Pico

The SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show LIVE: SEGA PICO Art Studio Smackdown

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Our next LIVE show is planned for Wednesday, October 18th at 8:15PM central / 6:15PM pacific / 9:15PM eastern. We’re going to live stream EVERY SINGLE AMERICAN SEGA PICO GAME… that has a drawing program. Which will reign supreme? Find out! Steve ‘ap0c’ Lakawicz will be joining to chat along as Barry the Artist draws audience suggestions!

Steve is a classically trained musician with a Master’s degree in Music Performance, specializing in orchestral tuba. He has toured with brass quintets and performed with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, and lately has taken an interest into crafting and emulating authentic chiptunes. Most recently he has composed music for Brock Crocodile. You can listen to his music here: https://soundcloud.com/ap0c

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The SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show LIVE: The Pri Fun Printer Show

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Join Barry and Steve aka Ap0c as they unbox and try out SEGA’s Pri Fun, a printer released in 1994 intended for use with the Pico and Saturn. This episode is extra special as it is the first and ONLY video online showcasing the print process as well as the Virtua Fighter printer pack. Enjoy!

Also, learn more about a charity Steve is helping out in Philadelphia:

Chiptune Cares: A Mixtape for Philly is a big warm hug to the city of Philadelphia. The mixtape features donated tracks from over 20 artists, all with the goal of giving back to the community. In the spirit of a true mixtape, artists were asked to submit ANY track – old, new, previously released – whatever they felt strongly about submitting. The result is a diverse mix of genre, folks, and backgrounds all coming together for a great cause.

All proceeds from this album will go to Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium, a fantastic charity bringing peace of mind to Philadelphia during tough times. Please see their website here: blackdoctorsconsortium.com

And for direct support outside of this album, please donate here – let’s help get the $1,000,000 goal: www.gofundme.com/f/covid19-BDCC

Support us on Patreon! Get early access, join in the conversation, get Q&A priority, become a guest on the show and more!

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SEGA of Japan and Sharp team up for Telebeena – a streaming educational entertainment platform

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The SEGA Pico legacy lives on with Telebeena, a streaming educational entertainment platform from SEGA of Japan relasing to Sharp LCD TVs this Fall. The name “Telebeena” may hold some significance to SEGA hardware fans, as Beena was the name of the followup console to SEGA’s Pico. The Telebeena is an evolution of the Pico/Beena brand, which will act as a streaming service to select Sharp TVs, specifically “AQUOS Quattron pro” and the XL20 line, and smartphones. Similar to the Wii U and Pico/Beena, kids will be able to play Telebeena software on their TV by using a supported smartphone or tablet as a second screen. The official Telebeena site has revealed Sonic & The Jewel of Mystery will be the service’s first title, featuring simple matching and puzzle games.

The Telebeena is set for an early November release, and as soon as we learn more we’ll be sure to post it here at SEGAbits!

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SEGA Retrospective: Over 20 years later, and the Pico is still an amazing piece of hardware

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The Year of the SEGA Console highlights several pieces of SEGA hardware celebrating milestone anniversaries, and for the most part the featured consoles are well regarded. March’s Genesis Month focused on what was arguably the most beloved consoles from SEGA’s past. The Saturn (20 years old in Japan) and Dreamcast (15 years old in the West), despite their missteps, are equally loved. But what about the black sheep of the SEGA console family? The 32X, which turns 20 this year, has been bad-mouthed, stomped on, and even impaled by flaming arrows.

The Pico, a children’s computer which turns 20 this year in the US, hasn’t received the same vitriol as the 32X, but it too has been pushed aside as one of the disreputable members of SEGA’s hardware family. The reasons for this, I’d suspect, are that the Pico software is simply not targeted at gamers. The software, dubbed Storyware by SEGA, are teaching tools and interactive storybooks. As such, a bulk of the Pico’s library could be seen as “childish” and “boring”, but when approaching the console in the right mindset, it really is an amazing piece of hardware.

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