SEGA Talk #83: Dreamcast Controllers (1998)

On this special SEGA Talk Podcast we will be talking all things Dreamcast controller related including prototypes, variant rare controllers, 3rd party controllers, and even look into the future into the “ultimate Dreamcast controller” being developed!

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If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add  them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

SEGA in the Media: The Late Show introduces us to Sexy Knuckles the Echidna

Last night’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert featured a segment on Idris Elba’s upcoming role as Knuckles in the second Sonic movie. Colbert talked about how Elba spoke about how he doesn’t think his take on Knuckles will be sexy, given Elba himself has previously been named “Sexiest Man Alive”, which led to Colbert making his own Sexy Knuckles trailer. The results are… well, watch the above.

The SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show LIVE: SEGA-16.com founder Ken Horowitz

On this, our 100th Swingin’ Report Show, we talk to SEGA-16.com founder Ken Horowitz to talk all things SEGA, as well as his current and future book projects. Support Ken’s amazing work by picking up some of his books on Amazon and leave a review!

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Sakura Wars GB Go Forth, Young Cadet! Gets English + Cut Content Restoration Patch

Another Sakura Wars game called Sakura Wars GB Go Forth, Young Cadet! has been translated into English by diligent fans. This project was helmed by @burntends2, with the assistance of @matto_bii, dan_jia, Neko, @The_Opponent, and comicmaster, with the goal of not only making Sakura Wars GB accessible to English readers, but to also restore unused content such as being able to view the miscellaneous character portraits, unlockable secret photos, and unused voice clips for the endings.

Sakura Wars GB Go Forth, Young Cadet! was originally released for the Game Boy Color, developed by Jupiter and Published by Media Factory under the license of SEGA and Red Entertainment. Taking place between the events of Sakura Wars and Sakura Wars 2, you take on the role of an unnamed temporary recruit who was recently enrolled in the Flower Division. You’re task is to train with six members of the Imperial Flower Division, both to gain a stronger bond with each member and to also get stronger, with the ultimate goal to complete an exam by the end of the month. Unlike other titles in the series, Sakura Wars GB is a mixture of a raising simulator and a minigame collection, where you must participate in different training sessions that tackle different subjects like accuracy and intelligence, play different mini-games, and have turn based battles to test your wits.

The patch is readily available here. For official PR post and trailer, click here.

SEGA trademarks “Sonic Frontiers”, possible name for 2022 game

Via Renka_schedule on Twitter comes news that SEGA has trademarked “SONIC FRONTIERS” as well as the Japanese name “ソニック フロンティア” (translated to “SONIC FRONTIER”). It is likely that this will be the name of the upcoming 3D Sonic game set for a 2022 release date. SEGA games being revealed through trademark filings is not new, as we first learned of games in the past through such filings.

While the upcoming game has been referred to as “Sonic Rangers” thanks to some early leaks, it appears SEGA has decided on a final name. So far, fan reaction has been positive, and we will just have to wait for SEGA’s official announcement.

What do you think of the name Sonic Frontiers?

SEGA Genesis STG Gynoug (Wings of Wor) Coming To Modern Consoles On November 12th

Gynoug (or Wings of Wor in North America) is officially receiving a re-release, courtesy of developer Ratalaika Games in conjunction with Masaya Games and Shinyuden. Originally released on the SEGA Genesis back in 1991, you play as the winged hero Wor, who is tasked with eradicating a hoard of mutated monsters that suddenly appeared in the land of Iccus, created by their leader Destroyer. Using a powerful set of spells collected from orbs, it’s up to you to clear six challenging stages from deep caverns to literally being in the belly of the beast to free the land of Iccus from this chaos.

Like Ratalaika Games past efforts, this re-release will included bonuses such as an advanced CRT filter and the option to rewind or use save states. Gyoung/Wings of Wor will be available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch on November 12th 2021 for only $6.99 or equivalent. As a fresh reminder, Ratalaika Games were also responsible for the recent releases of Gleylancer, Panorama Cotton, and Cotton 100%, so pick those up if you’re curious about their other efforts.

Mario, found hiding inside SEGA Saturn game, is detained without fight

The console wars have ended. After years of searching, Mario has been found and detained.

Via Twitter user Yoshino comes the bizarre discovery of an image of Mario hidden within the files of the SEGA Saturn game Astal. Yoshino writes: “It is discovered that an image that seems to be Mario was hidden in 0xFE90 of APT.BIN on the disk.” This isn’t the first time weird images have been hidden within old SEGA games, in fact the Sonic Twitter account recently referenced a hidden image from Sonic CD, referred to as “Spooky Sonic”, in a piece of Halloween art.

Check out the full image after the break!

