3D Space Harrier for 3DS receives an Australia rating

Yesterday, the Australian Classification Board issued a rating of “G” for the 3DS rerelease of Space Harrier. This pretty much confirms that the game will be releasing to Australia and eventually (hopefully) Europe and North America. Released last month in Japan, 3D Space Harrier looks to be an awesome rerelease of the game, with a ton of features including 3D visuals and a simulated arcade cabinet. When we learn more of the English release of the game, we’ll be sure to share it. In the meantime, celebrate by listening to this week’s Tuesday Tune.

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Upcoming Sonic merch – History of Sonic Collector’s Edition and SEGA teams with Sambro to create board games and puzzles

SEGA’s longtime mascot has some cool new pieces of merchandise for 2013. First up is a Collector’s Edition of Pix’n Love’s The History of Sonic book. The History of Sonic has had a long and interesting history (well, interesting to Sonic nerds). The book began as a Collector’s Edition exclusive to France and in the French language. Soon, fans found that even if they didn’t speak a lick of French they could still order the book. Then, Pix’n Love announced an English version was to be made for the UK with international shipping available. Fans cancelled their French orders, awaited an English release and… nothing happened. That is, until Canadian publisher Udon picked up the book, refined the English translation and released it just this past December.

Just a month after the book’s release in North America, Pix’n Love’s English site has announced a Collector’s Edition of the book, which features an alternate cover, and each is individually numbered out of a total of 1,000. Aside from that, it looks to be the same book as the standard Udon edition. The price is £29.99 plus shipping, and the book is available to order now. Keep in mind, however, that the Amazon price is only $31 and the Collector’s Edition is over $47 plus tax. After the break, a bit of board game news.

SEGA Tunes: Space Harrier

Even when I first played it on Shenmue in 2001, Space Harrier was an incredibly unique game. Trippy, animated and hard as fuck, Space Harrier was one of my favorite past times in Shenmue…aside from forklift racing, of course. What really made the game experience, and what helped keep me coming back to spend my hard earned money that I should really have been saving up for Hong Kong, was the kick ass sound track.

The Space Harrier theme remains an all-time classic in SEGA’s library, and one that I hope continues to be revisited in future SEGA games. You can expect us to revisit the track plenty of times via official and fan remixes!

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SEGA Corporation to Air 24-Hour Internet TV Broadcast In Feb

SEGA Corporation will be airing a 24-Hour Internet TV Broadcast on February 2nd from 6PM JST to the 3rd at 6PM JST the next day. The broadcast will feature SEGA titles including Hatsune Miku: Project Diva FPhantasy Star Online 2, Yakuza 5 and the licensed-for-Japan title Rusty Hearts. The Internet broadcast seems to be also focused on the 20th Anniversary of the Puyo Puyo series and a time slot made specifically for Sonic Team. There are no word on this portion of the broadcast, but may include details based on the rumors of the upcoming Sonic game. You can view the schedule of the broadcast here and the live stream video by clicking this link.

The Cave launch trailer arrives

Just in case you haven’t yet seen it, SEGA and Double Fine put out a trailer a couple days ago in support of The Cave’s recent launch. Anyone pick this game up yet? Comment below.

The Cave is an adventure game from the mind of Ron Gilbert (Monkey Island) and is now available on PSN, Wii U eShop, XBLA, and Steam for $14.99 (or 1200 MSP).

First commercial for Aliens: Colonial Marines already making the rounds

2013 has just begun but SEGA of America seems to be diving right in. Though Gearbox’s highly anticipated Aliens title doesn’t see release until this February, TV spots are already making the rounds; probably the first commercial I’ve actually caught on TV for a SEGA release since….heck, MadWorld?

Here’s hoping the strong marketing push continues up through the game’s release, as it’s an incredible commercial and has me already eager to preorder.

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A brief look behind the scenes of Bayonetta 2

New teaser footage of Bayonetta 2 was showcased in the latest Nintendo Direct, the first we’ve seen of the title since its surprise announcement this past Fall. For those not familiar with Nintendo’s fan addresses, these are 20-30 minute videos Nintendo releases to communicate directly with their fans and to showcase their upcoming lineup.

The new footage shown is a mostly behind-the-scenes affair, though we also get small glimpses of concept art, locations, and enemies, as well as a taste of how Platinum Games intends to up the ante this time around.

Bayonetta 2, Platinum Games’ first ever sequel (unless you count Anarchy Reigns, which you shouldn’t) is an IP evidently still owned by SEGA, though with Nintendo now publishing. It has not yet been given a release date. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata promises two Iwata Asks features with Platinum Games in the near future; one to discuss Bayonetta 2, the other to talk about their awesome-looking new IP, The Wonderful 101.

