The SEGAbits Summer of Art/Season of Colors Contest winner is….

Sean Tagg’s Lego Outrun cabinet!

We received some awesome entries over the course of this contest, but this one was not only among the first we received, by the entry that consistently remained in the top three even as other entries slowly began to trickle in. In the end, this piece gets the gold medal because it hits all of the right notes: it is not just passionate, but also creative. When I think of art, I don’t typically think of LEGO, but it’s impossible to deny that this is not only something that is most definitely art. This took a lot of time and patience to put together. Sean had to find all of the right pieces and place them in all of the right places, and that takes some dedication.

Congratulations, Sean! We did get some other excellent entries, including one that very nearly took the Grand Prize. We’ll be making announcements regarding second and third place winners, as well as the two additional runner ups, within the next few days.

Check out this contest announcement if you want to find out what he won!

Rhythm Thief & the Paris Caper now available on the App Store

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SEGA’s 2012 Nintendo 3DS title Rhythm Thief & the Emperor’s Treasure has made the transition to iOS with Rhythm Thief & the Paris Caper, available now on the iTunes App Store for $9.99. The game is seemingly a port of the 2012 title, with some new gameplay elements, additions like character costumes, and the ability to purchase R coins to speed up your in-game progress. Rhythm Thief & the Emperor’s Treasure was a handheld favorite of ours here at SEGAbits in 2012, so it will be interesting to see how Paris Caper stacks up.

After the break, full details on the game and a gallery of screenshots.

Pre-order Alien: Isolation for PC through Green Man Gaming and get 25% off

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We know that PC gaming is always cheaper than console gaming and we all hear about those huge discounts. Most of the time, this happens due to the fact that PC gamers aren’t locked into one marketplace to buy PC games like consoles are, sure most people use Steam (because they have great sales) but others are always trying to under price Steam. Like Green Man Gaming, who is running a sale on Alien: Isolation for PC already! 25% off making the game check out to $37.50! Just enter: GMG25-0YUM5-VKMVU at checkout!

The best part? The DRM is said to be Steam Powered, so you can still add it to your Steam library when it comes out.

Alien: Isolation developers diary – ‘Origin’


Check out this developer diary for the newly announced Alien: Isolation, now we get to hear the guys at Creative Assembly talk about what they are trying to create and so far it sounds good. They want to focus on the original Alien, from the first movie. Not give the players ‘tons’ of Aliens to mow down, make the space ship look low-fi sci-fi feel to it. I like what I’m hearing, but talk is cheap so I can’t wait to play this title.

What are your impressions?

My Life with SEGA: No Limits – online now, coming to SEGA Saturn Video CD later this year!

The “wait” is over. No Limits is the thrilling sequel to last year’s The Next Level, starring A.J. Rosa, Mickey Mac, Shawn Morgan and Alex Gonzales, with Jessie Wyrick.

Shawn has decided to unleash Lucifer-Alpha on an unsuspecting SEGA West, which will be launched from his newly acquired star cruiser, the U.S.S. Uranus. Little does he realize that A.J. and Mickey Mac aim to kick his sorry ass into oblivion. Loaded with action, comedy, foul language and tasteless humor, this exciting short is proof that there are no limits.

After the break, check out the special Video CD release featuring a retro SEGA CD Saturn plastic box design that we have planned for No Limits, The Next Level, and My Life with SEGA’s reviews of Panzer Dragoon, Panzer Dragoon Zwei, Panzer Dragoon Saga, and Virtual-On.

SEGA officially reveals Alien: Isolation – trailer, official site, and platforms revealed


 
Following the appearance of the game on the Xbox Marketplace, The Creative Assembly’s Alien: Isolation has now been officially revealed by SEGA. As expected, the game is due to release on Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and PC in late 2014. No mention of the Wii U, so that platform is likely not to see the game. The official site for the game is also live at AlienIsolation.com, and gameplay footage of the game has begun to appear online, which you can see after the break. Once you take all the materials in, let us know what you think of the game!

