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SEGA co-founder David Rosen passed away on Christmas Day, 2025

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It’s a sad day for all of us Sega fans. One of the most important people in the entire history of Sega has finally left this mortal coil.

David Rosen, the founder of Rosen Enterprises, which would later become the company we all know and love today as Sega, has passed away on December 25th, 2025 at the age of 95 in his Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles home. His funeral was held on January 2nd, 2026 at Inglewood Park Cemetary. News of his passing only just became public on January 2nd courtesy of Replay Magazine.

Very few people in the history of Sega are more worthy of being celebrated than David Rosen. He alone began the chain of events that led to the creation of Sega, and by extension, many of the games they had brought to the world that touched our hearts for decades. Whether it’s Sonic the Hedgehog, NiGHTS, OutRun, Phantasy Star, Shenmue, Like A Dragon, or countless other examples, Mr. Rosen allowed for all of that to eventually be possible.

But it’s not just Sega fans who have plentiful reason to celebrate this man’s life. Part of why Mr. Rosen founded Rosen Enterprises in the first place is because he saw great potential in the coin-op market in post-war Japan. His company was first made to help import coin-op games, which we know now as arcade games, to Japan. This eventually led to Sega making arcade games of their own, but the entire arcade industry owes a major debt of gratitude to Mr. Rosen for that.

If you’d like to hear more about the prestigious spot Mr. Rosen holds in video game history, you can hear more past the break. For now, though, on behalf of SegaBits and Sega/gaming fans around the globe, we salute the amazing David Rosen and thank him for his services to gaming. We are glad he lived such a long, fulfilling life and that he may now rest in peace. Many condolences go out to his surviving family and friends as well.

EDIT: I’ve edited my write-up on Sega following the Gulf+Western buyout to clear up some false information. My apologies for that.

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The numbers are in, and SEGAbits continues to be the number one SEGA fan site – thanks to YOU!

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Last year I started checking the analytics for all our accounts (website, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook) and found that we had been viewed an astonishing 18.7 MILLION times! So this year I ran the numbers again and was amazed to find that we grew 27.8% to see an astonishing 23.9 MILLION VIEWS!

2026 will see us entering our 16th year, and we will continue to cover the latest SEGA news, provide commentary on our ongoing YouTube shows The SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show LIVE (the longest running SEGA podcast!) and SEGA News Bits LIVE and will continue to dive into SEGA history on SEGA TALK (the top rated SEGA podcast!). We also will continue our Arcade Adventure meetups at the Galloping Ghost Arcade (planning for late Summer or early Fall 2026) and will continue to attend gaming and SEGA events whenever we can! Our friends at Sonic Weekly will continue to crosspost to our site, and we plan on more crossover episodes in 2026!

Thanks to listeners, viewers and readers like you, SEGAbits continues to be the number one SEGA fan site AND the longest running SEGA news site! Thank you!

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Hundred Swords’s online multiplayer is restored thanks to Dreamcast Live

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Happy New Year, Sega fans! What better way to ring in the new year than with a new Dreamcast game to play online!?

Sega’s medieval real time strategy game Hundred Swords, has just had its online multiplayer features brought back online. This effort comes from the familiar Dreamcast Live hero Shuouma, who had previously brought games like Outtrigger, Sega Tetris, Speed Devils: Online Edition, and even the unreleased Dee Dee Planet back online.

The only downside here is that Hundred Swords was only released in Japan and no fan translations were prepared to coincide with this online multiplayer restoration. Without a decent grasp on the Japanese language (including kanji), you and the up-to-3 other players you’ll be playing with might be fumbling around through menus and such until you figure out what to do and how to do it. If you’re familiar with RTS games like Command & Conquer or Age of Empires, which this game was inspired by, the interface and basic goals may still be familiar to you. Prepping the game for online action is still simple, unless you wish to use your Broadband Adaptor, which Hundred Swords is sadly not compatible with. Go get your DreamPi ready and journey with me past the break to find out more.

