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SEGA Memories: Panzer Dragoon Orta

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Everyone has that “one game” that defines their tastes and preferences for the rest of their lives. That one game that helped them discover or rediscover a genre. That one game they fell in love with and, to this day, hold it aloft as the best game ever made. Being a SEGA fan working on a SEGA site, it should come as no surprise to anyone that for me, that game was a SEGA game. What may come as a surprise though, is that it wasn’t a game made for a SEGA console, or some original genre-defining experience. It was instead, simply a master class release for the dying rail shooter genre: Panzer Dragoon Orta.

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SEGA Sammy reports Q3 2012 earnings

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On Friday, SEGA Sammy Holdings posted their 3rd quarter results for the fiscal year 2012. In it they gave out numbers for Sonic Generations, Mario & Sonic at the London Olympic Games 2012 and Hatsune Miku. Following the disaster that shaked Japan to its core, many Japanese business are recovering strongly but how did SEGA, in particular their consumer division, cope with the financial crisis in America and Europe? And did both their arcade operations and Sammy’s own business recover strongly from the disaster? Read on to find out.

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Binary Domain: Xbox 360 vs PS3 version

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You’d think that this is a post full of drama where someone that bought one of the two leading HD consoles will end up butt hurt, but it really isn’t. It seems that The Yakuza team did really well, at least in demo form. The latest Binary Domain (released in the Japanese XBL/PSN) demo  is taken for a test drive and compared. So what is the better version of the game?

That will depend on what you prefer. Either version looks about the same, but there are small differences. Livedoor says that they think the Xbox 360 version is running 4xMSAA, while it seems that the PS3 version is running MLAA. If the PS3 version is running MLAA, then this will be the first Japanese game to use the feature on the PS3. You can tell that the PS3 version has better  anti-aliasing than the 360 version, especially the close ups. But the 360 version looks ‘sharper’.

Not only that, it seems that the demo version of Binary Domain on PS3 has some framerate issues. The 360 version usually averaged 30 frames per second (24 to 30fps) the PS3 version averaged 29fps (18.5 to 30.5fps). The 360 version had 0.183% tearing, while the PS3 had no screen tearing. Have to say, its weird how the 360 version is doing so well when its the team’s first Xbox 360 game.

Hit the jump to see the rest of the screens.

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Win a free copy of Sonic CD by commenting on this post

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[The artwork above is by StarRanger. Here is his deviantart account.]

This morning I gave out 3 copies of Sonic CD to our twitter followers, if you missed it, no problem. If you comment on this post you will be entered to win a copy of Sonic CD for XBLA. That is right, just comment and using your legit e-mail (we have to be able to contact you).
Why are we doing this? Simple, we fixed an issue the site had with results. Basically it wasn’t indexing the site and if you now Google search us… Bam! Success. Not to mention that February the 6th is our 2 year anniversary! First winner being picked tomorrow on the 4th and the second winner is getting picked on Sunday the 5th. Best of luck.

Edit: Winner for Saturday, February the 4th is Phantoms-Heart. Cheers. You can still enter for tomorrow’s copy by commenting below.

Edit: The Winner for Saturday, Feburary the 5th is Joey. Cheers. The contest is now over. Keep checking back for our next contests later this month. 

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The Weekly Five: Celebrating 18 Years of Sonic 3

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February 2nd, dubbed Hedgehog Day, marked the 18th anniversary of the American release of Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Damn, does that make me feel old. Sonic 3 marked a very important point in the Sonic franchise. At the time of release, Sonic mania was in full force. The franchise had multiple TV shows airing, comic books, fast food promotions and even had a float in the Thanksgiving Day Parade. In early 1994 it was near impossible to avoid Sonic, and the release of Sonic 3 only made the franchise even more of a hot commodity. It’s no question that SEGA had a lot riding on the success of the game. Of course, 18 years later we’re still talking about it, so clearly SEGA was successful. In this week’s weekly five, we’ll take a walk down memory lane and look back on just why we love Sonic 3 so much.

