In other Hell Yeah related news here is a brand new trailer. As the title suggests this trailer focuses on the customization featured in Hell Yeah which includes pimping your drill and wearing masks. We’re not yet sure if those customizations effect the gameplay or if they are just aesthetic changes. We’ll get back to you on that.
The SEGA Blog has revealed the price and release date of Arkedo Studio’s digital title Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit, published by SEGA. The game will be available to download in North America on September 25 for PlayStation Network, September 26 on Xbox LIVE Arcade, and October 3 for PC digital download for $14.99/1200MSP/$14.99 respectively. In Europe, the game will be available for all three platforms on October 3 for 1200MSP/£9.99/€12.99/AUD$19.95.
After the break, check out the new trailer and “box art”.
Sumo Digital’s Steve Lycett shared a bit of good news (or bad news, depending on who you are) at the official SEGA forums regarding additional Sonic characters as playable racers in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. Steve aka S0L said:
*Dons flameproof suit*
I don’t consider this a deconfirm, but we’ve revealed all the Sonic characters we’re going to reveal that are considered playable.
*Waits for fire to start*
This means that the playable racing roster will be containing no more than seven Sonic characters: Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Eggman, Metal Sonic and Shadow. Interestingly, none of the characters are from post-2001. Also, the roster contains the complete Sonic Drift roster, a near complete Sonic Drift 2 roster (replacing Fang for Shadow) and a near complete Sonic R roster (Tails Doll, Metal Knuckles and Egg Robo are absent and Super Sonic appears as Sonic’s All-Star Move). Steve’s mention of “all the Sonic characters we’re going to reveal that are considered playable” seems to imply we might see other characters by way of NPCs, stickers and vehicle upgrades. Fingers crossed for an Omochao paint scheme. Fans of Big the Cat will notice his absence, but think of it this way: the loss of Big makes the first All-Stars Racing game all the more special.
Those with iOS devices like the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch know all about the tempting little update notification that appears on the App Store icon. That little red number stating the number of apps with new updates is often a treat. Perhaps some bugs have been fixed, or new stages have been added to your favorite games. Well in the case of Sonic 4 Episode 1, the latest update deletes the players progress! So before you read on, make sure you’re not about to press that “UPDATE” button for the game, at least if you’re playing on iPod Touch and iPhone. The update itself seems to fix some bugs and improve stability, though I haven’t noticed any difference outside of a Sonic 4 Episode 2 ad that popped up the first time I opened the app. I haven’t seen the ad since, so it may be a one time thing. I did lose my progress, but I knew full well I might and updated anyway for the sake of this article. SEGA has yet to comment on the update, but hopefully an update to the update brings back the save file or a revised update appears that saves those who have yet to download the update. More updates on the update when we’re… updated.
SEGA loves adding real world brand collaborations in the Yakuza series. This time around SEGA is collaborating with Namco Bandai to have their game Taiko Drum Master appear as a playable arcade unit in Yakuza 5.
The arcade unit will allow you to select from a handful of songs, including Mappy Ondo, Nijiiro Yumeiro and Shinsekai Yori. This was announced on this week’s Famitsu as a part of looking back at ten years of Taiko Drum Master. The issue also included a picture of our tan hero Toshihiro Nagoshi playing a Taiko arcade unit. So rare.
I already did a post on all the characters that inhabit Fukuoka and Hokkaido, now its time to see who’s who in Osaka. So hit the jump and check out who the main characters and their supporting casts are.
Above is the CG video that will greet you when you turn out your copy of Hatsune Miku Project Diva F on your Playstation Vita. That is, if you are going to import the title since and since no Hatsune Miku game has been released out of Japan (not counting Miku Flick) I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Nope, this story isn’t related to a Mario & Sonic title. An actual Olympic runner from Puerto Rico is such a Sonic the Hedgehog fan that he has the blue mascot tattooed on his arm. The tattoo has the young hedgehog in front of the Puerto Rican flag.
The man with the tattoo is named Javier Culson, who took home the bronze medal in the 400-meter hurdles at this year’s Olympics. He didn’t just get Sonic because he was a fast character, he is an actual fan. His name on twitter is “Culsonic”, so if your bored give him a shout out.
It seems that Nagoshi’s announcement is out and it’s Yakuza 5 related. The theme song for Yakuza 5 will be done by Kyosuke Himuro’s new group called Gospels of Judas. The song is called “Bloody Moon”.
Not only that, six additional songs by Himuro will be in the game. Can I get Kazuma doing a karaoke song for Kiss Me?
Rich Moore, director of many classic The Simpsons episodes and director of Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph, shared a funny SEGA anecdote while being interviewed by IGN:
“We did have kind of a check-in process, where we would show them the footage and say, ‘What do you think? Is it good?’ At one point, [Nintendo] said, ‘Bowser’s much bigger than that. He’s way bigger than Zangief.’ We were like, ‘Okay, we’ll make him bigger. How’s that?’ They’d say, ‘Yes, that’s good — but he wouldn’t drink his coffee like that. He wouldn’t make that mouth.’ [Laughs] Of course, then people from Sega said, ‘Well, Doctor Robotnik is bigger.’ [Laughs] They wanted their characters bigger and bigger. We were going to end up with these giants in a room, with Ralph as this little guy… But I think that stuff really helped. I looked back on our original animation before the Nintendo notes, and it was like, ‘You know, he does look more like Bowser now.'”
You can read the full interview over at IGN, though this is the only SEGA mention.
When Sonic 4 Episode I released, the SEGA Blog did something quite controversial: they rewarded those who bought more than one version of the game. The nerve! It’s one thing to offer the game on multiple platforms, but it’s quite another thing to reward those who decide to spend their own money on more than one version of the game. The community team is at it again. For Sonic 4 Episode II the offer was: buy two or more versions of the game and get a mention in a video. Buy four or more versions of the game and get a mention and a Sonic 4 Episode II poster signed by those from SEGA of America who worked on the game. Seeing as we here at SEGAbits are true blue, and we like to hear the community team say our name, we sent in our digital receipts and got a mention at 56 seconds into the video. Kellie thanks the site and the entire SEGAbits crew. Thanks Kellie! SEGAbits forum member Kori, who maintains the Website of the Dead, gets a mention in the poster tier. Did your name get a mention? Sound off below.
Nagoshi posted a short post on his blog stating that there will be an announcement tomorrow. What on earth could the announcement be? Could it be Monkey Ball related? Yakuza 5 related? Who knows, he never says what it is related to or if it even is related to video games.
Your thoughts?
From Machinima comes a new Aliens: Colonial Marines trailer. It includes the Gearbox staff showing off the Xenomorphs along with the Marines weapons. Between these early looks and the ads I’ve been seeing all around GameStop, Sega is really giving this game a huge marketing push. Especially since it doesn’t arrive until February 2013.
SEGA has shared new images of characters that you will be able to either play as or visit with in two locations, Fukuoka and Hokkaido. This is two out of five, which is interesting. It seems that each character will have its own city to explore along with its own set of characters.
Platinum Games’ Hideki Kamiya tells it how he sees it and this time its a shot at Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale, a mash up fighter. If you guys have been following the game, it takes ‘Playstation’ greats and puts them together in 2D view fighting game that looks basically like Super Smash Bros. Kamiya doesn’t seem to like the idea of the game.
What do you guys think? Rip off or not?