SEGA has officially announced the release date of Sonic Forces, which is November 7, 2017. What more, there has also been announced Bonus Editions for the PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One featuring a controller skin and in-game add-ons of avatar outfits from SEGA and Atlus games. The costumes include: Jet Set Radio glasses and outfit, Persona 5 mask and outfit, Puyo Puyo hat, Super Monkey Ball ears and outfit and NiGHTS hat and outfit.
SEGA held another live stream the other day to confirm some misconceptions revolving around their recent Yakuza Studio announcements which included a new Fist of the North Star game. At the time it was highly believed to be running on the ‘Dragon Engine’ which is the latest in-house engine created by the studio, this was mostly due to Yakuza Kiwami 2 using the engine.
So why will Fist of the North Star use the older, Yakuza 0/Kiwami engine? According to studio head Toshihiro Nagoshi its because the team has more experience with the ‘Kiwami engine’ and its better for celshaded graphics. Also note that the Dragon Engine is still under development, while the older engine already achieves 60fps at 1080p on the PlayStation 4 while Yakuza 6 ran at 30 fps.
SEGA’s remake of the original classic that kicked off the popular Yakuza franchise, titled Yakuza Kiwami, releases today in the Americas and Europe for the PlayStation 4! To celebrate, SEGA has released a special launch trailer which can be seen above. As mentioned in the SEGAbits review, Yakuza Kiwami improves on the original game in almost all aspects and features additional plot points, includes the option to save anywhere and is the first time the game can be heard in Japanese outside of Japan.
The game is going by the name of ‘Yakuza of the North Star‘, but will probably get a real title down the road. It seems like a working title. It has been confirmed that the voice actor for Kazuma Kiryu (Takaya Kurdoa) will also be voicing Kenshiro! Seems that the game is in early stages and we will be hearing more about it come 2018 or even in the Tokyo Game Show next month!
We all knew it was coming thanks to Sony’s mistake on early Friday morning but SEGA has now officially announced Yakuza Kiwami 2. Following from the success of Yakuza Kiwami, SEGA began developing a remake of the second Yakuza game. It’s obvious to see the mass improvements the dragon engine is already providing as they bring this classic back for the modern generation. Personally speaking Yakuza 2 has my favorite story and cast of characters in the series but the game obviously has been held back by the technology of the time so to see it updated brought a smile to my face.
Yakuza Kiwami 2 promises to feature seamless maps of Osaka and Tokyo. The theme song for Yakuza Kiwami 2 is being performed by SiM, a Reggae Pop band. Yakuza Kiwami 2 hits the PlayStation 4 in Japan on December 7th of this year. No word about a Western release, but I wouldn’t expect it until months after Yakuza 6 ships.
SEGA has revealed the new Tag Team Mode for Sonic Forces. On this episode of the SEGA News Bits we discuss our thoughts on the Tag Team Mode, the Sonic Forces level design and our thoughts on the custom character designs shown so far. If you are looking forward to Sonic Forces, give it a listen and if you disagree with us let us know in the comments why. We really want to hear differing views and in the end of the day its just our opinion. Thanks for watching.
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SEGA was set to have a big stadium announcement this Saturday, that was going to be live streamed world wide to announce several new games by the Yakuza studio. It seems that one of their surprises has been leaked early via the Taiwanese PSN store. The listing says the game will release on December 7th, 2017 in Japan.
Going through the rough English translation of the PSN store page description, it seems that they might have went back and recorded all the voice acting, much like the the first Yakuza Kiwami. But they are also teasing this one being on the new ‘Human Dragon Engine’ which means it could be using the new engine that powered the gorgeousYakuza 6! You already know I’m excited for Yakuza Kiwami 2, but are you?
[UPDATE] The official Sonic the Hedgehog channel has released a new video of the tag gameplay, seen above. After the break, check out the Japanese stream video.
[UPDATE 2] New screens after the break!
With Sonic Mania released to the masses (well, aside from the PC version) Sonic Forces details have begun to release via Famitsu and Gamescon, and while I expect something from SEGA of America soon, I didn’t want to pass up newsing the new mode revealed for the game. In addition to Classic Sonic, Modern Sonic and the Custom Hero the game will include a Tag mode where players control both Modern Sonic and the Custom Hero, giving players the opportunity to see their creation running alongside Sonic.
At the moment, only a Modern Sonic team-up is confirmed, no word on Classic teaming with the Custom Hero. The Tag mode allows players to use both Sonic and Custom Hero’s abilities, meaning you can speed and boost like Sonic, and use the Wispons. Also, as seen in the video after the break, the duo will have the opportunity to fist bump into a special boost mode in which the vocal theme Fist Bump plays. If you’d like a peek at the controls, take a look at this Twitter post. Nothing too revealing, but it’s worth checking out.