Alien: Isolation details appear on Xbox Marketplace – cover art revealed

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Several new details for SEGA’s upcoming game Alien: Isolation, developed in-house by The Creative Assembly, appeared on the Xbox Marketplace today. We now know for certain that The Creative Assembly is behind the game (though we pretty much knew this since May 2012), and that the game falls under the “Action & Adventure, Shooter” genre with an “M” rating in the United States. Features confirmed so far are pretty much expected, with content downloads and online leaderboards. The cover art shown is for the Xbox 360, so that platform is confirmed, and we’ll likely also see a release on the PS3 as well as the Xbox One and PS4. A Wii U version is unknown at this time, but given the fate of Aliens: Colonial Marines on Wii U, Alien: Isolation‘s Wii U appearance is questionable. Best of all, we have a lengthy synopsis:

Discover the true meaning of fear in Alien: Isolation, a survival horror set in an atmosphere of constant dread and mortal danger. Fifteen years after the events of Alien™, Ellen Ripley’s daughter, Amanda enters a desperate battle for survival, on a mission to unravel the truth behind her mother’s disappearance. As Amanda, you will navigate through an increasingly volatile world as you find yourself confronted on all sides by a panicked, desperate population and an unpredictable, ruthless Alien. Underpowered and underprepared, you must scavenge resources, improvise solutions and use your wits, not just to succeed in your mission, but to simply stay alive.

It sounds exciting, and those who know The Creative Assembly should know that we should probably not fear another Aliens: Colonial Marines. What are your thoughts on the game? Sound off below, or in our dedicated forum topic.

Phantasy Star Online 2 producer tells us whats in store for 2014

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Satoshi Sakai recently wished all Phantasy Star Online 2 fans a ‘Happy New Year’ and briefly talked about what is in store for the future of Phantasy Star Online 2. He promised finishing off Episode 2′ final storyline (yes, it has a story!) and other lose ends. But you know what is also launching? Phantasy Star Online 2 es! What is that? Oh, its that mobile version they announced along with the PC/Vita versions of the game. Yes, that is finally coming out this year.

They will also have new events including Arcs Coalition Festivals that starts this month and around March they will introduce a new update that will allow people to team up with Mamoru Nagano (a mangaka that worked on Heavy Metal L-Gaim, Five Star Stories and Gothicmade). 2014 will also mark the 2nd year anniversary of Phantasy Star Online 2, which they promise will have a big celebration. Yes, the game is already reaching its 2nd year of release in Japan and here we sit waiting for SEGA West the English version…

But don’t worry, we already know that the game will be launching in full English later this year… in Southeast Asia! Since many Westerners already play the Japanese version with a patch, I assume many will just download the English Southeast Asian version and play that. I’ll catch you guys on those servers later this year!

Greg Martin, Sonic the Hedgehog American and European box art illustrator, has passed away

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Yesterday evening we learned, via the Sonic Retro forums, that the Sonic the Hedgehog American and European box art illustrator Greg Martin had passed away in May of last year. While the news is delayed, the sadness many SEGA fans are surely feeling has not diminished. Greg Martin may not be a name fans recognize, but as soon as you see his work you’d instantly know his style. His SEGA career spanned the 90’s, with his art appearing on the covers of the SEGA Genesis Sonic the Hedgehog titles, Shining in the Darkness, Landstalker, Pac-Attack, and many more. Outside of SEGA, Greg did work for franchises including The Flintstones, Scooby-Doo, Batman, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Winnie the Pooh, The Jetsons, and Looney Tunes. You can see more of his work at his official website. Learn more about Greg Martin in this NintendoAge forums post written by a friend of his.

Our thoughts are with Greg Martin’s family, he truly was a legend.

Unboxing: Not Enough Rings – A Sonic the Hedgehog Parody Comic


 
2013 was a big year for SEGA related Kickstarter projects. We saw the successfully funded SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works, as well as unsuccessful attempts at relaunching the Boogerman and Ecco franchises. Not Enough Rings joins the ranks of the former projects, as it was not only a success, but it is among the projects seeing completion in 2014.

