SEGA PlayStation 3 PSN Titles To Buy Before Sony Shuts Down the Store

Come August 27th, 2021, the PlayStation Network Store for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation Vita will be closed forever. That means all those great, PSN exclusives titles (and other easier to get digital titles) will be gone for good. At least, the ability to buy them legally. I thought it would be cool to look at some of SEGA’s PSN titles that are worth buying, some being exclusive, others not so much.

Sadly some of SEGA’s digital backlog has already disappeared, namely OutRun 2006: Coast to Coast (PSP) and After Burner Climax (PS3) due to licensing issues. But SEGA still has a few cult classics that are must buys, lets look at those titles:

Shining Resonance Refrain demo hits PS4, Xbox One & Nintendo Switch today


If you have any of the three modern consoles you will be able to play SEGA’s upcoming Shining Resonance Refrain for free! This will let you see if the game is for you, giving you hands-on time early. How early? A month early considering that the full game hits America and Europeans on July 10, 2018!

Sadly there is no demo announced for the Steam or PC version of the game, which sucks if you are a PC gamer only. But three out of four platforms isn’t too shabby by SEGA. Are you going to be giving Shining Resonance Refrain a chance?

Yakuza 6 demo returns to the PSN Store

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As we found out with the initial release of the Yakuza 6 demo back in late February that SEGA accidentally uploaded the full game for free. Sony got around to actually revoking full access to the game when users connected to the internet and pulled the ‘demo’ off the store. Sony has finally announced the return of the Yakuza 6: The Song of Life demo on the PSN store.

Like we covered before, the demo weighs in at over 36 GB because you are technically downloading the full game but its being locked down to a certain point. If you like the game, you can buy it digitally and unlock the full game, no more downloading required. Not only that, you can continue the game right where the demo leaves off. You can also check out my review for Yakuza 6, as you can see I really liked it.

Yakuza 6 full game ‘demos’ being revoked by Sony

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According to users on ResetEra, if you go back online with the Yakuza 6 full game ‘demo’, which SEGA released the other day, they will revoke the license transforming it back into a demo. Of course if you want to bypass this and play the full game all you need to do is not connect to the internet.

I’m personally glad to see that the PlayStation 4 has the ability to do something like this, considering that I want the franchise to do well in the West. It would really hurt sales if thousands upon thousands of would be costumers unlocked the full game for free. Even if you got the full game and are planning on playing it early by not being connected online, I urge you to support the series by at least getting the game physically when it comes out in April!

Yakuza 6 demo pulled from PSN due to it being the full game

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[Update: Have confirmed that there was no exploit, SEGA just uploaded the full game onto PSN instead of a demo. Way to go!]

Oops, if you read our story about the Yakuza 6 demo coming to PSN today and happen to be wondering why it isn’t showing up on the in-game store, now we know. According to Destructoid, the game unlocked the full version (for free) when downloaded. According to Destructoid (and SEGA) people used an exploit and according to other users on twitter it was never locked down (seems doubtful). If you didn’t know the demo weighed in at more than 36GB, of course this mean’t the demo was the full version of the game locked down as a ‘trial’. Once you purchased the full game come April, it would unlock the full game without re-downloading the data. SEGA posted on their Facebook about pulling the demo but didn’t go into detail.

This also puts into question why SEGA would delay Yakuza 6: The Song of Life from March to April, if the game is translated and playable already. Some people think that maybe SEGA had manufacturing issues with the physical copies of the game that lead them to delay it so everyone gets the game day one. Maybe they thought it would sell better if it was delayed, though this doesn’t make sense considering Sony’s God of War is also launching in April. But it seems that some people have unlocked the full game already, thanks to this exploit and are enjoying it for free. What are your thoughts? Did SEGA screw this up?

Valkyria Chronicles 4 getting Japanese PSN demo on February 26

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Oh boy, SEGA is releasing these Japanese demos faster than I can keep up. Just a few days ago we got the Hokuto ga Gotoku demo on Japanese PSN, now less than a week from that one we will be getting a Valkyria Chronicles 4 demo. According to SEGA they will be unleashing the playable demo they have been showing at events in Japan. The demo releases on February 26, 2018.

According to early players, the demo allows users to play from the prologue all the way through chapter 2. It also seems that the save data can be transferred over to the full game when its released (in Japan). So if you are going to import the game, you can continue where the demo ends and not replay it from the start.

Valkyria Chronicles 4 on PlayStation 4 is launching in Japan on March 21, 2018. As for us Westerners, we get the game later in 2018 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. I also hope SEGA releases a similar demo for all platforms, since I think it will move more copies.

Hokuto ga Gotoku demo hits Japanese PSN later today

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If you have been waiting to get your hands on Hokuto ga Gotoku, the Yakuza Studio’s take on a Fist of the North Star game, you won’t have to wait that long since the demo is launching in Japan on February 22nd! Considering how time zones work, if you live in America it should be later tonight.

If you live in America (like me) it will hit the Japanese PSN store at 5:00 pm PT/8:00 pm ET.

The demo will include

  • “Experience Hokuto Shinken” – Learn the game systems by battling Shin. Includes a battle tutorial.
  • “Experience the Story” – Play a side mission from the game. This mission will have Ken driving a buggy, fighting scoundrels, and exploring Eden.

Hokuto ga Gotoku will hit PlayStation 4 in Japan on March 8, no release dates announced outside of Japan. Yet SEGA was (not so) quick to announce Shining Resonance Re:frain, so don’t count this game out yet.

