Jet Set Radio HD tags itself into the mobile space this summer

Jet Set Radio HD will be skating it’s way onto iOS and other mobile platforms later this summer. Looks like the Vita has some more competition. Here’s the official statement from Sega.

Jet Set Radio is headed to iOS and Android this summer! We’re pretty excited – the same game you’ve enjoyed on the Dreamcast is going to be with you anytime you want on your preferred mobile device.

Jet Set Radio for iOS and Android includes the same slick gameplay, genre-blending soundtrack, and pioneering art style as the other versions alongside new features like OpenFeint and Retina display support and the awesome ability to use pictures taken with your phone or tablet’s camera as in-game graffiti! Traverse Shibuya terminal on the train, silence the Love Shockers on your lunch break, blast through Benten-cho while boarding a bus and upload achievements to Facebook while riding a ferry; Jet Set Radio will be a dream come true for portable gamers everywhere!

Okay, here’s my concern. This game’s controls could be a little tricky at times even on the old Dreamcast controller. I can’t even imagine it controlling very well on a touchpad device. Well, here’s hoping I’m wrong.

SEGA Japan opens up new subsidiary, SEGA Networks

There are a lot of people worried with the new SEGA restructuring, they just announced that SEGA Europe & Australia will be distributing their games via a different company, had tons of fired employees. Now SEGA Japan has opened the doors to a new subsidiary, SEGA Networks.

SEGA Networks is going to be SEGA’s high-end game developer that will deliver games for smartphones and tablets. This falls right in place with SEGA’s plan on releasing more digital titles. How does this make you guys feel? Is lower budget, less risk taking digital titles better for SEGA? SEGA Networks CEO is Haruki Satomi and will be based in Tokyo’s Shinagawa Ward. The company will start with 211 employees.

*UPDATE* Rumor: SEGA shutting down SEGA Europe, last console game to be shown at E3

UPDATE: Community Manager at Sega of America Clumsyorchild and Studio director at Sports Interactive Miles Jacobson are tweeting that these rumors are false.

Wow. It’s that time of year; E3 is around the corner, and that means it’s time to see some  rumors. This one doesn’t sound too outrageous due to all the lay offs that happened a few months back. Not only that, SEGA Europe doesn’t have community managers. Does this mean SEGA Europe will be shutting down and that SEGA will stop making retail games? The rumor states that SEGA will focus on mobile and tablet games. It also says their last big AAA title will be announced at E3, and will be the Creative Assembly’s unannounced Alien game.

How currency in Phantasy Star Online 2 will work


Everyday new information on Phantasy Star Online 2 hits the net and the more I hear about it the more excited I get.  Let’s be honest, most of my early 2000’s  were spent  playing Phantasy Star Online on the SEGA Dreamcast and a decade later it seems I will be doing the same with the sequel. How exciting is that?

When we learned that Phantasy Star Online 2 went free-to-play, most people were wondering how SEGA was going to handle payments for content. Lots of people thought this could hurt the series. Well, now SEGA lets us know about the currency in Phantasy Star Online 2 and how it works. They have announced that there will be three types of currency. That’s right, three.

SEGA trademarks Flick of the Dead

SEGA has filed trademarks for Flick of the Dead. What could this possibly be? Well, first of all its going to be a House of the Dead spin-off, that much is for sure. If SEGA’s latest iOS title, Miku Flick, is any indication, its going to be a House of the Dead title on smartphones.

What do I want it to be? I wish it was a full console release game where you play zombie filled stages from various zombie movies from the past three or so decades. Come on, that’s cooler than a mobile game, right?

Phantasy Star Online 2 create demo coming April 5th, have new screens while you wait

Are you excided to hear that Phantasy Star Online 2 is going totally free to play? Do you want to try the game now and see how your PC will run it? Well, SEGA is setting up a ‘create demo’ for us Phantasy Star Online fiends that cannot wait much longer. There will be a demo released on April 5th, via the game’s official website, so mark your calendars. This demo will allow you to create a character, which you will be able to play as later when the game goes open beta. It also comes with a benchmark functionality to see if your PC is up to snuff.

If that wasn’t all, there have a been a ton of screenshots released… including the first smart phone screens! There are also some with new weapons and a new boss from the PC closed beta. Exciting.

ChuChu Rocket and Brick People free for iPad users for limited time

So Apple is launching the new iPad 3 today and SEGA is celebrating by giving away a free copy of ChuChu Rocket HD and Brick People to iPad users. This is according to SEGA, I don’t know if you can snatch them up on iPhone, iPod Touch or even on an older model iPad.

If you guys own an older apple device with access to the iOS store, get on and see if you guys can get it for free and let us know in the comments. Happy gaming!

Super Monkey Ball 2: Sakura edition out now on Android

So if you are like me, a man that owns an Android phone. Then you probably have been totally jealous of all these other guys with shiny iPhones playing with their Monkey Balls. Well, good news, now we can play too.

