Podcast

Swingin’ Report Show #90: Game Designer and International Video Game Hall of Fame Inductee Chris Tang

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The SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show is back with returning guest Chris Tang! Chris is a game designer and gaming tournament champion, and was recently inducted into the International Video Game Hall of Fame. SEGA fans know Chris as the winner of SEGA’s Sonic & Knuckles Rock the Rock competition in 1994, and before that Chris was a finalist in 1990’s Nintendo World Championships. Since then, Chris has worked on games at Atari and Capcom, including Gauntlet IV, Primal Rage, Street Fighter III, Rival Schools and Power Stone. Chris is also the yearly announcer for the Tetris World Championships and originator of the BOOM! Tetris for Jeff meme.

Currently, Chris is hard at work on Flight Armor Project: STRIKE HARBINGER (working title – subject to change), a new game inspired by classic SEGA titles like Space Harrier. The game combines the fast paced forward flying gameplay of Space Harrier with the RPG and combat elements of Phantasy Star while utilizing a unique arcade control structure that evokes Virtual On. The game is developed by HitSparks Games, and features the work of senior artist Kiyoshi Okuma, whose past work includes Gauntlet: Legends, World Series Baseball 2K2, The Sims 2 and Darkspore.

I sat down with Chris for an update on the development of Flight Armor Project: STRIKE HARBINGER, including the incredibly fun two player mode, and to discuss more of his past career, his work as an announcer for the Tetris World Championships and his recent induction into the International Video Game Hall of Fame.

Want more information on Flight Armor Project: STRIKE HARBINGER? Visit the official website!

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SEGA Talk Podcast #12: Crazy Taxi (1999)

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We’re back! SEGA Talk turns its high beams on and takes a closer look at SEGA AM3’s classic arcade and Dreamcast game Crazy Taxi. Despite its seemingly simplistic premise, Crazy Taxi offered up a lot of depth and has seen a long and successful history as a franchise with games still being released as of 2017. What are our memories of the game? What was the development history? How do the in-game cabbies compare to real life cab drivers? All this and more is talked about on SEGA Talk!

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If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

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Swingin’ Report Show #88: Night Trap 25th Anniversary Edition – Screaming Villains, Developer Interview

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In this episode we are joined by Tyler of Screaming Villains, who is developing the upcoming Night Trap 25th Anniversary Edition set to release to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PCs, with a limited physical run exclusive to the PS4. Tyler discusses how the project began, how the game differs from the SEGA CD and SEGA CD 32X versions, what new features fans can expect from the game and what future plans he hopes to have in the world of FMV games and beyond! Keep your ears peeled for some exclusive reveals, but watch out for those Augers!

Night Trap 25th Anniversary Edition Website | Screaming Villains Facebook | Screaming Villains Twitter

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Swingin’ Report Show #87: Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary Art Book – Cook & Becker CEO Maarten Brands

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The SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show is back, bringing you an interview with Maarten Brands, CEO of Cook & Becker who is behind the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary Art Book! In this, his first public interview talking about the book, Maarten goes into the history of the international art dealership Cook & Becker, how the SEGA partnership began and what fans can expect from the Sonic art book.

The book releases soon and comes in two editions, which you can pre-order now:
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 25TH ANNIVERSARY ART BOOK – COLLECTOR’S EDITION
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 25TH ANNIVERSARY ART BOOK – STANDARD HARDCOVER

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SEGA Talk Podcast #11: Space Harrier (1985)

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Welcome to another episode of our SEGA Talk podcast, where we pick a SEGA game  and have a talk on various subjects regarding said game. On this episode we discuss  SEGA-AM2’s iconic rail-shooter Space Harrier! George and Barry talk about the games’ development,  success, and our personal thoughts on how the game has stood the test of time. If you are a big SEGA or Space Harrier fan, give the podcast a listen. You might learn a few new thinks regarding Space Harrier’s history and even if you don’t, its nice to support us… Right? Let us know what you love about Space Harrier in the comments below!

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If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

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SEGA Talk Podcast #09: Streets of Rage (1991)

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Clench your fists, pump up the stereo and get ready to rage in the streets as we talk about the iconic SEGA beat ’em up classic Streets of Rage! On this episode of the SEGA Talk podcast, George and Barry discuss their history with the Streets of Rage franchise, the original game’s development history and Yuzo Koshiro’s iconic soundtrack. There is even some Streets of Rage vs. Final Fight talk for all you fanboys that love rivalries. What are you waiting for? Hit that play button and tune in.

In the comments below, share your memories of the original Streets of Rage!

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If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

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SEGA Talk Podcast #06: NiGHTS into Dreams… (1996)

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We have a very special episode of the SEGA Talk Podcast as we cover not only NiGHTS into Dreams… but also Christmas NiGHTS. We have a interesting discussion on the development of NiGHTS into Dreams…, how it shifted Sonic Team into creating a new mascot, the game’s iconic soundtrack, and even speak about our thoughts on the game play. Make sure to stay on to hear us talk about Christmas NiGHTS during the end of the podcast to get some holiday cheers. Get your eggnog, turn up your speakers and let’s talk about NiGHTS into Dreams…  (and Christmas NiGHTS)

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If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

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SEGA Talk Podcast #05: Panzer Dragoon (1995)

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We are back with another SEGA Talk podcast, on this episode we take to the skies as we discuss Team Andromeda’s SEGA Saturn classic Panzer Dragoon. Tune in and hear us talk about Panzer Dragoon pushing the rail shooting genre to 3D, its unique art style, full motion CGI and of course its legendary soundtrack. So sit back, hang out and let’s talk some Panzer Dragoon.

