Yuji Naka talks about working at Square-Enix, says company doesn’t ‘value games’

It seems that Yuji Naka isn’t happy with his time working at Square-Enix, which started back in 2019. Since then Yuji Naka and Square-Enix have announced Balan Wonderworld, had him removed as director before the game released and ended with Yuji Naka leaving Square-Enix last year. Yuji Naka has actually been rather silent over the whole thing, even if Balan Wonderworld has been getting trashed online for months after release, which dragged his name through the dirt.

Now Yuji Naka has taken to Twitter to discuss working with Square-Enix, saying that the company doesn’t value making good games and that Yuji Naka even tried to get his lawyer involved so they could get more time to develop Balan Wonderworld. The messages below are from his Japanese Twitter thread, translated via @Cheesemeister3k:

[UPDATE] SEGA delisting Sonic 1, 2, 3 & Knuckles and CD from digital storefronts on May 20th

Update: SEGA Forever has clarified that the mobile ports of Sonic 1, 2 and CD will remain!
SEGA of Japan’s Sonic Channel further clarifies that the following titles will be delisted: Xbox 360: Sonic 1, 2, 3, & Knuckles; PS Now: Sonic 1; PS3: Sonic 1, 2; Steam: Sonic 1, 2, 3 & Knuckles. The Sonic CD port appears to be spared, though given this is the Japanese site, it is unknown if the US and Europe releases will match this list.

SEGA has announced that in the lead up to Sonic Origins, Sonic games found in the collection will be pulled from digital storefronts. In SEGA’s words:

This will include Sonic the Hedgehog 1, 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles and Sonic CD. There are a couple of exceptions – Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2 will remain available via SEGA AGES on the Nintendo Switch and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 will still be playable via Sega Genesis on Nintendo Switch Online +.

Ryo Vs Lan Di Stare Down! | Shenmue the Animation EP 12 Review/Discussion

We are almost coming to an end in our Shenmue The Animation After Show, on this episode our heroes journey into the Yellow Head Building, while the anime actually expands on both Joy and Wong’s character arcs and leaves us off with an epic stare down between Ryo and Lan Di!

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The SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show LIVE: Sonic Movie Novelization Writer Kiel Phegley

Sonic has returned to theaters in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and Kiel Phegley is returning to the Swingin’ Report Show to talk about all he has been up to in the world of Sonic books since we last spoke! We’ll talk about how Kiel became the go-to Sonic movie novelization writer, the process of creating a novelization for both Sonic movies, and his work with IDW on the prequel comic for Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

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Space Harrier II, Shining Force II, and Sonic Spinball Coming To The Nintendo Online Expansion Pass

Nintendo has announced three more games coming to the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack, this time it is the tactical role-playing title Shining Force II, the pseudo-Super Scaler title Space Harrier II, and the pinball game with ear bleed option menu music Sonic Spinball. All three games will be available in all regions for Nintendo Switch owners that have the NSO Expansion service.

What is your thoughts on the new titles? Please comment below your thoughts.

Arts and Crafts: Make your own Sonic Origins Genesis box, manual and cartridge!

Fool your friends, be the envy of your enemies (or vice versa) with the Sonic Origins SEGA Genesis paper craft! I did it for Sonic 4 Episode 1, Sonic 4 Episode 2, Sonic Generations and Sonic Mania. So it only makes sense for me to do it again for Sonic Origins!

The process is pretty easy. Print out the images below, slip the cover in a Genesis case, tape or glue the label on a Genesis cartridge and fold and place the manual inside the case. I like to use old sports games, but you can use any old Genesis game case that you wish. Have fun!

SEGA News Bits Live: Sonic Origins Revealed + Jet Set Radio Rebooted

WAKE UP! There’s a lot to talk about this morning as Sonic Origins has been officially revealed and detailed. Let’s run through all the features, digital bonuses and prices. Also, we run through the past week of SEGA news including reboots of Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio and a Streets of Rage movie from the John Wick guy.

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Sonic Origins releasing June 23, featuring new animated cutscenes and modes!

SEGA has officially announced Sonic Origins! The game is set to release on June 23rd, 2022, just in time for Sonic’s 31st anniversary. The game will feature a new 16:9 endless life anniversary mode in which players collect coins to unlock bonus content as well as a 4:3 classic mode featuring the games as they originally played. Players can select Sonic, Tails and Knuckles to play across all four games. Based on what we see in the trailer, there are new animations and the game WILL feature the original Taxman ports of Sonic 1, 2 and CD. The game will release digitally to Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC. A digital deluxe edition will feature bonus hard missions, additional music tracks, letterbox backgrounds, character animations and an island camera (hmm).

