Sonic the Hedgehog live-action movie character design leaks!

Thanks to an overly enthusiastic staffer at Hagami/Carroll Inc. who wanted to update the company’s online portfolio, we now have an advance look at how Sonic will appear in the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie from Paramount. The company had been tasked with creating a brand guidelines book and package design for the movie, as the images show off brand elements including graphics, character poses and the brand personality. The elephant in the room of course is the newly designed cinematic take on Sonic in all its glory. Fan reaction has been mixed, with comments ranging from “better than I expected” to “okay” to gifs of people jumping from windows.

Personally, I think it looks awful and cannot wait for the SEGA News Bits video where George and I pick apart the blue little guy. In the meantime, check out the gallery of images below and share your own opinions in the comments.

Eerie abandoned Fukushima SEGA arcade ‘covered in radioactive dust’ explored

I think that abandoned buildings always have some sort of story to tell and it seems a lot of people share my thoughts, including Bob Thissen an urban explorer that has been documenting abandoned buildings in Fukushima. If you didn’t know, Japan had a nuclear disaster back in 2011 when they had a huge earthquake that disturbed a nearby power plant. Over 160,000 people fled the area.

One of the places that Mr. Thissen explored was an abandoned SEGA arcade, which has been basically intact since 2011. No looters seemed to have grabbed any of the machines, Thissen believes it was because they are all covered by radioactive dust. Check out the video and the photos below.

[Via: DailyMail]

SEGA Fes 2019 to host SEGA Saturn’s 25th Anniversary Event with Hiroshi Fujioka as special guest

This month will be an exciting one for every SEGA fan out there as SEGA FES 2019 is only 30 days away from us! To celebrate this year’s event, the SEGA Festival will be hosting a special event dedicated to the SEGA Saturn’s 25th Anniversary and celebrating it’s launch in Japan since the console’s release on September 1994.

The stage presentation will take look back on the history of Sega Saturn 25 years together with those who are deeply involved with the Sega Saturn and people from the industry, including the appearance of Hiroshi Fujioka who portrayed as Segata Sanshiro, a martial artist who commanded people to play Sega Saturn games, for the console’s commercials over the years. 

The stage presentation will be held at SEGA FES 2019 on March 30th at Bersaar Akihabara. We will keep our readers posted on more news regarding SEGA FES 2019 this month. Are you looking forward to this year’s SEGA FES? Let’s us know on the comments below. 

Judgment Localisation Trailer feat mulit-language subtitle options

SEGA has uploaded a new video showing off Judgment aka Judge Eyes: Shinigami no Yuigon in Japan, multi-language subtitle options. Judgment will not only have dual audio for players to choose English and Japanese languages, the game will also give players the option to choose fully localised subtitles such as English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. It’s amazing to see the localization team at SEGA working very hard to please the Yakuza fanbase around the world. SEGA has also stated that there will be more news on Judgment soon, hopefully a playable demo at E3. Judgment is set for release worldwide around Q2/Q3 2019 for the Playstation 4.

Excited to play Judgment? Please let us know in the comments below!

Macaulay Culkin joins ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove! as Executive Producer

The studio behind ToeJam & Earl: Back to the Groove, HumaNature, posted up a press release revealing that Macaulay Culkin is Executive Producer for the game. This seems to have been a secret that the studio has kept close to their sleeve and using it as they near the final stretch towards release. ToeJam & Earl: Back to the Groove releases on Xbox One, PC, PS4, and Nintendo Switch on March 1st!

“I’m honored to be producing the new ToeJam & Earl because it is literally my favorite video game of all time. Plus, Greg Johnson is the tits!” – Macaulay Culkin

You can pick the game up physically via Limited Run Games: PS4 & Switch. Check out the press release by HumaNature studio below:

SEGA News Bits Extra: Shenmue 3 Lan Di Revealed & Goodbye Old SEGA Headquarters

This week on Extra, George and Barry discuss new Shenmue 3 news, Team Sonic Racing‘s new track, SEGA’s old headquarters being potentially torn down and the release of a long forgotten SEGA Genesis game.

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Analogue Mega SG to Include Unreleased Title Ultracore from Battlefield Developers

Analogue’s FPGA Mega Drive/Genesis console, the Mega Sg is giving would be owners an additional bonus built into the console. A pack in title! Hardcore, a side-scrolling shooter in the vein of other European shooters such as the Turrican series, was developed by Digital Illusions who have since changed their name to DICE. (Who went on to become famous for the Battlefield series.) Due to the impending arrival of disc based consoles in 1994, the publisher of the game, Psygnosis decided to cancel the title despite being slated for release on Amiga, Mega Drive, Genesis and SEGA CD, with the Mega Drive/Genesis version being nearly ready for shipment. However due to legal issues, Analogue states on their website the game will be renamed to Ultracore. The game content will remain the same.

Historical SEGA Enterprise HQ building to be torn down


Earlier today legendary SEGA game developer Yuji Naka took to Twitter to post a tweet paying his goodbyes to the historical SEGA Enterprise HQ building that will be torn down.