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SEGA and Microsoft Announces Collaboration for New Strategic Titles, “Azure” Cloud Development, and Next-Generation Development Environment

SEGA of Japan has officially announced that there are currently plans to work with company giant Microsoft. While specifics have not been disclosed, the official PR blog post goes into details on what to expect out of this collaboration. The most notable thing discussed is using Microsoft’s “Azure” cloud technology, as part of a mid-to-long term plan for SEGA to release games on a global scale. For context, Azure is a cloud service produced by Microsoft designed with storing data, machine learning with artificial intelligence, and virtual machines in mind. Other details noted in the post include treating network infrastructure and communication cools for online services being a top priority, along with the “Super Game” incentive that focuses on producing new and innovative titles, with key words such as “Global” and IP Utilization” cited.

Remember, this isn’t an acquisition of SEGA from Microsoft, this is simply a collaboration to push SEGA’s long term strategy of trying to tackle a global market. What are your thoughts about this announcement about SEGA and Microsoft working together for cloud gaming?

SEGA Talk #82: The House of the Dead III (2002)

On this SPOOKTACULAR SEGA Talk episode we return to The House of the Dead for a third time to talk about this post-apocalyptic undead horror light gun shooter!

Support us on Patreon! Get early access, tell us what games to cover, and have your SEGA memories read at the end and more!

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If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add  them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

SEGA News Bits LIVE: Classic Sonic EXPOSED

This week, we talk about revelations of Classic Sonic revealed in the recent content added to Apple Arcade’s Sonic Racing, SEGA’s arcade plans in Japan and unbox the new Mega Drive Tower Mini Zero!

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New SEGA arcade center opens in Ikebukuro, replacing closed GiGO arcade

Back on September 20th, the SEGA Ikebukuro GiGO arcade closed after 28 years of operations. Fans were emotional, and rightly so, and many pointed to this as a sign of SEGA’s arcade footprint diminishing. However, on October 22nd a new arcade center opened in Ikebukuro which was noted as being “Volume 1” of a larger project by Genda Sega Entertainment president Nao Kataoka. Volumes 2 and 3 would soon follow.

The new center has five floors and features a variety of SEGA arcade machines. Where is it located? Right across the street from the old location! The reason the original location sold was not because SEGA was leaving the arcade business in the area, but because of an expiring lease and a need for remodeling to the old building. Maybe SEGAbits will visit the arcade in 2022? 👀

[Photo Credit: @TicTaek, Source: Anime News Network]

Classic Sonic content added to Sonic Racing for Apple Arcade

Just a few days ago, we mused on Twitter about how the promised Classic Sonic content announced back in June for Sonic Racing, the Apple Arcade version of Team Sonic Racing, was nowhere to be seen. Either a SEGA HARDlight staffer saw our tweet and realized they needed to get to work OR (more likely) it just so happened to be that today was the day they planned to debut the new content. Included in the new content is Sonic in his Sonic Drift car, the Cyclone, as well as new Green Hill tracks and new music!

You can check out the content now on Apple Arcade, but no word on any new content for Team Sonic Racing for consoles.

SEGA Talk #81: Dynamite Düx & Bean the Dynamite Retrospective

SEGA Talk’s quack attack is back, Jack! This time we’re talking about Dynamite Düx! We’ll talk about the small team behind this cute beat ’em up (“sweet ’em up”?), how it ties to Sonic Universe, including tie-ins to Bean the Dynamite, and even have a gander at a naughty hidden NSFW ending! Oh my! All this and more, on this episode of SEGA TALK!

Support us on Patreon! Get early access, tell us what games to cover, and have your SEGA memories read at the end and more!

[iTunes – Stitcher – YouTube – RSS – Download]

If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add  them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

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SEGA News Bits LIVE: Shenmue the Animation Update

New information about Shenmue the Animation has dropped via an online panel, and on this SEGA News Bits we take a look at what was revealed. Also, two SEGA legends are departing the company. Who are they and where are they going? Click play and let’s find out!

If you want to support this type of content, you can check out our Patreon!

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us: Give us a sub and give this video a thumbs up so it shows up on more like-minded fans YouTube recommendations. You know, how that YouTube algorithm is.

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Sakura Wars characters to appear in Super Robot Wars 30 as part of the first DLC pack

Bandai Namco Entertainment recently released a new trailer for Super Robot Wars 30, a popular tactical RPG series that brings characters and robots from a variety of mecha anime together to battle their mutual foes, with mainline Sakura Wars key characters (Ichiro Ogami, Sakura Shinguji, Erica Fontaine, Shinjiro Taiga and Gemini Sunrise) will appear as part of the first DLC pack under the Deluxe Edition. What a way to continue to support Sakura Wars series beyond its 25th anniversary!

Super Robot Wars 30 will be available for Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Steam on October 27th.