Sonic Hacking Contest 2022 is live right now

As of Monday, October 20th 2022, Sonic Hacking Contest 2022 is now open, with all the many fan hacks and mods developed by some of the most creative Sonic fans out there ready to try. There are tons of mods from every Sonic game from the original Genesis classic to Sonic Forces, all of which change up each game in many creative ways. Some of them even create a brand new experience off of the foundation of a classic Sonic game you may be well familiar with already from start to finish. Even if you don’t have time to try every game for yourself, (And there are already so many that you most likely don’t have that kind of time. After all, I’m still going through some games from this year’s Sonic Amateur Games Expo.) many online content creators have been streaming these games throughout the week, including favorites like Blue Vivacity, Sam’s Procrastination Station, SomeCallMeJohnny, MegaGWolf, and up-and-coming YouTube personality Chaomix. 

Since this is a contest, the creators of each of these mods are also being judged on their creations. Everyone is encouraged to vote for each of their favorite mods in a variety of prestigious awards, so if any of them has you particularly impressed, make sure you vote for it in whatever award it may be nominated for. 

See beyond the break for a few of my personal highlights of this year’s mods. Otherwise, click here to check out the website to download these mods for yourself or to see who is currently streaming.

Sonic Frontiers “Combat & Upgrades” trailer gives an in-depth look at the game’s battle system

Sonic Frontiers is less than a month away, so now is the best time for SEGA to make their closing arguments to fans for why the game is worthy of a pre-order. In the latest trailer for the game, the combat and upgrades system is explored in a bit more depth as fans can see how the skill tree unlocks new abilities for in-game combat. There are some fun easter eggs to be found, including moves that appear plucked from Sonic’s history of media including an attack seen in the unreleased Sonic X-Treme and moves straight out of the live action movies.

Sonic Frontiers will launch starting at $59.99 on PlayStation5, PlayStation4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, the Nintendo Switch family of systems and PC on November 8. To pre-order Sonic Frontiers, visit: https://frontiers.sonicthehedgehog.com.

SEGA delays HUMANKIND console release “until further notice”

Citing “unique challenges”, SEGA Europe has announced that the PlayStation 4/5 and Xbox One/Series console releases of HUMANKIND has been delayed until further notice. Developed by Paris based Amplitude Studios, which is owned by SEGA, HUMANKIND released to PC in 2021 and is a turn-based strategy 4X game. The game was set for consoles in November 2022 but now that is no longer the case.

I’ll admit, here at SEGAbits we struggle to cover the SEGA Europe PC strategy games. Maybe it is because they feel so far removed from what we come to expect from SEGA? Still, a console release was something we were anticipating and it is a shame the game saw a setback. SEGA will share a new release date when they can.

SEGA and Capcom announce Monster Hunter x Sonic Frontiers DLC

As the release of Sonic Frontiers approaches, SEGA has been revealing bonus content fans can enjoy on and after the game’s release. We’ve already seen the return of Soap shoes, and now we have our first collaboration DLC! Anybody who owns Sonic Frontiers will receive free DLC on November 14th which features content from Capcom’s Monster Hunter franchise. Sonic can dress as Rathalos and Felyne Rathalos and a meat grilling mini-game will be added which will help Sonic power up. To celebrate the collaboration, SEGA and Capcom’s respective art teams drew up some fun artwork featuring the two franchises.

This DLC is exciting, as it gives us an idea of just how far SEGA can go with the game’s DLC. Sonic being able to wear a full costume opens up so many doors for future content and the addition of a mini game shows us that SEGA is open to expanding gameplay with future DLC.

But the question remains, what is Sonic cooking?

SEGA Talk #105: Tournament of Legends (2010)

Today on SEGA Talk we discuss the Tournament of the not so Legends, as we discuss an overlooked High Voltage Software Wii exclusive fighting game. Let’s have a look at the humble beginnings of the title to what it became and the fall out. All this and more on SEGA Talk!

Support us on Patreon! Get early access, tell us what games to cover, and have your SEGA memories read at the end and more!

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If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add  them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

Review: MobyFox SEGA Genesis Smartwatch Band and Digital Faces

Let’s take a look at the latest SEGA smartwatch band from MobyFox which also includes a sizable library of digital faces. In the unboxing and review video above we showcase the 3D designs that mimic the look of the original hardware as well as some of the cool little touches MobyFox added. Like what you see? You can pick up a smartwatch band for yourself on their shop starting today!

After the break, you can also watch our unboxing and review of the MobyFox line of Sonic the Hedgehog smartwatch bands.

SEGA News Bits Live: Shenmue Anime Cancelled & Sonic’s Soap Shoes Return

Shenmue the anime has been cancelled after a successful first season, Sonic’s Soap shoes are back and Barry has beef with Sonic clothing collabs. All this and more on SEGA News Bits Live!

If you want to support this type of content, you can check out our Patreon!

