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Swingin’ Report Show #73: Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal Interview with Mat Kraemer of Sanzaru Games

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This week on the Swingin’ Report Show podcast Barry and George are joined by Mat Kraemer, Lead Designer at Sanzaru Games, developer of Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal for the Nintendo 3DS. Topics covered include the development process of the handheld title, how Sanzaru interacted with various teams including the TV show crew and the team at Big Red Button, what Sonic games Sanzaru looked to for inspiration, and Mat’s favorite classic SEGA games and consoles.

There has been a lot of talk about the Sonic Boom franchise this past week, so it was great to sit down with Mat to learn more about how the 3DS game came to be. Hey! Why are you still reading this when you should be listening?

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Watch our live unboxing of Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works with creator Darren Wall – Tuesday, November 18th at 6PM EST

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SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis fans listen up – we have something very special planned for tomorrow! We will be unwrapping and paging through Read-Only Memory’s “Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works” book live with project lead Darren Wall providing page-by-page commentary.

If that wasn’t enough, we will also joined by Blake J. Harris, author of the book “Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation” who is sure to have some stories of his own to share.

The live stream will appear at SEGAbits.com tomorrow at 6PM EST, so keep your eyes open for a dedicated article with the embedded live stream video and keep up with us on Twitter and Facebook for updates.

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This is Saturn goes cross-country with Gale Racer for SEGA Saturn

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Surprise: It’s a This is Saturn double-month!
That’s right, to celebrate 20 years of the Saturn, we’re bringing you a second episode of This is Saturn for November!

Gale Racer, the Japan-exclusive port of SEGA AM2’s Rad Mobile to Saturn, has seen some bad rep over the years, with some going as far to call it outright “abysmal.” But is it really as bad as those folks suggest? Or has it earned that ‘glorious’ title?

This is Saturn is a video series created by British teenager Liam ‘TrackerTD’ Ashcroft, aiming to give an alternative and in-depth look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of SEGA Saturn gaming, all whilst maintaining a somewhat strong accent.

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My Life with SEGA celebrates twenty years of Saturn with Virtua Fighter

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The SEGA Saturn celebration continues as Andrew Rosa and Mickey Mac with special guest Erica Winter “enjoy” one of the very first games released for the SEGA Saturn…. Virtua Fighter! Stay tuned for next week’s part two as AJ, Mickey Mac, and Erica tackle another Saturn classic. We’re not going to spoil it, but here’s a hint: it rhymes with “Smirtua Spider Shoe”.

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My Life with SEGA revives a dead format and plays some Video CDs on his SEGA Saturn

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The celebration of the SEGA Saturn continues as A.J. Rosa takes a look back on the Video CD format, and the VCD movie card available for SEGA’s 32-bit powerhouse.

In addition, you’ll get a brief glimpse at his VCD collection, as well as the Dreammovie VCD player for SEGA Dreamcast. If you’ve been wanting a “crash course” on the Video CD format and how it all works with our beloved Saturn, look no further.

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This is Saturn sees giant robots battle it out in Cyber Troopers Virtual-On for the SEGA Saturn

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This is Saturn kicks off SEGAbit’s Saturn Month in style, with a look a SEGA mech-shooting bundle of action, Cyber Troopers Virtual-On. Widely hailed as one of the most memorable titles for Saturn, is this game really all it’s cracked up to be? Or does it belong in the scrapyard?

This is Saturn is a video series created by British teenager Liam ‘TrackerTD’ Ashcroft, aiming to give an alternative and in-depth look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of SEGA Saturn gaming, all whilst maintaining a somewhat strong accent.

Like this video? Subscribe to the SEGAbits YouTube channel.

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Round Table: Our SEGA Saturn Memories

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As the SEGA Saturn’s 20th anniversary nears, and Saturn Month heads into day two, the SEGAbits team looks back to the first time we experienced the console. For this week’s round table, we’re joined by George and Barry, as well as three content creators from the SEGAbits YouTube channel – A.J. of My Life with SEGA, Liam aka TrackerTD of This is Saturn, and our newest member Adam aka Gunstar who will be producing a new series set to premiere soon. After the break, read how we were first introduced to the Saturn!

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My Life with SEGA celebrates Halloween with Zombie Revenge for the Dreamcast

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‘Tis the season to be scary, SEGA fans! That’s why A.J. Rosa of My Life with SEGA is reviewing Zombie Revenge for the SEGA Dreamcast.

Zombie Revenge is a side story of the SEGA arcade smash, The House of the Dead. Point of fact, according to our wiki (SEGA Retro), the working title for Zombie Revenge was Blood Bullet: The House of the Dead Side Story…. Yeeeaaah, no.

Anyway, Zombie Revenge is a beat-’em-up/shooter, similar to Die Hard Arcade (Dynamite Deka). Gamers must punch, kick, shoot, slice and dice their way through the walking dead in order to stop a demented madman from wiping all of mankind off the face of the planet. So, how does this mash-and-bash stack up after 15 years? Turn down the lights and crank up the volume. It’s time to kill.

