In what is a big week for SEGA, Football Manager 2023 has released to PC and Mac on Steam, Epic and Microsoft Store. The game is the latest installment in the long running franchise which, funnily enough, actually appeared in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed for PC as the titular Football Manager appeared as a guest character. Check out the launch trailer above, and after the break read through the press release!
Sonic Frontiers promises to be the biggest, longest and most open Sonic adventure to date and we here at SEGAbits have been playing the game for a few weeks. Here is our full Sonic Frontiers review, did Sonic Team really nail the open world design or is this just another experiment gone wrong? Find out!
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An unreleased Segasoft game named “The Sacred Pools” has finally been found and dumped online for all to try. According to The Gaming Alexandria, who made and released this discovery, The Sacred Pools was developed as an “Erotic Thriller” sci-fi FMV (Full-Motion Video) game for Sega Saturn, PC, and PlayStation (I did not stutter, thank you). It was actually shown at E3 in 1996, where it was slammed by press, causing Segasoft to quietly shelve the game despite all the work that was already done on it. Now, in late 2022, the game was released online with help from former Sega of America employees Joe Cain (Game tester) and David Grey (Associate producer on The Sacred Pools). The latter had held onto several CD-Roms, each containing alpha builds of the game for Saturn, PlayStation, and PC, which were all thankfully preserved online with no trouble and now playable on some emulators and on real hardware.
See more of the brief history on this game after the break.
We’re one week away from Sonic Frontiers, and SEGA has dropped a five minute animated short showing fans how Knuckles got from Angel Island to the Starfall Islands. Written by Ian Flynn and Directed by Tyson Hesse, the short brings together elements of the classic era, Sonic Adventure and the upcoming Sonic Frontiers. Social media is already abuzz with the various elements coming together and the characterization and voice work for Knuckles, done by Dave B. Mitchell who joined the cast with Team Sonic Racing.
Sonic Frontiers will launch starting at $59.99 on PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, the Nintendo Switch™ family of systems and PC on November 8. To pre-order Sonic Frontiers today, please visit: https://frontiers.
First 4 Figures has unveiled the Amy Rose resin statue on Twitter, which will be available for pre-order on November 8th to commemorate the release of Sonic Frontiers. The team used the Sonic Advance Yuji Uekawa design as a base for the statue, even coming equipped with her Piko-Piko Hammer. An exclusive and definitive edition will also come with an interchangeable hand that features a miniature Pink Amy Chao. More details will be revealed at later dates, and you can sign up for the email letter to get notifications or follow First4Figures on Twitter for when more info drops.
…And now here they are! The most powerful duo of daffy podcasters to ever whirl their wheels in the Wacky Races! Competing for the title of world’s wackiest racer! The cars are approaching the starting line. First, is the Giga Mega Drive Turbo driven by Gorgeous George. Next is Barry the Nomad in the AV RCA Hookup Pickup Truck. And they’re off… to a standing start. And why not, they’ve been chained to a post, by Dick Dastardly, who shifts into the wrong gear. And away they go… on the way-out Wacky Races!
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Yesterday the news broke that legendary SEGA Designer, Director and Producer Rieko Kodama had passed away. The first signs of her passing came, surprisingly yet in hindsight quite fittingly, from a SEGA game. The Mega Drive Mini 2 had just released, and within the credits was “In memory of Rieko Kodama”. There had been no announcement of Kodama’s passing, so fans were both shocked and confused, hoping it was some translation error. However, the news was confirmed by SEGA Creative Producer Yosuke Okunari who had most recently worked alongside Kodama on the SEGA AGES Nintendo Switch series of rereleases. Kodama had passed away on May 9, 2022, however out of respect for her family’s wishes for privacy the news was not made public until now.
Sonic Frontiers is just days away, and in the lead up to the game’s release SEGA has given fans a two part digital comic starring Sonic, Tails, Amy and Eggman showing the events that lead to the game’s opening moments. The official Sonic Twitter account has shared part one and today dropped part two, with a animated short starring Knuckles soon to follow.
