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Swingin’ Report Show #61: Console Wars Release Day Party with Author Blake J. Harris

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Happy Console Wars release day! That’s right, the long talked about book “Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation” by Blake J. Harris is now available to purchase anywhere where books are sold.

For this week’s podcast, the book’s author Blake J. Harris joined Barry and George to talk about his influences, the process of writing such an epic story, his upcoming documentary, and his teaming up with Scott Rudin and Seth Rogen. Blake also shares stories that didn’t make the final cut, and his thoughts on modern day SEGA and Nintendo. We also reveal our Console Wars giveaway winners, so if you entered on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram to win a copy of the book courtesy of HarperCollins, give the show a listen and find out if you’ve won! We’ll also make an official winners announcement on our social networks later today.

More “Console Wars” content is to come, including a podcast with Tom Kalinske himself!

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This is Saturn goes Super Sonic Racing in Sonic R

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This is Saturn is back to talk about one of the few Sonic games on the Saturn, Sonic R, in which Sonic and company go Super Sonic Racing! Sonic R was a game I’ve played on many a system, and it was actually one of my first Sonic games – but does it hold up today? Or is it a blemish on the hedgehog’s wonderful 90s career?

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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Swingin’ Report Show #60: Console Wars with Al Nilsen, SEGA’s Director of Marketing (’89-’93)

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The SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show is back, and boy do we have a special episode for you! Joining us for our 60th episode is Al Nilsen, SEGA of America’s Director of Marketing from 1989 through 1993. Al and his team were behind everything from the early days of the SEGA Genesis, including promoting the famous “Genesis Does What Nintendon’t” campaign, the creation of Sonic the Hedgehog, implementing the legendary “Sonic 2sday” worldwide launch of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in 1992, and rolling out the “Welcome to the Next Level” campaign. Suffice to say, Al is a legend, so the opportunity to sit down and talk about the good ol’ days for an hour and a half was a dream come true for us as SEGA fans.

Al’s appearance is in anticipation of the release of “Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation” by author Blake J. Harris, which you can pre-order today from Amazon.com. “Console Wars” tells the story of SEGA vs. Nintendo during the early 90’s, as told from the perspective of SEGA of America president Tom Kalinske. Based on over two hundred interviews with former SEGA and Nintendo employees, “Console Wars” is the underdog tale of how Kalinske miraculously turned an industry punchline into a market leader. It’s the story of how a humble family man, with an extraordinary imagination and a gift for turning problems into competitive advantages, inspired a team of underdogs to slay a giant and, as a result, birth a $60 billion dollar industry.

Expect more “Console Wars” content throughout May, including a podcast with the author Blake J. Harris next week, and a podcast with Tom Kalinske himself the week after that! We also have some surprises, but in the meantime enjoy Al’s interview!

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Round Table: We look ahead to Jet Set Radio’s future!

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Jet Set Radio Week enters the final boss battle that is the SEGAbits Round Table! Despite containing only a few games, Jet Set Radio and its sequel pack in a lot of unique ideas and feature an amazing art style and selection of music. With all this unique content, it’s a shame that the franchise has only seen two and a half games (the half being the Game Boy Advance version). This week, our writers have assembled in the GG’s garage to share their ideas for the Jet Set Radio franchise’s future, and seeing as we’re SEGA fans, we can’t help but reminisce and share a few memories. After the break, join us as we look to the future!

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SEGAbits Plays: Jet Set Radio Episode #1

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Welcome to the first official episode of our new YouTube series SEGAbits Plays! In this episode, streamed live on our SEGA Channel Retro Twitch channel yesterday at 5:30PM Pacific/8:30PM Eastern, Barry and George play through the Official Dreamcast Magazine demo disc featuring the exclusive Jet Grind Radio demo and the original Japanese version of Jet Set Radio. Aside from the usual chit chat, we show off out some of the regional differences and towards the end attempt to play the game using the Dreamcast maracas and fishing controller.

Stay tuned for future episodes of SEGAbits Plays, in which we’ll play more classics, obscure gems, and show off some stuff you probably have never seen before. Anybody up for some SEGA Pico fishing? After the break, check out our test episode #0 in which Barry and Bartman play the SEGA Pico.

