As we previously reported, SEGA’s parent company Sega Sammy Holdings Inc. (SSHD) entered into an agreement to acquire Rovio, and SEGA Europe has since made a voluntary recommended cash offer to the shareholders of Rovio to tender all their shares and the option holders of Rovio to tender all their options in Rovio to SEGA Sammy Holdings. Basically, SEGA will be acquiring Rovio.
SEGA Talk takes a x-treme dive into SEGA’s short lived add-on, The 32X! We look at the creation of the device, why it came to be, what games are worth playing, and why it didn’t do better. Buckle up X-SEGA fans, its a bumpy ride!
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A Twitter post announced a collaboration with The Grand Game at Osaka’s Grand Front Complex in Japan with the Sonic the Hedgehog & Puyo Puyo franchises as part of their special menu for the location’s 10th anniversary event. From now until May 14th, attendees can visit the arcade and try out some themed foods like a Sonic latte & a Puyo pancake. Attendees can also take pictures at a photo op with cutouts of Sonic & Puyo characters and can play various games, such as a giant UFO crane machine & a Pac-Man themed golf course shaped from the level mazes.
Recently, RGG Studio revealed the five winners among a group of women who auditioned to appear as hostesses in the upcoming Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name. This is something they have done many times for earlier Like A Dragon/Yakuza games, with the winners usually consisting of actual hostesses, gravure models, and even porn actresses. This time, one of the five finalists is especially significant. Well known Vshojo idol, and longtime Like A Dragon fan, Kson was ceremoniously confirmed to be among the new hostesses in Like A Dragon Gaiden, much to her excitement and the excitement of many diehard fans of hers.
Find out more about who Kson is after the break.
Special thanks to Sakura Ch. for their translation of the above clip from RGG Studio’s official livestream where the five wining actresses were revealed. (EDIT: Sakura Ch. has deleted their clip. I’ve replaced it with a tweet from the RGG Studios Japanese twitter showcasing the winners. Kson is on the top right.)
Many of you probably remember the announcement of Harlequest!, a brand new action RPG in development for Sega Dreamcast that is now live on Kickstarter. As of this writing, there are 5 days remaining for the Kickstarter to raise as much money as possible.
Since I have written that article, I have gotten the opportunity to speak with the game’s main creator, Ross Kilgariff (ross:codes) to learn more about him and the inspirations behind Harlequest! Check in after the break to hear more from the man himself. Special thanks goes to Ross for reaching out to us for this opportunity.
On the season finale of SEGA News Bits Live, Barry dishes on the Jet Set Radio 3 leaks, talks about the Knuckles Paramount+ series and covers the past month of SEGA news.
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Now available to watch and listen to on the SEGAbits Patreon, it’s SEGA Talk #117 where we discuss the history of SEGA’s 32X! How did the add-on come to be? Why was it such a failure? What games are worth playing on it?
SEGA and the LEGO Group announced a collaboration today that will bring beloved characters and environments from the Sonic universe to brick form. The LEGO Sonic the Hedgehog collaboration includes four sets of varying sizes and complexity, allowing fans of all ages to build and play in iconic locations.
The sets include Sonic’s Speed Sphere, Tails’s Workshop and Tornado Plane, Amy’s Animal Rescue Island, and the famous Green Hill Zone. Fans can enjoy building and playing with Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Dr. Eggman in LEGO form.
The Sonic the Hedgehog LEGO sets are set to be released later this year, and fans (myself included) can’t wait to get their hands on them.
On April 17, the official Sonic movie Twitter account revealed that the Knuckles series for Paramount+ was in production. The reveal included a clapper board with the series logo, the reveal that Sonic movie series director Jeff Fowler was returning and a sly inclusion of Knuckles treasure hunter hat as first seen in the 1996 Sonic the Hedgehog anime movie.
On April 18th, 2023, Sega added Flicky, Kid Chameleon, Pulseman, and Street Fighter II: Special Championship Edition to Sega Genesis – Nintendo Switch Online. This is the first update to the NSO Sega Genesis collection for 2023. Japan, of course, gets the same four games at the same time.
All four games are immediately accessible to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscribers following a quick patch update to the app. For more info on each game, check in after the break for a synopsis on each game.
Back again with a Rovio update! As of this morning, SEGA has officially acquired Angry Birds developer Rovio for $776 million. The deal will be for the all of Rovio’s outstanding shares and options, valuing them at 9.25 euro per share, a 19% premium to their closing price before the announcement.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal and confirmed a day later by Rovio themselves, SEGA’s parent company Sega Sammy Holdings Inc. is in talks to acquire the Finnish mobile game company Rovio for a staggering 1 billion dollars. Rovio gained worldwide fame with its smash hit franchise Angry Birds which took mobile gaming by storm at the dawn of the App Store and has since expanded into a multimedia franchise.
The acquisition could mark a strategic move for SEGA, as the company could tap into Rovio’s expertise in developing addictive and globally popular mobile games. The acquisition also grants SEGA access to Rovio’s vast user base and provides an opportunity to cross over SEGA owned franchises like Sonic the Hedgehog. Interestingly, Sonic and Angry Birds crossed paths in a Sonic Dash event in 2015.
We will likely learn more about the deal this week, and in the meantime we can only imagine what a Sonic Angry Birds game will play like…
Steel Empire is back again! Just announced by Strictly Limited Games, Steel Empire Chronicles was just announced for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4, containing the 1992 Sega Genesis original (known as Empire of Steel on Mega-Drive in Europe), the Game Boy Advance version from 2005, the remake that was released on Nintendo 3DS back in 2014 and then on Steam in 2018, and even the NES shooter Over Horizon, developed by the same original developers of Steel Empire and released the year prior exclusively in Japan and Europe.
So far, this game is not released on the Nintendo eShop or the PlayStation store and no release date is given yet. The game is only available currently in physical form and will soon be up for pre-order at Strictly Limited’s online store. This includes a standard and collectors edition of both the Switch and PS4 versions as well as new physical cartridges of the original Steel Empire on Genesis/Mega-Drive and Over Horizon for NES, with an NTSC and PAL version of both games sold separately. All these items are in limited quantities.
Check in after the break for more information about this new release.
A brand new indie dungeon crawling RPG has just been announced for Dreamcast and PC (Including Mac and Linux), called HarleQuest!, and has begun its bid for crowdfunding on Kickstarter on April 1st. No foolin’.
Being developed by Ross Kilgariff, with assistance by Alastair Low of LowTek Games (Who have experience with Dreamcast development, porting indie NES games to the console), HarleQuest! is envisioned as a “high difficulty, procedurally-generated dungeon crawler” inspired by Gauntlet, Diablo, The Legend of Zelda, MidiEvil, and “SoulsBorne” games such as the Dark Souls series and Bloodborne. The dungeon layouts will be randomized, many different weapons and loot will be scattered around for the taking, fearsome enemies and giant bosses lurk around most corners, the option of co-op multiplayer is there, and best of all, the game will be in full 3D, a rarity for independent Dreamcast games. At the time of this writing, HarleQuest! has raised $8,214 of the $13,811 needed and has kept a good momentum after the Kickstarter campaign went live.
Go check out the Kickstarter page now, which is running until April 30th 2023, or check in after the break for more info from us at SegaBits.
Missiles locked-on! FIRE! We dive deep into Treasure’s mech shooting, missile blasting, originally Nintendo 64 having, cult classic Bangai-O! Find out what unexpected game influenced the creation and more!
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