SEGA News Bits: Sonic the Hedgehog Joins LEGO Dimensions Reaction

Sonic the Hedgehog is heading to LEGO Dimensions! Revealed in an E3 Expo Trailer for the game is a number of new franchises hitting the Lego toys-to-life multi-platform game, including Gremlins, Harry Potter, Adventure Time, The A-Team and others. At the moment, not much more is known. Sonic the Hedgehog could be a minor addition by way of a Fun Pack (figure and item) or a full-blown Level Pack (figure and items, plus levels) or a Team Pack (multiple figures and items). Sonic Stadium did spot the Tornado in a LEGO Dimensions graphic, so it is possible we will at least get a Fun Pack of Sonic and the Tornado.

Sit back and enjoy our thoughts on the announcement. Tell us what you think of Sonic the Hedgehog coming to LEGO Dimensions in the comments below.

Atlus announces Persona 5 launch date for the Americas, reveals Premium and Launch Editions

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Get hyped Persona fans, as Atlus has revealed Persona 5‘s release date for the Americas as well two sweet editions of the game featuring tons of swag. Fans can expect to get the game in their hands on February 14th, 2017. The game will release to both Playstation 4 and Playstation 3 consoles and PS4 owners will have the option of the Persona 5 SteelBook Launch Edition and the Persona 5 “Take Your Heart” Premium Edition. It appears that the PS3 will not have a special edition. The PS4 SteelBook Launch Edition, priced at $59.99 US/$79.99 CA will feature a SteelBook collectible case – seemingly similar to the recent PS4 Valkyria Chronicles Remastered metal case although this one appears to be an official SteelBook. The “Take Your Heart” Premium Edition will set you back $89.99 US/$109.99 CA, but looks well worth it. Fans will not only get the SteelBook case, but will also get a soundtrack CD, a 4″ Morgana plush, a 64-page art book, a school bag designed to resemble traditional Japanese school bags complete with a Shujin Academy crest and all that will be in a collectible outer box. Atlus touts this as the largest premium edition in Atlus’ history!

You can pre-order the game at the links above, and after the break check out the full press release as well as a gallery of photos.

Persona 5 getting special broadcast on May 5th

P5_fami_h2h3_160411Persona 5 fans have been waiting for more information regarding the latest entry that is due out this summer in Japan. I guess Atlus knows there are fans around the world waiting for information regarding Persona 5, so they have announced a Niconico special broadcast for May 5th at 21:30 Japanese time (5:30 am PT/8:30 am ET).

Atlus will call their Persona 5 broadcast the ‘Take Tokyo Tower’ and will go live when the counter on their site hits zero.

Persona 5 hits PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 this Summer in Japan.

[Via: Gematsu]

Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax Ignition ‘Ako and Lucian’ gameplay released

We posted before that Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax Ignition was getting  ‘Ako and Lucian’ from Netoge no Yome wa Onna no Ko Janai to Omotta?‘ (translates to: “And you thought there is  never a girl online?”) manga. Actually this DLC will launch along side of Netoge no Yome wa Onna no Ko Janai to Omotta? anime that is set to hit in Japan on April 7th.

Sadly for Westerners that purchased Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax , this DLC won’t be available since its only for the re-released Ignition. But if you wanna import a copy Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax Ignition it is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita.

What do you guys think of the new characters and will you be watching Netoge no Yome wa Onna no Ko Janai to Omotta? anime come April?

Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax Ignition to add Netoge no Yome’s Ako and Lucian via DLC

DBFCI_03-07-16_003Seems that SEGA will be supporting Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax Ignition via paid DLC as they have just announced Netoge no Yome‘s Ako (voiced by Rina Hidaka) and Lucian (voiced by Toshiyuki Toyonaga) as playable characters. If you didn’t know, Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax Ignition hasn’t been released in the US, we got the previous title just known as Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax. Yes, it was a poor decision in SEGA’s part for not waiting for this updated re-release, which seems at this point to be the definitive version.