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SEGA Tunes: Hideki Naganuma’s favorite Jet Set Radio tunes

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The question of “What makes a SEGA game a SEGA game?” is often debated amongst fans of the company. Some believe it is as simple as looking at the package and spotting the SEGA logo, others believe that there is a magical mix of various elements that give that true “SEGA feel”. While I’ll admit that I believe any game funded by and owned by the company qualifies, I can’t help but feeling that some games have a certain je ne sais quoi (or is that je ne sega quoi?) that elevates them to another level.

Jet Set Radio is one of those games. It is a game that oozes style, featuring unique characters that are adventurous and edgy. The game puts a unique spin on established concepts, and pays tribute to the company’s arcade past by featuring fast paced gameplay. Most importantly of all, the game carries on the grand SEGA tradition of memorable music – so much so that I’d argue that Jet Set Radio is one of the greatest SEGA soundtracks of all time.

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SEGA Retrospective: Over the ‘hood, through the streets and right into your brain – It’s Jet Set Radio

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We’re transmitting our signal straight to you! Y’all got your antennas on?
Welcome to Jet Set Radio Week – a week long celebration of SEGA’s off-kilter cel shaded Dreamcast classic! Past SEGA Franchise Weeks focused on more than one game, but Jet Set Radio Week is going to be different. Rather than splitting our time between the Dreamcast original and its radically different Xbox sequel Jet Set Radio Future, we’re devoting the next seven days to simply Jet Set Radio. But don’t fret, Jet Set Radio Future will have its own week soon enough!

Like Sonic The Hedgehog on the Genesis, and NiGHTS on the Saturn, Jet Set Radio on the Dreamcast turned heads with amazing visuals, memorable music, and unique gameplay mechanics. Jet Set Radio (Jet Grind Radio in America) may not have taken off like SEGA had hoped, but it did do well enough to warrant the previously mentioned sequel and has since become a SEGA cult classic. After the break, let’s take a look back and how such a crazy concept for a game came to be.

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Presenting the My Life with SEGA: The Next Level/No Limits VCD Trailer!

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In January we premiered the My Life with SEGA short film No Limits and announced a special Video CD release of the short film, and the previous My Life with SEGA short film The Next Level, featuring a retro SEGA CD Saturn plastic box design. In anticipation of the upcoming release, A.J. has put together a slick trailer featuring clips from the short films and reviews (Panzer Dragoon, Panzer Dragoon Zwei, Panzer Dragoon Saga, and Virtual-On) as well as VCD package shots.

Stay tuned to SEGAbits for details on how to get your hands on the release! In the meantime, why not binge watch Season 2 of My Life with SEGA?

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My Life with SEGA Season 2 ends with a SEGA Saturn classic – Die Hard: Arcade

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My Life with SEGA season 2 ends with punches, kicks, and several explosions as Mickey Mac and I take on the SEGA Saturn classic Die Hard: Arcade in a 2-Man Scramble! With season 2 over, what’s next for My Life with SEGA? I’ll be taking a break from the series as of now to concentrate on other projects. However, don’t think for a moment that My Life with SEGA is dead.

Next season is going to change things up where I’m sharing more single-player games with friends, like Mickey Mac, Lauren and others. I’ll do some straight reviews with big name titles (yes, Shenmue II), but this will be more freeform from Season 3 onward. Also, The Next Level/No Limits VCD: Special Edition is still in the works.

A big thanks to everyone – my family, friends, fans and SEGAbits – for keeping My Life with SEGA alive and well. It’s amazing to think that, come September 11th, it will be celebrating its 3rd birthday. I love you all, and I thank you from deep down in the cockles of my heart…. maybe below the cockles. Maybe even in the sub-cockle area. Maybe in the liver. Maybe in the kidneys. Maybe even in the colon. I don’t know.

STICK IT IN YOUR GENESIS, FUCKERS!

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Interview: Scott West, Hardlight Studio Senior Designer of Crazy Taxi City Rush

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SEGAbits: Hi Scott, thank you for answering our questions about the upcoming mobile game Crazy Taxi City Rush! What is your role at SEGA, and what is your favorite SEGA game?

