Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing coming to Mac tomorrow


For those stuck on the Apple ecosystem and wanting to play Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing (not Transformed), the wait ends tomorrow. The game will come out exclusivly on the Mac App Store and will haveonline multiplayer using Apple’s own Game Center. The game will cost fans $24.99 (£17.49, €21.99).

Hit the jump for the press release and see you on the racing tracks!

SEGA Europe admits Aliens: Colonial Marines trailers don’t reflect final product

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Hey, after the game has sold a truck load of copies over in Europe, SEGA is finally going out of there way to tell people they were right. The trailers they created and posted are a bunch of hog wash. Do they reflect the final product? Nope!

“Sega Europe acknowledged your objection that the trailers did not accurately reflect the final content of the game, [Sega] agreed to add a disclaimer, both on their website and in all relevant YouTube videos, which explains that the trailers depict footage of the demo versions of the game. The disclaimer will be visible when each online trailer is played.” – Niall McVeigh, Advertising Standards Authority

The ASA has received four complaints of misleading advertising. Thanks to Reddit, SEGA will now put disclaimers on their trailers. A bit too late, since the game has already sold a ton of copies. Oh well, justice is justice.

My Life with SEGA celebrates Kenji Eno with D for SEGA Saturn

In honor of Kenji Eno, I’m reviewing the survival horror/puzzle classic; D for SEGA Saturn. This game was his first major success and helped pave the way for Enemy Zero, the SEGA Saturn exclusive, and D2 for Dreamcast. D has been subjected to a great deal of mockery and derision due in large part to it’s heavy use of FMV and slow pace….

Is it deserving of such ridicule, or has it been treated unfairly? Turn out the lights and see for yourself.

Like this video? Subscribe to the SEGAbits YouTube channel! My Life with SEGA will be taking a short break, but will return on May 2nd with two zombie classics. Continue reading to check out the awesome teaser video!

SEGA Memories: SEGA debuts Sonic & Knuckles with a MTV special ‘Rock the Rock’

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Welcome to a new entry for our Monday Memories weekly (hopefully from now on) articles. This week we’ll be taking you all the way back to the year 1994, at the height of SEGA’s popularity. They had a great mascot that released three main games in his franchise, sold tons of SEGA Genesis/Mega Drives around the world, and had a new upcoming game: Sonic & Knuckles.

What better way to introduce the game to America than an MTV special entitled “Rock the Rock” on Alcatraz Island?

SEGAbits to partner with Sonic Retro and SEGA Retro, creating the ultimate SEGA and Sonic fan resource

No fooling! SEGAbits, Sonic Retro, and SEGA Retro welcome you the next level of SEGA fansites.

We’re excited to announce that SEGAbits will be partnering with Sonic Retro and SEGA Retro! Yes, we know, it’s April Fools day, but we are not joking. Administrators from both SEGAbits and Sonic Retro have made the decision to join forces to create the ultimate SEGA fan resource. Let’s get the big questions out of the way:

Will SEGAbits be drastically changed? No. SEGAbits will continue to bring readers news, reviews, original content and more. No design changes will be made, aside from our usual improvements as well as some additions mentioned below.

Will communities remain separate? Yes. We realize that both Sonic Retro and SEGAbits have their own communities and we do not want to merge either one into the other. SEGAbits.com and SonicRetro.org will remain.

What are the plans for Sonic Retro? Sonic Retro will continue be the Internet’s ultimate Sonic the Hedgehog resource. The Sonic Retro forums will still be home to the vast Sonic Retro community. As for the home page, SEGAbits and Sonic Retro staffs are hard at work on redefining Sonic Retro’s home page goals and once we have a plan set, you can expect it to be a change for the better.

So what’s the big deal? For starters, the plan is to integrate the expansive and informative SEGA Retro wiki into SEGAbits. We don’t want to give too much away, but expect to see SEGA Retro content improving and expanding on SEGAbits content. For example, a SEGAbits review of a game will be greatly enhanced with the integration of SEGA Retro information.

