On the 20th of September 2021, SEGA Japan sadly shut the doors on the SEGA GiGO arcade in Ikebukuro, Tokyo after 28 years in business. It’s another major loss to SEGA Japan’s arcade business that has seen major casualties thanks to the COVID-19 epidemic.
Thankfully an explorable, 3D, virtual version of the arcade has been created and you can take a trip through this mammoth arcade via the comfort of your own home. This follows on from the previously released virtual version of SEGA’s Retro Game Floor in Akihabara.
SEGA streamed the events of the Ikebukuro SEGA GiGO’s final day of operation on YouTube, and the stream is archived and available to view by clicking here.
Tags: 3d, arcade, sega gigo, sega japan, virtual Posted in News | Comments Off on Explore a 3D Recreation of SEGA’s Recently Closed GiGO Arcade in Ikebukuro, Tokyo
Hidden Palace’s amazing archiving efforts with Project Deluge continue! This time we have a brand new set of 135 unreleased Dreamcast prototypes and some SEGA Xbox prototypes as well.
Some notable inclusions on the Dreamcast side of things are an unreleased English localisation of Shanghai Dynasty, an early build of 4 Wheel Thunder called Offroad Thunder, an early prototype of Deep Fighter and a prototype of SEGA GT that features a track called “sonygt2” and features Luigi (see above). This one was clearly not made for public distribution!
On the Xbox side of things we also have prototypes of Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller, ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth and Gunvalkyrie.
RGG Studio has revealed the release schedule for the upcoming Lost Judgment’s DLC content, spreading out into Spring 2022.
At launch, the Detective Essentials pack will be released. As well as an extra boss fight, more girls for Yagami to woo, and some content for side-activities such as skateboarding and drone racing, you’ll also get access to additional Master System titles to play ingame. You’ll get Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa Opa, SDI, Alien Syndrome and… Darius II! It’s good to see SEGA’s love-in with Taito’s shooter series continuing.
On October 26th, the School Stories pack will add new outfits, new battles with Yagami’s allies in sparring settings, and the ability to take a new fighting style to the streets.
Finally and most significantly, Spring 2022 will see the launch of a new campaign starring the ever-lovable Kaito, Yagami’s best friend. This mode is estimated to clock in at 10 hours of additional story content.
Digital Deluxe Edition owners will get the first two packs as they release, while Digital Ultimate Edition owners will get all three.
Lost Judgment launches on September 24th for Playstation 4/5 and Xbox One/Series. Digital Deluxe buyers will get access to the game on September 20th.
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.
Remember Monster Rancher? SEGA certainly do and now we have another surprising guest character for Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania. SEGA will make an abhorrent freak (aka Suezo) from Monster Rancher available as a playable character in Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania as paid for DLC. The character will cost $4.99 (or equivalent) like Hello Kitty on the same day the game launches (October 5th 2021). Click below to watch the character reveal trailer for disgusting abomination (Suezo):
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania launches on October 5th 2021 for the Switch, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. The game is an enhanced port of Super Monkey Ball Deluxe from 2005.
SEGA continue their trend of adding the absolute best bonus characters of all time to Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania with today’s reveal that Hello Kitty is coming to the game as a paid for DLC character. Hello Kitty will cost $4.99 “or equivalent” and the in game bananas also become apples when Hello Kitty is in use. You can check out the reveal trailer below:
Hello Kitty will launch as paid for DLC on October 5th 2021. The base Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania game also launches on the same day on Switch, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. The game is an enhanced port of Super Monkey Ball Deluxe from 2005.
SEGA, Colorful Palette and Crypton Future Media are bringing the mobile title Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage to the West with an English version that is launching on iOS and Android devices “soon”. You can check out the reveal trailer by clicking the embed below:
The game features a touch screen interface where you have to touch the notes as they slide towards you in a similar style to a Guitar Hero or Rock Band game. You can also participate in virtual concerts with other players through online connectivity.
Livetune’s Tell Your World is currently the only song featured in the above trailer, but the official Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage YouTube channel also has a developer team interview which features more songs and more in game action. The video is subtitled in English and you can watch it by clicking here.
Ever wanted to explore one of Japan’s greatest retro arcades from the comfort of your own home? Now you can thanks to this wonderful virtual recreation of SEGA’s Retro Game Floor that is currently located in Akihabara Building 3 in Tokyo, Japan.
The arcade is host to a fantastic selection of SEGA arcade classics including Scud Race, Daytona USA 2, Thunder Blade, After Burner, Space Harrier, Rad Mobile, AB Cop, Wild Riders, LA Machineguns and many, many more. This virtual version of the Retro Game Floor is a fascinating look at a beautiful arcade that is keeping loads of classic games up and running for fans of arcade gaming.
When the arcade first opened in its current location, the grand unveiling also featured a recreation of a classic SEGA High-Tech Land archway – a lovely nod to SEGA’s original chain of arcades that operated through the 90s.
The good people over at SMS Power have managed to secure the loose EPROMs of an unreleased Game Gear title called BreakThru! and have now dumped the game and preserved it digitally.
BreakThru! was originally released on other systems such as PC, SNES, Game Boy in 1994 and Saturn and Playstation later in 1995. The game is infamous for being endorsed by Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov. This Game Gear version was completed but never released for unknown reasons.
You can download the ROM file from SMS Power’s page on the title. SMS Power have also released a patched version that is more compatible with different hardware. The ROM file can be played on real hardware using something like an Everdrive cartridge. Alternatively the game can be played under emulation.
As part of Gamescom 2021’s Opening Night Live presentation, it’s been announced that Morgana from Persona 5 will be a DLC character in Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania. He’ll cost $4.99 USD on release.
Banana Mania is quickly and somewhat unexpectedly becoming a big ol’ SEGA crossover, with Jet Set Radio’s Beat, Yakuza’s Kiryu, and Sonic & Tails previously being announced. This new reveal adds Atlus into the mix, too!
Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania launches on October 1st.
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.
A HD remaster of SEGA Saturn FPS Exhumed is coming to PCs “soon” via the talented people at Nightdive Studios. Now called Powerslave Exhumed, the port combines the content of both the Saturn and PS1 versions and presents it in a new widescreen HD resolution that is powered by Nightdive’s proprietary KEX engine. You can check out the reveal trailer below:
SEGA are not publishing Powerslave Exhumed. The game will be published by Nightdive Studios themselves through GoG. You can wishlist the game now by clicking here.
The original game was developed by Lobotomy Software for the Saturn and PS1. Lobotomy Software were also famous for the Saturn ports of Duke Nukem 3D and Quake.
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