SEGA making Virtua Fighter social game, Yu Suzuki’s studio to oversee development


SEGA has announced that they are making a social adaptation of the Virtua Fighting games on the popular Mobage platform. The game was announced as being called Virtua Fighter Cool Champ. Yes, I’m not making that up. Its called “Cool Champ”.

This Virtua Fighter spin off is going to be a card battling game that will feature characters and elements from the series. You can build up your character and fight against rivals. The game is being published by Epics and Yu Suzuki’s Ys Net Studio will be supervising them, along with SEGA who will supervise the project as a whole.

If you are a Mobage member, you will have access to the game on your phone… today! That’s right, are you a cool enough dude?

  

SEGA and Atlus’ parent holding company sign distribution deal


What does this big deal mean? Does it mean that Atlus will be publishing all those cool SEGA Japanese games West? Nope. Actually Atlus has inked up a deal for SEGA to distribute their games in Japan. Starting on April 2012, Atlus games will be hitting Japan under the true and blue SEGA logo.

It is already known that the deal will not effect digital titles and it is so far unclear of how this will affect Atlus’ publishing outside of Japan. The deal came because Atlus’ holding company, Index Holdings, has a constant decline in revenue and isn’t really able to support Atlus’ growth in its most important market. Should SEGA just buy out Atlus and call it a day or should this niche company stay where its at in the States?

 

More Sonic 4 Episode 2 Screens Revealed, Teaser Trailer Next Thursday!

Well, it appears SEGA Blog has finally acknowledged that Sonic 4 Episode 2 screens are out in the wild. But instead of rereleasing the same ol’ screens, they’ve shared a collection of new ones! Some show brand new areas in previously revealed zones, while others take place just moments before or after the XBOX.com screens. Some details include a new hummingbird badnik, the confirmation that special stages will be accessed as they were in episode 1 and that somebody has been building Eggman snow men. Check out the screens, and learn when the trailer will hit, after the break!

Yakuza: Dead Souls – Mini Game Trailer

Apparently killing zombies can be hard work. Personally I’ve always found it to be quite a breeze, either way the Yakuza like to unwind after a long day of slayin’ and what better way to unwind than with some mini games? I was worried that with Yakuza:Dead Souls being a spin off based around fighting off undead hordes Sega might have seen fit to drop the mini games. However I’m pleasantly surprised to see there are just as many mini games appearing in Dead Souls as ever. It seems that even in a zombie outbreak there is always time for a spot of fishing when you’re as badass as Kazuma Kriyu.

Yakuza: Dead Souls releases for the PS3 on March 13th in America and 16th in Europe.

Eggman and Other Video Game Baddies Cameo in a Disney Movie? Yup.

Disney’s 3D animated movie “Wreck-It Ralph”, slated for a November 2012 release, is very much like a “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” with video game characters. The film tells the story of Wreck-It Ralph, an arcade game bad guy who appears within a fictional 80’s arcade game called “Fix-It Felix Jr.”. Within the arcade game, Felix builds buildings, and Ralph destroys them. Sounds a bit like a cross between Donkey Kong and Rampage. However, just like in Toy Story, the characters have lives outside of their fictional roles and Ralph is having second thoughts about villainy, hoping to become a hero.

The movie has been said to feature cameos from real world video game characters, but up until now none have been revealed. In the latest issue of Disney’s D23 Magazine, a few behind-the-scenes photos are shown and in one image none-other than SEGA’s very own Eggman can be seen sitting with other video game bad guys including Bowser and Street Fighter’s Zangief! No idea what the scene is about, but I’d guess it’s a video game villain support group. Despite the blurry pic, Eggman seems pretty disinterested in the meeting. No word on Mike Pollock voicing the doctor, but it would be a crime if he didn’t. After the break, check out the full scan. Thanks to jennytablina of The Sonic Stadium Boards for the scans!

Dissecting the Sonic 4 Episode 2 Screens

Yesterday XBOX.com let slip ten Sonic 4 Episode 2 screens. Before Microsoft could pull the info, Sonic and SEGA fan sites from all over the net had saved, uploaded and shared the images to the point where SEGA might as well just allow the images back up and give us a trailer while they’re at it. [Update: it seems they have, the images are back on XBOX.com] The screens, found here, reveal a number of details that had yet to be mentioned by SEGA. After the break, let’s slice open these meaty screens and see what little details we can find!

Binary Domain Multiplayer DLC to feature Akiyama, Majima and Goda!

Kazuma Kiryu is not the only character set to make the jump from the Yakuza series to Binary Domain. SEGA today has revealed free DLC skins for three other highly popular Yakuza characters in the forum of Goro Majima, Shun Akiyama and Ryuji Goda. Just like with Kiryu, each character will have either a government forces outfit, which is their default model, or a resistence fighter outfit. The characters will be released for PSN users in Japan starting with  Akiyama on February 28, Goda on March 6 and Majima on March 13. XBLA users will get all three characters free on March 13. For all the screenshots, hit the jump after the break and for additional information on the sponserships that will be found in Binary Domain, hit the Andriasang link for more info!

