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Publisher Deep Silver to bring Atlus and select SEGA games to Europe [Updated with press release]

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Moments ago it was tweeted out by Deep Silver, the video game publishing division of German multinational corporation Koch Media, that they will be bringing Atlus USA and select SEGA titles to Europe. This will include Atlus titles Persona 5 and Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse. No further details are known as of now, but we are hoping a press release hits soon. This is both great news and bad news for European SEGA fans. It’s great that more games from SEGA and Atlus will be releasing to Europe, but it is bad news as it is a major sign that SEGA Europe – a publisher in their own right – are so disinterested in their own titles that they must rely on an external publisher to bring them over.

No word on what these select SEGA titles would include, but I would wager they’d be the more niche and/or Japanese titles like Hatsune Miku and 7th Dragon III: Code VFD. This is just my guess however, as we do not an any confirmation of what SEGA titles to expect as of yet.

Updates as the story unfolds after the break.

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SEGA News Bits: Sonic the Hedgehog turns 25 years old

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Sonic the Hedgehog’s 25th anniversary officially kicked off on June 23rd, which was of course the release date of the eponymous game that started it all. In this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry look back on 25 years of Sonic by spin dashing through all the main series Sonic Team developed console games. There are quite a few to get through, so consider this more of a SEGA News Smörgåsbord. Why are you still reading this? Click play and enjoy!

What are your favorite Sonic games? Let us know the comments below and like always thanks for watching! If you like our SEGA News Bits videos, make sure to subscribe to us on our YouTube channel.

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Multiplayer Showcase Lights the Fuse with Saturn Bomberman

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Why stick to fireworks when you can use bombs? A new Multiplayer Showcase installment is out featuring one of the most popular SEGA Saturn multiplayer experiences, Saturn Bomberman starring Hudson Soft’s all-star lineup in a massive free-for-all. We’ll be taking a look at the different stages and examine the differences in the eight and ten player modes, the Saturn’s six player adapter, and how the title holds up to the rest of the Bomberman lineup.

This episode is going to be released in smaller chunks which allows the episode to come out faster. Be sure to subscribe to the channel to keep up with new installments and more multiplayer matches.

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SEGA has acquired Amplitude Studios

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AmplitudeSEGASEGA has announced today that they have acquired French developer Amplitude Studios. Amplitude Studios is responsible for the Endless franchise which span different genres but known for its turn based strategy. Amplitude Studios is working on Endless Space 2 which is set to hit Steam Early Access later this year.

Amplitude Studios wrote this about joining SEGA on their developer blog:

“Of course you could wonder, “Why Sega?” If you were to ask just Mathieu and I, we could easily answer with the words “Creative Assembly and Relic!” because we are HUGE fans of their games. The opportunity to join them is incredible for us, a real dream come true.

But the bigger reason why we wanted to join SEGA was how they treat their internal studios. Often, studios are controlled by a central department that dictates what games they should do, and how and when. But SEGA is a company that offers its support to the creators, positioning itself as a service provider, helping studios to reach their goals with only one objective in mind: Quality!”

SEGA Europe President and COO Jurgen Post had this to say about Amplitude Studios:

“To have the opportunity to add a studio with the growing reputation of Amplitude’s, to the SEGA family, is an exciting one and reinforces SEGA Europe’s position as a market leader in publishing high quality PC games,”

What are your thoughts on the latest acquired studio by SEGA? Do you think they did the right move tapping into the indie market? Let us know in the comments below.

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Dreamcast homebrew game Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles getting reprinted

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The 2007 indie Dreamcast game Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles will be receiving a re-release this year, it has been confirmed.  Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles had been sold out for years and now developer Yuan Works Co., Ltd has teamed up with DragonBox Shop to re-release their famed puzzle game.

The studio announced that it was working on a new title called ‘Little Ninja‘, after Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles but it seems they are gauging interest for homebrew games, since Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles came out almost a decade ago. Yuan Works Co., Ltd also set up a Patreon to get development for Little Ninja off the ground.

If you haven’t played it Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles it mixes Bejeweled type puzzle gameplay with a over world map and old school JRPG like story elements. The re-release will have bug fixes and is up for pre-order for only $9.36 (plus shipping). Not a bad price at all.

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Puyo Puyo CharaGumin Series 3 figurines announced

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SEGA has announced 4 more figurines in the Puyo Puyo series of CharaGumin, as part of Puyo Puyo celebrating it’s 25th anniversary. These figures are the announcement of Schezo Wegey, Witch, Raffine, and Suketoudara with a blue Puyo, ready to be assembled later this year.

