If Sonic Adventure 2 avatar items are hitting XBLA on June 5th…

… that can only mean Sonic Adventure 2 will be revealed for XBLA and PSN at E3! The Sonic Stadium is reporting that XBLA’s Major Nelson has just posted the latest Xbox Live Marketplace release schedule of all the games and items being released over the next few weeks. Among these new goodies are Sonic Adventure 2 Avatar items with a release date of June 5th. Hey, that’s when E3 begins. This wouldn’t be the first time a Sonic Adventure 2 announcement was made at E3. Back in 2000, we were wowed by the trailer posted above. And last year, we were given the great City Escape trailer for Sonic Generations. If you want to see that, check it out after the break. As for E3 2012, stay tuned to SEGAbits for the impending trailer, assuming there is one.

SEGA Memories: Game Gear promotional events of the 90’s

The Game Gear, SEGA’s little handheld that had a color screen and a very bright back lit screen, is over 20 years old. Sure the device never out sold Nintendo’s juggernaut known as the Game Boy. But if you were a SEGA fan back in the day, the bad battery life didn’t keep you away from owning one. Some people may wonder what sort of promotional events SEGA did before launching a device like the Game Gear. Well, this week on Monday Memories we take a look at “Operation Game Gear” and “Superstar Kids Challenge”.

Watch sexy Asian girls audition to be in Yakuza 5

SEGA has now launched the Miss Yakuza 5 auditions for all those women that want to be in the game as a hostess. SEGA is ready to crown a ‘Miss Yakuza 5’ from each of the game’s five cities. Yes, Yakuza 5 will have five cities. Did you miss the news? Read up here.

Each city will have 3 girls, so people will get to vote for one girl in each of the five cities. You can play vote on the audition campaign site.SEGA will also do a new promotion where the girls, over the coming weeks, will introduce internet viewers to each cities. Showing people local cuisine and other activities.

Sonic Team gives Hell Yeah! their approval


Arkedo Studios, the French developer behind the upcoming digital title Hell Yeah! had a meeting with two main members of Sonic Team, where they played the game and told them what they thought about it. One of the guys was the infamous and lovable Takashi Iizuka.

“They said, not a lot sucks, but you should pay attention to what happens when you’re jumping, the stop and go, the inertia you have when you’re jumping on platforms. You should add this little thing, this little thing… We said, hey yeah, it’s much better. Thank you very much. That’s the craftsmanship. Those guys, they are bright yellow, they glow. Okay, this guy knows what he’s talking about. We loved it.”

Yeah, there are now developers asking Sonic Team what they think about their platforming game. I consider this to be a positive step and I’m glad that Arkedo Studios is so open to feedback. I think this is something that more developers need to do. If something is broken, fix it. Make a great game! Hit the jump to hear more quotes on what they thought!

Sonic Monopoly gets officially announced

We knew this was coming, USAopoly had a listing for it awhile back. Now it is official via USAopoly’s facebook, which announced Sonic Monopoly this morning. So what do we know about this board game beside that it’s a Sonic themed Monopoly game? Nothing much sadly. All we have is the picture above and the quote below.

“Here is a sneak peek at a few Sonic The Hedgehog titles speeding their way to retail shelves in the near future, also be on the lookout for a new Sonic puzzle as well!”

Yeah, there is also going to be a puzzle game based on the Sonic the Hedgehog IP. Not that its as exciting to fans as a monopoly game. If you don’t have the money for it, you can check out BarryTheNomad’s free print out Sonic Monopoly project here.

SEGA West delays Anarchy Reigns despite the game being completed


Platinum Games has said that SEGA has delayed Anarchy Reigns in Europe and North America, even though the game is all finished. Its release date was changed from July to  TBC (To Be Confirmed). This is what a Platinum Games representative said:

“That means ‘to be confirmed’, not ‘to be cancelled’. We worked really hard to make sure everybody could get the game on time. The game is fully localized. If you buy the Japanese version or any version, it’s going to have all the languages in it. We really wanted everybody online around the world to play together at the same time, but unfortunately that’s not going to happen. In the West, Sega is looking for the best time to put it out. It will still be out in July [in Japan]. There will still be ways for you to get it if you know where to go. We’re still 100 per cent behind the game and we still want to connect with you and play with you and have a good time. So let’s make sure that happens no matter what bad news we get.”

