Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax Ignition is coming to PS4, PS3 and PS Vita

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SEGA has updated last year’s Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax in arcades as Ignition, it was only a matter of time that it would come out on consoles. Well, it came out sooner than I expected, its going to hit Japanese consoles on December 17th. That’s right, a couple of months after the US release of the first one, the expanded version will hit Japan. Talk about deflating a release in America before it happen, I’m sure lots of Western buyerz that where going to get Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax are second guessing themselves and its something SEGA’s localization team has to improve on. Releasing Japanese games closer to their Japanese release date, not a year after. Atlus has done a great job, sometimes releasing their text heavy JRPGs two months after their Japanese release.

The game is hitting the Playstation 3 and Playstation Vita again, while finally debuting on the Playstation 4. The game will have a expanded “Dream Duel” story mode that will expand the game new situations. Modes like “Network Mode”, “Training Mode” and “Gallery Mode” all make their appearance. As covered before this version of the game has two new playable characters: Quenser Barbotage (from Heavy Object) and Emi Yusa (from The Devil is Part-Timer).

[Source: Gemastu]

Why SEGA refusing to localize Phantasy Star Online 2 is a bad sign

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Given that we know the news that SEGA doesn’t have plans on publishing Phantasy Star Online 2 outside of Japan, at least for the Playstation 4 (though the PC and Vita versions have been out for over 3 years, so I assume those aren’t coming either). I stated in my original article that I thought it was a really bad decision and got many people upset while they tried  to debate me on the topic even though I never really stated why I felt it was a bad decision. So, here it is, my article talking about why SEGA West not bringing Phantasy Star Online 2 is just another stupid decision by the company that has had a long history of bad decisions.

I decided that it was time I did a write up about why SEGA West not bringing Phantasy Star Online 2 outside of Japan is bad,  not only for their in-house IP but also for their overall brand.

Shenmue 3 Kickstarter reveals development progress and future plans

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It’s normal for most Kickstarter campaigns to go silent for a bit following successful funding, mainly because those behind the campaign are now hard at work creating whatever it is you backed. Of course, in the case of Shenmue 3 which raised over $6 million, backers were more eager than usual to hear something new. Thankfully, the radio silence didn’t last too long as backers received an update last night on the development progress and future plans. Better yet, we heard it straight from Yu Suzuki himself!

Yakuza creator talks about the future of the Japanese games industry

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The current issue of Famitsu Weekly held a discussion on the future of the Japanese games industry with the top tier developers from Japan. This post will mostly cover what Toshihiro Nagoshi (Daytona USA, Super Monkey Ball and Yakuza) said (cuz, you know, we are a SEGA news site).

Famitsu also interviewed Toeishi Ashihara (Cygames), Hideki Kamiya (Platinum Games), Yoshinori Kitase (Square-Enix), Akihiro Suzuki (Koei-Tecmo), Yosuke Hayashi (Koei-Tecmo), Katsuhiro Harada (Bandai-Namco), and Hiroshi Matsuyama (CyberConnect2). If you want to read their replies check out Nichegamer’s article on the the whole thing. Check out Nagoshi’s responses after the jump.

Phantasy Star Online 2 teases Guilty Gear Xrd collaboration

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While SEGA representatives have confirmed that Phantasy Star Online 2 isn’t coming West, because, you know, stuff. SEGA is still plenty of busy with updates for the game over on their concealed SEGA island of goodness known to normal folks as ‘Japan’. We covered Phantasy Star Online 2‘s last update that added a ton of Blazblue costumes, but this time we will be getting Guilty Gear Xrd outfits.

Hit the jump to see what you’ll be able to wear, if you play the Japanese version of the game that is.

