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Swingin’ Report Show #61: Console Wars Release Day Party with Author Blake J. Harris

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Happy Console Wars release day! That’s right, the long talked about book “Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation” by Blake J. Harris is now available to purchase anywhere where books are sold.

For this week’s podcast, the book’s author Blake J. Harris joined Barry and George to talk about his influences, the process of writing such an epic story, his upcoming documentary, and his teaming up with Scott Rudin and Seth Rogen. Blake also shares stories that didn’t make the final cut, and his thoughts on modern day SEGA and Nintendo. We also reveal our Console Wars giveaway winners, so if you entered on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram to win a copy of the book courtesy of HarperCollins, give the show a listen and find out if you’ve won! We’ll also make an official winners announcement on our social networks later today.

More “Console Wars” content is to come, including a podcast with Tom Kalinske himself!

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Exclusive Excerpt from “Console Wars”: SEGA of America’s first look at Sonic the Hedgehog

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Thanks to It Books, HarperCollins Publishers, and author Blake J. Harris, we have an exclusive excerpt from “Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation” which features the first time SEGA of America President Tom Kalinske and his staff laid their eyes on Sonic the Hedgehog in action! The full excerpt can be found after the break, and if you like what you read, make sure to pre-order a copy of the book today and enter our Twitter and Facebook contests to win a copy of the book. Contest winners will be announced on our release day podcast with the book’s author Blake J. Harris, which will debut alongside the book tomorrow!

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A look at the rare Sonic Adventure LCD game from Tiger Electronics

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Over at the Sonic Stadium message boards, fans got to talking about a rarely seen Sonic Adventure LCD game from Tiger Electronics released in 2000. The game, which resembles a tiny arcade cabinet, is unique in that is isn’t simply one of those low end Tiger handhelds. Instead, it is closer to the Game.com, which while still pretty low end, is capable of presenting multiple stages, enemies, and bosses. The Sonic Adventure LCD game was released as part of Tiger’s “Arcade Games” series which featured four other Dreamcast games: Q-Bert, NFL Blitz 2000, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing, and Hydro Thunder. In total, Sonic Adventure features seven stages: Emerald Coast, Windy Valley, Ice Cap, Speed Highway, Red Mountain, Sky Deck, and Final Egg. Some of the bosses include Chaos 0, Egg Hornet, and the Egg Viper. While a very rare game to find, thanks to Sonic Stadium forum member iDEATH, we now have a look at this rare game from Sonic’s Dreamcast days!

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SEGA Sammy announces full year results for fiscal year 2014

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SEGA Sammy today announced their full year results with good news all round with the exception of one division. The strong results come after a hectic 2013 for the group in which SEGA was restructuring it’s core business, purchase of two high profile developers, the development of major resort complexes and expansion of some of their core development teams. The group also saw year on year growth for net income, hit the break to find out how the company did as a whole!

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Degenki Bunko Fighting Climax adds two new characters in the fray – Miyuki Shiba and Taiga Aisaka!

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Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax is set for an update in arcades, adding two additional characters to the cast.

The characters that will be featured as playable characters are The Irregular at Magic High School’s “Snow Queen” Miyuki Shiba and Aisaka Taiga, the “Palm Top Tiger,” from Toradora! Tatsuya Shiba and Ryuuji Takasu from their respective series will also join as assist characters. The date for the arcade update is unknown at this time.

For me, I think it’s great to have updates with characters and stages in arcade games. Fingers crossed for more SEGA characters to become playable characters.

For images and screenshots of the additional characters, be sure to hit the jump.

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Check out the location test preview of Blade Arcus from Shining

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Two months after the arcade fighting title’s announcement, SEGA released a location test preview of Blade Arcus from Shining which features characters from the Shining Series.

The game will be held at the SEGA Akihabara Building 1 for location testing, and will feature a total of six playable characters. We’ll have more info on the game once the final build is released in arcades.

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Out Run soundtracks hit Amazon and iTunes

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Did you know Out Run 3D had new songs added to it? The songs where composed by Manabu Namiki and Chibi-Tech for the the Nintendo 3DS port. Now you can digitally buy those songs and the rest of the songs from the series in this three-volume collection they released the other day.

Not a bad soundtrack to have for long road trips!

 

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New Alien: Isolation trailer shows how the cast was created

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The latest trailer for Alien: Isolation gives us another look behind the scenes of the game. This time they show how they cast real people for the characters in the game along with the methods they used to capture their likenesses. Mo-cap is used for the animation as well.

We’re also shown some new footage of the cutscenes along with some more info on the plot and world.

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Dragon Coins available on IOS and Android Devices for free!

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Previously released in Japan, Dragon Coins is now available in western territories on the iTunes and Google Play store for free. The game also supports in-app purchases where players can purchase bags of coins for $6.99 or $2.99.

SEGA has stated that the game is a combination of role playing game battles and a party management system with a pick-up and play arcade coin-dozer fun. Here is a description of the title taken from the iTunes and Google Play stores. Also for more information on features in the game, be sure to hit the jump.

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This is Saturn goes Super Sonic Racing in Sonic R

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This is Saturn is back to talk about one of the few Sonic games on the Saturn, Sonic R, in which Sonic and company go Super Sonic Racing! Sonic R was a game I’ve played on many a system, and it was actually one of my first Sonic games – but does it hold up today? Or is it a blemish on the hedgehog’s wonderful 90s career?