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SEGA Talk #177: Tanglewood (2018)

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This week on SEGA Talk, we’re stepping back into the 16-bit era — but not the way you expect. Tanglewood is a brand-new game built for real SEGA Genesis hardware, programmed in assembly, shipped on physical cartridges, and developed almost entirely by one person. We’re breaking down how it was made, the brutal development challenges, and what it tells us about what the Genesis was truly capable of.

[iTunes – Stitcher – YouTube – Download]

Support us on Patreon! Get early access, have your memories read on the show, select the games we talk about!

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SONIC WEEKLY: Sonic Shuffle w/ SCOTTY MO

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SEGA Spirit co-host Scotty Mo slides into the guest seat to tell us why Sonic Shuffle may not be irredeemable, after all. There’s also the latest Sonic news, Rings of Saturn, and some late December holiday cheer to spread in various directions. Listen!

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Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Free NiGHTS Content Drop Available on December 24th

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Today, SEGA announced the free NiGHTS content for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds will be available for players starting Wednesday, Dec. 24 at 4:00 PM PT! Players will be able to race alongside Sonic and friends as the beloved Nightmaren, NiGHTS! The free NiGHTS Content Drop includes the following:

  • NiGHTS as a playable character

  • NiGHTS’ vehicle, Dream Sleeper

  • Special emotes and sounds

Players who own either the Standard (physical or digital) or Digital Deluxe versions of the game will automatically receive the free NiGHTS Content Drop. Please ensure that the game is updated to the latest version for the content to be downloaded properly.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is available now both digitally and physically on PlayStation®5 (PS5®), PlayStation®4 (PS4®), Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC starting at $69.99 USD and on Nintendo Switch™, Nintendo Switch™- OLED Model, and Nintendo Switch™ Lite starting at $59.99 USD. The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is also available digitally for players at $69.99 USD.

 

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Tanglewood Definitive Edition launches on Nintendo Switch eShop

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The darling Genesis/Mega-Drive indie game Tanglewood has come to Nintendo Switch with a new definitive edition. Originally released on Genesis/Mega-Drive in cartridge form and to PC, Mac, and Linux in 2018, this new release adds extra features that even the computer versions don’t have, such as widescreen support, new high quality music, and a new storybook mode to flesh out the world of Tanglewood.

Already an amazing achievement on Genesis, Tanglewood Definitive Edition (which just goes by “Tanglewood” on Nintendo’s eShop) is largely the same as it was on Genesis. However, this new version adds in enough to easily warrant a new playthrough if you’re already experienced in the game. You can find out more about this new release past the break below.

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SEGA Talk #176: Sonic Drift 1 & 2 (1994-1995)

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On this episode of SEGA Talk, we shift into portable racing mode as we take a deep dive into Sonic Drift and Sonic Drift 2 — SEGA’s kart racers released exclusively for the Game Gear. Long before Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing, these two hidden gems let players race as their favorite characters across colorful, high-speed tracks inspired by the early 16-bit Sonic era. So lets put the pedal to the metal on SEGA Talk!

[iTunes – Stitcher – YouTube – Download]

Support us on Patreon! Get early access, have your memories read on the show, select the games we talk about!

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Godzilla Invades Sonic Rumble with a Collaboration on December 22

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SEGA and Rovio are turning up the chaos in Sonic Rumble, unleashing an event of colossal proportions as Godzilla stomps into the arcade royale mayhem. The King of Monsters brings a new level of epic intensity to the game as Sonic’s iconic speed collides with the legendary power of the Kaiju.

Starting December 22, Rumblers can take part in a limited-time event, featuring exciting challenges and special Godzilla-themed rewards.

Highlights of the event include:

  • New Stage: Godzilla Survival – Survive Godzilla’s rampage on up to three boats in the middle of the ocean, while avoiding Godzilla’s devastating Heat Ray and the lurking Shockirus.
  • Unlockable Kaiju & Skills – Unlock legendary monsters with a free and premium pass, and look for Mechagodzilla and Destoroyah, featuring special skills, in the RSR shop.

Check out the official Sonic Rumble blog post HERE to learn more about the collaboration. Players can download Sonic Rumble on the App Store, Google Play and Steam today.