Yakuza creator confirms that his new game will be shown at Tokyo Game Show

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I know that some of the more hardcore SEGA fans are a bit upset that SEGA recently teased a new Hatsune Miku game. No fear SEGA fans, because during today’s NicoNico Live steam, Yakuza and Super Monkey Ball creator Toshihiro Nagoshi teased what to expect from Sega and his team next month:

“I’m so anxious for Tokyo Game Show! Although I’m not allowed to say why I’m feeling this way, yet. We’ll announce [a new title] at Tokyo Game Show, and it’ll be a good one and I believe that Sega’s live showing at Tokyo Game Show will be the most exciting one we’ve seen in a while.” – Toshihiro Nagoshi

The producer for Yakuza, Yokoyama Masayoshi teased this game in July stating that the studio was hiring new talent. As of right now, Yakuza Team (aka Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio) has over 150 workers under the Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio banner. Considering that they are hiring more, this might be one of SEGA’s biggest games ever. I guess we will find out more next month at the Tokyo Game Show, but as far as them teasing it, it seems this title will not be related to the Yakuza IP.

Like always, in Nagoshi we trust.

[Source: Silioncera]

SEGA Japan launches teaser site for upcoming Hatsune Miku game

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[This article has been edited with newly found information. This is almost 100% a Hatsune Miku game]

SEGA Japan has now launched a teaser site for an upcoming unannounced game that will most likely be unveiled at this year’s Tokyo Game Show (which starts next month). So what do we know about it so far? SEGA is calling this tease ‘neXt39‘ which is what we will be referring to the game until we find out the official name. The teaser page has the following numbers: “3939.00 / 3939” since the slash usually means division in math, it would equal to 1. Is this a clue? The screen also has strands that move in the background, 6 of them to be exact (with the only color repeating being yellow).

But Hatsune Miku also has a long series of using the number 39, specifically having a song named that. Not only that, Sam Mullen, the localization producer even explained the significance of Hatsune Miku using the number 39. Not only that a twitter user by the name of @Rorru pointed out that the teaser page’s timer ends minutes before Hatsune Miku’s birthday and that the color strands each represent a Cryptonloid. Hopefully this isn’t the only game announced at TGS, considering that Yakuza Team was teasing a new game.

SEGA has no plans to release the PS4 version of Phantasy Star Online 2 outside of Japan

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The people at Kotaku has contacted SEGA about the possibility of the Playstation 4 version of Phantasy Star Online 2 coming West. This is the response they recieved from a SEGA representative.

“SEGA is currently not planning to release the PS4 version of Phantasy Star Online 2 outside of Japan,”

It has been over 3 years since SEGA announced at PAX 2012 that they would be bringing Phantasy Star Online 2 over from Japan on the PC and Playstation Vita. Then, silence. We got a few generic ‘it’s still coming’ answers from them, but this is the first time they have officially denied its Western release.

Talk about not caring about their own fan base, huh? It’s hard to stay positive when the Western branches don’t care about their core fanbase or their in-house Japanese IPs. Then when they do finally get around to releasing it they are surprised at the success these Japanese in-house developed games have. No shit! With this and the recent announcement that they reskinned ‘Puyo Puyo Quest‘ into some generic food puzzle game, SEGA is really making it hard to be a fan.

Phantasy Star Online 2 Anime revolves around gamers playing the game

SEGA not only revealed that Phantasy Star Online 2 was coming to Playstation 4, but they gave us a teaser for their upcoming Phantasy Star Online 2 The Animation aka the anime based around gamers that play the online RPG.

Animenewsnetwork translated the text in the trailer:

Text: With over 3.5 million user IDs
Text: Japan’s largest online RPG
Text: Phantasy Star Online 2
Text: Is finally green-lit for its anticipated
Text: TV anime adaptation!!

Text: Shouta Aoi as Itsuki Tachibana
Text: Ayaka Suwa as Rina Izumi
Text: M.A.O as Aika Suzuki

Text: Broadcast premiere slated for 2016 on TBS, BS-TBS, and other stations!

The premise of the show is that it follows the lives of players of Phantasy Star Online 2 ‘who may be near you’, taking place on Earth in the near future. Seems that someone at SEGA was inspired by Sword Art Online. The anime will hit Japanese TV stations sometime in 2016, will you watch it?