A CharaGumin is essentially a beginner friendly model kit based on different characters from anime and video games, with the majority of details already filled in, allowing for quick assembling. All you need is super glue, sandpaper, clippers, degreaser, and some paint to fill in minor details. The amount of parts depends on the figurine, though figurines exceeding 100 are rare.

If you have no interest in these figures or want to start collecting these figurines, you can buy previous Puyo Puyo series CharaGumin containing Arle Nadja, Carbuncle, Amitie, Ringo Andou, Satan, Sig, Draco Centaur, and Onion Pixy, along with other miscellaneous CharaGumin, on the official CharaGumin website. There’s also other SEGA CharaGumin from series like Valkyria Chronicles and Sakura Wars if you’re interested. Still, the opportunity to assemble a fish with muscular legs is too good to pass up, baby.

[Source: SEGA Japan]

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First Look: Sonic the Hedgehog’s Lego Dimensions figure

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This morning Mark Warburton, a producer at TT Games Publishing posted the first look at the Sonic the Hedgehog figure in action. If you didn’t know Sonic the Hedgehog will be included in the latest update of LEGO Dimensions. Mark Warburton showed off Sonic the Hedgehog‘s Lego Dimensions figure in a mock race against Superman. You can check out more photos of Sonic the Hedgehog‘s Lego Dimensions figure at the bottom of the article.

We also did a SEGA News Bits episode where we discussed our thoughts on Sonic the Hedgehog joining LEGO Dimensions. What are your thoughts about Sonic the Hedgehog’s Lego Dimensions figure? Tell us in the comments below!

[Via: NeoGAF]

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Rumor: SEGA Blast Heroes a new mobile SRPG gets leaked

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According to the mobile game website PocketGamer there is a new mobile game by SEGA, which features classic game IPs. Not only that, mobile ads for SEGA Blast Heroes (the games name) have been popping up. The ads describe the title as a ‘strategy RPG’. The Facebook page behind the ads leads to a page called ‘SEGA Mobile’ which has a bit over 150 likes at he moment. If you click to download the app from the ad, it takes you to StoreMaven, which is a service to help test upcoming app store conversion rates.

Below are some screenshots of the supposed game called SEGA Blast Heroes. Of course, it looks like it would play like Chain Chronicle. Just looking at the screenshots leaked so far I see Samba De Amigo, Space Channel 5, Sakura Wars, Valkyria Chronicles, Jet Set Radio, Wonder Boy, Alex Kidd, and a lot of unknowns populating the screens. It also seems that you will be fighting generic looking villains, which is a bummer.

This game doesn’t surprise me considering SEGA’s mobile division put out a survey asking fans about classic SEGA franchises. What are your thoughts on the rumor? Would you play SEGA Blast Heroes?

[Via: Segalization]

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Hatsune Miku’s general producer Hiroshi Utsumi leaves SEGA

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Miku-Manager-PS4-FamitsuThe general producer behind the Sega feat. Hatsune Miku project has resigned from his position at SEGA. On the official Sega feat. Hatsune Miku blog post Hiroshi Utsumi said he will leave SEGA as of June 30th (today).

“I think everyone could guess a number of reasons [why I left], but it is not that I have to do something serious, or cannot take the responsibility, or am more or less tired. This is just my own selfishness in wanting to challenge new fields, and I give my utmost thanks to this company and my team members who have heard me out.” – Hiroshi Utsumi

While Hiroshi Utsumi is leaving, that doesn’t mean that SEGA is stopping the Hatsune Miku train. They have three Hatsune Miku games releasing this year with Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone (PlayStation 4), Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X (Vita, PlayStation 4) and Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Live (PlayStation VR launch title in Japan). Before leaving Utsumi promised that SEGA is working on ‘various projects’ to celebrate Hatsune Miku’s 10th anniversary in 2017.

While the company completely forgot that Outrun, Fantasy Zone and other arcade classics are celebrating anniversaries this year. Makes me a bit sad.

[via: Gematsu]

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Yu Suzuki reflects on one year since the Shenmue 3 Kickstarter was funded

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In the latest Shenmue 3 Kickstarter update, Yu Suzuki shared a special backer exclusive video in which he looked back on one year since the campaign was successfully funded. Those expecting major revelations or exciting new information will be disappointed, but it is nice to see shots of Suzuki and his team discussing the game’s development. A few notable moments in the video include Suzuki stating “Your cheers at the Sony announcement still ring in my ears” and the mention that late last year the team began using Shenmue 2 characters for battle and conversation tests in Unreal Engine 4 – I would personally love to see these development videos someday. Suzuki also stated that the prototype build began development in January and that is has been six months since the project has really taken off. Elements that are beginning to come together include battles and facial expressions and the crew are said to be happy with development thus far. Suzuki ended the video saying he believes it will end up to be a good game, and he once again thanked backers for their support. No date has been decided yet for surveys, which would decide stuff like shipping addresses and shirt sizes and information needed for in-game appearances.