Update: Stealth of Headcannon – of Taxman and Stealth fame from the Sonic 1, 2 and CD ports as well as Sonic Mania – has revealed that he and a team were behind remaking Sonic 3 & Knuckles!

After the break, check out the official press release and screens of the games and menus!

Ryo Closes In On The Yellow Head Building! | Shenmue the Animation The After Show EP 11

We are approaching the last few episodes of Shenmue the Animation and on the 11th episode our boy Ryo finds out about Xiuying Hong’s brother, he enters a tournament and continues to get closer to The Yellow Head Building were a Lan Di is! We also look at changes from the game to the anime, including new storyline introduced for Joy!

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Sonic Origins rated in South Korea, key art leaks on PSN

A Sonic Origins announcement could be imminent! On Monday, the PC version of the game appeared on a South Korean ratings website and shortly thereafter artwork for the game appeared on PSN. Twitter user Tanooki Joe pointed out to us that the same art seen for Sonic Origins showed up a few weeks back in an official Sonic licensing advertisement. Between this fact, and the art being hosted on PlayStation’s servers, this is 100% real. The question now is, when will SEGA formally announce the game?

SEGA reportedly working on new Jet Set Radio and Crazy Taxi games as part of Super Game project

According to a report from Bloomberg, SEGA is in the process of developing big budget reboots of Jet Set Radio and Crazy Taxi, as part of the previously reported on Super Game project. For a refresher, the Super Game project is SEGA’s attempt to basically have their own Fortnite. Meaning a recurring revenue stream with a large online community built around it. SEGA already has released Phantasy Star Online 2 globally, but reboots of Jet Set Radio and Crazy Taxi would hopefully garner a larger audience and even more sales in SEGA’s eyes.

According to the Bloomberg report, the Crazy Taxi game has been in development for over a year and should release in two to three years. Jet Set Radio was named alongside Crazy Taxi on SEGA’s annual report listing IPs SEGA wishes to bring back.

The writer for the Bloomberg piece stressed that these projects could still be cancelled. In my personal opinion they could just be covering their butt should this report prove false. Also, in my opinion, the use of “reboot” here could be incorrectly used, as writers in the past referred to any sort of followup as a “reboot”. More news as we hear it!

[Source: Bloomberg]

SEGA Talk #94: Anarchy Reigns (2012)

On this episode we talk Anarchy Reigns, the ‘sequel’ of sorts to Madworld… or is it? This Platinum Games open world beat ’em up has more to offer than you might think. Let’s look at the wide range of characters, development and of course the controversial delay in the West.

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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!

Streets of Rage Movie in the works with John Wick creator behind the project

According to Deadline, Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog movie’s success has now gotten the studio interested in going forward with a movie based on Streets of Rage. If you read this blog, I don’t think we need to introduce you to this iconic SEGA franchise. Deadline’s sources tell them its being headed by Derek Kolstad, who is the creator behind the John Wick franchise and penned the recent action movie Nobody starring Bob Odenkirk. This project will be done under dj2 Entertainment, who recently also signed a contract with Amazon to adapt the video game “It Takes Two” to film or TV.

The road for a Streets of Rage movie has been rather slow, the first rumblings of interest happen way back in the end of 2016 when The Walking Dead production company (Circle of Confusion) expressed interest in adapting Streets of Rage or Altered Beast to film or TV. It looks like with Sonic the Hedgehog breaking records, more doors are opening up for SEGA properties to hit the big screen.

What other SEGA properties do  you want to see hit the big screen?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection Limited Edition Revealed

As you know, Konami is releasing a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection which is set to feature 13 of their classic Turtle games. While not all 13 are original games, some are the arcades and console ports (Turtles in Time for example comes both SNES and Arcade versions), but its a pretty comprehensive list of Konami Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles classic games. SEGA fans should be happy to hear that the rare, SEGA Genesis exclusive “TMNT: The Hyperstone Heist” is included!

Now Konami has revealed that you can also get the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowbunga Collection Limited Edition which will cost you a whopping $149.99 to pre-order (Best Buy: PS5, PS4, Switch, Xbox).  This version includes:

  • The physical game
  • 16″x 24″ loth poster
  • Acrylic diorama
  • Enamel pin set of five
  • Set of 12 trading cards\
  • 180 pg artbook

Shin Megami Tensei V has sold over one million units

Atlus has announced that Shin Megami Tensei V for the Nintendo Switch has surpassed one million units sold. This is counting both digital and physical shipments.

If you didn’t already know, Shin Megami Tensei V has been the best selling entry into the franchise’s history, which launched way back in 1992 on the Super Famicom (later receiving a SEGA CD port, for SEGA fanboys). All I can say is, well deserved!