Phantasy Star Online 2 coming to Playstation 4

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That is right, it has just been announced via a live Phantasy Star Online 2 stream via NicoNicoLive that Phantasy Star Online 2 will be coming the the Playstation 4. Not only that, the Playstation 4 build will be playable at this year’s Tokyo Game Show (which starts next month!). Ironically enough, the Playstation 4 build of the game will co-launch with ‘Reborn: Episode 4‘ game update.

When can you play sweet, sweet Phantasy Star Online 2 on your shiny new Playstation 4? If you live in Japan, sometime in 2016 and around the same time that Reborn: Episode 4 launches. What type of content does Episode 4 have? We don’t know the details yet, but we shall keep you updated on this blog when we find out more.

What about many of us that don’t live in Japan? Tough luck, SEGA hasn’t announced plans on bringing it West. Though, if they really want the game to be reborn, maybe releasing the game world wide will do that… just a thought, you know?

 

Round Table: How much did you pledge to Shenmue 3?

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It is hard to grasp that it has been over 14 years since Shenmue 2 came out and left us all with that cliffhanger in the end of the game. There has been a strong fan reaction for a third installment and Yu Suzuki stood at Playstation’s E3 stage to finally give fans what they have been asking for. Ys NET launched their Kickstarter campaign which broke funding records, cementing that fans are willing to give their hard earn cash in order to see a third installment of their favorite franchise. In this week’s Round Table we talk about how much we funded and why. You can let us know how much you funded in the comments below.

Review: Tembo the Badass Elephant (PC)

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SEGA and Game Freak Inc (Pokemon series, Pulseman) partner up once more to bring us a brand new platformer starring Tembo the Badass Elephant. I have been itching to get my hands on this game since SEGA first showed it earlier this year and now that I have beaten it was all my excitement worth it? Is Tembo the Badass Elephant a good enough game to earn the honor of having ‘badass’ in its title?

SEGA Games CEO talks about fan reactions to his Famitsu interview

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If you missed it, Haruki Satomi the newly elected CEO of SEGA Games Co. (he was hired on April 1st) did a Famitsu interview where he talked about how SEGA has released software in the last 10 years that he felt betrayed fan’s trust in the brand. Says he believes quality Japanese games can sell in the West and among other comments that lots of SEGA fans across the globe agreed with.

Haruki Satomi obviously has been getting e-mailed by media about those comments and he sent the following message to Siliconera.

“Seeing our fans across the world respond to our recent interview with Famitsu, lets us know we’ve made the right first step in acknowledging who we are and where we want to be. Sega is dedicated to bringing you quality gaming experiences and becoming a brand you love and trust again,”

During the Famitsu interview, he said that they had a game to announce at Tokyo Game Show later in September, this will be one of the first glimpse at where Satomi wants to take SEGA in the future. So what do you think about his comments? Let us know what you think about his comments by leaving a comment in the comment box below (yo dawg).

Blade of Arcus From Shining EX’s Japanese limited edition includes scantily clad anime girls

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SEGA has finally released all the high-resolution shots of the limited edition of Blade Arcus from Shining EX, which is a 2D arcade fighting game that is coming to the Playstation 4 and Playstation 3 in Japan this November.

The game’s limited edition is known as the “Tony Taka’s Premium Fan Box“, who is Tony Taka? He is the artist for the newer Shining series of games, specially famous for making anime girls, that well… aren’t exactly fully clothed (see the art in the image header for examples of such work).

Limited edition comes with:

  • A Tony Taka-illustrated special box
  • “Shining Heroine Works” 40-page art book
  • Shining Ark character 10-song CD
  •  Shining Blade 60-song soundtrack CD (two discs)
  • “Shining Beach Heroines” 2016 13-month swimsuit calendar

The game hits Japanese store shelves on Novemeber 26th, all first print copies come with Sonia from Shining Resonance as a playable character. No western release date has been announced, but if you want this edition of the game you can always pre-order it at Play-Asia for $110 USD. For more info, check out the game’s official website.

[Via: Gematsu]