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Archive for March, 2018

“SEGA Master System: a visual compendium” on the way from Bitmap Books, Kickstarter Launches May 7th

Sunday, March 25th, 2018

The latest in Bitmap Books’ acclaimed Visual Compendium series is on the way – and it’ll centre on SEGA’s 8-bit machine, the SEGA Master System.

Bitmap’s previous works have included visual compendiums for the Super Nintendo and Commodore 64, as well as artbooks centered on arcade games and an upcoming collection of NeoGeo visuals. Apparently, SEGA are actually involved with this book – making it the first somewhat official entry in the series. There’ll be a Kickstarter campaign to get the book made, starting May 7th.

The Master System was a surprisingly strong contender in the UK, so we’re always happy to see it get some love. It’ll be interesting to see how the book explores SEGA’s unique alternatives to Nintendo’s output – as well as if it’ll delve into the system’s staggering popularity in Brazil.

[Source: ComicBook/wwg ]

Yakuza Kiwami 2 Coming West, Releases August 28th 2018 for PS4

Sunday, March 18th, 2018

With Yakuza 6 on the way, and last year’s Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami still relatively fresh on our minds, SEGA has continued the Yakuza series love with the announcement that Yakuza Kiwami 2 (a remake of Yakuza 2 for PS4, in the shiny new Dragon Engine) is coming West. And you won’t be waiting long either, as it’s out on August 28th!

As the official description from SEGA eloquently puts it:

It’s been a full year since Kazuma Kiryu took his leave from the world of the Yakuza during the events of Yakuza Kiwami. Fate, however, has other things in mind for the legendary Dragon of Dojima, and Kiryu finds himself back on the front lines of a potential all-out war.

The game will also receive a steelbook edition, as has basically become tradition for the series now. It’ll be a limited edition though; time to get those pre-orders in!

[ Source: Official Yakuza Twitter Account ]

Film Distributors’ Association Lists Sonic the Hedgehog Movie for a December 13th 2019 Release in the UK

Saturday, March 17th, 2018

The Film Distributors’ Association, the UK body for theatrical film distributors, have listed the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie on their site. Notably, it’s been given a later release date than the previously reported November 15th 2019 launch, suggesting the film will launch in the UK on the later date of Friday December 13th 2019.

While films releasing later in the UK is nothing particularly new, this is somewhat notable; as it puts the film a week before the projected release date for Star Wars: Episode IX. Perhaps Paramount are betting on Sonic’s historic popularity in UK stacking up to Disney’s holiday juggernaut? It’s no doubt a risky move, but with a relatively star-studded team behind the Sonic film (including Neal Moritz of the Fast and the Furious series, and Tim Miller of Deadpool), whether it’ll pay off is anyone’s guess at this point.

[Source: Film Distributors’ Association ]

Sonic x Puma Shoes Collaboration Announced | Merchandise

Friday, March 16th, 2018

Puma are teaming up with SEGA to launch a new pair of Sonic the Hedgehog-themed shoes.

A teaser trailer (that you can watch below) hints at the new design but doesn’t commit to revealing the final artwork at this time.

The shoes are set to release for general sale in June 2018.

New Sonic Racing Title Teased at SXSW Sonic Panel

Friday, March 16th, 2018

A short teaser trailer revealed at the SXSW Sonic panel appears to be hinting at the release of a new Sonic racing game.

The trailer features some images of a car that looks suspiciously like Sonic’s car from Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing before revealing a logo that is partially obscured. The logo appears to read “Sonic Racing” but it’s only the ‘R’ that’s illuminated; a nice little nod to 1997 Sonic racer, Sonic R.

There are no other details on this title available at this time, although it has been heavily rumoured that Sumo Digital are leading development on the title.

[Source: Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter]

5 Part ‘Sonic Mania Adventures’ Animated Series Revealed

Friday, March 16th, 2018

A new 5 part animated series called Sonic Mania Adventures will launch later this year.

The series will be released online for free and it appears to feature animation led by Tyson Hesse who previously collaborated with Studio Yotta on Sonic Mania’s animated sequences.

