Space Channel 5

SEGAbits Exclusive Interview with Veteran SEGA Designers Akihito Hiroyoshi & Yumiko Miyabe

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During our visit to Japan for the Tokyo Game Show, we seized the opportunity to meet and engage in conversation with former veteran SEGA Designers, Akihito Hiroyoshi—renowned as the character designer for classic SEGA AM2 arcade games such as Arabian Fight and Virtua Cop—and Yumiko Miyabe, the former art director for the Space Channel 5 series.

These interviews unveiled insights into their early lives, careers during their tenure at SEGA, and personal hobbies. By clicking the link, you can delve into the interviews and explore behind-the-scenes artwork from the games they passionately crafted during their time at SEGA.

Additionally, the interviews are available in video format, with links provided here for Akihito Hiroyoshi and Yumiko Miyabe. A special acknowledgment goes to our fellow writer, Dakota, for video recording, as well as SEGA fans, Martin Hemmingway and Scott Hamby for translating the interviews. *Please note: images provided in the interview are copyrighted and may not be reproduced without permission*

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SEGA News Bits Live: Full Mega Drive Mini 2 Lineup & Ulala Goes Hollywood

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On this SEGA News Bits Live, Barry runs through some of the notable titles releasing to the Mega Drive Mini 2 and Genesis Mini 2, talks the possibilities of a Space Channel 5 movie and shares his beef with Sonic fans on Twitter.

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SEGA plans to make Space Channel 5 and Comix Zone film adaptations

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Thanks to the success of Paramount and SEGA’s Sonic the Hedgehog movies, it was only a matter of time more cinematic deals were made for other SEGA franchises to make the jump to the screen. The Hollywood Reporter has announced that SEGA has entered into a partnership with Picturestart to develop film adaptations of the Dreamcast classic Space Channel 5 and the SEGA Genesis platformer Comix Zone.

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Space Channel 5 Started Life As “Eye” a “AKIRA” Like Hacking Game Starring a Boy Protagonist

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In a new 4Gamer Japanese 20th year anniversary Space Channel 5 interview with some of the original members of the team, which most are now working on Space Channel 5 VR over at Gounding Inc (A team made up of ex-SEGA employees including some from the Panzer Dragoon Team) the team discusses the origins of Space Channel 5 and even the project before the game was even thought of.

During the interview they asked the team about the game that came before Space Channel 5, which was at the time called “Eye” (Using Google Translate, so bear with me):

Takumi Yoshinaga: “(Eye) was an adventure game set in the near future, with a setting like “AKIRA” and you progressed through hacking. The main character was a boy, which is completely different from Space Channel 5. Actually the icon of “Eye” project is included in the end credits for Space Channel 5, which is a secret to the game’s origin!”

You can see the Project “Eye” logo from the Space Channel 5 credits after the jump:

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Space Channel 5 20th Anniversary Gyungyun Selection is now available on Spotify

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If you have been following updates on the Official Space Channel 5 Twitter account and our previous article covering the soundtrack, the Space Channel 5 20th Anniversary Gyungyun Selection album is now available to listen on Spotify for free. The 20th anniversary soundtrack includes 50 music tracks covering Space Channel 5, Space Channel 5 Part 2, and six tracks for the upcoming Space Channel 5 Kinda Funky News Flash! If you have a Spotify account, you can listen to the entire soundtrack here.

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Space Channel 5 Getting 20th Anniversary Greatest Hits Album Featuring Over 50 Tracks

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While it doesn’t seem to get a lot of hype online, it seems that SEGA is bringing back Space Channel 5 with the release of Space Channel 5 VR: Kinda Funky News Flash and now with a 20th Anniversary album release featuring over 50 tracks from the series’ greatest tunes across two CDs. The release promises remixes, drama tracks and six new tracks from the upcoming VR title.

You can see the album cover above, which shows off Ulala sporting her new Space Channel 5 VR yellow outfit, which seems to be her new ’20th Anniversary’ color? The 2 CD disc will feature a booklet with commentary from composer Naofumi Hataya and narrative designer Takumi Yoshinaga. You can get the import via iam8bit for $39.99, if you are interested.

