Acitivison releases SEGA Toys’ Wappy Dog for American audiences

We have posted tons of SEGA Toys that are released exclusivly in Japan. Many of them are great concepts that most of us here will never get a chance to play with. I guess Acitivison also likes some of their ideas since they are bringing over ‘Wrappy Dog’ to America. It will be a toy that interacts with a DS game.

 

“Wappy Dog is groundbreaking,” said David Oxford, Activision Publishing. “With the arrival of Wappy, the idea that videogames are a separate experience from toys is forever changed. Now, we have a future ahead which brings together the virtual and physical world, in a fun-filled and family friendly pet pastime.”

Seems that its going up against Nintendogs, but on the original DS? Plus the $49.99 entry fee? I see this as failing. Regardless, hit the jump and see the press release.

Takashi Iizuka wants to reinvent Sonic for 2012


Takashi Iizuka says some of the weirdest things. Everyone seems to be excited for Sonic Generations and its getting good reviews. The future looks bright for the Sonic, but Iizuka thinks of Sonic Generations as a book end to modern and classic Sonic. Wants to reinvent him for 2012.

“I would like to make a new standard Sonic, a modern Sonic if you will, in 2012 and beyond. There have been a lot of Sonic titles in the past, and I think, at this point, there’s a pretty good idea of what a Sonic game should be like — a fun, frenetic action game. As I said, I feel the need to surprise the fans in new and innovative ways, but I don’t want to do anything to depart from that style. The color powers in Colors are a good example of that.” – Takashi Iizuka

So are you guys ready for a fresh new Sonic or do you think Sonic Team can further fix modern Sonic to make him better?

[Via: Destructoid]

Review: Sonic Generations

SEGA’s next big Sonic game is centered around his 20th anniversary. Even though Sonic started off this console generation with some awful games, Sonic Team has been learning from their mistakes and perfecting their skills. Have they finally delivered the Sonic game that all their fans want?

Sonic’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Test Flight

Thanksgiving may be three weeks away, but folks are already at work preparing for the famous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. A cool video surfaced showing the kick-off of the balloon handlers practicing. There are lots of shout outs to Sonic’s 20th anniversary, as well as a fun little “let’s hear it for Sonic!” at the end. This sort of stuff gives me that warm fuzzy feeling last felt in 1993 when Sonic appeared in the parade. Though let’s hope the hedgehog doesn’t pop like he did back then.

[Source: FOX New York]

Swingin’ Report Show #22: Talkin’ about my Generations


On this week’s show, -nSega54-, nuckles87, shigs, and special guest GX Echidna from the Spindash podcast discuss Sonic Generations, which just came out a few days ago (in America), along with some other tidbits, including discussion of some bad boxart. Sadly I couldn’t make it to this week’s show, but the table was filled with regulars.

[audio:https://segabits.com/wp-content/uploads/Swinin_Report_Show_22_Talking_about_my_generations.mp3]

[Download] [Archive] [iTunes]

 

New Japanese 3DS trailer confirms Apotos for Sonic Generations

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7D4nmR8ty8&feature=youtu.be

So much for Sonic’s “portable history”.

A new Japanese trailer has launched for the 3DS version of Sonic Generations. In a “blink and you’ll miss it” moment, you can see a quick glimpse of Apotos from Sonic Unleashed. This is the final zone to be revealed and now all zones for 3DS have been shown. Minus Casino Night Zone, they’re all first levels.

Sonic CD Available this week on GameStop tablets. Tails playable!

In a very surprising bit of Sonic CD news, Sega has confirmed that early purchasers of certain tablets at GameStop in the U.S. will recieve Sonic CD pre-installed and available this week! That’s a huge leap considering it won’t be available for download until December. In another big piece of Sonic CD news, Tails will also be playable after finishing the game!

Right now, gamers who purchase a tablet, including the Samsung Galaxy, Acer 100 and ASUS Transformer, being sold at 200 GameStop locations and online at www.gamestop.com, will receive a copy of Sonic CD, pre-installed and ready to play today- far ahead of its official launch in December. This exhilarating Sonic game is compatible with the proprietary Bluetooth gaming controller being offered with the tablets.

Tails has been added as a special unlockable character for this remade version of Sonic CD! Available from your second playthrough onwards, players will now be able to save Little Planet as Sonic’s high-flying companion, Miles “Tails” Prower!