Other details revealed include confirmation that Sonic Forces will be at Tokyo Game Show with special guests and new content and, as confirmed by SEGA, Sonic Forces is set to release November 9th, 2017 in Japan.
Just the other day the PlayStation YouTube account unleashed the first teaser trailer for the upcoming Shenmue 3 game and it sure got mixed reactions. Some people thought it was the worse thing they have ever seen, others thought it looked amazing. We decided to wait at least a day before doing a SEGA News Bits because I feel like the teaser trailer had so much that we needed to process. On this episode of the SEGA News Bits we discuss the lack of facial animations, graphics and the new Shenmue 3 logo. But let us know what you think of the first Shenmue 3 teaser trailer in the comments below.
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Yu Suzuki has confirmed, via an interview with Game Spark, that the Shenmue 3 teaser trailer models are mostly temporary.
““Shenhua, Ryo, and the other characters are mostly temporary. Shenhua still has to be fixed up a bit.” – Yu Suzuki, director and producer Shenmue 3
According to the Shenmue 3 executive producer Hideaki Morishita, regarding the lack of high quality models, “was unable to ready them in time for this trailer.” He also explained that they put the teaser trailer together to celebrate their milestone of signing a publishing contract with Deep Silver, “While there is little excuse, there are parts that are still lacking or parts that are not sufficient.”
In a interview with Game Watch, Yu Suzuki also confirmed that facial animation was implemented a month ago but was temporarily removed. No answer to why
Gematsu translated some of the new Shenmue 3 reveals from Yu Suzuki’s Famitsu interview including talk about post game DLC, the return of the forklift and confirming that the game will be about 30 hours long.
Announced back in mid-March, SEGA has been pretty quiet on their latest entry into the Virtual-On series. Coming to the Playstation 4 and Vita, the crossover has left many of fans of either franchise mystified. Now with Tokyo Game Show less than a month away we’ve gotten a massive blow out of information in the latest issue of Dengeki PlayStation! The new issue covers the Virtuaroids, weapons and the characters from A Certain Magical Index that will be appearing in the crossover. Hit the jump after the break to check out more information and screenshots;
It has also been confirmed that A Certain Magical Virtual-On will be playable at Tokyo Game Show next month. We will be there to give you guys some hands on impressions of the game. Stay tuned.
With less than a week until SEGA kicks off it’s Yakuza Studio’s new titles presentation this Saturday, we’ve been given confirmation that the event will be live streamed on YouTube, Fresh, and Niconico from 19:00 Japan Standard Time. Having the presentation on youtube will be a godsend for fans who don’t have Niconico accounts and don’t know how to make it through the Japanese only sign up of the site.
Previously Nagoshi mentioned that multiple titles would be announced at the event “including something expected.” so what could it be, Yakuza Kiwami 2 with a new IP or perhaps something else? Gives us your thoughts and hopes on what you’re expecting this Saturday below.
I know I was going to get like 80 messages asking me who the winners were, if all I did was message the winners like I was planning to do. So why not make one post where they can all gander at the winners? If you didn’t win, sorry, as you can tell there where quite a few entries. So lets get to it.
SEGA has recently revealed the Yakuza 6 Launch Day and Premium Edition versions, with a release date of March 20, 2018! On this episode of the SEGA News Bits we discuss the two editions, what you get and our thoughts on SEGA doing more of these big physical releases. Its no surprise that we are big SEGA fans and love these sort of premium edition releases, so you can hear us gush over the news for about 6 minutes. Are you getting Yakuza 6? Which version?
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SEGA has released a new trailer showing off various aspects of Yakuza 6: The Song Of Life gameplay. Take a look at how cutscenes will play out, epic in-game brawls, menu systems and mini games.
In Yakuza 6, Kazuma Kiryu will find out exactly how much people are willing to sacrifice for family – be those ties through blood or bond – when he investigates a series of shadowy events that involve the ones he holds closest to his heart. Fresh out of a three-year prison sentence, an older and weathered Kiryu comes to find out that his surrogate daughter, Haruka, has gone missing from the orphanage he looks after. The trail leads him to his old stomping grounds in Kamurocho, where he discovers that she has been struck by a car and now lies in a coma. To make matters worse, Kiryu learns that Haruka now has a son that he must look after. With baby in hand, Kiryu journeys to the seaside town of Onomichi, Hiroshima to unravel the truth about Haruka, her son, and a sinister secret that the Hiroshima yakuza are harboring.
Yakuza 6: The Song Of Life is now available to pre-order in two impressive launch editions. The Yakuza 6: The Song Of Life After hours Premium Edition comes with an art book, two drinking glasses, whiskey cubes, coasters and a collector’s box for $89.99. The Yakuza 6: The Song of Life Standard Edition, meanwhile, comes with an abridged art book which doubles as the game case and sells for $59.99. Both are available to pre-order now and release March 20, 2018.