Check out the teaser trailer by clicking the embed below:

Sonic Mania Plus Revealed for Summer 2018 Release, Mighty and Ray Added as Playable Characters

Friday, March 16th, 2018

Sonic Mania is getting an enhanced physical release called Sonic Mania Plus. This new version adds Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel as playable characters. Mighty hasn’t been playable in a Sonic game since 1995’s Knuckles’ Chaotix and Ray hasn’t been playable since his one and only appearance in the Japan exclusive arcade title SEGASonic the Hedgehog which was released back in 1993.

This new package also includes something called Encore Mode, a new 4 player competition mode as well as a 32 page art book, a reversible cover featuring a faux-Mega Drive/Genesis look and holographic packaging. That’s quite a substantial upgrade over the previously digital-only release.

Sonic Mania Plus will release for PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch this summer.

SEGA Mega Drive Classics to Release on Xbox One, PC and PS4 May 29th 2018

Wednesday, March 14th, 2018

UPDATE 2

The full list of included games has been confirmed by the PlayStation Blog. Notable exclusions from the collection include Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles which is likely due to licensing agreements regarding the soundtrack, which infamously features work by Michael Jackson. We also have confirmation of both offline and online multiplayer for games that support multiplayer options.

UPDATE 1

SEGA Europe have confirmed that the game will feature a new rewind option, a mirror mode and a selection of visual filters. SEGA Europe have confirmed the mirror mode mirrors the entire game horizontally – text and all. There has also been confirmation that Sonic 3 will not be included. The game will support trophies and achievements. An official website is also now live.

ORIGINAL POST

A new SEGA Mega Drive Classics collection will launch for PS4, Xbox One and PC on May 29th 2018.

This new collection appears to be based on the engine powering the SEGA Mega Drive Classics Hub for PC (complete with the virtual gamer’s bedroom), which is bizarre considering this is supposed to be getting a PC port as well. Will it become an update to owners of the SEGA Mega Drive Classics Hub on PC or will SEGA de-list the hub? We will update this story as we learn more.

This collection will feature over 50 Mega Drive titles including Sonic the Hedgehog, Streets of Rage, Golden Axe, Space Harrier II, Gunstar Heroes, ToeJam & Earl, The Revenge of Shinobi, Kid Chameleon and Altered Beast.

Check out the reveal trailer below:

Puyo Puyo Now Officially Recognised by the Japan eSports Union

Monday, March 12th, 2018

Puyo Puyo is now officially recognised by the Japan eSports Union, meaning Puyo players can now get a license required to compete in for-money tournaments in the country through this review for eSport acknowledgement statuses (due to gambling laws). This means it joins the ranks of Street Fighter V, Tekken 7, Call of Duty WW2, and several other titles in Japan’s eSports scene.

The first tournament will be held at SEGA FES 18, taking place on April 14 in Akihabara, Japan. There’ll be a 1 Million Yen prize for the winner (that’s around £6,750), with an overall prize pot of 1.65 Million yen (Around £11,150).

The full ruleset for the SEGA Fes ‘18 contest can be viewed by clicking here. Puyo Puyo Tetris’ PS4 version will be used.

[ Source: SEGA, but the robust translation comes courtesy of GSK on Twitter. GSK regularly translates interesting video game information, so check them out! ]

 

Phantasy Star Online 2 Cloud Comes to Nintendo Switch on April 4 in Japan, Complete With Zelda Collaboration

Saturday, March 10th, 2018

Phantasy Star Online 2 is coming to Nintendo Switch, in the form of Phantasy Star Online 2: Cloud. The game’s been known about for a while now, but thanks to the recent Nintendo Direct we now know it’ll be landing on April 4th.

The game is, as ever, Japan-exclusive. It’s worth noting that the Switch is region-free, meaning those outside of Japan could technically get the game anyway – but as well as there being a huge language barrier that can be as easily circumvented as on PC, the game is actually streamed to the Switch, hence the “Cloud” moniker. As such there’s only a 40MB cloud-based application to download, but outside of Japan we can’t exactly imagine it’ll be a smooth experience, as all the servers the game will be streamed from are likely to be in Japan.

That being said, Phantasy Star Online 2’s Switch version does include a new set of items based on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which is a pretty wild thing to type. From the looks of things you’ll be able to get Link’s Champion duds, as well as the Master Sword and Hylian Shield. Also rather neat is that the game supports keyboard and mouse peripherals for the Switch, just in case you’ve got nostalgia for that one gigantic keyboard controller for Gamecube.

[Source: PSUBlog ]

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