Scott West: Hi there, I’m a Senior Designer at Hardlight Studios. As for favourite SEGA game, it would be impossible to name just one! I’d have to break it down into favourites throughout the course of the Consoles that I grew up with. From the Mega Drive days, I spent my childhood playing the likes of Golden Axe, Sonic, Streets of Rage and Outrun. Then on the Saturn it was Burning Rangers and Virtua Fighter 2 then of course the Dreamcast and House of the Dead, Jet Set Radio and Shenmue! That’s not to mention the hours I spent sinking into the Arcades on games like Rad Mobile and Crazy Taxi!

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Swingin’ Report Show #59: Sonic’s SEGA Genesis Spin-off Special

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The triple threat of George, Barry, and Bartman sit down for a round table discussion of Sonic the Hedgehog’s lesser appreciated SEGA Genesis titles: the spin-offs. We cover it all! From Dr. “don’t-call-him-Eggman-yet” Robotnik’s breakout role in Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, to Sonic’s transition from platforming icon to pinball with arms and legs in Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball, to Sonic’s take on the classic Flicky formula in Sonic 3D Blast. Even the digital sticker book Wacky Worlds gets some discussion.

So join us in a walk down memory lane (or is that “pain”?) as we relive and dissect Sonic’s SEGA Genesis spin-offs!

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SEGA Tunes: Project DIVA blazes through the blue skies singing the After Burner theme

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Hatsune Miku and friends have sung many songs throughout their history, but none are more exciting than the SEGA inspired tunes that are featured in the franchise’s games. The 2010 arcade game Project DIVA Arcade featured the MEIKO Vocaloid voice (a voice provided by the Japanese female singer Meiko Haigō) singing lyrics over the theme to After Burner – a SEGA arcade classic. The video above features Hatsune Miku, despite the MEIKO voice. But can you blame us? It’s Miku! But in fairness to Vocaloids everywhere, we’re featuring MEIKO after the break. Happy listening!

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Round Table: Our SEGA Genesis memories

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SEGA Genesis Month may be coming to an end at SEGAbits, but we still have a lot more Genesis content to come in 2014 as we celebrate the console’s 25th anniversary. Still, to give the month a bit of finality, four of our writers have come together for a round table to share their favorite Genesis memories. The Genesis truly is a great piece of SEGA hardware, featuring many classic titles that span countless genres, innovative accessories, and the power to attract talented indie game companies of today that offer up new experiences on the console. Regardless of whether one was an early adaptor, or came to the console in its later days, the Genesis was and is a console that makes a lasting impression.

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Retro Review: Technocop

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Oh man, I have waited too long to use that image.

A.J. Rosa is a man of many talents – and a man of many games. I mean, hey; if he lacked games, My Life With SEGA wouldn’t still be running to this day! A short while ago, some of you may remember A.J. held a competition in conjunction with this very site, in celebration of the 3rd Anniversary of SEGAbits. The winner would receive A.J.’s personal SEGA Genesis Model 2, and the copy of Technocop he reviewed for My Life With SEGA.

Lo and behold, I ended up winning said contest – and so despite being one of the few staff members of SEGAbits from the UK, I don’t have to watch Genesis Month pass by whilst I cradle my beloved Mega Drive – and hey, I’d promised A.J. I’d post up my impressions of Technocop, so now’s as good a time as any.

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Round Table: The future of Streets of Rage and our favorite memories

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As Streets of Rage Week comes to an end, the SEGAbits writer’s round table has us reflecting on our fond memories of the franchise, and where we would like to see the franchise headed in the future. SEGA has always been hit or miss when it comes to reviving and remaking older franchises. For every SEGA 3DS 3D Classics remake, Castle of Illusion and Shinobi 3DS there are a slew of stinkers – Golden Axe: Beast Rider, Altered Beast (PS2), several of the Sega Ages 2500 releases. Point is, a remake or reboot of Streets of Rage could go either way. What direction would be like to see the franchise headed? Follow the flashing “GO!” and read on!

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