’s get excited!

SEGA CD Month – My Life With SEGA investigates Rise of the Dragon

32X month is behind us, and SEGA CD month has begun! A.J. kicks things off with a fun, and affordable, SEGA CD classic!

It’s Sega CD month, gang! First up, we’re playing Rise of the Dragon. This is the graphic adventure game that is often compared to another Sega CD classic, Snatcher. While it does bare resemblance, thanks in large part to the cyberpunk influences, this isn’t some knock-off; Rise of the Dragon has it’s own identity. So strap in, ladies and germs….

The dragon is rising.

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Sonic CD port drops vocals from music

Above is footage of the Sonic CD intro, with the missing vocals. Not only is the vocal track going to be missing from the game, but it will also be missing in the digital soundtrack download for the game. Why? According to Christian Whitehead, its probably do to legal issues.

“I know it’s a bit of a bummer that the vocals had to be left out. It’s definitely not something due to laziness or something silly. I couldn’t tell you the circumstances, but at least from my understanding there are some rights associated with the lyrics themselves.

My guess is that since Casey Rankin is no longer alive, there might be problems negotiating the use of the lyrics outside of Japan. Please, don’t take this as gospel though since I don’t work in legal” – Christian “The Taxman” Whitehead

Is this a big deal for all fans out there? It might suck we don’t get vocals on the soundtrack, but in my opinion it doesn’t ruin the game.

[Via: TSS]