Yakuza 1 & 2 HD confirmed by Famitsu


We posted the rumor, now it’s confirmed. SEGA is planning on releasing Yakuza 1&2 HD for the Playstation 3. The issue states that both HD remakes are set to release on November 1st, with a price of ¥5,290 (about $67 dollars). November 1st date is a month earlier than what SEGA had in their release schedule, but can’t complain about getting games early, right?

SEGA says Sonic the Hedgehog can be ‘the next Hello Kitty’

Now that SEGA has decided to focus on fewer titles, some of their bigger IPs like Sonic the Hedgehog will be getting more attention. What is in store for Sonic? It means signing up more third parties to make Sonic toys, clothing and other gear you might not need but will want to buy anyway.

“Sonic is a well-known character, but we’ve got a lot of room to grow in merchandising . We dream of Hello Kitty. We’re still far off from that but we can see that our profits are growing year on year in the US and Europe [on merchandising]. We’ve got a licensing team on the ground in the UK who are focusing on that and that team will expand. We’ve got a team in the US and which will also expand. We used to run it all out of Sega of Japan, but having people on the ground is making a big difference. We will always do the computer game but the merchandising is a very important aspect to Sonic.” – Jurgen Post, COO of SEGA Europe

In a way I’m glad that SEGA is putting their name out there more. I used to love going to stores and seeing Sonic the Hedgehog stuff everywhere. But then again, who wants to see everyone’s favorite blue blur get whored out? Who wants to see useless collector items like a ‘Sonic the Hedgehog chainsaw’? Funny that they also announced a Hello Kitty Sonic the Hedgehog themed doll a few nights ago.

 

Say it ain’t Joe! Shinobi track coming to All-Stars Transformed?

Courtesy of Kori from The Website of the Dead comes a photo from the title screen of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, taken at SEGA’s Arcade during Comic Con. Kori claims that this is a yet to be announced Shinobi track, and we can definitely see the resemblance to Joe’s 16-bit adventures. Sumo Digital has said that tracks will be selected, at least in the story mode, via an world map of floating islands. Each island represents a track, and this island looks very Shinobi themed. What do you all think? Is Joe getting a track to call home?

Rhythm Thief is out now in North America: Check out the launch trailer

It’s sure taken its time getting here, but North American 3DS owners can now get their hands on Samba de Amigo director Shun Nakamura’s latest rhythm adventure.

Combining rhythm mini-games with puzzles and light exploration elements, the game’s a good bit of fun and has no shortage of charm.

Check out its official launch trailer above and be sure to pick it up while you can still find it.

Wreck it Ralph to be a guest racer in Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed

UPDATE: Good news! Video did record. It’s in the internal memory so Nux will upload it. We’ll have it a little later.

It was revealed last night during Sonic Boom that not only will Sonic be in Wreck-it-Ralph (they even showed the PSA clip Sonic was in), but that Ralph himself will be a playable character in Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed. Some footage was shown of him racing in a Jet Set Radio level. Sadly, the footage I recorded didn’t come out for some reason. (But I did record it. I swear!) Ralph is the second guest character in the game next to Danica Patrick. Frankly, I think he’s a much better fit than her.

Rumor: Yakuza 1 & 2 HD coming out this December in Japan?


This screen above was from SEGA Japan’s calendar, which now has been taken down. It shows that the company is planning on bringing Yakuza 1 & 2 HD to the Playstation 3. Could it have been a mistake? I think this rumor will come out to be true for one reason. Yakuza makes money. Not to mention SEGA wants to do more digital releases.

Think about it this way, what will sell more? This or those SEGA AGES re-releases?

Sonic the Hedgehog to cameo in Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph

We’ve known of Eggman’s cameo in the upcoming Disney movie Wreck-It Ralph, as well as a few other SEGA cameos, but what about SEGA’s mascot Sonic the Hedgehog? At the Comic Con Wreck-It Ralph panel it was revealed that Sonic will in fact appear in the movie by way of a PSA warning video game characters that if they die in a game that is not their own, they will not regenerate and will cease to exist permanently. No word on who will be voicing Sonic, or if he will be speaking at all, but fingers crossed for Roger Craig Smith. It would just be odd to hear yet another voice coming from Sonic. I’d assume that the proper voice would be something SEGA would require when using the character, given it’s their brand and not Disney’s. Wreck-It Ralph, along with a slew of retro and modern video game characters, hits theaters this November in the US.

UPDATED Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed gets a release date and a new trailer

UPDATE: A US trailer has been released, revealing a US release date of November 20th, 2012. Also, we have package art for the 360, PS3, 3DS and Vita after the break.

