Phantasy Star Online 2es coming to iOS in May


(Above is a Let’s Play, which was done through our Twitch channel. Follow us!)

Phantasy Star Online 2es is already out for Android in Japan, but it will soon hit Apple devices in May. The Android version has broke 100,000 downloads since it was released on April 7th. That is pretty impressive.

As of right now, SEGA West hasn’t made any more statements about Phantasy Star Online 2 or Phantasy Star Online 2es coming to the West. But if you are on Android and want to play PSO2es, there is already an English patch. To see the English patch in action, check out our hands-on video above.

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SEGA CUP: Virtua Fighter Tournament begins today!

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The SEGA Cup 2014 for Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown is now live with tournament brackets and schedule released for the event.

The description is as follows:

SEGA® of America, Inc. today announced that it will once again host a Virtua Fighter™5 Final Showdown Tournament this year, continuing its partnership with Alex Valle and Level|Up. The 2014 “SEGA CUP” tournament will take place in Los Angeles at the Super Arcade on April 26, 2014. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top 16 players. Once again, the version for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system will be used for the competition.

Last year’s tournament celebrated the legacy of the popular “fighting game fan’s fighter” for the first time and saw player Fuudo, who previously won the Virtua Fighter EVO 2012 and Street Fighter IV EVO 2011 tournaments, emerging as the winner.

Based on the latest arcade version of the celebrated Virtua Fighter 5 series, Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown launched in June 2012 for PlayStation®Network (PSN) and on the Xbox Live online entertainment network for the Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft.

The tournament will be streamed on Level|Up’s twitch channel. Who’s going to be the best Virtua Fighter player in the West Coast this year? Click here to see the schedule for the tournament.

Yuzo Koshiro will compose music for Persona Q

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Yuzo Koshiro has worked on music for a lot of games, but SEGA fans will always know him for his amazing work on the Streets of Rage series. In my opinion, this is what made Yuzo Koshiro a legend. Want more music from him? Don’t worry, it has been revealed that he will be composing tracks for the upcoming Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth.

Also announced to be working on the game is Yuji Himukai who is being brought aboard to design some monsters along with Shin Nagasawa. All three (including Yuzo Koshiro) worked on Etrian Odyssey (and Persona Q is basically Etrian Odyssey with Personas…).

SEGA’s Shining cross-over fighting game reveals six playable characters

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SEGA is putting together a Shining cross-over fighting game and calling the game ‘
Blade Arcus from Shining‘. The 2D fighting game will run location tests in Japan from May 9th to May 11th in Akihabara. Blade Arcus will allow users to test six characters, which include two new characters just for this game.

  • Ryuga (new)
  • Pairon Wong (new)
  • Rage from Shining Blade
  • Sakuya from Shining Blade
  • Xiao-Mei from Shining Hearts
  • Altina from Shining Blade

Given that SEGA has taken this franchise everywhere from a hack’n’slash arcade game to various role-playing games, does an entry into the 2D fighting game market excite you? Would having classic Shining Force characters matter?

SEGA Retrospective: Over 20 years later, and the Pico is still an amazing piece of hardware

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The Year of the SEGA Console highlights several pieces of SEGA hardware celebrating milestone anniversaries, and for the most part the featured consoles are well regarded. March’s Genesis Month focused on what was arguably the most beloved consoles from SEGA’s past. The Saturn (20 years old in Japan) and Dreamcast (15 years old in the West), despite their missteps, are equally loved. But what about the black sheep of the SEGA console family? The 32X, which turns 20 this year, has been bad-mouthed, stomped on, and even impaled by flaming arrows.

The Pico, a children’s computer which turns 20 this year in the US, hasn’t received the same vitriol as the 32X, but it too has been pushed aside as one of the disreputable members of SEGA’s hardware family. The reasons for this, I’d suspect, are that the Pico software is simply not targeted at gamers. The software, dubbed Storyware by SEGA, are teaching tools and interactive storybooks. As such, a bulk of the Pico’s library could be seen as “childish” and “boring”, but when approaching the console in the right mindset, it really is an amazing piece of hardware.

SEGA Channel Retro: Enduring the Pressure of School with Valkyria Chronicles II


Watch live video from SEGA_Channel_Retro on TwitchTV

Bartman3010 is heading off to school to become a better man and embrace wacky school hi-jinks in Valkyria Chronicles II along with other SEGA PSP titles. The live video should be airing shortly after you read this.

You can also expect bird harassment, InstantSonic, Sonic Rivals, Outrun 2006 – Coast 2 Coast and Power Stone Collection.

Why its the perfect time for SEGA gamers to join the PC master race

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Ever since SEGA went 3rd party, fans have been looking for a new console to call home. The issue? SEGA, like all big 3rd party publishers, likes to keep their games in a multitude of devices and consoles. Now that the Playstation 4 and the Xbox One are already out, which one should a SEGA fan buy? Well, if you will take a few minutes to hear me out, I’ll tell you why I personally prefer the PC for gaming over the new consoles.

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax to get story based DLC and RPG style arena mode

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According to Japanese store, Rakuten, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax will have story-based DLC and also feature a role-playing type game elements. The story based DLC will be exclusive to those that purchase the game in Japan on August 28th. What’s in the DLC? That, as of right now, remains a mystery.

