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SEGA announces Sonic Dash for iOS

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SEGA has officially announced that Sonic Dash will be releasing to the App Store “soon” and has confirmed that the game is developed by Hardlight and will be an endless-runner in which you challenge friends to beat your best distance and time records. For now, all we have is the above image as well as a larger render, seen after the break. As soon as we learn more, we’ll be sure to share it!

Update: The SEGA Blog posted a short article on the game, most interesting is that the game is said to be in 3D. So, unlike Sonic Jump, could the game feature fully rendered 3D characters and worlds?

How long can you run?

That’s the question you get to answer now: SEGA is proud to announce Sonic Dash — the agile, endless, running mobile game will be available soon at the App Store for iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad!

Our hero will be doing what he does best — making a fast and frenzied 3D dash through stunning stages, as he navigates over, around, and through interminable dangers. Challenge your friends and compete on leaderboards — you may know who the fastest is, but, for how long?

Stay tuned to find out more!

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SEGA’s Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse coming to modern consoles?

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Several gaming news sites have picked up on the fact that the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive (or Master System?) classic Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse, developed by SEGA AM7, has been rated by the Brazilian ratings board. The platforms listed include Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii U, and Playstation Vita. No other information, such as potential release date or whether this is the Master System version of the Genesis/Mega Drive version, is given. Could it be that Disney and SEGA have a stronger relationship following Wreck-It Ralph, and the two worked out a deal to rerelease the licensed game? Hope so! Ideally they’d release both versions of the game in a Vintage Collection, and other SEGA developed Disney titles such as World of Illusion and QuackShot are to follow. When we learn more, we’ll be sure to share.

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Rumor: Yu Suzuki thinking of using Kickstarter to fund Shenmue III?

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The tweet above is from Sebastien-Abdelhamid, he happens to work for a indepent French channel and is part of the Monaco Anime Game Show (which I never heard of). I obviously don’t watch French television, so my knowledge of him is basically nonexistent, but this tweet has thrown the guys over at NeoGAF in frenzy.

So if Yu Suzuki put up a Kickstarter to fund Shenmue III, would you drop some of your cash? Also what consoles would you want to see it on?

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Conduit HD coming to Tegra-powered mobile devices this month

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High Voltage Software is still working on the Conduit franchise, this time around they are working on a mobile entry to their franchised, ironically called Conduit HD. I know the first two Conduit games appeared on the Nintendo Wii in standard definition, most people would think that their first high definition release would come out on Wii U. I guess “you” thought wrong (ba da bing) .

“This project is important for our industry because it proves that not only can we deliver console-quality gameplay experiences on mobile platforms, but we can improve them, from the graphics to the gameplay, The Conduit HD delivers an experience that was only previously possible on consoles.” – High Voltage chief creative officer Eric Nofsinger.

What I hear is this is a remake of the single player (only single player as of now) in the first Conduit. Players will be able to play the first two stages for free, will have to cough up cash for the other six levels. They have two payment options, $2.99 for 3 stage pack or $4.99 for all stages. The game is due to be released March 14th. I didn’t expect to see more Conduit, what do you guys think? Doesn’t seem that SEGA will be publishing this title, so this is the last we will have to talk about it.

 

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Total War: Rome 2 gets trailer and in-game screenshots

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The gameplay trailer above is a recreation of “The Battle of Teutoburg”, a battle where the Roman Empire lost. Being ambushed by Germanic cheiftain, double-crossing and all that jazz is present. After the trailer, there is a link to a real-life trailer teaser that was released before.

Even though it isn’t in-game footage, some of the tatics seen here will be usable in the game. I can’t wait for my army to roll those flaming boulders at the upcoming enemy! Rome 2 is set to come out ‘the latter half of the year’. Well, I thought it was suppose to be out April? Nooo! Also hit the jump to see some in-game screenshots!

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Shining Ark’s casual difficulty mode and password bread recipes

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Shining Ark, the latest Shining game in the franchise came out in Japan today for the Sony PSP. As you would expect, lots of information has started to come out, like the fact that the game will have difficulty settings like ‘Standard’ and ‘Casual’. This has been a new trend in RPGs, hoping to catch audiences that thought JRPG’s where too hard, who now can enjoy the game on casual. The game allows you to pick your difficulty at the start, choosing either won’t affect item drops or storyline. Best part is that you can scale the difficulty back whenever you want from the start menu.

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My Life with SEGA returns from Yokosuka with a very special Shenmue review

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Shenmue. Yu Suzuki’s masterpiece has become something of legend. It completely redifined a genre and showed gamers around the world that Dreamcast was more than just a pretty face….

More than a decade later, the game retains a rabid cult following and fans cry out for a continuation to this incredible series. But is Shenmue truly worthy of all this praise? Should this title be revered? Watch and learn, my dear viewers.

The SEGAbits 3rd anniversary contest ENDS TODAY – win prizes like a SEGA Genesis, Genesis games and brand new My Life With SEGA DVD’s! All the details can be found here.

Like this video? Subscribe to the SEGAbits YouTube channel!

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Toshihiro Nagoshi talks Relic purchase, next generation and future of SEGA

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If you guys didn’t know, Toshihiro Nagoshi, a developer known for games like Yakuza and Binary Domain was promoted to chief creative officer over at SEGA last year. Now he speaks up on next generation systems, Relic purchase and the future of SEGA games. The Relic buyout was due to SEGA wanting to make games locally, I assume the drama with Gearbox Software has something to do with this decision?