SEGA of Japan teases new game entitled “Code of Joker”

A teaser website for a new SEGA game has popped up at the address coj.sega.jp. Only a title, Code of Joker, and a date of February 1st are given. Given the card based title, the game could be a new card based arcade game. In mid-February, SEGA will have the biggest booth at the Japan Amusement Expo, so this could very well be an arcade game that will debut at the show. Another possibility is that it is a console, handheld, or mobile title. But given the timing, and name, arcade is the strongest possibility.

Special thanks to SEGAbits forum member Aki-at for the news tip!

SEGA announces Total War SHOGUN 2 – Gold Edition

SEGA is fast becoming the king of real-time strategy games. Prior to the announcement of buying Relic, SEGA announced a Gold Edition of Total War SHOGUN 2. The release is set to include SHOGUN 2 (2011) and the expansions Rise of The Samurai (2011) and Fall of The Samurai (2012). Total War SHOGUN 2 Gold Edition is described as “a stunning collection that contains the entire saga from start to finish, and features hundreds of hours of award-winning strategy gaming.” So if you have yet to pick up the game, the Gold Edition sounds like an incredible all-in-one package. The game will be available at retailers from March 5th. After the break, check out the box art.

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed: SEGA has given Sumo Digital “approval for a specific character”

In late November, Sumo Digital Executive Producer Steve Lycett made SEGA fans an offer they couldn’t refuse. If the fans could pull together and organize a legitimate character poll, complete with accurate tracking and strong numbers, Steve would present the data to SEGA in hopes of character DLC for Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. Steve stressed that this was not a promise that there would be DLC, however a recent update from Steve on the SEGA forums (going by his handle “S0L”) implies that things are moving forward on DLC and a character has been chosen by SEGA. In Steve’s words:

Actually… We got approval for a specific character this morning. But that’s all I can say right now… 😛

Details and speculation after the break.

Bayonetta coming to PSN digital download service for only $19.99


If for some reason you haven’t picked up a physical copy of the critically acclaimed Bayonetta, now is your chance to get it for only $19.99 without leaving the comfort of your couch. SEGA is releasing their action intense game on PSN on January 29th (U.S, Europe gets it on the 30th) for only $19.99 (£14.99)!

Sadly this version isn’t as good as the 360 version, which by the way is already available to download from their digital store. If you don’t have a Xbox 360, I would say its still worth the $19.99.

RUMOR: SEGA to announce new Sonic game very soon

While we don’t normally post rumors very often, today seems to be the exception. Earlier today, The Sonic Stadium reported that an inside source has revealed some details on the next Sonic game. The game is due this fall on pretty much all current gen systems including portables (not smartphones/tablets as of yet), PC and “Next Gen” systems. The reveal may be as early as “Hedgehog Day” Febuary 2nd. Normally I’d say take this with a grain of salt, but Sonic Stadium rarely reports any rumors unless they have a really good source behind them. Read on for more details.

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SEGA buys Relic in THQ auction

You may have read yesterday’s rumor that SEGA will be purchasing Relic from THQ. Well, that purchase has just been confirmed. At the moment these are the only details available, but we will be sure to update you with all the latest as it’s revealed!

UPDATE: Thanks to Kotaku, we can now confirm that SEGA spent $26.6 million to buy Relic, outbidding Zenimax’s final bid of $26.3 million.

Relic is a developer known for their games in the Warhammer 40,000 franchise, as well as the Company of Heroes series. It seems likely that SEGA now owns the right to Company of Heroes 2 which will be released on PC later this year, though at the moment that cannot be confirmed. According to THQ’s letter:

Some assets, including our publishing businesses and Vigil, along with some other
intellectual properties are not included in the sale agreements. They will remain part of
the Chapter 11 case. We will make every effort to find appropriate buyers, if possible.

Hopefully we will find out soon exactly what, if any, THQ IPs SEGA got in the deal, though it’s worth noting that Warhammer 40,000 is not a THQ IP, but a license owned by tabletop game company Games Workshop.

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed – Speed Run

SEGA America has released a video a speed run, it’s really quite a good speed run. It’s also a reminder that the PC version of this game will be out soon, end of this month to be exact, but you can pre-order it on STEAM right now! If you wanted to play this game in 60 FPS, you will soon be able to!

My Life with SEGA battles bizarre monsters in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

In this “classic” episode, Mickey Mac and I perform our very first 2-Man Scramble with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers for the SEGA Genesis. This was supposed to be a one-time thing where we’d play a couple of games and move on but, we had so much fun making ’em, I decided to make 2-Man Scramble a staple of My Life with SEGA.

Tune in next week for Pt. II, where I force Mickey Mac to play the SEGA CD version for the first/last time. Yes, I’m an asshole.

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