Overall, Shenmue 3 looks to be progressing well. The environments, while not jaw dropping as they were with the Dreamcast originals, look good and it is always nice to see Suzuki smiling and talking about the game’s development. Here’s hoping as time goes on we see more of the game in progress and get a peek at some cutscenes and battles.

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Google makes Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary infographic

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Google AdMob has created a Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary infographic showing neat little facts about Sonic the Hedgehog‘s long gaming history. While its a nice thing that is done by Google AdMob to celebrate Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary, its also to let people know that they provide mobile phone ads. I guess you have to promote your product, even if your blog post is about Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary.

SonicInfoGraphOne of the cool aspects is that we got listed on the infographic under sources used. Thanks for visiting the site, Google AdMob! You can see their inforgraphic here or hit the jump.

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Beyond Oasis/ Story of Thor sequel was planned for 32x

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beyondoasis32x1Back in the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive days, SEGA released a game called Beyond Oasis/The Story of Thor, according to the co-developer Ancient Games (also developed Streets of Rage series) there was a sequel planned on the SEGA 32X. They released the proposal document cover and character sketch proposals (seen below) that were shown to SEGA. It seems that the Beyond Oasis/ The Story of Thor sequel was canceled and moved to the SEGA Saturn.

What are your thoughts on the proposal sketches? Do you think a Beyond Oasis/ The Story of Thor sequel would have done well on the SEGA 32x or was moving to the SEGA Saturn a better idea?

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Yakuza 6 getting big reveal event in Japan on July 26

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Yakuza6-119If you are looking forward to Yakuza 6, you might want to mark July 26th on your calander since SEGA will be having a huge event hosted at UDX Theater in Akihabara, Tokyo. The event will be held for press but will have 66 Yakuza 6 fans attending (since they won a raffle).

These are some of the Yakuza 6 announcements expected at the event:

  • New Yakuza 6 footage focusing on exciting drama scenes
  • New Yakuza 6 cast of actors and actresses
  • New Yakuza 6 settings announced
  • Yakuza 6 announcement to be announced (wow, inception)

There will also be a autograph session to close out the event which will be from 1:00pm to 1:45pm JST. Yakuza 6 is expected to hit Japanese stores this fall while the West is set to get Yakuza 0 early 2017. Yes, it sucks being behind the Japanese releases.

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7th Dragon III Code: VFD Demo now on American eShop

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I have been playing 7th Dragon III Code: VFD recently, that we even did a first impressions video a week or so ago and now you can give the game a spin with a demo. The 7th Dragon III Code: VFD Demo was released on the American e-Shop on the Nintendo 3DS. I highly suggest you give the game a try, especially since 7th Dragon III Code: VFD demo saves transfer to the final game:

“Demo saves transfer over to the main game, and are not only encouraged, but rewarded! The demo provides players with a streamlined pre-made group with a character cap of level 10, and once you transfer the save data to the full game, you can refund all the skill points and customize the group any way you want.”

7th Dragon III Code: VFD demo is highly recommended for users that want a new SEGA JRPG. The game has a pretty nice soundtrack composed by SEGA veteran Yuzo Koshiro (Streets of Rage games) and co-produced by Rieko Kodama (Phantasy Star, Skies of Arcadia). Give the demo a go and tell us what you think of 7th Dragon III Code: VFD in the comments below

[Via: TinyCartridge]

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SEGA 3D Classics Collection rated for Australia

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sega3dclassicscollectionIt seems that SEGA 3D Classics Collection on the Nintendo 3DS will be getting a Australian release, if the newly filed rating by SEGA is anything to go by. SEGA hasn’t officially confirmed SEGA 3D Classics Collection Australian release, but seeing this rating pretty much guarantees an announcement. Let’s hope its physical and not just digital.

SEGA 3D Classics Collection was released in the Americas on April 26th which has been the only other release outside of Japan. Yes, SEGA of Europe hasn’t released it either. Come on SEGA, share the SEGA 3D Classics Collection love!

[Via: Gematsu]

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