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New Dreamcast documentary speaks with Masayoshi Kikuchi (Jet Set Radio), Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Rez), Rieko Kodama (Skies of Arcadia), and more

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To celebrate the upcoming 20th year anniversary of the SEGA Dreamcast, the Japanese YouTube channel Archipel has decided to go talk to Japanese creators that worked on software for the Dreamcast. This is just the first part and the people they got from SEGA is pretty crazy:

Hiroshi Iuchi (Ikaruga), Kenji Kanno (Crazy Taxi), Masayoshi Kikuchi (Jet Set Radio), Rieko Kodama (Eternal Arcadia/Skies of Arcadia), Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Space Channel 5 / Rez), Tetsu Okano (Segagaga), Yoot Saito (Seaman), and Hiroaki Yotoriyama (Soulcalibur)!

Its nice to see some of these creators sit down and talk about their time working on the very iconic Dreamcast, pretty excited to see part two of this documentary series. If you haven’t seen Archipel’s content, you should totally check out other documentaries they have done.

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Space Channel 5 VR: Kinda Funky News Flash introduces new playable characters Lou and Kee

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It looks like the upcoming Space Channel 5 VR: Kinda Funky News Flash won’t just have Ulala as the main star, it seems that Team Grounding will add Lou and Kee; two twin rookie reporters learning the ropes from Ulala herself. SEGA and Team Grounding showed off a demo at Tokyo Game Show allowing users to play as the new twins.

It seems that the demo level used is the same one as the first Space Channel 5 game, but users have reported new voice acting and even new actions to perform. Check out the new twin rookie reporters Lou and Kee via the screenshots below.

[Via: Siliconera]

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Cook & Becker announces Space Channel 5 fine art print

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Cook & Becker (who once joined us on a Swingin’ Report Show to discuss their Sonic the Hedgehog art book) have just announced a new SEGA-inspired art print! The latest SEGA art print is inspired by the Dreamcast classic Space Channel 5. Created by artist Veronique Meignaud, whose past work includes Dishonored, Far Cry, Wakfu and Child of Light, the print features star reporter Ulala in stunning futuristic colors.

Those who subscribe to the Cook & Becker newsletter can reserve a low or specific number edition, with the window closing on Sunday, July 8th at 23:59 CET. After that we presume the prints will go on sale to the public. You can browse Cook & Becker’s SEGA selections here.

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Space Channel 5 VR coming to America as ‘Kinda Funky News Flash’

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Lots of SEGA Dreamcast fanatics will tell you lots of positive things about Space Channel 5 and Part 2, the games had a cult following of hardcore fans. Sadly SEGA has been quiet on the IP, until they showed off a Space Channel 5 VR demo in 2016 (then dubbed Ukiuki Viewing Show).  In February we talked about how the game was getting a downloadable demo and being renamed Arakata Dancing Show. It seems that the game is getting yet another rename for the West, this time being titled Space Channel 5 VR: Kinda Funky News Flash.

The game will debut at the Los Angeles VR event VRLA, which will have a 15 minute demo on May 5 and 6. Like we covered before, this game is being developed by Grounding Inc, who did Crimson Dragon for Microsoft and headed by a few long time SEGA veterans.

As of right now Space Channel VR Kinda Funky News Flash! has only been confirmed for HTC Vive, we also haven’t gotten a release date and/or pricing on the game. The US site for the game does mention that they will do a VR Arcade Version… whatever that means.

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Space Channel 5 VR to get downloadable demo later this year

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Space Channel 5 VR Arakata Dancing Show  isn’t a new game, it was actually shown at the Tokyo Game Show back in 2016. It is interesting is that SEGA has changed the name of the VR experince, before they called it ‘Ukiuki Viewing Show’, now its ‘Arakata Dancing Show’. The VR ‘experience’ was up for people to try out and then SEGA stopped talking about it. According to a recent tweet, gamers will be able to give the demo another go at Game Party Japan 2018, which happens to be the first official tournament held by JeSU (Japan e-Sports Union) on February 10th and 11th.

While Japanese site Panora got the official scoop that Space Channel 5 VR Arakata Dancing Show will get demos in VR stores this spring and get a download version later this year. For what I gather, the download version will be the ‘demo experience’ shown at events and not a full game. Bummer. The demo experience will still be shown off using HTC VIVE headsets and SEGA still hasn’t mentioned if they have plans on showing it off on PlayStation VR. I think this is SEGA testing the market, see if the general public still has interest in Space Channel 5 with a demo release. Hit the jump to see screenshots of the game.

