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SEGA gets a new president as group lowers profits forecast

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HidekiOkamura

SEGA Corporation president Naoya Tsurumi will be stepping down from his positions as President, Representative Director and Chief Operating Officer and to be replaced by Hideki Okamura (pictured above) as of April 1st, 2014. Okamura has been a long time SEGA employee but has mostly held marketing positions since joining the company in the 1990s. He moves from his position as Chairman of TMS Entertainment, whilst Tsurumi becomes Vice Chairman of the Board. Also announced today by SEGA Sammy is that the group is expecting lower forecasts for the full year. Hit the break to get a rundown on the full figures and how SEGA Sammy hopes to rectify the situation.

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The SEGA Five: How SEGA redesigned Sonic the Hedgehog

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Following the reveal of Sonic Boom, SEGA and Sonic fan communities exploded with discussion regarding the redesigns of the characters. Things like muscles, sports tape, scarves, tool belts, and blue arms became the subject of heated debates. Before the assurance from SEGA staff that the new game and TV show were a branch of the franchise and not a reboot, fans were both delighted and angered at the idea of Sonic undergoing another redesign after getting to know Modern Sonic for the past 7 years. Of course, fans of the franchise are not new to redesigns of SEGA’s mascot, so they can’t be blamed for assuming that Sonic was undergoing another permanent major change. While Sonic Boom Sonic and Modern Sonic “will continue to move forward in parallel” to each other, as stated by Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka, the new Westernized design of Sonic is here to stay – at least for the near future.

As we move forward into the Sonic Boom era, we thought it would be fitting to look back at five major moments in Sonic’s history of redesigns, from buttface to green eyes and beyond. “Buttface” is enough incentive to read on, right?

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Akira Yuki and Pai Chan of Virtua Fighter fame appears in Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax in the latest screenshots

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In one of Virtua Fighter’s 20th Anniversary announcements of last year, SEGA and publisher ASCII Media Works announced that Akira Yuki will be appearing as a boss character in the upcoming Degenki Bunko Fighting Climax, as part of the franchise’s 20th anniversary.

Not only the Hakkyoku-ken master but the movie star, Pai Chan joins the fray as well as his supporting character. More will be announced on Akira’s appearance when the next Dengeki Bunko event that will take place in Japan on March 16th.

Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax will be launching in Japan in spring 2014 in Japanese arcades. Hit the jump for more screenshots of Akira performing his infamous “Hougenki Unshin Soukoshou” on Kirito from Sword Art Online.

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Registration opens for SEGA Cup Virtua Fighter Tournament 2014

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Fans of SEGA’s Virtua Fighter listen up – registration for the SEGA Cup opens today! Announced earlier this year, the SEGA Cup features a Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown Tournament, held in partnership with Alex Valle and Level|Up. The tournament takes place in Los Angeles at the Super Arcade on April 26, 2014 from 10am to 10pm. The top 16 players will be awarded cash prizes, and the PS3 version of the game will be used for the competition.

Think you have what it takes, or are you just up for a day of kicking ass or having your ass kicked? Head on over to their official site today!

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Nintendo pulls the plug on online features for Wii and DS games

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Nintendo of America has just announced that as of May 20th, you will no longer have access to WiFi connection service on their Wii, DS and DSi games. That will include features like online play, online leaderboards and anything else that it does online. All games will work perfectly fine online.

Honestly this move makes me more weary of Nintendo and actually makes me reconsider the idea of buying a Wii U. I know most people will post and say that I’m overreacting, saying not many people play DS titles online, but it sucks knowing that if we make a party on our forums to play Phantasy Star Ø, as of May 20th, we won’t be able to play online just because Nintendo decided they didn’t want to support online services going on to the next generation.

To see all SEGA games that will be affected, hit the jump.