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Unreleased Dreamcast game Dee Dee Planet online features finally running unofficially

Dee Dee Planet cover art

The unreleased Sega Dreamcast game Dee Dee Planet has now had it’s online servers finally brought to life thanks to the efforts of the fan-run Dreamcast Live online service. Due to the game having been cancelled, it’s online multiplayer has never once been playable by the public until now. If you want to try it for yourself, you can download a version of Dee Dee Planet that’s been patched for Dreamcast Live functionality from Dreamcast Live’s downloads page. One of Dreamcast Live’s founders, and prominent Dreamcast superfan and preservationist, pcwzrd13, had previously gotten a hold of a nearly complete build of Dee Dee Planet last year, and now Dreamcast Live user Shuouma had been able to create server code for Dee Dee Planet using the server code from Chu Chu Rocket, one of the games previously brought back online through Dreamcast Live, as Dee Dee Planet was designed to use a very similar online server setup already.

Chances are many of you have no idea what Dee Dee Planet is, so check past the break for a brief history of both Dee Dee Planet and Dreamcast Live.

SEGA makes newsletters cool again with Sonic Frontiers Soap shoes DLC offering

E-mail newsletters used to be all the rage. Heck, here at SEGAbits we had one for a time. But as time goes on, people’s methods of taking in updates on brands and franchises they love shift and more and more social media becomes the place for such information. NOT ANYMORE. Thanks to SEGA, the company who innovated online home console gaming, 360 degree arcade gaming and 3D fighting games comes the latest innovation: free DLC with a newsletter sign up!

That’s right, if you click on over to the Sonic Frontiers website and scroll to the bottom you will see Sonic in his iconic Soap shoes from Sonic Adventure 2. Why is he wearing these relics of the early 2000s? Because he wants to wear them again in his new game, but he needs your help! If you sign up for e-mail updates from SEGA, you will receive free DLC on the platform of your choice. Pro tip: sign up using multiple e-mail addresses so you can snag DLC for all the major platforms. It’s cool to see Sonic back in his guady grinding shoes, and it opens the door for more throwback shoes in the upcoming game. Fans are already asking for his movie shoes and his Riders shoes. What shoes would you like Sonic to wear in Frontiers? Sound off in the comments below!

ESPN NFL Football was the SEGA All-Stars Football game we never knew we had

Thanks to Shenmue AM2 Podcast, I was reminded of an obscure little game called ESPN NFL Football which just happened to include hidden cameos from several beloved SEGA characters. I am of course kidding about ESPN NFL Football being obscure, as the game was the first 2K sports title to carry the ESPN license. However the secrets found within the game might be new to many SEGA fans.

Shenmue the Animation season two cancelled as season one is delisted from the Adult Swim website

According to Shenmue the Animation executive producer Jason Demarco, who is also the SVP of Anime and Action series at Warner Bros. Discovery, Shenmue the Animation has been cancelled following a successful first season. You read that right, a successful first season and a second season is not happening. Such an ass backwards decision makes total sense given the news coming out of Warner Bros. Discovery in recent months. The news broke as Demarco quoted a tweet which revealed season 1 was being removed from the Adult Swim website. Demarco went on to say that the anime will continue to be available on Crunchyroll. The team was “gearing up” for a season 2 but now, as Demarco says, “it’s looking like no S2”.

It seems Shenmue cannot catch a break these days, with a fourth game nowhere in sight and the anime cancelled. Hopefully YS NET, SEGA and Crunchyroll can work something out. Perhaps a truncated second season or a movie covering the events of the third game? Warner Bros. Discovery is a dumpster fire right now and SEGA can do better. Here’s hoping!

SEGAbits @ EGX London 2022: Sonic Frontiers Hands-On Preview

Thanks to the Eurogamer Expo, I finally got my hands on Sonic Frontiers. There are so many questions to be answered. How are the controls? Does the game flow well? Is the Open Zone packed full of activities or is it a barren wasteland? Now after getting my hands on the game, I can finally get some answers and find out if Sonic Frontiers is more than meets the eye.

Sonic Prime releases this winter to Netflix – watch the new teaser trailer now!

A new teaser for the upcoming Netflix animated series Sonic Prime has released, and with it we have confirmation of a winter release. The trailer itself shows Sonic racing Shadow while causing Big the Cat to fall over. Poor Big. Also teased is Doctor Eggman in a new mech and the show’s plot of reality being shattered. It’s all very “Into the Spider-Verse” of them, but still cool. Check out the trailer for yourself and drop your thoughts in the comments section.

Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack updated with Alisa Dragoon, Beyond Oasis, and Earthworm Jim

On Thursday, September 15th, Sega added three more classic Sega Genesis titles to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack lineup, after skipping a month from their usual bimonthly update. Subscribers can now play Alisa Dragoon, Beyond Oasis, and Earthworm Jim on Nintendo Switch. Japanese players get all the same 3 games in their own update at the same time. Each game will be immediately accessible after updating the Sega Genesis – Nintendo Switch Online application on your Switch to its latest version. You can learn more about each game within this article.