Collecting all 93 strips from the online parody comic of the same name, Not Enough Rings follows Sonic as he speeds through his SEGA Genesis adventures. The strips are packed with funny nods to gameplay quirks, plot points, and character traits. The whole collection is really a love letter to the classic Sonic games with just enough naughtiness to retain that SEGA edge. Thanks to going over their goal, several improvements were made to the originally planned book, including a hardcover and higher quality paper. The book even includes a nifty little red and white placeholder ribbon, which resembles the one seen in the Sonic logo. Overall, despite what the cover image may say, we give the Not Enough Rings book a well deserved thumbs up!

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed hits iOS and Android tomorrow with Ryo Hazuki joining the race!

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While the rest of us nurse our hangovers, SEGA has announced that Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is set to hit iOS and Android devices tomorrow, January 2nd. What more, SEGA has also been teasing Ryo Hazuki the past week as an impending addition to the racing roster. While we knew about Ryo since Yogscast spilled the beans in a PC stream in mid December, the addition of Ryo to the mobile version is new to us. It is likely that the PC version will update tomorrow as well with Ryo added to the roster.

“GO DANCE” in the new year with a new Sega iOS game

Just in time to dance in the new year, Sega presents GO DANCE on iOS devices. Working a lot like the Just Dance series of games, GO DANCE uses your iOS devices camera to track your dance movements as you groove to artists like Flo Rida and Niki Minaj or if you have actual musical taste, there are some Sega tunes thrown in as well including four from Jet Set Radio. GO DANCE is a free game app (with microtransactions of course) and is available on iTunes now.

SEGA Tunes: Fear (Rez Edit)

The onset of a new year  will inevitably brings new experiences. Though a healthy amount of fear for new experiences never hurts, do not let it control you. Embrace the experiences of the coming year and embrace the challenges that you will face. Do not fear failure, because nothing is worse then simply refusing to try.

And if you are having an especially bad day, play a Dreamcast!

SEGAbits Round Table: Our Favorite SEGA Games of 2013

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Since 2010, it has been a SEGAbits tradition for our writers and editors to share their favorite SEGA games of the year. This year, we aren’t breaking that tradition but we are adding to it. We’re introducing a couple of special digital two-dimensional trophies: the gold SEGAbits Editor’s Choice Award and the platinum SEGAbits Writer’s Choice Award. The gold award is selected by George and I, Barry the Nomad, while the platinum award will go to the game selected as a favorite by the most writers (this year we had a tie!). Not only is 2013 a special year with the introduction of our digital trophies, but we also have some new writers contributing including recent arrivals from Sonic Retro, Bartman and TimmiT, and the newest contributor to our YouTube channel, Liam “Tracker” Ashcroft. What SEGA games were our favorites this year? Read on!

SEGA plans on bringing free-to-play games to the Nintendo 3DS

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SEGA seems to really have partnered up with Nintendo for this generation. With the Wii U getting exclusive SEGA IPs like Sonic Lost World, it’s hard not to notice. Where are all those Playstation 4 and Xbox One SEGA games? Well, it seems that SEGA has more games planned for a Nintendo product; the Nintendo 3DS, and these games won’t cost you  a cent! SEGA Japan already announced their first ‘free-to-play’ 3DS title with “Initial D: Perfect Shift Online“.

“We don’t intend to stop with this title, and after looking over its results, we’ll think about what to do next. However, unlike games for smartphones, I believe there’s a perfect shape of ways to do things, somewhere out there, for the Nintendo 3DS. I believe that finding it will be our challenge, and in many ways, Initial D will be our first step.” – Toshihiro Nagoshi

It is not surprising considering the fact that SEGA boosted about the success of their free-to-play titles in their last earning reports. It seems that SEGA’s catalogue for free-to-play games continues to grow, do you think it’s worth SEGA’s investment?