Yakuza of the End Japanese advert looks exciting
Nothing more exciting than watching people scream Japanese phrases. This 15 second commercial has me pumped. If only E3 had a Japanese man directing you around while screaming.
[Source: AndriaSang]
Latest Posts
Retro Review: Burning Rangers
The year was 1998, and the Sega Saturn was on its way to obsolescence and breathing its last. Sega decided to give the system one last hurrah with some very limited edition games. Panzer Dragoon Saga, Burning Rangers and Shining Force III (I think) were released at a very limited 5,000 copies each. If you didn’t pre-order these babies, you were paying through the nose later. In fact, I payed $100 for my used copy last year. Does Sonic Team’s future fire fighting game still hold up or has its charm burned away?
Mike Hayes – We’re not deaf to Shenmue demands
Sega West big boss man Mike Hayes has been talking Shenmue again, in an interview with CVG he said while Sega has “no plans at the moment” for a new Shenmue on consoles, he encouraged Shenmue devotees not to lose hope, insisting that the publisher is taking demand for a new iteration “very seriously indeed“.
“Hopefully, we’ve shown that we’re listening to [those that love old Sega IP] because we have pretty much reduxed or reinvented all of it in one way or another,” he told CVG.
Make sure to read on after the jump:
SEGA Sequels: Risky SEGA Sequels
Has it really been 20 weeks? Holy crap! Well, at any rate, for Episode 20 and probably the next episode or so, I’m going to be taking a look at sequels that really pushed the boundaries of what one would expect as a followup to another game. When making a sequel, a developer has a few different choices. Sometimes, they choose to take the easy way out, simply repeating the formula from the sequel’s predecessor and hoping that their audience is simply looking for more of the same….something that didn’t work for The Hangover 2, that’s for sure. Other times, a developer might try to tweak the formula, but still aim to deliver the same overall experience, abeit one that’s been improved. Then, there are developers who decide to take their sequel in an entirely different direction, by far the riskiest strategy of the 3. Sometimes it works, and the fans accept it, and then other times….tweaking the formula too drastically can result in a sequel that the fans hate. This week I’m going to take a look at Jet Set Radio Future, a game I’ve talked about in this feature before; what made it so different, why it was such a risky game to make, and, well, did these changes work?
Sonic Boom Update: Chili Dog Disaster!
A horrible crisis of inifnite porportions has hit the Sonic Boom event. The menu of food items for sale has gone up. There are no, I repeat NO chili dogs on the menu! How can you have a Sonic event and not offer Chili Dogs? The full menu after you click.
Swingin’ Report Show #8: Pre-E3 2011 special
This week we take a look at the wonders of E3, what we expect and hope for. Enjoy the new logo above? We are also trying a new format, a bit more chaotic as you can tell. Tell us what you think. We also have a new official logo for the podcast, made by Barry the Nomad. Nice?
[audio:http://www.segabits.com/wp-content/uploads/swinging_report_show_8.mp3]
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Weekly Five: Saturn titles that should be on modern consoles
One of the best things about the SEGA Saturn is it’s wide array of exclusives. While Dreamcast lost many of its best exclusives to its competitors shortly after it died, the exodus of Saturn exclusives has been painfully slow. A port here, a remake there, but nothing like the sort of treatment that Dreamcast, Genesis, and even Game Gear/Master System libraries got after SEGA’s departure from the console business. Heck, when a Saturn game does get ported, it doesn’t even get localized much of the time. Why the general lack of porting or emulation? Well, according to Panzer Dragoon series director Yukio Fatatsugi, it’s because SEGA has misplaced the source code for many of their Saturn games, meaning that many games now on the Saturn will never see the light of day on another console unless they are completely rebuilt from the ground up, something that is probably unlikely to happen.
Hey, a gamer can dream, right? Here are five Saturn titles that I think should see the light of day on modern consoles, whether it be a port, emulation, or a total remake for a retail release. Since I recently wrote an entire article demanding an Astal remake, and since Guardian Heroes is now going to be the latest Saturn title to make the leap, obviously those won’t be counted.
