On this SEGA News Bits, George walks Barry through the crazy rumor circulating about Microsoft buying SEGA. Is this happening? Let’s bust this myth!
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Retro-Bit revealed a new design for their upcoming wireless Dreamcast controller, and on this SEGA News Bits we react to the proposed plans and share our thoughts on the old design versus the new design.
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If you’ve been around our blog for awhile, you know we are all huge Phantasy Star Online fans, we even gushed about our history with the game on our SEGA Talk episode. While the original Phantasy Star Online got a ton of ports including PC, GameCube and Xbox, it has been quite forgotten more recently. While SEGA focuses on Phantasy Star Online 2, it seems a lot of fans still thirst for the original game.
Above is a concept pitch created by Phantasy Star Online fan Alex The Actualizer, which includes the image renders below. I do find myself thinking that SEGA is missing a huge opportunity to re-release a classic game like this, especially since the Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst version never got a console release. Not to mention that since the Nintendo Switch has a GameCube controller adapter, we can use our big Gamecube/Keyboard hybrid monster!
[Via: TheAmaranthChronicles]
See the image above? One of the first times I saw the image was this weekend when longtime SEGAbits contributor SEGA Uranus posted it on our discord with a this link: https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2020/04/12/xbox-XO_world-live
As you can see, if you go to the link it takes you to a 404 page, me thinking this might have been a leak, I went to Twitter by posting the image looking for more information. My thinking was that SEGA had exclusives promised for the upcoming Microsoft Xbox Series X platform that is coming out this fall, but I quickly noticed people pushing the narrative that ‘SEGA is being bought by Microsoft!’.
After this I decided it was time to do a reverse image search for this image and it only got one hit at the time. 4chan’s /v/ section and even in the thread, no one actually saw the Xbox ‘link’ working. This is obviously a well devised 4chan prank, so please ignore it when you browse online and don’t be shy by linking people spreading this false rumor to this article. I mean, do you really want to see a American company to buy SEGA-Sammy?
The SEGA Dreamcast controller is, well, a bit cheap feeling. Even when it came out it was one of the biggest complaints from SEGA fans upgrading from the SEGA Saturn. It looks like Retro Bit, who are re-releasing retro SEGA console controllers knows this and are now teasing their upcoming SEGA Dreamcast Retro Bit controllers.
“We bring you the #SEGA #Dreamcast controller with features made just for you!
Wired & Wireless options will have you making a tough decision, but with a 6-button layout, redesigned Dpad, & new analog stick, you won’t regret either choice.” – Retro Bit via Twitter
According to the post, the new Dreamcast controllers are coming sometime in late 2020.
While Streets of Rage 4 was already teased as a Game Pass game, it wasn’t confirmed or really talked about after the announcement. Was the game going to be timed exclusive? Would it be on sale first then come to Xbox Game Pass? Now the Facebook page has confirmed that it will be available to Game Pass consumers the same day as it goes on sale digitally.
The issue? Its coming soon, without a solid release date. I guess now we wait.
[Thanks for the heads up Brandon!]
Please almighty Segata Sanshiro! We need to stop playing our SEGA Saturns for just one hour to talk about your greatness! On this SEGA Talk, George and Barry discuss the inspiration for SEGA Japan’s Saturn mascot, as well as the many commercials and the legacy Segata Sanshiro left behind– oh! He found us-! UGH! I can’t… breathe…
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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 has uploaded another exclusive character design work by Japan’s finest manga and anime designers in the industry, Shigenori Soejima (Persona series), Noizi Ito (Haruhi Suzumiya), and Ken Sugimori (Pokemon) by showing off the characters you will encounter during the adventure segments of Sakura Wars.
Sakura Wars (2019) will take center stage on April 28th for Playstation 4.
Pre-Order Sakura Wars for Playstation 4
Launch Edition
While news of a late April release date have been floating around for the upcoming Streets of Rage 4, the developer has said they cannot confirm this date. However what they can confirm is an amazing addition to the game: Retro stuff! Streets of Rage 4 will feature unlockable playable pixel art characters from the previous games in the franchise, complete with their sound effects, movesets and special moves. Combined with the game’s current roster, this brings the game up to 17 playable characters.