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The Video Game History Foundation preserves 147 lost Sega Channel ROMs, including previously unreleased games

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Looks like Christmas came a week early, Sega fans.

In, easily, the most incredible case of video game preservation that I’ve written about here on SegaBits to date, the Video Game History Foundation has recovered a massive amount of archival data pertaining to the Sega Channel, an online games-on-demand service that ran for Sega Genesis/Mega-Drive from 1994-1998 via cable TV services. For almost thirty years, the majority of material here had been lost media. The older folks among you, myself included, must’ve thought you’d never live to see all of this resurface again.

Among all this recovered data is 147 Genesis ROMs used on Sega Channel. That’s right. One Hundred And Forty-Seven. This includes Sega Channel exclusive games never before preserved like Waterworld, The Flintstones, and Garfield: Caught In The Act – The Lost Levels, and it is now available to download via Gaming Alexandria in partnership with the VGHF. That last game took a bit longer than we expected to be released after it was found and demoed just a year ago, but the wait is finally over. We hope you managed to resist kicking anyone off of any tables for a whole year.

Besides just the games, there are also ROMs of Sega Channel menus, some previously archived and some not, some related test ROMs, and even a mock-up of a Genesis web browser planned for the service. You read that right. An honest-to-goodness Web Browser was planned for Genesis that would’ve ran through Sega Channel. There are also tons of advertisements for print, TV, and radio, internal planning documents, user data, fan art sent by subscribers, and a whole lot more for all to view freely.

What to see exactly what was found? Click right past the break and get hooked in.

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SONIC WEEKLY: SEGA Girlie Manifesto w/ DANIELLE RADFORD

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Comedian Danielle Radford joins the show for a chat about why Sonic holds a special place in her heart and how Sonic Movie 2 is the best Tyler Perry film, Bo updates Rings of Saturn, and David & Grant react to The Game Awards and look ahead to Sonic’s 35th anniversary.

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SEGA’s big The Game Awards reveal was Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000

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If you checked out The Game Awards for updates on the new Jet Set Radio, Crazy Taxi, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage or Sonic games you probably felt pretty empty after the show wrapped. Still, SEGA had one reveal by way of Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000. The game itself looks technically impressive, and zooming in from a space battle to a ground battle was very cool both on a gameplay and technical level.

No release date has been set, but more details are expected this week. In the meantime, you can check out the official site for more details!

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Ultra rare Swing arcade cabinet with exclusive English translated SegaSonic The Hedgehog arcade board up for auction

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Anybody got £40,000 pound sterling (Currently about $53,271.60 USD) to lend me? I’ll totally pay you back.

That’s how much it’s likely to cost you (Perhaps more) to get this Multi Cabinet Swing arcade cabinet that has, what is likely to be, the only officially translated arcade board of SegaSonic the Hedgehog housed in it. The game and cabinet are fully functional and properly maintained. They have been since this cabinet was first taken from Sega World London after its closure in 1999.

Since then, this cabinet fell into the hands of a few private collectors and, eventually, back into Sega Europe’s hands, where it was most recently up for display at a promotional event for Sonic Racing: Crossworlds, shown above. Now, this cabinet is up for auction at the Ewbank’s auction site with a starting bid of £10,000. Bidding begins on December 19th, 2025

If you’re a rich UK resident who’s feeling lucky, you can check in past the break to learn more about this golden opportunity.

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Gamescare’s new GF-1 Neptune FPGA console pushed back into 2026

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Looking forward to the new GF-1 Neptune? Well, I hope you don’t mind waiting a little longer, because Gamescare have announced in an email to newsletter subscribers like Yours Truly that the new FPGA-based Genesis/Mega-Drive and 32X console combo has been delayed.

Originally slated to have begun pre-orders in December 2025, which is now as this article is uploaded, the GF-1 Neptune has been pushed back in an effort to ensure that Gamescare’s quality standards are met. Pre-orders have still not yet begun and Gamescare also reiterates their commitment to avoiding crowdfunding or opening pre-orders before independent reviewers can demo the final hardware.

Below the break, we’ll have Gamescare’s statement on this matter.

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