With Comic Con comes many announcements, and not just ones pertaining to comic books. SEGA has officially announced a release date for Sonic & All-Stars Racing Trasformed, at least for the UK: November 16th, 2012. I’d guess that this means the US release date will either fall on November 13th or November 20th. Ah yes, and that lovely trailer. No real new reveals, though it does show off a bit more of the CG intro and features Sonic and friends plus Joe Musashi, Gilius Thunderhead, Vyse and other already revealed SEGA all-stars. I do like how the Panzer Dragoon track is the setting for the intro. Enjoy the trailers and mark your calendars!

Mordecai and Rigby bring their Master System to Comic Con

Today was Preview Night for the San Diego Comic Con, and I made sure to make the most of it! While I was walking from the Archie booth to the SEGA Arcade across the street to check out SEGA’s Comic Con offerings, I came upon something surprising: a photo shoot starring the Mordecai and Rigby of Regular Show! Then I spotted a television, and then a couch between the throngs of people taking pictures, and I knew what else had to be there: a Master System!

The Master System has long been a part of Regular Show, gaining the show quite a following among some of the people here at SEGAbits. It’s good to see it wasn’t forgotten in the Comic Con photoshoot! I am pretty sure it’s a prop though, and not an actual system. I’m sure some SEGA fans with more energy then me will be able to tell. Still really cool reference to an often overlooked SEGA system!

I later took several pictures of the SEGA Arcade booth across the street at 200 Harbor Drive, Suit 120. You can see them after the jump. Unfortunately, my camera died before I could take the last few pics, so expect more tomorrow. I’ll also be keeping an eye out for cosplayers. Hint hint!

My Life With SEGA reviews Shadow Squadron and Zaxxon’s Motherbase 2000 for 32X

Welcome to another week of My Life With SEGA, this week A.J. has two games to review for the 32x. Shadow Squadron and Zaxxon’s Motherbase 2000. Never heard of them? Well, press play and educate yourself.

“In this “classic” episode of My Life with SEGA, I show some love for SEGA’s most maligned add-on; the 32X. You’re not got getting just one lousy review, but two! Shadow Squadron and Zaxxon’s Motherbase 2000.”

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More Sonic & Mega Man crossover art – Knuckles and Shadow meet their rivals

Archie Comics has released more promotional art for their 2013 Sonic & Mega Man crossover event. This time they’re showing off Sonic’s rivals who, in turn, have their own rivals. Looks like Knuckles will be meeting Mega Man’s rival Proto Man, while Shadow will meet Bass. I gotta say, these team ups really work well! Far better than a Mario crossover, in my opinion. So who is next? While, I’d imagine Tails will be paired with Doctor Light and I’d love to see Amy Rose paired with Tron Bonne. I could even see more obscure Archie Sonic characters, like Sonic’s dog Muttski, paired with Mega Man’s dog Rush. After the break, check out Shadow and Bass as well as a larger image of the Sonic & Mega Man logo.

First PSO2 Update Trailer & Info

The first major update to PSO2 titled ‘Wake Up Big Machines: Update Number 1’ is already close to release! Update Number 1 will include ‘The Underground Mine’ a new adventure field, clothes, new enemies, two new bosses, new quests, interrupt events and client orders and will release on July 18th.

Personally I hope all of this content is already included in the default English release of PSO2. That way the base game has more content from day one and we won’t already be months behind the Japanese.

Make sure to check out that trailer, it’s awesome!

Regarding the spam comments…

If you haven’t noticed we’ve been getting a lot of spam lately. I’ve went and added a field to our form, if you have any trouble with it, please contact us. I don’t think you will have any trouble though, I tested it pretty well. If you were having trouble earlier, it should work now, I was busy implementing it earlier.

Archie’s Sonic & Mega Man – When Worlds Collide announced

We shared the teaser, but here’s the official announcement. Archie Comics, SEGA and Capcom have officially announced a twelve issue comic book cross-over of the Sonic and Mega Man franchises, entitled “When Worlds Collide”, to be released in 2013. The cross-over will span four issues of Sonic the Hedgehog, four issues of Mega Man and four issues of Sonic Universe to create a twelve issue story. Archie’s Paul Kaminski shared a few details on the event: “We’ve been gearing up for this for years. From the moment we had Mega Man at Archie, we knew we wanted to bring Sonic and the Blue Bomber together. It’s a big budget movie featuring two of the most storied video game franchises. This has never happened before. We’re making history here, and it’s going to knock people for a loop. This is what comics are all about – drama, fun, action and tons of surprises. Fans will not be disappointed.”