But wait, there’s more! The game will also include the soundtracks to Streets of Rage and Streets of Rage 2, which players can switch to and listen to as they brawl in the streets. These new elements are an awesome inclusion, and really elevates the game in my mind.
Streets of Rage 4 will be available soon for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC.
On this SEGA Talk, George and Barry discuss the 1995 SEGA Genesis classic Vectorman! Enjoy this enhanced format where we now watch videos as well as give our usual analysis and development overview.
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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!
Review code provided by Forever Entertainment.
Remakes are a common sight in the modern age. I won’t spiel too long about their worth, or their reason for being, but I will put a fine point on one aspect of their existence: what they bring to the original game. A remake can do a lot of things, both good and bad, and the discussion for how faithful a remake should be is a relevant one in the face of games that barely do more than make new art and graphical assets being the most successful remakes on the market. A good remake, in my opinion, is one that injects life into an old idea while keeping sight of what made the idea special in the first place. Or, at the very least, doing something so radically different with the original idea it becomes special in its own right.
Enter Panzer Dragoon: Remake. The original was a seminal 1995 release that ushered the SEGA Saturn into American and European homes with aplomb, and delighted Japanese Saturn owners a year into its life. It was a simple game of arcade sensibility with RPG detail. It was a 3D tour-de-force when polygons were a rarity at home. An on-rails action shooter with a three hundred and sixty degree innovation and a world like nothing else at the time. It’s a prime candidate for a remake, old and unique enough that it could stand improvements without becoming part of the crowd. Does the remake we have now succeed, though? Well…
SEGA has uploaded an exclusive speak peek at three of Japan’s greatest anime/manga character designers in the industry, Horiguchi, BUNBUN, and Shimada, work on the upcoming Sakura Wars (2019) game for Playstation 4.
The video showcases sketches of the three Combat Revues that the New Flower Division will be up against in the Combat Revue World Games which consist of Shanghai, London, and Berlin Divisions. Sakura Wars (2019) will take center stage on April 28th for Playstation 4.
Pre-Order Sakura Wars for Playstation 4
Launch Edition
SEGA’s official retro channel, SEGA Forever, will be celebrating SEGA’s rich history, the company’s 60th anniversary, and all their retro-related releases with shared artwork, history, and many more to come.
What would you like to see them post on their social channels? Let us know in the comments below, I personally would like to see concept art of SEGA’s classic arcade titles and more interviews with developers.
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Paramount Pictures released a first look clip at one of Sonic The Hedgehog‘s Movie Digital & Blu-ray bonus features, Around the World in 80 Seconds, where we see our blue hero speed around the entire globe while touring all the best landmarks he explains about through doodle drawings! Sonic the Hedgehog will be releasing digital on March 31st while the home release on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD will release May 19th.
Next month, the animated sequel to Sakura Wars (2019), Sakura Wars the Animation, will be joining Funimation’s Spring 2020 Line Up for viewers to watch the anime though subtitles while airing simultaneous in Japan on April 3rd.
Taking place after the events of Sakura Wars (2019), New Flower Division team is transferred to Europe by Seijuro Kamiyama, and Sakura Amamiya was appointed Deputy Commander. Kamiyama returns home temporarily to the Flower Division who all struggle every day, but there is an unknown girl beside named Clara, who is the only survivor of the Moscow group that was destroyed after a major accident . Sakura welcomes Clara, who was commissioned by Kamiyama and transferred to the Flower Division. Meanwhile, a group that claims to be “Moscow Assault Force” suddenly appears in the Imperial City.
Based on the video game franchise, Sakura Wars the Animation arrives this spring from studio SANZIGEN and director Manabu Ono (Sword Art Online: Alicization). The series stars Ayane Sakura (My Hero Academia) as Sakura, Ayaka Fukuhara (Captain Tsubasa) as Anastasia, Maaya Uchida (GOBLIN SLAYER) as Hatsuho and Youhei Azakami (The Seven Deadly Sins) as Seijuro.
