SXSW 2014: Hands On with the RetroN 5

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Photo courtesy of Hyperkin’s facebook page.

There wasn’t much of anything SEGA related at this year’s South By Southwest in Austin, Texas. However it did provide a chance to check out Hyperkin’s upcoming RetroN 5 console with a number of games to show off the system’s accuracy and additional perks.

The RetroN 5 is a major step up from the other RetroN consoles for a number of reasons. The system provides compatibility for a number of consoles including Nintendo, Famicom, Super Nintendo, Super Famicom, Genesis, Mega Drive, Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance games through its five cartridge slots on the system as well as Master System games via the Power Base Converter. But aside from the added compatibility, it makes use of emulators running on Android hardware instead of clone hardware to run the games. What this provides besides better accuracy, is the other benefits of game console emulation including save states, remapping buttons and macros on any controller, take screenshots, fast forward games, as well as several video filtering options.

Sonic Lost World gets a release date [Update: it doesn’t], The Deadly Six get names

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Via GoNintendo comes Nintendo’s E3 press release, which features a bit of information important to Sonic fans: the release date of Sonic Lost World for Wii U and 3DS. That date? According to the press release, October 13th. Update: Seems GoNintendo goofed up. In copy and pasting the press release, the formatting was thrown off and the Skylanders release date was assigned to Sonic. Still Holiday 2013. Oh, but read on for the names of the Deadly Six!

Another notable bit of news is the reveal of the names of The Deadly Six. Thanks to Nintendo, we have a ton of assets from Sonic Lost World. While we compile the screens in a seperate news piece, please enjoy a Deadly Six roll call after the break.

Check out Bayonetta’s new look in 30 images from Bayonetta 2


 
The latest Nintendo Direct has finished, and the biggest reveal (outside the usual Nintendo properties) was a new trailer and gameplay video of Bayonetta 2 from Platinum Games. Despite SEGA having limited involvement in the sequel, as far as we know they are only involved as the IP holders, this was too cool not to share. Bayonetta 2 is set for a 2014 release. Also on show during the event was Sonic Lost World for Wii U and 3DS, though little new was seen. Another Super Smash Bros. was shown off, but Sonic was nowhere to be found. Another certain blue mascot did appear, however.

After the break, check out 30 images from the stream as well as the full stream itself! Bayonetta 2 appears at the 29 minute mark.

Third Sonic game isn’t coming this year

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Despite what Nintendo of Germany’s press release said last week, SEGA has confirmed to IGN’s Richard George that the third Sonic game will not be arriving this year. This means that the third game in Nintendo’s three game deal may be more than a digital title or a spin off. It also means that this exclusive deal won’t be ending for a little while. Will Nintendo fans be getting another main Sonic title next year? Guess we’ll just have to wait and see!

Nintendo Germany says third Sonic title coming this year

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According to Sonic Stadium, it was confirmed in a Nintendo Germany press release yesterday that the third Sonic title in the SEGA/Nintendo partnership will be coming this year. According to TSS, the press release said:

Today, they (Sega) revealed further details of the second of three titles, which the two companies will release exclusively on Wii U and 3DS. All three games will be released this year.

Three Sonic titles arriving in a single year? Provided they are all new releases, this could be the largest number of Sonic titles slated for a single year since 2010. What kind of game could this third release be? It is unlikely to be another platforming adventure and a sequel to the All Stars franchise so soon after the last entry seems extremely unlikely. SEGA’s announced SKUs for the Wii U does leave room for one more packaged title provided SEGA is publishing, but it could very well be a digital title. Perhaps Nintendo fans will finally get their taste of Sonic 4 Episode 2, or maybe even an all new digital title.

We will just have to see. Hopefully, more will be revealed as we get closer to E3.

SEGA Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed to be one of the 23 launch titles for the Wii U


Some people out there are excited about the Wii U, those people should get a bit more excited now that we know SEGA Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed will be one of the launch titles for the Wii U come November 18th. Another SEGA game to hit the console is Aliens: Colonial Marines, which will come out in the launch window. Meaning don’t bet on playing it day one.

If you want to see all the ‘titles’ announced by Nintendo, hit the jump. So who is buying a Wii U?