SEGA Tunes: Sona Mi Areru Ec Sancitu

Panzer Dragoon Saga was the epic finale to SEGA’s Panzer Dragoon trilogy, and what a finale it was! Switching from the more limiting rail shooter format to a fully 3D RPG, it mixed elements from the rail shooters with RPGs in a way that is still unique even to this day. The Saturn’s magnum opus, Panzer Dragoon Saga, had a beautiful soundtrack to match its scope, the crown jewel being Sona Mi Areru Ec Sancitu. In my humble opinion this stands as one of SEGA’s best songs, period.

Another great track from this game is “Atolm Dragon”, the theme for the boss fight with said dragon, which you can listen to after the break.

Sonic the Hedgehog is faster than lighting

Can you see Sonic going super speed? Most people would assume he would be a sexy blurry mess. Well, Reddit user josepheatsbrains used the power of the brush to bring this painting alive. Not a super difficult piece, but I like the look of brush strokes.

If you guys stumble upon any other great fan made projects, throw us a line or post them in the comment section!

Sonic 4 Episode 2 Screens (NOT Concept Art) For Your Viewing Pleasure!

Holy crap! Ten screens, boxart AND an expanded game description for Sonic 4 Episode 2 are available for viewing thanks to what can only be a mistimed release on XBOX.com. No SEGA Blog announcement or anything, all this just appeared today! The XBOX site also mentions that the game is offline AND online 1-2 player co-op. Enough from me, check out the official description of the game below and check out screens after the break!

UPDATE: the screens have been removed from XBOX.com. Good thing I saved them!

UPDATE 2: Another piece of info has been added and quickly removed, a mention of a 5/16/2012 release date. This bit of info was noted at The Sonic Stadium Boards and this date matches up with our earlier reported April/May release date of the comic adaptation. The cover art has also now been removed from XBOX.com.

The Sonic 4 Saga continues as Sonic reunites with Tails for all new collaborative play! Following the events of Episode I, Metal Sonic has returned to form a formidable alliance with Dr. Eggman! To face this new threat, Sonic will have to call upon an old friend to help him save the day! Joined by Tails, utilise ingenious combination moves and race across four brand new Zones, in order to put an end to their evil plans! Play alone, or with a friend locally (and online), in an evolution of Sonic 2’s collaborative gameplay! Unleash Sonic and Tails’ devastating joint attacks and combination moves to fight the united force of Metal Sonic and Dr. Eggman. Episode II features an all new game engine, bringing you updated physics and an original graphical style as you race through four unique Zones and a new Special Stage.

Binary Domain – Slum Kids trailer shows a deprived society

The Playstation 3 Binary Domain demo is not the only item SEGA will be releasing today on their up-and-coming third person shooter. The publisher has released a new cutscene just under 4 minutes in length that takes place early in the game. The trailer focuses on the slums of Tokyo 2080 and the unfortunate and tragic role of children as weapon gatherers, showing the growth of social inequality found in the future of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s latest title. SEGA’s Binary Domain is set to release for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 on 24th February for Australia & Europe and the 28th for America.

Say “I Love You” SEGA Style With These SEGAbits Valentines!

Flowers, candy and an expensive meal got nothing on these SEGA themed Valentines! Consider these our gift to you, and your key to a successful Valentine’s Day. Once you give one of these babies to the man or woman of your dreams, they’ll be asking to join you in a game of Samba de Amigo Version 2000’s “Love Love” mode or beg you to play some Heart Attack mode in Outrun Online Arcade. What you do after that is up to you. Happy Valentine’s Day!

The Website of the Dead launches, prepare to suffer like G did


Kori-Maru from our forums has launched his newest blog and it’s all about The House of the Dead. He is striving to make his blog the number one go to site for all things House of the Dead, so if you guys have any feedback or would like to help him out, leave your comments in the comment box.

The Website of the Dead joins other fan sites created for a specific franchise. Like NiGHTSintoDreams, Shining Force Central and even an Outrun site. I’m a SEGA fan and I love these little sites that have fans that are passionate about the games and write tons of articles on little stuff most of us would miss. The House of the Dead III comes out on PSN tomorrow for $6.99, are you ready?

Sonic Talk #1: “If You Have Time To Worry… Podcast!”

Hello folks and welcome to my first of what I hope is many podcasts related to the world of Sonic. Every two weeks me, nuckles87 and a guest will be discussing all the latest things in Sonic media. Games, comics, cartoons and more! Our first episode was a little rough, but it’s gonna be like that when just starting out. Read on to see what we talk about this week or start listening below.
[powerpress url=”https://segabits.com/wp-content/uploads/SonicTalk01.mp3″]
[Download]

Binary Domain US/EU demo gets dated


If you have been waiting for an English demo of Binary Domain while all your friends gobbled up the Japanese demo on the first of the month, then your wait is almost over. You can expect the PS3 demo tomorrow (February 14) and the Xbox 360 one on Wednesday (February 15).

Binary Domain comes out in North America on February 28th, 2012. Are you ready?