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Sega Dreamcast: Collected Works teases never before seen production materials from Jet Set Radio, Shenmue and more

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Sega Dreamcast: Collected Works, an upcoming book from Read-Only Memory, is the followup to SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works. Successfully backed on Kickstarter late last year, Read-Only Memory sent a new years update to backers and boy is it an exciting one! Read-Only Memory received a large amount of production materials from SEGA of Japan, including several never-before-seen pieces from popular Dreamcast games. Included in the haul are:

  • Game mechanic sketches, environment concepts and high end renderings for Sonic Adventure
  • The complete design document for Jet Set Radio/Jet Grind Radio, including some amazing graffiti artwork concepts
  • A very early proof of concept video for Space Channel 5
  • Character studies and production artwork for Phantasy Star Online
  • Storyboards, character designs and environment artworks for Shenmue

Read-Only Memory will spend the coming weeks sorting through all the materials and identifying pieces to include in the book, with the final cut of the book to be laid out in a few months. Also revealed is that photoshoots for the Hardware Showcase chapter of the book will be taking place in the next few weeks, featuring everything from consoles to the fishing controller to the Samba de Amigo maracas. If you’re the proud owner of a Dreamcast hardware rarity you think should make the final cut, please do drop Read-Only Memory a line!

We here at SEGAbits can’t wait to get our hands on the book, and in the meantime we’re working to get Darren Wall of Read-Only Memory back for another Swingin’ Report Show podcast.

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Space Channel 5 Ulala Figma figure announced – Chu, Chu, Chu!

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Figma, the Japanese action figure company, have announced their latest collaboration with SEGA – a stunning Space Channel 5 Ulala figure. The figure is slated for December 2017 and will feature Ulala with microphone and gun accessories and three Morolians. The listed price is ¥7,800 (around $70), which is a bit steep when compared to past SEGA Figma releases, but some stores do list items with discounts. The main release will feature Ulala in her silver Part 2 attire, but if you want the orange original you’ll have to order from Goodsmile. Goodsmile lists their variant at ¥7,222 before tax and states that preorders will be open from 30th May 2017 (Tue) from 12:00JST until 29th June 2017 (Thu) at 12:00JST. The silver version is also available at Goodsmile for ¥7,222 but Amiami has it for less at ¥6,280.

What do you think of Figma’s latest release? Are you annoyed like I am that they still haven’t listed the Jet Set Radio Beat figure that was revealed back in July of 2016?

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First footage of Space Channel 5 VR: Ukiuki Viewing Show surfaces

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Fans anticipating an engaging and entertaining game from the recent exhibition of Space Channel 5 VR: Ukiuki Viewing Show at Tokyo Game Show 2016 might want to throttle their expectations of the experience. At least for now.

This footage (from twitter user @mutedpsyborg) of a woman interacting with the VR game reveals that players simply flail their arms about while Ulala and the morolians do their thing on-screen. It’s a bit disappointing, as the HTC Vive’s controllers definitely offer the opportunity to emulate the classic Space Channel 5 experience by mimicking the game’s commands.

Perhaps this apparent marketing stunt was simply to gauge interest in the franchise currently or the possibility of a truly interactive Space Channel 5 VR game. Fan attention on social media since it’s announcement has shown there’s definitely some level of excitement about the possibility, but Sega and company need to actually deliver a compelling experience if they pursue it.

As of this time, no formal announcement has been made about the future of Space Channel 5 VR: Ukiuki Viewing Show.

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SEGA News Bits: Space Channel 5 VR: Ukiuki Viewing Show Announced Reaction

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SEGA announced Space Channel 5 VR: Ukiuki Viewing Show, which will be shown at this year’s Tokyo Game Show. What is Space Channel 5 VR: Ukiuki Viewing Show? Should you be excited? That’s the type of topics we discuss on this episode of the SEGA News Bits. So sit back space cats and lets talk Space Channel 5 VR: Ukiuki Viewing Show and let us know if you think this franchise should make a full blown comeback in the comments below.

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