“It’s sad that the former Sega HQ building is going away. I remember making all kinds of games in my 22 years there. It may be on the edge of Tokyo, but it was truly an honor to be able to reach the world from there. It’s too bad. I loved Sega Enterprises.”Yuji Naka (translated by Cheesmeister3k)

Honestly I’m one of those people that don’t think buildings like this should be destroyed and that SEGA’s history in gaming is worth preserving. What’s your opinion? Press F to pay respect.

Atlus launches Play Survey to determine the future of Persona, Catherine, Etrian Odyssey, and more

Atlus posted a brand new Player Survery to get feedback “to help us determine the next steps for some of our most popular series, including Persona, Catherine, Etrian Odyssey, and more.”

Take the survey!

The questionnaire asks users what previous Atlus games would you wanna see more content for (possibly gearing up for future re-releases), what you want to see more of in the future, how you buy games (digital or physical) and a lot more including asking users if they buy Collector’s Edition versions of games. If you are a big fan of Atlus’ properities, you should definitely take the survey.

Team Sonic Racing adds ‘Hidden Volcano’ as new racing track

SEGA has revealed a brand new track for Team Sonic Racing, introducing “Hidden Volcano” race track! Hidden Volcano is a lava zone that is hidden within the Glacier Land area. According to SEGA’s description on their site:

Hidden Volcano is a lava zone course hidden deep within the ice-covered Glacier Land area. This area is distinguished by its lumps of ice created by the scorching hot magma within the iceberg and complicated terrain due to lava rocks. It requires calm judgment and bold technique to conquer its slippery ice roads and varying bumpiness caused by tears in the earth. At the starting line, a lava giant towers above the track and swings its fist downward to block the racers’ path forward.
Check out screenshots of the game below. What do you think of the brand new Hidden Volcano track?
[Source: Siliconera]

SEGA Ages: Alex Kidd in Miracle World for Nintendo Switch gets trailer

Alex Kidd in Miracle World was one of the first announced titles for the brand new SEGA Ages line-up on Nintendo Switch and it barely released in Japan today. That means that SEGA has uploaded the Japanese trailer for the game, you can check that out above.

Sadly we don’t know when the game will release on the West, but you can buy SEGA Ages: Alex Kidd in Miracle World from the Japanese E-Shop for 925 yen (around 8.30USD).

Microsoft adds Alien: Isolation to Xbox Game Pass

Microsoft is beefing up their Xbox Game Pass, which is being billed online as a Netflix of games. Which is true, you pay the low monthly fee and have access to a ton of games including Gears of War 4, Forza series and even the newly released Crackdown 3. They are also working on getting older games released on the Xbox Game Pass, this latest update brings Alien: Isolation on the platform.

It should be interesting to see if Xbox Game Pass works out for Microsoft, if you have it and haven’t played Alien: Isolation; get on it!

Shenmue III shows off new Lan Di model


YS Net has updated us on Twitter, revealing the brand new model for Lan Di. We got just the screenshot above. It was also revealed that we will be getting a brand new trailer at MAGIC 2019 in Moncao on March 9th.

If you guys didn’t know, Shenmue III is due to release on PlayStation 4 and PC on August 27th. Yeah, not that long away and we still haven’t seen the game running at close to retail level. I guess we shall see what the new Shenmue III trailer brings…

SEGA News Bits: Junkie XL Scoring Sonic the Hedgehog Movie

Hear that? It’s the sound of Sonic the Hedgehog movie news! We recently learned that composer Junkie XL, of Max Max: Fury Road and Deadpool fame, will be making the music for the Sonic movie. On this News Bits, we discuss the news and whether we think this improves our outlook on the movie or not.

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SEGA AGES Alex Kidd in Miracle World to release on February 21st in Japan

SEGA AGES branding is steadily continuing it’s releases, and this month it’s the Master System/SEGA Mark III classic title Alex Kidd in Miracle World. Titled SEGA AGES Alex Kidd in Miracle World, players take control of the titular Alex Kidd as they travel through 12 levels punching through blocks using his “Shellcore” martial arts and riding weird contraptions such as the Peticopter. What sets Alex Kidd apart from similar games like the Super Mario Bros. titles is the inclusion of item management, where you can find money hidden in blocks and buy items from shops to help Alex on his adventure.

The SEGA AGES version however adds new features into the mix, such as FM sound compatibility, the usage of a previously unused song, and new cutscenes. This version will also include new features for beginners, such as the ability to rewind time by 5 seconds and the option to continue after losing all your lives. It’s officially slated for a February 21st release date in Japan, or next Thursday as of this writing, with the price of ¥925 (roughly $8.50). It’s unknown when SEGA AGES Alex Kidd in Miracle World will receive a release outside of Japan, but the Nintendo Switch is region-free for those that lack patience, so give this Master System classic a try this Thursday if you have the spare yen.

[Source: SEGA AGES Website]