“SEGA’s games, both new and old, are seeing an amazing new life on mobile devices, and Android is a big part of that,” said Haruki Satomi, Senior Vice President of Digital Business at SEGA of America. “We want to make it clear we are not just monkeying around on this platform, and that means giving Android users the same kind of variety and quality as any other medium. Super Monkey Ball is one of our fan-favorite franchises, and it makes a great fit for Android smartphones and tablets.”

The game is a high definition port of the arcade and Gamecube hit Super Monkey Ball 2. It features 125 fun filled levels, four mini-games and its only 99 cents right now. Its a special launch price, so act fast!

Total War Series Goes Mobile

Real time strategy series Total War will enter the mobile world with Total War Battles. The game will be handled by Total War Digital, a new Creative Assembly team. Total War Battles lead designer Renaud Charpentier says that the game “isn’t the traditional Total War you might expect, we are working on a title that is specifically tailored to the play styles and control methods of mobile platforms. We want to deliver a game that plays to the strengths of handheld RTS mechanics, and perfectly adapts to a host of different platforms.” Platforms have yet to be announced, however iOS and Android are a given. The question is, will the title also see a release to the Vita and 3DS?

First Hands-On Video of Sonic 4 Episode 2 PLUS a Tentative Release Date

This has turned into the day for Sonic 4 news, hasn’t it? SEGA and NVIDIA surprised visitors to the Mobile World Congress 2012 with the first ever public demo of Sonic 4 Episode 2! While the dude playing the game is pretty bad at it (don’t all early demo videos feature inept players?), it does show off a good two minutes of gameplay footage. I’m sure Sonic fans will be pouring over this little clip for the next month. Is a video not enough for you? Well SEGA has let slip a tentative release date, and it’s not May as XBOX Marketplace had originally suggested.

The game wasn’t perfectly smooth being mirrored on an HD television but Sega urged us to note that the build they were showing wasn’t at all final. When can you expect that final build, you ask? The wait won’t be too long – Sega tells us mid-April will be their target.

Shenmue World is now dead [edit]


Even though we all wanted to play Shenmue City or Shenmue World (whatever you want to call it), it seems we won’t get the chance. According to Ysnet, the official developer for Shenmue Gai (the Japanese name of the game) has said that the game will cease to exist. No more updates, no more support. The site has a thank you message to all the users that played it.

This is pretty bad news for the Shenmue franchise and for hopefuls that this would lead to Shenmue III.

[Edit] It seems that this was already discussed by Yu Suzuki in an interview. Basically they are closing the mobile version of the game, but they are going to launch a ‘smart phone’ version for devices like Android and iOS.[/Edit]

Sonic 4 Episode 2 is being built for multicore mobile phones

SEGA has just has released a press release which gives us a hint at what kind of game we can expect for Sonic 4 Episode 2. The game is being built for multicore mobile phones, and SEGA is working with nvidia on a version for the worlds first Quadcore mobile phone processor for android.

This news personally has me really excited. It’s great to see that SEGA is putting so much concern for quality for Episode 2. For those who don’t know, the TEGRA quadcore processor is capable of running XBOX 360 and PS3 style games.

Hit the jump for the press release

ChuChu Rocket! hits Android devices, buy it now for 99 cents


I love my phone, but lately have been sad that I can’t get those cool SEGA games that they release on iPhones. Well, seems that SEGA is finally sharing the love and at a killer price too. If you have an Android device, you can now own ChuChu Rocket! for 99cents.

The game looks beautiful and runs buttery smooth (at least on my device). It comes with over 500 puzzles to go through and its under a buck. Apparently there is a time out bug on some devices and no multiplayer at the moment. You can grab it here.

Oddly enough SEGA of America only has this and a game I never heard of called ‘Fallen Realms’ on the US Android Market. The game Fallen Realms actually looks quite good and is free. Get that here.

Free-to-play mobile Phantasy Star game out in Japan

Mobage members from Japan today will be able to get their hands on Phantasy Star Eternal Hunters, a free-to-play mobile game.

The game has you playing as a hunter, who has to investigate a crashed ship. You have to gather reports and all that hunter like stuff. The game changes it up by changing enemies depending on where your GPS location on your phone says you are.

To celebrate the launch, SEGA has released a tie-in item for Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity. The only way to obtain the item is to defeat and gather reports from monsters in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka and Sapporo. After you kill them, they will give you a code. Item pictured below.

[Source: AndriaSang]

Super Monkey Ball 2 coming to Windows Phone 7


Seems that SEGA is kin on supporting Windows Phone 7, last game they announced was Sonic 4 and now they are announcing Super Monkey Ball 2. The game will be released on April 6th and cost $4.99.

If that wasn’t enough for users, you can try the game before you buy. The full game will come with over 115 courses, so might be a steal for the price of entry.This is most likely the iOS version for WP7.

[Source: Appmodo]