Both characters are from ‘Netoge no Yome wa Onna no Ko Janai to Omotta?‘ (translates to: “And you thought there is  never a girl online?”) which is a comedic manga where a naive protagonist proposes to a female character in an online game, only to find out that its actually a guy. Being traumatized by the experience, he vows to never trust females online again, until a female proposes to him…

No release date for the characters has been announced, but they will be playable at this year’s Dengeki Game Festival in Japan. Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax Ignition is out now for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita in Japan.

[Via: Gematsu]

Yakuza Kiwami’s Valentine’s Day Promo Event

Yakuza Kiwami came out at the end of last month, that doesn’t mean SEGA of Japan is done promoting. Above is a promotional event SEGA did with PlayStation to promote the game on Valentine’s Day. What it seems like to me is that the people had to walk a sort of red carpet as grown men dressed up like Yakuza bow as they walked. A scene that is straight out of Yakuza Kiwami. Their prize? I would assume a copy of the game.

So far Yakuza Kiwami hasn’t gotten a release date outside of Japan, where its available for both PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. Yakuza Kiwami  has moved over 200,000 units in its first two weeks on sale, so the game seems to be doing fine.

Yakuza: Kiwami has sold over 200k units in two weeks

YakuzaKiwami-2.jpgNew Media Create sales show that Yakuza: Kiwami has sold over 200,000 units, in (less) than two weeks. The newest chart shows sales ending in January 31st, placing the game at number six (PS4) and eight (PS3) place. Its a slight drop off from number one and two spots it took on its debut week. Sure the game didn’t move as many copies as a brand new Yakuza entry, but Yakuza: Kiwami is a remake of Yakuza 1 and 200,000 units at full price is pretty good for a Japanese title. This is obviously counting both Playstation 3 and Playstation 4 platforms.

This is a big step up from how Yakuza 1&2 HD Edition performed back in 2012, which did under 100,000 units in its first two weeks on both PlayStation 3 and Wii U.  While these sales are only for Japan, we already know that other Asian markets have gotten a shipment of an additional 200,000 copies but don’t know how many where sold to consumers. This is also the first time for the franchise that a PlayStation 4 version sold better than on PlayStation 3.

To check how it ranks up on its debut week with all the other Yakuza games, hit the jump.

[Source: NeoGAF]

Yakuza: Kiwami has shipped over 200,000 copies in Asia

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The remake for Yakuza 1 is already off to a great start with SEGA confirming that Yakuza: Kiwami has received orders of 200,000 copies in “Asia” (China, Taiwan and Hong Kong) and in the same report they also confirmed Yakuza 0 has sold through over 100,000 units. It’s an impressive result for the game and shows why SEGA were so convinced to try and grow the series in mainland Asia. Yakuza: Kiwami is the first time the series has received a simultaneous Japanese and Asian release which should help offset declining Japanese software sales with increasing Asian sales.

Come back tomorrow to find out how Yakuza: Kiwami will be doing in it’s home territory of Japan when the latest Media Create charts are released.

[Source: GNN.Gamer]

Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir tops Japanese sales chart on debut week

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Atlus seems to have made the right choice bringing back Odin Sphere, as Liefthrasir has topped the Japanese sales chart on its debut week. The game took the number one and two spots, with the PlayStation Vita coming in at first with 43,394 sales and a close second on the PlayStation 4 with 42,263 units sold. That’s right, the PlayStation Vita is still big in Japan.

As for the PlayStation 3 version of the game, that came in at tenth place with 9,771 units sold. That means that all together Odin Sphere: Liefthrasir sold over 95,428 units in Japan in the span of three days. Impressive for the region and it being a remake. Odin Sphere: Liefthrasir hits North America on June 7, check out the limited edition release.

Hit the jump to see the full sales chart.

[Via: NeoGAF]

Yakuza Kiwami Limited Edition Japanese PlayStation 4 model revealed

YakuzaKiwamiPS4The Yakuza series isn’t particularly new to getting limited edition models of PlayStation consoles, so its no surprise that Sony has announced the Limited Edition Yakuza Kiwami model for Japan. I’m not a big fan of the Playstation 4 limited edition consoles because it just seems like they put a decal on the HDD bay cover and call it a day. But if you gotta have it, it will run you 36,980 yen (about $314) plus tax. What does the package include?

