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.
When Tracker isn’t playing SEGA games, he’s talking about SEGA games. Or drawing about SEGA games. Or all of the above. You can also catch him over on Twitter.
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!
When Tracker isn’t playing SEGA games, he’s talking about SEGA games. Or drawing about SEGA games. Or all of the above. You can also catch him over on Twitter.
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.
When Tracker isn’t playing SEGA games, he’s talking about SEGA games. Or drawing about SEGA games. Or all of the above. You can also catch him over on Twitter.
Tags: release date, Sonic Movie, sonic the hedgehog, uk Posted in News | Comments Off on Film Distributors’ Association Lists Sonic the Hedgehog Movie for a December 13th 2019 Release in the UK
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).
[ Source: SEGA, but the robust translation comes courtesy of GSK on Twitter. GSK regularly translates interesting video game information, so check them out! ]
When Tracker isn’t playing SEGA games, he’s talking about SEGA games. Or drawing about SEGA games. Or all of the above. You can also catch him over on Twitter.
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.
When Tracker isn’t playing SEGA games, he’s talking about SEGA games. Or drawing about SEGA games. Or all of the above. You can also catch him over on Twitter.
If one Sonic board game isn’t enough for you, good news there’s another on the way! IDW Games’ Sonic the Hedgehog: Crash Course is now available to pre-order from Game Nerdz.
The game takes a different approach compared to the recent Sonic Battle Racers board game – in that the theme is based around Classic Sonic, with rather cute minifigures of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Dr. Eggman included. There’s also some shiny new Classic Sonic art, and it all looks like it stepped right out of the 90’s. Essentially, whoever collects the most Chaos Emeralds in a game wins. It includes the following:
Contains:
60 Item Tokens
24 Chaos Emerald Tokens
12 Damage Tokens
4 Extra Life Tokens
10 Track Tiles
4 Character Tiles
1 Reference Tile
4 Pre-painted Miniatures
1 Rulebook
Currently the game is discounted on Game Nerdz site, down to $18.97. Unfortunately, the site only offers US shipping, so it remains to be seen whether the game makes its way to other areas in the future.
When Tracker isn’t playing SEGA games, he’s talking about SEGA games. Or drawing about SEGA games. Or all of the above. You can also catch him over on Twitter.
SEGA has announced that they are now prioritising native ports for SEGA Forever a la the ‘TaxStealth’ ports of Sonic 1 and 2, as opposed to emulated titles.
In a post on SEGA’s blog, they state that the native ports amongst the SEGA Forever lineup (Sonic 1,2 and CD, Crazy Taxi, and Virtua Tennis Challenge) are the most played – and as such, they intend to bring more of these sorts of titles to the service, rather than the emulated Mega Drive titles that make up a fair chunk of the current lineup. There’ll still be emulated titles added to the roster, but the focus of the initiative is now elsewhere.
As a result of this shift, the slew of releases for SEGA Forever is set to slow down a tad – however it appears the aim here is now “quality over quantity,” which will likely be music to the ears of many a SEGA fan. Also promised is “a surprise or two you weren’t expecting” amongst the upcoming emulated titles.
Speaking of which, the blog’s decor does tease another upcoming Mega Drive title for the service – it appears Treasure’s classic head-em-up Dynamite Headdy is coming to smart devices soon, as is… Super Monkey Ball?
When Tracker isn’t playing SEGA games, he’s talking about SEGA games. Or drawing about SEGA games. Or all of the above. You can also catch him over on Twitter.
If you love Sonic the Comic, here’s a date to remember: on June 3rd, an event celebrating 25 years since the series’ debut will be held in Manchester, here in the UK.
With all the talk of Archie Sonic’s demise and the all-new IDW comics, it can be easy to forget that the UK got its very own slice of Sonic comic action. The Fleetway Sonic comics were a unique take on the adventures of the blue hedgehog, even compared to the stuff going on across the pond at the time – and it garnered such a cult following that the comic still receives new issues created entirely by fans to this day, over on Sonic the Comic Online.
The event is being run by Michael Corker, founder of StCO – it’ll also mark his farewell from the series, as he intends to step down from his role as StCO’s editor in May.
The festivities will be held at the Fab Cafe in Manchester – rather than being a bombastic convention-style affair a la “Sonic the Comic-Con” (held in 2014), it’ll be a quieter meet for people to socialise and reminisce about the beloved comic series. There’s also plans for special guests, from StC both past and present, and plenty of art supplies for folks to get creative themselves.
When Tracker isn’t playing SEGA games, he’s talking about SEGA games. Or drawing about SEGA games. Or all of the above. You can also catch him over on Twitter.
Data Discs have announced their next vinyl release in collaboration with SEGA Japan, and it’s a big one – After Burner II!
The release will feature the full soundtrack to the arcade classic, plus the version of the main theme, “After Burner” without the lead melody (as it appeared in the original After Burner game). In addition, the second disc will feature three re-arranged tracks from the SEGA Sound Team (performed in 1988) as well as a medley by the current incarnation of the group, the SEGA Sound Unit [H.]. The set also comes with a poster of the game’s iconic artwork, showing the F-14 Tomcat – this art has been re-licensed just for this release!
Pre-orders go live on Saturday 24th February, with all versions of the soundtrack priced at £24.99. The release date itself is set for March 31st.
When Tracker isn’t playing SEGA games, he’s talking about SEGA games. Or drawing about SEGA games. Or all of the above. You can also catch him over on Twitter.
Marking the end of the series’ over 10-year absence from Western shores, SEGA has announced Shining Resonance Refrain, a remaster of the PS3 title Shining Resonance. The remaster includes all previously released DLC, as well as a new ‘Refrain Mode’ that adds brand-new content. For those wondering, Shining had a bit of an image overhaul after Camelot broke ties with SEGA – so if you’re expecting something along the lines of the classic Mega Drive Shining series, this might not be what you’re after.
One slightly odd thing to note – while SEGA hasn’t localised any entries in the series for over 10 years, the fighting game spin off Blade Arcus from Shining: Battle Arena was localised, by Studio Saisenzen, and is available on Steam.
The game will also be getting a launch edition with a reversible metal slipcase – this will also be available in Europe, which is always nice to see. SEGA has also confirmed that the game will receive an English dub, with the option to use Japanese audio also being available.
When Tracker isn’t playing SEGA games, he’s talking about SEGA games. Or drawing about SEGA games. Or all of the above. You can also catch him over on Twitter.
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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.