[Source: Sega]

Binary Domain box art looks pretty lame

Don’t get me wrong, I love how Binary Domain is looking. But if I never heard of Binary Domain and was just going off of box art, I wouldn’t pick this game up. The box art looks way too cheesy.

This is the confirmed cover for both America and Europe. Hopefully SEGA sees their mistake and changes it. What do you guys think? I’m I being a negative Sally?

[Via: Gematsu]

Puyo Puyo 20th Anniversary gets PSP demo


Everyone seems to be going crazy today for Sonic Generation, it is out in the US if you didn’t know. But what about the other franchise celebrating 20 years? Puyo Puyo? Sadly we won’t be getting the 20th Anniversary game in the West, but that isn’t going to stop you from at least trying it.

If you log into your Japanese PSN account, you can now download the Puyo Puyo 20th Anniversary demo. You will get to try out four rule sets: Puyo Puyo Sun, Puyo Puyo Fever, Active, and Pair Puyo. Pair Puyo is new and exclusive to this title; it allows you to play 2vs2 with shared lives.

In the end you will always be able to import it. The game is coming out December 15th in Japan for PSP, Wii and 3DS. The full version will have over 20 rule sets to choose from.

[Source: Siliconera]

Arts & Crafts: Make your own Sonic Generations Genesis box!

Back in late 2010 I put together a nifty Sonic the Hedgehog 4 mock Genesis box complete with cover art, a cartridge sticker and a fake instruction manual. The project was a mini labor of love for both retro Genesis box designs and my favorite SEGA franchise. Today, as Sonic Generations releases, I’m happy to present another Genesis box design, this time for Sonic Generations. I figured, as the series focuses on both modern and classic, it would be fitting to provide a classic version of the game case. As the actual Generations cases for 360 and PS3 tout 3D support, I thought I’d throw Master System fans a bone and added the “SegaScope 3-D” logo to the case.

Let’s get started! Click here for files and printing instructions!

Sonic Generations Launch Trailer and a Rant…

Check out the Sonic Generations launch trailer, not long to wait now!
The game is generally scoring in the 8/10 region, which I think is well deserved.

Of course there is always one isn’t there? This time Tim Turi of Game Informer was the culprit. He took all but 4 minutes out of his life to write four paragraphs and call it a professional review. He gave Sonic Generations 6.75/10, I won’t provide a link to the ‘review’ because he decided to spoil the ending in it.

His reason for giving the game a mediocre rating? Apparently all post Dreamcast era levels ruin the game for him! Yep, somehow the aesthetic alone or perhaps simply knowing they are from post Dreamcast era has made the level design terrible. I suspect that Tim didn’t get the memo that they aren’t actually the SAME levels, they simply share the same aesthetic as the original levels.

GETTA LOADA THIS:
Why would Sega pass up full level tributes to Sonic 3 or Sonic CD in favor of a remixed version of a stage from Sonic Colors, which released only a year ago?
Game Informer.

I’m actually convinced that some critics wouldn’t know what made a good Sonic game if it hit them in the face. Was the concept of celebrating 20 years of Sonic lost on this guy? And why pick Planet Wisp of all levels to take out his misguided anger on? One of the best Sonic Levels in recent memory… There used to be something very wrong with Sonic games, now there is something wrong with videogame critics. I can’t believe they get paid for this shit- what a Joke.

In contrast, GameTrailers’ review was fantastic, it not only highlighted the best parts of the game, it mentioned the real issues too and does so in a truly professional manor. My hat is off to you GameTrailers!

You can see it HERE

SEGA Sammy Holding’s post half year results

SEGA Sammy posted their half year results for the period ending September 30th 2011. A difficult period saw that the publisher declined in both revenue and profit, numerous reasons from the natural disaster that struck Japan earlier this year that still holds ramification for the publisher today, to the weak global economy that is affecting consumer sales. In these tough times, read on to find out how the group managed.

Time Eater Pumpkin Says: “Happy Halloween from SEGAbits!”

Happy Halloween! To celebrate the release of Sonic Generations, I thought it would be fitting to carve a Time Eater pumpkin (code name: Peter Peter Pumpkin Time Eater). I carved this baby up over the weekend, during a very bizarre east coast snow storm. Fitting that the city was covered in white the same day that I carved a Time Eater. I’m kicking myself now for not taking a photo of it in the snow, but if I come across a time hole, I’ll make sure to jump back to Saturday to snap the photo. You can’t see it so well in the above shot, but I carved the lid in the shape of a clock gear. After the break, more Time Eater Pumpkin photos!