  • 500GB PlayStation 4 model (Jet Black/Glacier White) x1
  • Wireless Controller (DualShock 4) x1
  • Yakuza Kiwami PS4 HDD Bay Cover x1
  • Monoaural Headset x1
  • Power Cord x1
  • HDMI Cable x1
  • USB Cable x1

What about the game? Sorry, the bundle does not include the game and you will have to purchase that separate. This is basically a Playstation 4 with a Yakuza Kiwami themed decal. Worth the price? That’s up to you.

[Via: Siliconera]

PlayStation Essentials Sale slashes prices on Persona games

Persona_4_investigation_team_2Are you a SEGA fan that still hasn’t tried any of the popular Persona series video games? I think now is the time for you to jump on board since Sony has put three entries on sale! All prices are USD. Persona is like Final Fantasy as you don’t need to play the prior ones to enjoy a new entry. Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is a fighting game that continues the plot after the RPG games, FYI:

If the prices aren’t low enough, Playstation Plus members get an extra savings (ranging from 10%-20%). If you have a Playstation Vita I would suggest picking up Persona 4 Golden instead of the PS2 classic version, since it has more content. You can read about that here. The sale ends on January 19th.

If you have an extra $4.00 dollars I suggest you also pick up one of my favorite Playstation One games, none other than Tomba!  a game created by Capcom legend Tokuro Fujiwara.

Review: Yakuza 5 (PS3)

Yakuza5ReviewIf you have been on this blog and read my writing over the years you would know that I’m a huge fan of SEGA’s Yakuza franchise and was really pleased to hear that they decided to bring over Yakuza 5 even though it’s been out since 2012 in Japan. After years of contemplating whether or not to just import the game and play with an online guide, I decided it was best to wait. Now that Yakuza 5 has an official English release, was the wait worth it?

Yakuza: Kiwami gets high marks from Famitsu

YakuzaKiwamiThe latest issue of Famitsu is out in Japan that means we get to see the latest review scores from Japanese games we won’t see in the West for quite awhile. This week’s big releases include SEGA’s remake of Yakuza 1, being titled Yakuza: Kiwami in Japan.

Here are all the scores in the recent issue of Famitsu:

  • Dasshu Adventure: Kami Kudashi no Uranai Sara (3DS) – 7/7/8/8 [30/40]
  • Drop Zone Under Fire (3DS) – 6/7/6/5 [24/40]
  • Fast Racing Neo (Wii U) – 7/7/7/9 [30/40]
  • Hyrule Warriors Legends (3DS) – 9/9/8/10 – [36/40]
  • Just Cause 3 (PS4) – 8/8/9/8 [33/40]
  • Just Cause 3 (XBO) – 8/8/9/8 [33/40]
  • Seisen Chronicle (3DS) – 7/7/8/7 [29/40]
  • Yakuza: Kiwami (PS4) – 8/9/9/8 [34/40]
  • Yakuza: Kiwami (PS3) – 8/9/9/8 [34/40]

The way that Famitsu reviews work is that four people write a short review and give it a score in the end, those scores are added up in the end. Yakuza: Kiwami was the second highest rated game, losing by two points to Hyrule Warriors Legends on Nintendo 3DS.

[Via: Gematsu]

Atlus has ‘several unannounced titles for 2016’

newipgamesatlusIn an interview this week Atlus CEO, Naoto Hiraoka told Famitsu of the company’s plans for 2016 and beyond:

“In 2015, we were able to develop existing IP like Persona 4: Dancing All Night and Etrian Mystery Dungeon. In 2016, starting with Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir, we plan to release a large number of titles. In the summer, we’ll launch the long-awaited Persona 5. Of course, in addition to that we have several unannounced titles. I have no doubt this will be a year Atlus’ popular series all gather together.”

Exciting news! So what do we already know about Atlus’ line up in 2016? So far they have the following games set to release: Odin Sphere Leifdrasir , Persona 5, Shin Megami Tensei IV: Final, and Etrian Odyssey V. If I were to hazard a guess, I would say there might be more Persona and Shin Megami Tensai spin-offs in the works. What I am hoping for? Catherine 2!