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SEGA in the Charts: MediaCreate charts for Feb 17 – Feb 23 2014

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Yishin8Ryu Ga Gotoku: Ishin was SEGA’s big title released this week

SEGA’s samurai epic featuring characters from their Yakuza series in place of historical figures in Japan, Ryu Ga Gotoku: Ishin, launched last week and is set to be one of their key titles over the final quarter. Releasing on both the Playstation 3 and Playstation 4, the game enjoyed being one of the launch titles for Sony’s latest console in Japan but did it do enough to take the number one spot and how does Puyo Puyo Tetris continue to fare in the chart? Hit the break to find out!

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Our new video series “This Is Saturn” takes on an all-star SEGA cast in Fighters Megamix

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This is Saturn returns, with a look at Fighters Megamix, SEGA AM2’s crazy crossover fighter featuring characters from Virtua Fighter, Fighting Vipers, Sonic the Fighters, Rent-A-Hero, Virtua Cop, and even Daytona USA!

Being my first SEGA Saturn game, Fighters Megamix is a game that regardless of quality, means quite a bit to me. But does it manage to hit the heights of Virtua Fighter 2 and Fighting Vipers themselves? Or is it a clumsy mash-up of two hits? The answer lies, in episode 2 of This is Saturn! Though really, it’s a SEGA AM2 game, so what do you think the game’s going to be?

As stated in the video, Gaming Hell played a huge role in the research for this video, and it’s a kick-arse site! You can also specifically find Gaming Hell’s Fighters Megamix page, including a full review and guide here. Give the site some love, because hell, it more than deserves it! A special thanks goes to Ant Cooke, owner of Gaming Hell, for clearing up several particular details as well, notably the After Burner cameo code.

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.

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Humorous “Hero Bank” commercial airing and the anime cast announced

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Adding to their humorously bizarre commercial pedigree, SEGA released this commercial for Hero Bank a couple of days ago. Hero Bank follows the immensely unfortunate but determined Kaito Gosho as he assumes a virtual avatar and competes in the online cyber-sport “Hero Battle” to pay off a one billion yen debt. Toshihiro Nagoshi of Yakuza and Super Monkey Ball fame is acting as producer for this title. The 3DS arena-fighting RPG releases in Japan on March 20th.

As part of the promotional blitz (which started last summer with items like branded toilet paper,) a TV anime series is in production and will begin airing on April 7th on Mondays at 6:30 PM. Anime News Network recently listed the voice cast and announced that TMS Animation is handling animation work for this adaptation. Yuuko Sanpei, known for work including Eureka Seven lead Renton Thurston, will be providing the voice of main character Kaito Gosho. His friend-turned-rival Nagare Amano is voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya, more recently identifiable as Attack on Titan‘s Levi. Incidentally, Kamiya also seems to be a recurring name in some of the newer-era Shining games.

Interestingly, while news thus far for the game describes Kaito as being saddled with a one billion yen debt, ANN lists the debt as ten billion instead. Isn’t elementary school hard enough?

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Sonic Boom franchise behind the scenes video released

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It’s not often that we get a look at how Sonic games are made, so it’s surprising that SEGA released a behind the scenes video for Sonic Boom. While there’s not much new info, it does show a lot of new concept art for the game and a couple of voice recording sessions for the TV show. There’s also one very small bit of new gameplay that you will probably miss if you blink.

The cast for the game and TV show was also revealed, which confirms that Orbot and Cubot will be present in this spin-off. It also shows that Tails now has a new voice actress, with Colleen Villard replacing Kate Higgins. This isn’t the first time Villard voiced a Sonic character, as she is also the current voice of the beloved Charmy the Bee.

Today has been a big day for Sonic Boom, as we just uploaded our latest podcast which features an hour long interview with producer Stephen Frost.

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Swingin’ Report Show #56: Interview with Sonic Boom Producer Stephen Frost

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Hot on the heels of the reveal of the new Western television series and video game Sonic Boom, SEGA of America producer Stephen Frost sat down with Swingin’ Report Show hosts Barry and George, as well as David of Sonic Retro, to discuss all things speedy and blue. In this hour long discussion we delve into the genesis of the project, learn more of the team at Big Red Button Entertainment, and get a few hints at what we can expect to see in both the game and show. If Stephen’s enthusiasm is any gauge for what we can expect, we’re in for a real treat later this year!