James Rolfe looks back on the SNES vs. Genesis war

Cinemassacre’s James Rolfe, also known as The Angry Video Game Nerd, has posted up part one of a multi-part retrospective of the SEGA vs. Nintendo wars of the 90’s. It’s really a great watch, with James looking back on his childhood self and having a laugh at his Nintendo fanboy arguments against SEGA. Now, an older and wiser James reminisces about the classic “Genesis Does What Nintendon’t” campaign, gives SEGA a lot of love and promises a proper console vs. console video in part two. Check it out!

Platinum Games announces a new game at E3, published by Nintendo

Above is the trailer for the new Platinum Games title P-100 (working title), this new game will be published by Nintendo. So why am I posting this here? I think this proves that Platinum Games is basically stepping away from SEGA as a publisher. If you didn’t know, Platinum Games only had a 3 game contract with SEGA. After they finished they still wanted to work with SEGA, but seeing as how SEGA West screwed up their Anarchy Reigns release schedule, that seems a bit hard to do now.

The trailer for the new title is up above, it has a very odd art style from Platinum Games, especially keeping in mind that it’s directed by Hideki Kamiya, who headed Bayonetta, but it seems rather fun. I hope for Nintendo’s sake this is a downloadable title, because I doubt many will pay full retail price for this game. When Platinum Games started they talked about how they wanted to do their own IP and type games. Seems that this new title and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance prove that even artist have to eat.

What do you guys think about the situation, do you guys think Platinum Games is ready to move on?

Rhythm Thief – Has Samba de Amigo and Space Channel 5 Games!

I was pretty excited about Rhythm Thief for the Nintendo 3DS when it was announced and the more I’ve seen of it the more it looks like another fantastic Sega IP. But this little update is probably the most exciting thing I’ve seen so far; A throw back to both Space Channel 5 and Samba de Amigo- two of the best rhythm games ever made! (In my opinion…)

I’m totally sold on this game now, it looks amazing! Now throw in that Hatsune Miku character and grab yourself an easy 200k more sales Sega.

Hit the jump to see the Samba de Amigo gameplay, and another game play video.

Crush3D – Story Trailer

Here’s the story trailer for Crush3D, a remake of Crush for the PSP, now on the 3DS. The game seems to have had many changes since the first release on the PSP. The game boasts a new art direction, the story seems to be slightly different and there appears to even be some new levels in the mix.

Crush was met with much praise from critics when it released on the PSP but didn’t fair as well sales wise, let’s hope it can find a better reception on the 3DS because it was a cracking game!

Rhythm Thief – Story Trailer

I think this could be one of the most interesting 3DS titles released so far, certainly the most interesting new IP. It’s got a pretty original concept and I like the art style, It reminds me of Layton mixed with the game play of Elite Beat Agents. I’m quietly confident that this could be a big hit on the 3DS if advertised correctly considering how good Segas previous rhythm based games have been.

Rhythm Thief will release on the 3DS in early 2012.

Crush3D – Tutorial Trailer

Confused about how Crush3D works? Check out this Crush3D tutorial trailer.

If you didn’t already know, Crushed first released on the PSP in 2007, the critics raved about it but the game did not sell as well as it should have, which is sad because it’s such a great and unique game. I’m glad that Sega are giving it another chance and I think the 3DS is perfect for Crush3D because of the ‘crushing’ and ‘un-crushing’ nature of the game. Let’s hope that it can find better sales on the 3DS.

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.

Shinobi 3DS – 12 Minutes of Gameplay

I’m still not convinced that this is the way I wanted Shinobi to return, considering how great Shinobi could be on a HD console. Still I am glad that it has returned! Whilst there are some design choices that I’m not a fan of (namely the combo scores that pop-up all over the screen instead of tidily in the corner) I think they’ve gotten a lot of things right and have captured a lot of what made Shinobi 3 such an awesome game.

Then there’s those graphics…

Rhythm Thief – New Trailer

This new trailer highlights some of the wacky rhythm based mini games you’ll be playing in Rhythm Thief. These include striking poses to hide from security guards, playing football in the streets of London and biting arses- as a dog.

Rhythm Heaven is exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS and is described as a blend of Professor Layton art and storytelling with the game play of Elite Beat Agents, sounds brilliant!

[Thanks SuzukiYu]