This is one of the few times I have seen a representative from a developer openly suggesting to import their game. How are prospects looking for a Western release? I don’t know, if ‘summer’ isn’t a good time to release this niche title, then when is a good time? Fall?  Not to mention SEGA West is acting like the game doesn’t exist. Anarchy Reigns comes out in Japan on 5th of July. Get your import pre-orders in.

Jet Set Radio coming to Vita with touch controls

It has just been revealed that Jet Set Radio will also be available for Vita as well as PSN/360/PC. The Vita version will be an updated version which will feature touch controls for painting graffiti. This pretty much makes it the definitive version to get if you ask me.

The game will be playable on the E3 show floor.

Double Fine and SEGA title revealed to be “The Cave”

SEGA’s latest partnership with a third party developer ought to get a few fans excited, as Double Fine will be teaming up with the Blue Skies developer to develop a 2.5D adventure. The game will allow players to take control of one of seven characters, all with their unique abilities and story. Being headed by Ron Gilbert, the title is set to take players into the Cave, which happened to be a talking cave earlier in development, a talking cave that has tried its hand in dating. If that has interested you, head over to Destructoid for further information on the game. It is set to be available for Playstation 3, Xbox360 and PC with a release date sometime in 2013.

First Yakuza 5 screens hit the web

As promised, Yakuza 5’s first screenshots have been released onto the web, which show the updated graphics engine being used to run the newest installment in SEGA’s long running Ryu Ga Gotoku series. Featured in these screenshots are all five major characters and the new locals that will be used in Yakuza 5. The game is set for a December release in Japan and one can hope Western fans do not have to wait for long. Hit the jump to see the screenshots.

New Project X Zone screens show off field and event scenes

There has been a new batch of Project X Zone screens released today, these screens show off roaming and event scenes. Not only will the game be using characters from SEGA, Namco and Capcom franchises; they’ll also be using areas from their games. One that stands out to me is Peacock’s Cyberspace from the Mega Man series. If you want to see the latest list of franchises in the game, click here.

Saw a few people point out that some of the character art released was actually re-used from Namco X Capcom, a game they made during the PS2 era. Yes, this game is basically the sequel on the Nintendo 3DS.

Yakuza 5 Famitsu interview fully translated

A kind soul (Captain Epic) over at the SEGA official forum has translated, in full, the Famitsu interview that series producer Toshihiro Nagoshi provided. In it, some extra bits of information were shared, such as the exact date the game is set for (December 2012) and the backstories of certain characters were explained further. It seems that series lead Kazuma Kiryu chose to leave his duty as head of the Sunshine Orphanage to investigate events in Fukuoka as a taxi driver under a false name. Also explained further is the basic plot for the latest installment of SEGA’s action adventure title, in which the Tojo Clan and the Omi Alliance are set for war and the clan’s sixth chairman Diago Dojima must create alliances with other clans all over Japan to help in the fight against the Omi Alliance. For the complete translation of the Famitsu article, hit the break!

Virtua Tennis Challenge releasing to iOS today

Well this is a nice surprise, arriving on the App Store today worldwide is Virtua Tennis Challenge! Back in March, the game was released to Android devices. Today, the game expands its availability with iOS capable devices. Virtua Tennis Challenge promises 50 players, 18 stadiums, and Exhibition, World Tour, and Multiplayer modes. The game is out now in New Zealand and it should be out in the US at 11PM EST and Europe at around 12AM UK time. Price of the app is $4.99 and size of the app is 289 MB. Sonic 4 last week, Vintage Collections and Virtua Tennis Challenge this week. SEGA is really spoiling us.

Yakuza 5 announced: 5 playable characters and a brand new engine


Yakuza 4
was the first game to allow new playable characters outside of Kazuma. They actually had 4 playable characters since it was the 4th game. Seems that SEGA is continuing that gimmick with Yakuza 5 , since they have announced 5 playable characters. Who are they?

  • Kazuma Kiryu
  • Taiga Saejima
  • Shun Akiyama
  • Haruka
  • Tatsuo Shinada

So we have two new playable characters and one of them is Haruka? Yes, the little girl you rescue in the first game and take care of throughout the series is now a playble character. Intresting? Hit the jump for more details on the title.