Sega Announces E3 2011 Line Up
Sega have today announced their E3 2011 line up and it’s pretty packed! With some really exciting games like Binary Domain, Guardian Heroes, Aliens: Colonial Marines, Renegade Ops, Crush3D and Sonic Generations, not to mention Platinum Games’ Anarchy Reigns already announced, is it too much to ask for some surprises too?
I’m still holding out hope for Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown to console, Valkyria Chronicles 3 to West and any kind of news on Phantasy Star Online 2!
But with or without those games it’s quite a good line up for new and old Sega fans, hit the jump for the full list. I’m personally very excited about Aliens and Binary Domain!
SegaBits writers Nuckles87 and Shigs will be presant at E3 2011 and reporting feedback on all of these games and more!
NiGHTS into Dreams into Comics – Issue 1
Originally written July, 2009 for The Saturn Junkyard
While the Saturn hit the US in 1995, it wasn’t until late 1997 that I bought a system. A large part of why I held out was money, $399 is a fortune to an 11 year old. Also, I was having way too much fun with my Genesis at the time, a testament to the quality of the 16-bit system. The Genesis had everything I wanted: Sonic the Hedgehog and Disney Interactive games. The Saturn had a Sonic compilation of games I already owned and some goofy jester game. At the time I was oblivious to the fact that NiGHTS was a Sonic Team game (no Wikipedias or SEGAbits back in 1995, kids) and so I went on ignoring one of the greatest games and systems of the mid-90’s.
Yu Suzuki working on a Kinect fighting game
This is an exciting story and something we might see more of at E3; Yu Suzuki is working on a Kinect fighting game. The man that was behind Virtua Fighter! Yu Suzuki has joined Tokyo-based Premium Agency and they both announced their first title, which is Kinect-based. This means that it’s not a SEGA title, sadly.
How much hands on will Yu Suzuki have with the project? Unknown. He is being titled “Executive game producer” by the company, and has been said to be overseeing the project. So probably not too much involvement.
So what does this mean for Yu Suzuki and SEGA? I guess we will find out in the upcoming years.
[Source: MCV]
Playstation Home gets Virtua Tennis 4 promotional mini game
When Home launched everyone thought it was a tad shit, because it was basically that. Now it has tons of spots and stuff to do. Sony has even said they will be streaming their E3 event from Home. Now SEGA is using Home to promote Virtua Tennis 4 with a free Home game.
The mini game they made to promote Virtua Tennis 4 isn’t a tennis game, it’s a galaga shooting game that takes place on a tennis court (with you taking control of the tennis ball machine). The spot and game are 100% free, and also look pretty fun. So log in and enjoy. This is a Europe announcement, so we might have to wait for the US home release.
[Source: SEGA.Blog UK]
Sonic Generations on 3DS to have multiplayer?
SEGA of Japan has put up their website for Sonic Generations. They have screenshots of the HD versions of the game, very nice and fancy stuff.
Here is something odd. The HD versions of the game say they are single player titles, but the 3DS lists 1 to 2 players. The 3DS already confirmed it will get an exclusive level, will it also get exclusive multiplayer?
[Source: AndriaSang]
More Sonic Boom Details Arrive. CUPCAKES!
Sega of America has announced details on their latest blog about the Sonic Boom event. The event will include prizes such as T-Shirts and hats. Also, demos of Sonic Generations will be on hand. Folks who want to get in without a ticket will have to wait until others leave in order for a chance to get in. That means those of you without a pass may still have a chance to get in. And the best news of all………..
Samurai Blood Show turns out to be iOS game
Do you like Samurais and Blood? Do you have an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch? You are in luck if you live in Japan. If you remember correctly, we talked about SEGA trademarking “Samurai Blood Show”, this is for western release. So you will probably have to wait later for a world wide release.
Above is a video showing off the game in action. Not too impressive graphically. Looks like they made the game on a smaller budget. Game is launching with three price tiers: Free, Plus (350 Yen) and Complete (1200 Yen).
[Thanks: Deefy]
PSN returns & has SEGA Rally Online Arcade up for purchase
Well, the game is already out for XBLA. What about PSN? Its out now. Like right now. The PSN store just got updated and came back online. Though its being slammed hard by traffic.
The game is $9.99, a bargain for the goodness you will be getting. Also new is the SEGA Genesis Dynamic Theme that is exclusive to PS+ users. Feels good man.
[Source: Playstation.Blog]