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My Life with SEGA both loves and fears Alien: Isolation for Playstation 3

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On the latest episode of My Life with SEGA, rather than stepping back in time, we’re going to check out the newest title from SEGA and The Creative Assembly – Alien: Isolation. Developed in-house and released last week to PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC, Alien: Isolation takes a different approach when it comes to what players have come to expect from Alien franchise video games. For starters, it’s not a first person shooter! Instead, The Creative Assembly have cooked up a first person survival horror game that is very much in line with the tone of the original Alien film directed by Ridley Scott. How does SEGA’s latest Alien outing fare? Check out the video to find out!

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SEGAbits Plays Episode #4: Alien: Isolation

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SEGAbits Plays returns with a brand new game from SEGA and The Creative Assembly, Alien: Isolation! In this episode, George takes Barry into outer space where Amanda Ripley uses whatever she has at her disposal to duck, dodge, and fight a lone xenomorph. A killer alien isn’t the only enemy out there, as George and Barry encounter dangling electrical wires, annoying old bald men, and trigger happy humans.

Alien: Isolation is out now on PC, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. Like this video? Subscribe to the SEGAbits YouTube channel.

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SEGA in the Media: The Price is Right for a Sega-Vision in 1977!

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Way back in 2011, we featured an article on the Sega-Vision, a big screen projection TV sold to consumers in 1977. While a post I made at SEGA Memories detailed patent drawings from 1976, and our post in 2011 featured the commercial, today we have another bit from the Sega-Vision’s past! Courtesy of a reader named Matthew, I was linked to a YouTube upload of a full episode of The Price is Right taped on June 29, 1977, and guess what item appears? If you guessed the Sega-Vision, you’d be right – or is that the “Seega-Vision”? Unfortunately for our lucky contestant, she wasn’t so right. In fact, she was wrong and lost the item when it came to guessing the retail price. Thankfully, as SEGA fans we finally get to know the retail price of a Sega-Vision in 1977: $1,895.

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SEGAbits boosts to New York City for Sonic Boom 2014 – videos, photos, & impressions

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SEGA’s Sonic Boom event took place this past Saturday in New York, and SEGAbits was there! Before I run through the day’s events, I want to thank SEGA, all the special guests, and the attendees for making the whole event a memorable experience. I know it was a big deal when SEGA chose to host last year’s event in St. Louis, but I can only imagine that planning this year’s event in America’s most populated city from the other side of the country was a lot of hard work on the part of SEGA. Thankfully, the hard work paid off. Within the span of five hours, SEGA treated guests to gift bags, autograph signings, game demos, live music, and both scripted and unscripted entertainment – and despite a large turnout, there was room to walk about and enjoy just about everything the event had to offer.

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My Life with SEGA cranks up the Aerosmith and plays SEGA Saturn’s Revolution X

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Time to get back in the saddle, rockers, because the New Order Nation has declared war on everything we hold dear: rock music, movies, video games, sex and red meat….

Good lord, it sounds the “Moral America” in Escape from L.A.

Anyway, the oppressive New Order Nation, led by Head Mistress Helga, has abducted Aerosmith (no shit, folks). Now it is up to A.J. Rosa and Erica Winter to save 90’s pop culture. 1996 is gonna’ EXPLODE!

All kidding aside, this gimmicky arcade rail shooter was first released in 1994 and ported to several gaming consoles of the day, including the SEGA Genesis, SNES and PlayStation. While it claims it was a “#1 arcade smash hit”, Revolution X received a lukewarm to negative reception upon its release.

But how can this be?! It has AEROSMITH! There’s guns! There’s hot chicks in bikinis! There’s blood! How can this game suck?!

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Swingin’ Report Show #71: Phantasy Star Online with Susan Arendt & James Mielke

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Dreamcast Month comes to an end at SEGAbits with a special episode of the Swingin’ Report Show podcast in which we celebrate one of the most memorable Dreamcast games – Phantasy Star Online.

Joining Barry and George on this episode are two gaming industry greats! Taking a telepipe to the Pioneer 2 is Susan Arendt – Managing Editor of Joystiq.com, former Editor-In-Chief at The Escapist, and former contributor to GameShark, Shojo Beat Magazine, and Wired. And back from busting a blue rappy it’s James Mielke – Founder of BitSummit, former Editor-In-Chief of Electronic Gaming Monthly and 1UP.com, and former producer at Q Entertainment and Q-Games.

Join us for a special round table looking back on PSO, from pre-release hype, to launch, and memories of the many versions and episodic sequels. As a bonus, James reveals that he has an army of super soldiers and he shares some inside info on where Phantasy Star Online 2 is at in English translation and what may be holding up a Western release.

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This is Saturn puts out some fires in Burning Rangers for the SEGA Saturn

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After a month or two away, This is Saturn strikes back with Burning Rangers, another cult hit from Sonic Team!

Burning Rangers remained considerably obscure upon release, being one of the final games released for the Saturn in the UK – this also makes UK copies quite rare. Is it really a hidden gem, or does it deserve to stay buried in the blaze?

This is Saturn is a video series created by British teenager Liam ‘TrackerTD’ Ashcroft, aiming to give an alternative and in-depth look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of SEGA Saturn gaming, all whilst maintaining a somewhat strong accent.

Like this video? Subscribe to the SEGAbits YouTube channel!

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