Sonic the Hedgehog joins the London Olympic games in a form of a tattoo


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.

SEGA says to Disney: “Make my Eggman grow!”

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.

Sonic 4 Episode II True Blue Initiative video goes live

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.

Aliens: Colonial Marines – Xenos vs. Marines trailer

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.

Bayonetta director calls Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale a Smash Bros rip-off

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?

French hackers + shock collars + a SEGA Genesis = this YouTube video

French hackers Dyak and Furrtek decided that it would be a good idea to connect a shock collar to a SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive. The idea is that every time the on screen character takes damage, the user with the shock collar gets … Well shocked.

Oh, you crazy French people and your need to make awesome inventions like the French Fries and the French kisses. How awesome would this thing be to play with friends with? Imagine a nice tournament of Virtua Fighter. How satisfying.

Weekly Five: Reasons why you should import Max Anarchy/Anarchy Reigns


Poor Anarchy Reigns. It really got a bum rap this year after Sega went through its restructuring. From being delayed indefinitely, possibly being cancelled to finally having a super-delayed release date of early 2013. All the while, Platinum Games finished the Japanese version with full localization built in for a world wide release. Several Platinum Games fans were outraged that they wouldn’t be able to play the game for another 6-9 months from now. I’m sure there’s a logical and financial reason why they’d make such a delay, but it makes no sense to me.

But why wait? The game is region free on both X-Box 360 and PS3 and is available to import from sites like Play Asia right now! It’ll cost a bit more than if you wait, but if you want one of the best brawling games this generation early, this is the best way to go. Read on to see what you’re missing out on.

Creative Assembly’s Rome II will be ‘Total War’s Saving Private Ryan’


Creative Assembly has been making some of the best strategy games on PC for years, but they want to do more with Rome II. They want to add Spielberg level of drama. It has been confirmed that Total War: Rome II will be the biggest and most detailed Total War game yet. So anything extra is awesome. Studio says it really took inspiration from the film Saving Private Ryan and wants to make the players care about the characters on screen.

Project DIVA f – Trailer

To be honest I’ve spent a long time now somewhat ignoring the Project Diva series, as it’s never had a release in the West coupled with my only passing interest in rhythm games it has remained on the peripheries of my gaming radar. However I have to say I felt a bit of a tingle while watching this latest trailer for Project DIVA f for the PS Vita.

Somewhere between the Phantasy Star Online 2 cameo and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it glimpse of what looks like a modified Dreamcast controller this trailer managed to capture my attention. If Sega was to ever take a risk with bringing Project DIVA West it should be with a game like this. Perhaps a digital release? What do you think?

Review: Rhythm Thief and the Emperor’s Treasure

It’s been a very long time coming, but after months of being in Japan and Europe Rhythm Thief has finally arrived on American shores. If the rumors of the game selling out are true, it seems to be a hit! But was this game worth the long wait? Will Phantom R’s musical escapades win you over or does it fall out of tune? Read on.

SEGA posts a Sonic Boom 2012 recap video

Oh memories, it feels like Sonic Boom 2012 just happened. Wait, it did? Jesus, time is going slow. If you went to the event, congratulations, you can now relive it through YouTube daily. If you didn’t, you can watch the video above and make yourself believe you were there.

Hideki Kamiya says he’d make a sequel to Viewtiful Joe before Bayonetta

It’s no secret that there’s a been a strong demand amongst the SEGA fanbase for a sequel to Bayonetta, the popular beat-em-up from Devil May Cry creator Hideki Kamiya. With years having passed since Bayonetta graced consoles and with Platinum Games and SEGA seeming to have parted ways, a sequel (at least, from Kamiya and his team) has seemed less and less likely as time has gone on.

That said, the subject did come up in a recent Famitsu interview, though Kamiya’s answer may not be the one fans were hoping to hear. When asked whether he’d rather develop a sequel to Bayonetta or Viewtiful Joe if given the chance, it turns out he favors the latter.

As a person who really enjoyed Viewtiful Joe and found Bayonetta to be rather annoying, this is actually positive news for me, though I’d imagine many SEGA fans won’t see it that way. Fans shouldn’t give up hope entirely, however, as Kamiya goes on to mention that he and one of Bayonetta’s producers have occasionally discussed the idea of doing a sequel or spinoff; usually, he says, while drinking beer.

Take from that what you will.