This is Saturn is a video series created by British teenager Liam ‘TrackerTD’ Ashcroft, aiming to give an alternative and in-depth look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of SEGA Saturn gaming, all whilst maintaining a somewhat strong accent.

Like this video? Subscribe to the SEGAbits YouTube channel!

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[Update: Debunked & False] Rumor: Valkyria Chronicles 1, 2 & 3 remakes coming to Playstation 4

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A rumor has sprung up on NeoGAF stating that this week’s Famitsu will reveal a Valkyria Chronicles Remake and a Valkyria Chronicles 2&3 Remake coming out for Playstation 4. The post goes on to state that the first game will be releasing in the summer of this year, followed by 2&3 in the fall. The sequels appear to be bundled into one game. The first game will have a visual upgrade while 2&3 will have graphics based on the first game’s visual style. The releases are also to include all the DLC and feature lots of balance adjustments.

The NeoGAF post says the “source is 2ch leak but its reliable source so its basically confirmed.” The mention of 2&3 being a bundled collection can be found here. As with all the rumors, take this with a grain of salt until officially confirmed.

Update: Dualshockers did some digging and came up empty handed, stating that the rumor was false.

To confirm the legitimacy of the post, I reached out to Masaru-san, one of our readers that regularly receives Famitsu the afternoon before release and that often sends us information about its content, and he indeed confirmed that Valkyria Chronicles is nowhere to be found on the latest issue.

Drat drat and double drat! Despite being false, let’s hope SEGA still has plans to rerelease Valkyria Chronicles on some platform… PC perhaps?

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Sonic Hits collection discounted by Humble Bundle and Jet Set Radio hits 50% off on Steam

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If you guys enjoyed our Jet Set Radio week long celebration, you probably have been itching for an excuse to paint the streets of Tokyo-to once again. Don’t fear, Jet Set Radio HD is part of Steam’s week long sales. The game is being discounted by 50%, costing you only $2.49.

On related PC sales news, Humble Bundle store is having their spring sale on PC titles and part of that sale includes the ‘Sonic Hit Collections‘, which is priced at $7.49 and comes with the following 17 Sonic the Hedgehog games:

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Book Review: “Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation”

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It Was A Battle More Deadly Than Any Videogame Could Ever Be…A Real-Life Mortal Kombat Between Sega And Nintendo

The above sentence is found on the official website for the book “Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation” by Blake J. Harris, and having read through the book myself, it’s an accurate description. Upon reading “Console Wars”, I couldn’t help but feeling a bit bloodied and bruised, but proud to have chosen the side that I’m on as a fan. “Console Wars” is not a detached history lesson of the SEGA vs. Nintendo rivalry of the 90’s, it does not read as several wikipedia articles.

Instead, “Console Wars” is a very real and personal story largely told from the perspective of SEGA of America President and CEO Tom Kalinske during the first 6 years of the 90’s. Taking the journey along with Tom, readers also occasionally go behind-the-scenes with Nintendo and Sony, and receive a few extended history lessons on the histories of companies like SEGA, Nintendo, Sony, and others. This mix provides the reader with both factual and emotional reasons for why SEGA and Nintendo did what they did, and as such is the most honest and truest account I have ever read of this period of video game history.

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Swingin’ Report Show #60: Console Wars with Al Nilsen, SEGA’s Director of Marketing (’89-’93)

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The SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show is back, and boy do we have a special episode for you! Joining us for our 60th episode is Al Nilsen, SEGA of America’s Director of Marketing from 1989 through 1993. Al and his team were behind everything from the early days of the SEGA Genesis, including promoting the famous “Genesis Does What Nintendon’t” campaign, the creation of Sonic the Hedgehog, implementing the legendary “Sonic 2sday” worldwide launch of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in 1992, and rolling out the “Welcome to the Next Level” campaign. Suffice to say, Al is a legend, so the opportunity to sit down and talk about the good ol’ days for an hour and a half was a dream come true for us as SEGA fans.

Al’s appearance is in anticipation of the release of “Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation” by author Blake J. Harris, which you can pre-order today from Amazon.com. “Console Wars” tells the story of SEGA vs. Nintendo during the early 90’s, as told from the perspective of SEGA of America president Tom Kalinske. Based on over two hundred interviews with former SEGA and Nintendo employees, “Console Wars” is the underdog tale of how Kalinske miraculously turned an industry punchline into a market leader. It’s the story of how a humble family man, with an extraordinary imagination and a gift for turning problems into competitive advantages, inspired a team of underdogs to slay a giant and, as a result, birth a $60 billion dollar industry.

Expect more “Console Wars” content throughout May, including a podcast with the author Blake J. Harris next week, and a podcast with Tom Kalinske himself the week after that! We also have some surprises, but in the meantime enjoy Al’s interview!

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Round Table: We look ahead to Jet Set Radio’s future!

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Jet Set Radio Week enters the final boss battle that is the SEGAbits Round Table! Despite containing only a few games, Jet Set Radio and its sequel pack in a lot of unique ideas and feature an amazing art style and selection of music. With all this unique content, it’s a shame that the franchise has only seen two and a half games (the half being the Game Boy Advance version). This week, our writers have assembled in the GG’s garage to share their ideas for the Jet Set Radio franchise’s future, and seeing as we’re SEGA fans, we can’t help but reminisce and share a few memories. After the break, join us as we look to the future!

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