Learn more about the new branch in the Sonic franchise at the official Sonic Boom website.

[Download] [RSS] [iTunes] [Archive]

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All Four Upcoming Persona Games Confirmed For US Release

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Remember that time an onslaught of Persona game announcements was posted on the front page? Well, all four of those announced games have been confirmed for an US release. The first two of those will be Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth for 3DS and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax for PS3 and Xbox 360, both of which will be released this Fall. Americans will have to wait a bit longer for Persona 5 (for PS3) and Persona 4: Dancing All Night (for Vita) though, as both of those games won’t be released in the US until 2015.

Sadly for European Persona fans, Atlus hasn’t announced anything regarding a release in Europe. Of course, this could change with Atlus now being a SEGA company, but we’ll have to wait and see if that will be the case. English trailers for Persona Q, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax and Persona 4: Dancing All Night can be found below after the jump.

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Sonic Amateur Games Expo Returns This Week

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After one year of absence, Sonic Amateur Games Expo has finally returned delivering a showcase of fan-created Sonic works from many talented folks from places such as Sonic Fan Games HQ including games, artwork and more running up to March 1st. You can expect to play demos of games including Sonic Time Twisted, an updated version of Sonic Chrono Adventure, a remake of Sonic the Hedgehog on Master System and Game Gear, the Jazz Jackrabbit mod Sonic with a Gun and many more. You can also expect live streaming, video podcasts and chat with others SAGE-goers as the event continues. 

Head on over to SAGExpo.org now to check out whats in store for this year’s event. You can also check out a trailer for the event after the jump.

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“Sonic Revolution” Sonic fan convention announced for June 15th

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You may remember hearing of a small Sonic fan gathering in Orange County last year called “Sonic Boom West Chapter”. It was put together by several So Cal Sonic fans including Tanner Bates who you may have heard on our latest episode of Sonic Talk. It was during that gathering that the plans for Sonic Revolution was put in it’s early stages. Since then, I’ve become a part of this group and have helped (a little) in bringing Sonic Revolution into a full fledged convention.

The Sonic Revolution convention has now been announced for Sunday, June 15 at the Holiday Inn at Buena Park, California (close to Disneyland). While we’re still gathering more guests for the event (Sonic Boom producer Stephen Frost has shown interest), so far we have the producers of the upcoming fan film Sonic prologue coming in with an exclusive clip and a Q&A. Also, Sonic cover band Serenity Seven will be on hand for music. There will also be an artists alley you can register a booth (for free) and giveaways and more prizes.

Tickets will be available (for free) March 1st. For more info and to keep up with new information, check out the event page on Facebook here.

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Classic SEGA Ads: “Take my Congo Bongo…..please!”

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Back in 1983, Sega released Congo Bongo in arcades as Sega’s isometric answer to Donkey Kong. The game had you playing a man on safari chasing a giant gorilla through several levels. However, due to the isometric nature of the game, it made it very challenging. The game was soon released on all popular gaming platforms of the early to mid 80’s so of course, a commercial was made to sell the game. The comedian you hear in the ad is the very famous Henny Youngman who made a career out of zippy one liners such as “Take my wife…please!” and is a much funnier comedian than what’s shown in this commercial. Continue reading for an example of his better stuff.

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Atlus teases Persona Q: Shadow Of The Labyrinth Special Edition package

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Atlus is really good at delivering when it comes to special edition version of their games, usually being priced just right for what you get. This time around they are teasing a package for the Japanese market that will include:

  • Persona Q for the 3DS
  • Special B5 size tapestry drawn by Persona Q anime staff
  • A3 size clear poster (secret design till it goes on sale)
  • five visual clear files
  • Persona Q mug (motif style of the Velvet Room)
  • Graphig (aka paper craft) version of Rei

Persona Q hits the 3DS in Japan on June 6th. If you want to order the special edition version, you can here. Is everyone excited for the first ‘Persona‘ game under SEGA?

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