[Via: Gematsu]

Border Break PS4 Japanese open beta schedule revealed

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It is finally happening, we will finally be able to enjoy Border Break. At least, if you want to play on Japanese servers since we still haven’t gotten a confirmation if this game is getting a release outside of Japan. I’ll be honest, its frustrating to see all these tiny Atlus 3DS RPGs getting day one western announcements and a SEGA-AM2 arcade port being met with silence.

The Border Break PS4 beta client will be up to download starting February 1st around noon JST. The following is the schedule for actually trying the game:

A Certain Magical Virtual-On Demo Out Now on Japanese PSN

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If you have been excited to try the upcoming A Certain Magical Virtual-On for the PlayStation 4 or PlayStation Vita, the demo is now available. As for sizes of the demos, the PlayStation 4 comes in at 2.37 gigabytes and the PlayStation Vita version hits a much smaller 431.55 megabytes. The demo will feature all 13 playable Virtuaroids from the full game, include a tutorial and CPU battle mode. No online, of course.

SEGA is set to release A Certain Magical Virtual-On in Japan on February 15, 2018. SEGA West hasn’t announced any plans on localizing it. The last Virtual-On title to come West was Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram port on the Xbox 360 back in 2009, so its been awhile. I say make a Japanese PSN account, try the demo and if you like it, bother SEGA to release the game West.

A Certain Magical Virtual-On demo hits Japanese PSN on December 14

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SEGA has now revealed that the demo for A Certain Magical Virtual-On will hit Japanese PSN for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita (yeah, you read that right) on December 14. It was revealed by series producer Jurou Wataru via Dengeki Online.

The demo won’t feature online battles, but will have a tutorial explaining the games mechanics and CPU battles. The game will allow you to mess around with all 13 Virtuaroids that will be available in the full game. A Certain Magical Virtual-On is set to release on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita on February 15, 2018 in Japan. No Western release plans have been announced yet. How many of you guys will be trying the upcoming demo?

[Via: Gematsu]

Yakuza Kiwami 2 demo available now on Japanese PSN Store

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The demo for SEGA’s upcoming remake of Yakuza 2, being called Yakuza Kiwami 2, is now available for you to download via the Japanese PSN store. The demo will weigh in at 9.89 gigabytes and allow users to play through some of the main game’s story. SEGA has confirmed that Yakuza Kiwami 2 demo saves will not transfer over to the full version of the game.

If you never made a Japanese PSN account, I suggest giving some YouTube guides a quick look, it isn’t hard to do. I would say its worth it just to try out some upcoming Japanese game demos. Its free, nothing to lose. Yakuza: Kiwami 2 hits Japan on December 7, no western release date has been announced as of posting. But don’t be surprised if we get an announcement sometime next year.

SEGA News Bits: Sonic Forces Demo Impressions (PS4 & Switch)

Just the other day Sonic Forces Japanese demo hit both PSN and Nintendo’s eShop, unsurprisingly today we get to talk about our thoughts on said demo. Today on the SEGA News Bits we discuss Sonic Forces demo including Modern Sonic gameplay, Classic Sonic Gameply, Avatar style gameplay and of course discuss the differences between the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch versions of the game. So listen in on the episode and let us know in the comments below what you thought of the Sonic Forces PSN & Switch demo.

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us: Give us a sub and give this video a like so it shows up on more like minded fans YouTube recommendations. You know, how that YouTube algorithm is.

Sonic Forces demo hits PS4 and Nintendo Switch’s Japanese stores

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SEGA has released the Sonic Forces demo in Japan on both the PlayStation 4 and the Nintendo Switch. The demo will let you play through three separate stages, one for each playable version including Modern, classic Sonic and avatar hero. Each stage is on a timer.

As for both demos, the Nintendo Switch version is 573MB in size while the PlayStation 4 version comes in at 1.9GB in size. That’s quite the difference. Will you be making a Japanese account on either consoles to try out Sonic Forces? Or will you just wait for it to be released in English?

SEGA News Bits: Sonic Forces PSN Trophies Leak, Reveals New Info

Welcome to a new SEGA News Bits, today we will be discussing the Sonic Forces early PSN trophies leak that happen yesterday. On this episode I’ll be going through all the interesting information that the leaked PSN trophies revealed including Silver Moon Rings, Secret Stages, Daily Missions, and lots more. So tune in and let us know what you think of Sonic Forces’ PSN Trophies and are you planning on getting a Platinum on it? Let us know in the comments below.

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us: Give us a sub and give this video a like so it shows up on more like minded fans YouTube recommendations. You know, how that YouTube algorithm is.

Sonic Forces PSN trophies leak early, teases at unannounced in-game content

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It seems that Sonic Force‘s PSN trophies have now leaked via PSN Profiles, a website dedicated to listing PSN trophies for easy tracking. According to the website Sonic Forces will have 46 trophies in total including: 32 bronze, 10 silver, 3 gold, and of course 1 platinum. The trophies hint at the game having more in-game content, including ‘secret stages’ and ‘EX stages’. It seems that the game will also have a lot of things to collect in-game from red rings, number rings, silver moon rings, wispons, parts, and a lot more. Seeing what the trophies are made up of, I’m pretty sure this listing is legit. But since its not 100% confirmed by SEGA, believe at your own risk.

Another interesting thing on Sonic Forces is some of the ‘daily missions’ and ‘SOS missions’ that have been revealed via the trophies. I assume the daily missions will have some sort of online functionality where you get different rewards for completing missions given by the game? It seems that the big three trophies to collect are the gold ones and those are collecting all wispons, beating all challenge missions and collecting all the silver moon rings. You can check out the Sonic Forces PSN trophies over here for yourself. Are you planning on getting a platinum in Sonic Forces?

[Via: PSN Profiles]