“[The purchase] is based around our objective of getting products locally developed by local studios, but it’s also due to the heavy-hitting RTS titles Relic has. Sega already has The Creative Assembly, which is great at making RTS’, and so we’re becoming one of the best in the world at this genre now. So this purchase was part of our strategy for tackling this genre as well. It’s a well-established one, especially overseas, and having this wealth of experience under our belts makes me really look forward to seeing how the chemistry between the two studios works out. If we have the opportunity to make further purchases that emphasize high creativity, I think you’ll see us aiming for that.” – Toshihiro Nagoshi, Chief Creative Officer at SEGA Japan

He also talked about SEGA’s image, something many readers and even some writers accuse of SEGA of losing.

“I want to think about things from ground zero one more time. That’s tough for our younger staff, but it’s also fun and exciting. That’s what you want the Sega logo to represent: things that seem crazy at first, but really surprise you when they take form. Even if people say ‘Oh, now they’ve done it’ at us sometimes, I don’t want to do away with the expectations that people have had for us since way back. It wouldn’t seem right if Sega acted all firm and conservative, would it? I think I’d like to keep that.”

Read more about next generation and costs of making games over at Polygon.

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SEGA Tunes SEGAbits Staff Spotlight: Ben, aka “nSega54”

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And so, on a quiet night, the streetlamps frosty amidst the falling snow, the locals warm and cozy inside their apartments up above the city streets, the town of Dobuita continues to sleep….

Shenmue has been lying dormant for an unspeakably long time, with not even a hint of a resolution in sight. Money, enough to have gone a long way towards funding a 3rd installment, was instead carelessly tossed off to to a Texas-based developer named Gearbox Software rather than into the hands of Yu Suzuki. After all these years, is it finally time to accept that SEGA will never allow their fanbase to continue the series that holds so much of their nostalgic gaming memories?

I’d given up hope long ago that Shenmue III would be released. But that doesn’t mean I can’t still appreciate all the great memories it offered, memories which, even over a decade later, still linger. This week’s Tuesday Tunes will highlight a couple of my favorite songs from the Shenmue games’ legendary soundtracks, so sit back and take a listen.

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Hardlight studio working on second iOS Sonic title: Sonic Dash

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Via the Sonic Stadium comes news that SEGA’s Hardlight studio, the team behind Sonic Jump, is now at work on another Sonic title named Sonic Dash. The news came by way of job advertisements posted by the studio on LinkedIn. Sonic Dash is listed as a recent title, with Sonic Jump also being listed. The title has since been removed, but Sonic Stadium screen capped it to prove that they’re not talking nonsense. The job posting, pre-edit, read as follows:

Hardlight is SEGA’s third UK based studio and is focused exclusively on creating high quality, innovative game experiences for mobile and handheld platforms.

The Studio comprises small, agile teams working on new IP & well-known SEGA IP. Project durations are 5-10 months, building on the success of their first projects on iOS – Sonic Jump & Sonic Dash – Hardlight is now working on some new & exciting projects.

The team follows an ethos of staying compact, agile and focused – combining talent from a variety of game genres and backgrounds, and welcomes applications from candidates of all levels of experience.

More than likely, Sonic Dash will be a sidescrolling endless runner, not unlike the free app released around Sonic’s 20th anniversary entitled Sonic the Sketchhog or the more recent Sonic and Nike game Sonic X Vapor. The job listing appears to be for projects following Sonic Dash, which implies that the game is already finished and is awaiting release. Given that the game’s name came right from Hardlight and SEGA, we’re treating it as news but will slap a “rumor” tag on it just in case.

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Aliens: Colonial Marines still doing great in UK this week, drops to #5 spot

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Even with big budget new titles like Crysis 3 and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Aliens: Colonial Marines still takes up a spot on the UK charts coming in #5. Frankly, the game doesn’t deserve to chart at all, but I guess in a perfect world most of these titles wouldn’t chart.

Last week Aliens: Colonial Marines took the #1 spot, beating out Dead Space 3 which took #2. This week it beats that game at the same pace, since Dead Space 3 is #6 on the charts this week. So, at least in the UK, Aliens: Colonial Marines is more successful than the higher rated Dead Space 3. So, in the end, do reviews matter?

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Review: Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (3DS)

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Released to home consoles in November of last year, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed ended up being one of the best games SEGA released in 2012. Marketing for the game was dead-on in proclaiming “It’s Not Just Racing. It’s Racing Transformed!”, as the game was both a huge step up from the previous game and a contender for the best character kart racer around. As the months went on, other versions of the game released with a Vita version in December and a PC version released just last month. The latest, and possibly final version of the game to be released, is for the 3DS. Despite being the most underpowered of the platforms, I was anxious to see how SEGA and Sumo were able to translate the console title to Nintendo’s handheld.

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Hell Yeah! developer shuts down their studio

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Arkedo studio, the French team behind Hell Yeah! are now out of business according to their blog. They basically stated they won’t be developing anymore games due to the fact that they don’t have anymore employees due to not having enough money. Seems that Hell Yeah! cost the developers too much to make. They also stated that they have two little games completed and might release them later on.

The founders said they are moving on, one of them wants to enter publishing while the other wants to start a new mini-studio. It really sucks when developers go out of business, hopefully SEGA will take some of the employees and start a small digital studio. I mean, why not? I’m sure SEGA liked working together, no? Your thoughts?

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Swingin’ Report Show #40: Aliens Gone Wild

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This week on the show George and Barry the Nomad sit down with the Sonic Talk duo Nuckles87 and Shigs. Listen to us talk about the new SEGA laptops, whine about Aliens: Colonial Marines and criticize the Playstation 4 announcement. Like every podcast, you can’t get us to shut up about Shenmue.

[MP3 Download] [Archive]

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