Click on over to the Sonic Twitter account and give them a read!
Fans have asked nicely. They begged. They asked rudely! And in the end, Discotek Media has delivered! That’s right, the Japanese version of Sonic X is finally releasing to home video in America! While Discotek has released the full english dubbed run of the series on DVD and SD on Blu-ray, the Japanese version was conspicuously absent.
On this SEGA News Bits Live, we mix things up a bit for a live unboxing and review of the Astro City Mini V from Limited Run Games!
Check out the Astro City Mini V for yourself here! You can also find the original Astro City Mini, a bundle of both and the Astro City Mini V with style kit included.
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Retro-Bit have returned with a new reprint of Genesis/Mega-Drive cartridge classics. Today they have debuted the Valis Collection, a special box set of the 3 Valis games originally developed by Telenet Japan and published on the Genesis by Renovation. This collection comes officially licensed by the current rights holders to Telenet Japan and Renovation’s games, Edia. Each game can also be bought separately as well, but buying the full collection compiles each one into a special box packaged with an exclusive acrylic stand of the three heroines of Valis III. The collection is very reminiscent of Retro-Bit’s Toaplan Collection from 2020. Pre-orders are now open for North America through Castlemania Games and Limited Run Games until November 27th 2022. Pre-orders for PAL versions will open for Europe at a later date from different retailers. Check out Retro-BIt’s own page on the Valis Collection for the most up-to-date info, including pre-order links and an FAQ page.
UPDATE: Pre-orders have just opened for Europe at Strictly Limited Games, Dragonbox Shop, and Spel o Sant. Links to all three will be added below following the break.
Check past the break for info on each individual games.
Following up from yesterday’s news of Fantasy Zone, SEGA and Data Discs are back with another vinyl release! This time, the focus shifts to modern games as the upcoming Sonic Frontiers will see not one but TWO releases! First up, the 2XLP edition sees a “Sonic Blue” colored vinyl with a 12 page booklet featuring liner notes from Tomoya Ohtani, a lithographic art print of the Japanese cover art all packed in a single pocket sleeve. This edition, seen above, will retail for 32.99 GBP or about $37 USD and will ship around mid December. Learn more about this release here. BUT THAT’S NOT ALL!
Limited Run Games has announced a Western release of the Astro City Mini V. The V, as kids call it, is the second in SEGA’s line of Astro City Mini plug and play consoles which sports a vertically orientated screen and focuses on shoot ’em up games. What makes this release unique is that for the first time, bonus content will be available for the West! Super Zaxxon has been added to the lineup. Super Zaxxon was an update to the original Zaxxon, which as the SEGA Retro wiki explains “offers slightly faster gameplay, a different set of graphics, different stage layouts and a few more enemies”.
The Astro City Mini V goes up for pre-order on October 25th, priced at $159.99. The style kit, which is compatible with both Astro City Mini models, includes a coin bank base and little toy chair and will be available as well in a $199.99 bundle or separately for $39.99. Limited Run Games is also putting the original Astro City Mini back in stock, priced at $129.99.
SEGA has its roots in the Western world and that influence is still ever so present today. It all started in Hawaii, went to Japan, then was bought by Gulf + Western, but then settled on Japanese ownership in 1984. But all those years of influence from Western staff and ownership never completely went away even after being staunchly Japanese for most of its life. Selling arcade machines, making your own consoles and even dabbling in in-door theme parks requires tons of investment that won’t be recouped in Japan, so it’s good to have international roots.
Data Discs is back with an all new SEGA vinyl, this time featuring the soundtrack to the arcade classic Fantasy Zone! The release, set to go live on Saturday at data-discs.com, features the full 1986 soundtrack from Hiroshi “Hiro” Kawaguchi of OutRun and Space Harrier fame. The release will be available in two editions and include new liner notes from the composer as well as a lithographic art print.