With the integration of SEGA Retro, SEGAbits will offer news, reviews, original content, a forum for SEGA fans to interact in, as well as a hugely informative wiki packed with SEGA information. Have more questions about the partnership? Comment below or visit our dedicated forum topic. We can’t wait to see where this new future for SEGAbits and Sonic Retro leads – we assume to blue, blue skies.

SEGA announces Phantasy Star Online 2: Code Episode 2

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During the Sympathy Concert to celebrate the Phantasy Star’s 25th anniversary SEGA and Sonic Team announced their first expansion pack for Phantasy Star Online 2. The expansion is being called Code Episode 2. Below is some of the keywords we know so far from the trailer that was shown at the event.

  • Oracle’s Collapse
  • Arks Road/Lord?
  • Photoners
  • “Who is the real enemy?”
  • The Third Darkers
  • The Beginning and End of the Arks
  • New Race, New Planet, New Classes.
  • New Weapon Categories.
  • Coming this Summer!

So it seems that it is confirmed that it will have new playable races, new planets and new character classes. More of everything you want, this Summer… While we wait in America for them to port the non-expansion packed version. Get on it SEGA West, stop delaying it.

The Weekly Five: Genesis/Mega Drive classics that deserve the retro engine treatment

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Ever since SEGA announced the Sonic CD re-release running on the Retro Engine, I had a long list of retro titles that I wanted to see use the engine. Then after awhile SEGA stopped announcing titles for it, then out of the blue they announce Sonic 1 & 2 re-releases using the engine. As much as I love Sonic, there are plenty of SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive games that I would love to see running on the Retro Engine. Check out the five games I would want to get the Retro Engine treatment and what type of extras I would love to see for them.

Sonic Dash now free and massively updated!

SEGA has released an update today that drastically changes the iOS game Sonic Dash. First off, the game is now free to play. Great news for those who have yet to buy the game, though it is a bit of a kick in the leg to fans who paid for the game initially. However, the game has been improved across the board. For starters, performance is much better on iPhone 4 and iPod Touch 4 devices. I’ve noted much smoother gameplay on my own iPhone 4. Another big improvement is the tweaking of object placement. Before, players might run up a hill, only to reach the top and run right into a barrier with little time to react. Now, SEGA promises that players will encounter this far less. A major complaint lodged at the game was that it was very difficult to earn red rings, and there was a finite amount. Red rings allow players to buy additional playable characters.

Now, thanks to daily play challenges, players are tasked with collecting four puzzle pieces a day, which in turn can be redeemed for a daily prize. Day one gives 100 rings, day two gives two head start power-ups, day three gives five respawns, day four gives two red star rings. Day five is the big prize, as you have the chance to win five red rings, ten respawns, 200 rings, five head starts, or a new playable character (in the case of this week, it is Tails).

Do these changes make Sonic Dash a better game? Sound off in the comments section! Also, after the break a detailed list of what the update contains.

Announcing the SEGAbits Third Anniversary Contest winners!

On February 1st we announced a contest to celebrate our third anniversary. Since then, we’ve received several awesome entries, and while we loved each and every submission, in the end we had to select three winners. As per the announcement article, third place wins a copy of the official “SEGAbits Presents My Life with SEGA” DVD – and third place goes to: nikibaby19! nikibaby19 sent two awesome pieces of fan art, which we’d love to share now, but instead we plan to post them in their own dedicated “Fan Made” article on April 10th. The second place winner will receive AJ’s copy of Outlander for the SEGA Genesis as well as a copy of the official “SEGAbits Presents My Life with SEGA” DVD. And second place goes to: Nicholas C. for his written review of Zombies Ate My Neighbors. We’ll be posting Nicholas’s review on April 17th. Finally, first prize, which includes AJ’s personal copy of Technocop for the Genesis, a Genesis model 2 and a copy of the official “SEGAbits Presents My Life with SEGA” DVD goes to: TrackerTD for his video review of the SEGA Power Base Converter. TrackerTD’s entry will be posted on April 24th.

