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SEGA America survey wants to know if you’re hyped for Yakuza Kiwami 2 and Fist of the North Star

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SEGA has put up a survey asking English consumers if they are interested in the newly announced Yakuza Studio titles: Yakuza Kiwami 2, Yakuza Online and The Fist of the North Star video game. If you really want these games to come over to the west, I suggest you take the survey and share it with other English speaking fans of Yakuza Studio’s games.

SEGA SURVEY HERE

I think its quite obvious that everyone that reads this blog would love to play Yakuza Kiwami 2 and Fist of the North Star console games, but how do you feel about the mobile Yakuza Online? I will also like to add that its fantastic to see SEGA acknowledge Japanese releases so quickly, before the management team pretended that Japan didn’t exist. Maybe studies are correct that Americans don’t have good geography skills? Glad to see we got some people with good navigational skills over at SEGA America now.

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SEGA News Bits: Yakuza Kiwami 2, Yakuza Online and Fist of the North Star game announced

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Today we have not one, not two, but three SEGA News Bits to enjoy. The Yakuza Studio had a big stream where they revealed their projects for the rest of 2017 and 2018. They confirmed the release of Yakuza Kiwami 2, revealed Yakuza Online and surprised us all with a Fist of the North Star game running on the Yakuza 6 engine! On these episodes of the SEGA News Bits we discuss all the information we know about these titles, how I feel about each project and complain about the Yakuza studio not announcing a new IP. Have a listen and let us know what you think about these announced titles in the comments below. Hit the jump for the other two videos!

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.

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SEGA announces Fist of the North Star game by Yakuza studio

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It seems that Yakuza Studios is hard at work over there, because they announced not one, not two, not three, but four new projects. As you seen from our last posts, this amounts to a remake of Yakuza 2, a new Yakuza side game with new protagonist and even a Yakuza Online mobile game. But sometimes the studio wants to take a break from the world of Yakuza, hint them making a Fist of the North Star game with the Yakuza 6 graphical engine. UPDATE: Its actually running on the Yakuza 0 engine!

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!

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Yakuza Online announced for Smartphones and PC

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The latest entry in SEGA’s long running Yakuza has been announced, Shin Ryu Ga Gotoku/New Yakuza was shown off on the stream and gave us a look to the new protagonist Kazuga Ichiban. Not much was shown off but one scene depicting the tone of the latest game keeping in line with the gritty crime drama aspect but now with a slightly more laid back character as the lead.

KazugaIchiban

Interestingly, the new protagonist will not only be appearing on consoles on Shin (New) Yakuza but also the smartphone game Yakuza Online with an undisclosed release date. Yakuza Online will be heading to Android, iOS and even PC! I must admit the new character comes across as quite different from previous series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu and I’m looking forward to seeing more of him as we head closer to Tokyo Game Show where  SEGA will be showing off more of the project.

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SEGA officially announces Yakuza Kiwami 2, Goro Majima will be playable

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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.

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SEGA News Bits: Sonic Forces Tag Team Mode Reveal Discussion

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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.

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.

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Yakuza Kiwami 2 Leaked Early By PSN Store Page

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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?

[Via: Wario64]

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Atlus sets up European publishing division

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Atlus has confirmed that they are setting up a European publishing team to handle their in-house published titles in the territory. In the past Atlus and SEGA have had to work with third-party publishers to release their console titles, such as Deep Silver and Koch, while SEGA Europe stuck with handling PC releases.

This move is part of being acquired by SEGA. The team will feature commercial director Simon Inch. The new Atlus Europe division still has to announce who the PR manager and product marketing manager will be. It has been confirm that they will operate out of the SEGA Europe offices in London.

“It is a strong example of the growth we are experiencing as a company. Publishing in Europe is simply the next step for us. What this means initially for fans is a parity for launch and premium editions. From a business perspective, we’ll be better positioned to address the needs of each market in which we release our titles.” – Jacob Nahin, senior PR manager at Atlus USA

Atlus says this move will help them give European fans better support with special edition products and stuff that they offer to the US market. I will assume once Atlus is finish setting up shop, that all SEGA and Atlus console games will be handled through Atlus Europe for release in European markets. This is obviously good news, since it seems a lot of SEGA and Atlus fans aren’t too pleased with Deep Silver handling in-house games. What are your thoughts?

[Source: GamesIndustry.biz]

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[UPDATE] Sonic Forces tag team mode gameplay footage released, Japanese release date revealed

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[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.

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SEGA News Bits: Shenmue 3 First Teaser Trailer Discussion

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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.

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.

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Yu Suzuki confirms Shenmue 3 teaser trailer models are temporary

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36584935131_c9f5fedc09_oYu 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.

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A Certain Magical Virtual-On gets major update, will be playable at TGS

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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.

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Yakuza Studio’s new titles presentation to be live streamed this Saturday

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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.

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New Shenmue 3 teaser trailer finally released

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With Gamescom going full swing tomorrow, PlayStation youtube channel has released a teaser trailer (And the first trailer since the project was announced way back!) for Shenmue 3. Featuring predominantly Ryo and Shenhua, we get to see the trailer kick off from where Shenmue 2 finishes and some delightful enviroments are showcased. I must admit for the budget of over $6 million, that is some fine looking areas the team have come and I can’t wait to get the chance to explore them. Let’s hope we get to see more of the game with Gamescom opening to the public tomorrow!

What did you think of the trailer? Comment below with your thoughts!

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