A new mode titled ‘Golden Arena Mode’ will include character progress system with elements that fans of RPG-type games will be familiar with. Players in the Golden Arena Mode will be able to fight and level up to earn extra experience points and learn new abilities throughout the stages. How many skills can you unlock? According to the site, over 150 different skills.

Hit the jump to see three new trailers that have been released for this game.

Play Company of Heroes 2 for free this weekend

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If you have wanted to try Company of Heroes 2 before you purchase it, you now can. SEGA is holding another ‘free to play’ weekend over at Steam. You will be able to play the full game, including the multiplayer during the weekend for absolutely nothing.

If you have steam, you can install it by clicking here

If the game hooks its addictive hooks into you, you will be able to purchase the game at 66% off. Only costing you $13.59. So what are you waiting for? Give the game a shot.

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Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed now free on mobile devices

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SEGA has dropped Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed‘s mobile price down to $0.00 (£0.00 in Great Britain), making the game now a free-to-play title. “Sonic & All Star Racing Transformed is now FREE!”, says the game’s revised description, “If you previously bought the game you still have the VIP Pass for FREE.” The game itself is quite an impressive port of the game, easily beating out the 3DS version when it comes to resolution, framerate and bugs, which the 3DS suffered from. You can download the game today from the App Store or from Google Play. Also of note, both versions now support Everyplay, which allows players to record and share video clips of favorite gameplay moments.

Tom Keil, Regional Sales Manager for Sega Amusements, dies at 63

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Sad news for SEGA arcade fans today, as we learned via Vending Times that Tom Keil, a regional sales manager for Sega Amusements since 2002, has passed away after a battle with cancer. President and COO at Sega Amusements Paul Williams had this to say about Tom: “It is a sad time for us all with the passing of my friend and work colleague, Tom Keil. He was a man admired by many for his integrity, passion for life and sense of goodness. Everyone [who] knew him or met him was touched by the generosity of his nature and personality.”

US General Manager at Sega Amusements Peter Gustafson also shared his thoughts: “Tom put up a valiant and courageous fight against cancer for more than three years. Throughout his ordeal, he never allowed his condition stop or slow him down. His unwillingness to let his disease define him was an inspirational example of how to live fully regardless of the circumstances life hands you.”

Donations in Tom Keil’s honor can be made to The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke Duke University Medical Center (DUMC 3624, Durham, NC 27710) or The Caring House (2625 Pickett Rd., Durham, NC 27705).

Could SEGA and Google’s Street View be joining forces for a Sonic competition?

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The Sonic Stadium have uncovered an interesting mobile game entitled The Search for Sonic’s Sidekick. Proposed as a collaboration between SEGA and Google’s Street View, the game was discovered in slides from DDB Tribal ad agency artist Michael Nagy’s website. The game appears to be a word wide competition in which fans create an anthropomorphic avatar and race their character around Google Street Views of twelve cities. Players log their best times to a leaderboard and the fastest player would win the chance to see their character in the next Sonic game. The competition is said to visit a new city each month.

The official description is as follows:

We have created an online game using Google Street view where you compete to become Sonic’s sidekick. Your online avatar will be in the next game that is produced for Sonic. The competition will run for 11 months and move to a different city every month across the globe. The cities include Tokyo, Hong Kong, Berlin, Paris, London, Cape Town, Toronto, New York, San Francisco, Rio De Janeiro and Sydney.

It is unknown if this is a leak of an upcoming competition, perhaps in time for Sonic’s anniversary, or if it is simply a proposal by DDB Tribal that SEGA passed on. Once we learn more, we’ll be sure to share it!

Jet Set Radio inspired “Hover : Revolt Of Gamers” Kickstarter begins – stretch goal features Hideki Naganuma music

Back in January, a trailer was released for a game entitled Hover : Revolt Of Gamers, and while not SEGA developed or published, the game was clearly inspired by a certain cel shaded Dreamcast classic featuring magnetically driven in-line skates. Created by French indie developer Fusty Game, Hover : Revolt Of Gamers is an open world freerun/parkour game inspired by Jet Set Radio and Mirror’s Edge. Like many indie games these days, the developers have turned to Kickstarter in an effort to fund the game, and at only 1 day into the campaign they’ve already amassed 20k of the 38k goal. Impressive!

Set to appear on PC/Mac/Linux, XboxOne/PS4, as well as the Wii U if a stretch goal is met ($100,000), Hover intends to feature “a fun and cartoon style”, “immersive and dynamic sensations”, a “grandiose and technologic environment”, and (if a $60,000 stretch goal is met) original music tracks from Hideki Naganuma of Jet Set Radio fame!

So parkour on over to their Kickstarter page and pledge your support today!

Classic SEGA Ads: Streets of Rage 2 earns you respect!

Something tells me that commercials like this didn’t really help SEGA’s case when they were called before the US Senate to explain why they didn’t think video games caused kids to become more violent back in 1993. Though personally, I like to think that young Bobby Angles won respect by simply inviting his peers over for some Streets of Rage 2.