Again, a big thanks to all who entered. We loved reading and watching what you had to say, it’s great to see so many passionate SEGA fans out there. Stay tuned to SEGAbits for more contests, as well as our usual SEGA-centric content!

Yu Suzuki and Mark Cerny hang out at GDC, talk Shenmue III

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Hey, if you are two of my favorite game developers of all time, you obviously have to hang out together and talk about my favorite unreleased game. According to Megan Scavio, GM of GDC they are in talks about Shenmue III. You know, that game that everyone wants SEGA to release.

“Mark Cerny & Yu Suzuki talking strategy for Shenmue III. For reals you guys.”Megan Scavio

You had me at Yu Suzuki, you sold me on Mark Cerny and you made me smile at Shenmue III. Let’s make it happen!

Creative Assembly announces new free-to-play multiplayer game, Total War: Arena

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SEGA and Creative Assembly have just announced their new game they have been teasing, Total War: Arena. The game is a ‘Multiplayer Online Battle Arena’, the game seems like it is aimed to compete against titles such as Leagues of Legends and DOTA 2. It doesn’t mean that the title is a MOBA type game, unlike those games, in this game you will have 10 vs 10 based battles.

Also unlike those MOBA type games, each player in this game will be able to control armies and command over 500 men in 3 units. The game has also been confirmed to be free-to-play. The game will be supported with add-on packs that will change the battlefield, even saying they will introduce stuff from different time periods.

Company of Heroes 2 closed beta starts April 2nd

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SEGA has stated today that they will be launching the Company of Hereoes 2 closed beta next week. Players that get in will get to test the game’s competitive multiplayer and skirmish gameplay. You will be able to play six maps including ones that are for 1v1, 2v2, 3v3 and 4v4. You will be able to progress to the first 40 levels of the game, customize your loadout using the new Army Customizer.

“We are excited to be able to launch the closed beta for Company of Heroes 2. We invite our fans to help us test and balance the game prior to launch, as well as see the changes we’ve already made since the Alpha test in December.” –Greg Wilson, Producer of Company of Heroes 2

So how do you get into the closed beta? According to SEGA its open only to pre-order customers only. It will be hosted on Steam and will utilize Steamworks (awesome).

More features revealed for Sonic the Hedgehog remastered – Spin dash confirmed!

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As GDC 2013 continues, more details regarding the upcoming rerelease of Sonic the Hedgehog are rolling in. Pocket Gamer reports that on-screen controls will retain the virtual d-pad and single button layout, however new features include a cartridge art gallery and the ability to use Sonic’s spin dash attack, which can be turned on and off in the game’s menu. As most Sonic fans know, the spin dash made its debut in the sequel, while the first game has only featured the addition of the move in Sonic Jam and various ROM hacks.

Meanwhile, Slide to Play expanded on the on-screen controls, noting that “the large, visible buttons of the Genesis controller have been replaced by one tiny jump button in the corner. The joystick is now a virtual stick that feels much more natural and suitable for touchscreen gaming.”. Slide to Play also noted that a SEGA executive indicated that future Genesis games on digital marketplaces would receive the remastering treatment, by casually stating “that was the plan.” If true, SEGA could eventually update existing games like Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, Shining Force, and Gunstar Heroes, as well as release titles not yet seen on mobile devices.

Thanks to SSMB member Shadzter for the info!

My Life with SEGA enters the Last Battle

The 2-Man Scramble 2-Part Special comes to an end with Last Battle. Yes, I know; how appropriate. My final penance for Wirehead, and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Universal Soldier may have been a 16-bit insult to both gamers and the 1992 film it was supposedly based on, but Last Battle is a laughably bad adventure title that never should have seen the light of day….

What, you don’t believe me? Watch this video and tell me I’m exaggerating.

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