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If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

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SEGA Talk Podcast #04: Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)

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The infamous Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) celebrated its 10th year anniversary earlier this week so George and Barry decided to sit down with Sonic Retro‘s Bartman3010 and David (dtlurker) to recount our thoughts on the title. On this episode we go through the concept of Sonic the Hedgehog, talk about various game play elements, glitches, music, and some of us even have nice things to say (maybe). If you wanna go back a whole decade and relive the grand adventure that is Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 just hit play below or subscribe to us via your favorite podcast network.

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If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

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SEGA Talk Podcast #02: The House of the Dead (1996)

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We return with another episode of the SEGA Talk podcast, on this extra spooky Halloween episode we look at the release of the 1996 light gun shooter classic The House of the Dead. We will look at the development, talk about the gameplay, tell you about its history and even talk about a time when the arcade game went to US court for being too violent. Grab some Halloween candy, pop in a copy of The House of the Dead , hit play on the podcast, and go down memory lane with us!

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But tell us what you thought of The House of the Dead, where you first play it and did you think it was too violent? Tell us in the comment section below. You can also email us via our contact page just make sure to put SEGA Talk podcast on the header.

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SEGA Talk Podcast #01: OutRun (1986)

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Here at SEGAbits, we’ve been thinking about ways to expand our content. If you guys didn’t know, SEGA Talk was a show on our YouTube channel, but we have decided to transform it into a podcast. If you are subscribed to our YouTube channel, don’t fret! We will be uploading small segments of the podcast with some visual dazzles to entertain your eyeballs. So what is the SEGA Talk podcast all about? Each episode of SEGA Talk will focus on a SEGA game, a big SEGA event or a SEGA console. Listen in on our debut episode as we chat about the history of OutRun, OutRun spin-offs and discuss themes behind the game. If you like the episode make sure to give us a review on iTunes, we would appreciate it.

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If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

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Swingin’ Report Show #86: Strike Harbinger Game Designer and SEGA Tournament Champion Chris Tang

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On this episode of the Swingin’ Report Show podcast, Barry sits down with game designer and gaming tournament champion Chris Tang at the Galloping Ghost Arcade’s SEGA Week. SEGA fans may know Chris best as the winner of SEGA’s Sonic & Knuckles Rock the Rock competition in 1994, and before that Chris was a finalist in 1990’s Nintendo World Championships. Since then, Chris has worked on games at Atari and Capcom, including Gauntlet IV, Primal Rage, Street Fighter III, Rival Schools and Power Stone. Now, Chris is hard at work on a new game inspired by classic SEGA titles like Space Harrier and Phantasy Star. The game, titled Strike Harbinger, combines the fast paced forward flying gameplay of Space Harrier with the RPG and combat elements of Phantasy Star while utilizing a unique control structure that evokes Virtual On.

Strike Harbinger – developed by Chris’s company HitSparks Games – was revealed Saturday, April 30th at Galloping Ghost Arcade where I had the pleasure to meet Chris and the game’s Senior Artist Kiyoshi Okuma, whose past work includes Gauntlet: Legends, World Series Baseball 2K2, The Sims 2 and Darkspore. I also had the honor to be the first member of the public to play the game, and following that experience I chatted with Chris about his life as a tournament gamer, his career, and his plans for Strike Harbinger. 

Want more information on Strike Harbinger? Stay tuned for an upcoming SEGA News Bits as well as a SEGA Week writeup!

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Swingin’ Report Show #85: Interview with The Dreamcast Junkyard founder Tom Charnock

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On this episode of the SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show we’re joined by Tom Charnock, founder of the The Dreamcast Junkyard and co-creator of The Dreamcast Junkyard: The Ultimate Collectors Guide. Tom talks to us about the creation of the information-packed collectors guide, the legal issues they faced, and what they are planning for future revisions of the book. Also covered are the indie Dreamcast games slated for 2016, which include Leona’s Tricky Adventures, SLaVE and Alice Dreams Tournament, Tom’s plans for a heavily modded and tricked out Dreamcast console, and the state of Dreamcast collecting.

If you want to hear more of Tom talking about SEGA’s final home console, make sure to check out The Dreamcast Junkyard Dreampod podcast, and of course pay a visit to The Dreamcast Junkyard for their many interesting articles.

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Swingin’ Report Show #84: Interview with SEGA-16.com founder Ken Horowitz

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On this episode of the SEGAbits podcast, Barry and George are joined by Ken Horowitz, founder of SEGA-16.com and writer of the upcoming book Playing at the Next Level: A History of American Sega Games. Even if you don’t know his name, any SEGA fan with internet access has stumbled upon SEGA-16 to find a helpful review, interview or retrospective. Now, Ken is using his knowledge of SEGA as well as close to one hundred newly conducted interviews to create a book which looks back on the games developed by SEGA of America during the 80s and 90s.

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Swingin’ Report Show #83: Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom Developer Interview

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Refresh your podcast playlists, because the SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show podcast is BACK! On this episode George and Barry are joined by Fabien Demeulenaere, Director of Game Atelier, the French game studio working on the upcoming Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom. If that title sounds familiar, it is because Monster Boy is both a revival and sequel in the Wonder Boy/Monster World franchise, due out later this year to Playstation 4, Xbox One, and PC platforms.

In this exclusive first podcast interview for Fabien, he walks us though how the game transformed from a fan project to an official title in the franchise and talks about how the game both celebrates the franchise’s past and moves it into modern gaming. If you ever played a Wonder Boy or Monster World game on the Master System, Genesis, Mega Drive – or any other platform for that matter – this interview is a must listen.

Follow Monster Boy’s development by checking out their official site.

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