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Dates for Sonic Boom and Summer of Sonic announced

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Hedgehog Day news continues!

Sonic fans will get a double dose of events this year as both dates for Summer of Sonic and Sonic Boom have been announced. Summer of Sonic will take place in London (no EXACT location yet) on July 7 while Sonic Boom will be held in San Diego at the House of Blues on July 13th during the San Diego Comic Con. That pretty much guarantees that I’ll be there. With the dates so close together, it’s hard to determine what Sonic talent will show up where. But I’d bet a shiny nickel that at the very least, the Archie comic talent will be at Sonic Boom.

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Sonic 4 Episode 2 Hedgehog Day Reveal: Egg Serpentleaf

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To celebrate Groundhog Hedgehog Day, SEGA of America has shared a new piece of concept art from Sonic 4 Episode 2. Is it another badnik? No! It’s our first look at a boss, and an original boss at that! Dubbed the Egg Serpentleaf, the boss appears to be Eggman inside a giant flower that is able to close up and act as a laser. Pretty cool if you ask me! I wonder if the giant flower hints at the stage motif? After the break, more images of the new boss.

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British Electronic Group Nero Releases a SEGA Inspired Music Video

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British electronic act Nero used SEGA arcade games as inspiration for the video of their single “You and Me”. The video kicks off in an arcade containing games like Daytona USA 2, SEGA Rally 3, Let’s Go Jungle! and Rambo. A teenager walks around playing the games, until he spots a group of “cool dudes” (who I assume to be Nero) and he follows them out of the arcade to a back room which contains a Nero arcade machine, which plays a lot like Streets of Rage. The teen plays the game, a few more SEGA references ensue (“Are You Ready” replaces “Get Ready”) and then the video ends. I can’t say I enjoy the tune, sort of comes off as a four and a half minute intro to nothing, but I do appreciate the SEGA nods and it’s a worthwhile watch just for that. Though don’t expect the music to go anywhere. Honestly, I’d prefer it if they just remixed this awesome track.

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SEGA sponsored GameAid cricket event to return in May

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I wrote a nice article last year about SEGA sponsoring and hosting the GameAid cricket event, seems they will be doing it again. The event will pit four teams against each other in a 10/10 match.

Here is the thing, last year that they played, team Screaming Lord Hatch’s Invitational XI  won. The team was captained by Bethesda’s Alistair Hatch. If SEGA’s team, rightfully named SEGA All-Stars win this year, they get to take Screaming Lord Hatch’s Invitational XI’s trophy. Sounds like a good game in the spirit of fun. This year’s goal is the same as last years, at least £2,200.

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ESRB rates two Game Gear Games for Nintendo 3DS

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Back in March of last year, Nintendo announced that Sega’s Game Gear games would be coming to the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console. Sadly, we hadn’t heard anything new since…until today! The ERSB has put up ratings for Sonic Triple Trouble and Shinobi. Both these Game Gear games were rated for the Nintendo 3DS. Looks like we’ll be getting them sooner rather than later.

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Playstation Plus members get six free Genesis games this February

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So Sony is going to be giving all six SEGA Genesis titles that are available on PSN. If you forgot, all these titles have been given to PS+ members before, but not all in one month. Each game costs $5, so its a nice savings. I already got ’em all last time, so its good to see all the other stuff they are giving out beside the Genesis games.

PS+ users also get early access to The House of the Dead III demo. So yes, it means that there is going to be a House of the Dead III demo this month.

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The Art of Video Games Companion Book Features Influential SEGA Games

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While the Smithsonian’s Art of Video Games show doesn’t open until March 16th, fans can get their pre-orders in now for the show’s companion book. Retailing for $40, and up for pre-order for $24 on Amazon, the 216 page book makes the argument that games aren’t just for play, but are also “compelling experiences that have crossed the boundary into culture and art”. Writer Chris Melissinos uses the 80 games featured in the show to support this argument, and shares stories and comments about their development and innovation. The book will also feature interviews and over 100 composite images drawn directly from the games themselves.

After the break, a rundown of the SEGA titles to be featured in the book.

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