It has been revealed that Ichiban Kasuga of Ryu Ga Gotoku Online fame is going to be the star of the next PS4 Yakuza title. This new Yakuza game is currently untitled and there’s no word on a release date at this time.
In addition, a new casting call has been put out for actresses to play Kasuga’s love interest. The chosen actress will appear in the game and promotional material, but also receive a 1 million yen prize. Applications can be completed on this website.
If you’re unfamiliar with Ichiban Kasuga, that’ll be because the game he features in is currently Japan-only. Ryu Ga Gotoku Online is a free-to-play Yakuza spin-off that stars both Kiryu Kazama and Ichiban Kasuga. It is currently available in Japan for PC, iOS and Android devices. There is no word on a Western release at this time.
It’s not a good month for SEGA games and delistings – first Judgement was the subject of of a huge drugs scandal that’s taken it off shelves, and now the bizarre Japan-only Index vs Virtual On crossover title A Certain Magical Virtual On is being delisted from both physical and digital sale too.
No reason has been given for the removal, but it’s likely down to the license agreement with Dengeki running out. There’s nothing to suggest this affects Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax: Ignition, thankfully, but if you’re itching for some new Virtual On action today’s your last chance to grab it. Currently a PS4 copy of the game will set you back about £40 with shipping from Amazon.JP, and if you’re on Vita it’s only £30 – so it might be worth jumping on it before prices start to rise (as is becoming the case with Judgement).
SEGA has referred to the delisting as “temporary”, but given the difficulty of licenses and the fact the game apparently didn’t do so well sales-wise, it’s looking too likely that it’ll be back in the short term. The upside is Virtual On fans still have ports of 3 of the games most loved entries on the way to PS4 with support for an all-new Twin Stick peripheral to boot, but losing games like this to the void of licensing is always a shame.
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.
UPDATE 20/03/19: This article previously stated the replay feature was new to Virtua Racing – as CubeDragonX has pointed out, it’s actually from the rare Virtua Formula version of the game. The article has been amended to reflect this.
SEGA has re-confirmed Virtua Racing for the SEGA AGES line on Nintendo Switch, now with a fresh slew of details as to what exactly will be in the port – and we have to say, it’s sounding pretty snazzy.
Firstly, the game will support up to 8 players locally and 1v1 online. There’ll also be a splitscreen view for local matches, so you can see how other racers are doing. In addition to this, the Normal race and Endurance based Grand Prix modes are both accounted for.
One very impressive new feature is that replay mode in VR’s port is a step up from the other AGES titles, which offered a robust but simple means of watching back your run. Virtua Racing’s replay mode is actually taken from the rare, high-end Virtua Formula version of the game, with live commentary from Mr. Virt McPolygon! No, really. That’s his name.
On the whole, it’s shaping up to be an incredible way to bring Virtua Racing’s arcade version home for the first time. We’ll keep an eye out for a more solid release date, though given the silence on Puyo Puyo’s AGES release it’s likely to be a while. And that’s just for Japan – the SEGA AGES line has been silent in the West for over 2 whole months now, and it’s unclear when the next game in the West’s lineup, Gain Ground, will actually be released.
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 US branch of SEGA have unveiled a new survey which asks fans to determine the next steps for the Sonic The Hedgehog, Yakuza, Valkyria Chronicles and Phantasy Star franchises.
The survey takes 10 to 15 minutes to complete and every entry enters you into a prize draw to win up to $500 in gift certificates. You can complete the survey and enter the prize draw by clicking here.
If you’re a SEGA fan based in the US with a passion for any of the franchises listed, this is an important opportunity to share your love for them and get SEGA to act on that passion. SEGA have been making big steps in terms of quality in recent years and that’s been down to a renewed focus on their legacy franchises. If you want to see the company do more with Super Monkey Ball, Gunstar Heroes, Shinobi, Jet Set Radio, Phantasy Star, Sakura Wars, Altered Beast, Virtua Fighter, Streets of Rage, Puyo Puyo, Shenmue, Golden Axe, House of the Dead, Virtua Tennis and Crazy Taxi then this is the way to let them know.
UPDATE 22/03/19: SEGA have confirmed that the character of Kyohei Hamura will be “adjusted” for the final Western release of Judgment, but the game will not suffer a delay. All official trailers and screenshots featuring the character have been removed. The Kyohei Hamura character is likely being re-cast and will now be represented by a different actor in the Western version of the game.
Sales of Judgment have been halted in Japan after the arrest of actor Pierre Taki for cocaine possession. Known as Judge Eyes in Japan, Pierre Taki plays the character of Kyohei Hamura in the PS4 exclusive. This halt on shipments has been done voluntarily by SEGA Japan.
Judge Eyes has been on sale in Japan since December 13th 2018 and is due for a Western release on the 25th of June 2019 under the name Judgment. Presumably, this will now be delayed as the game will likely re-cast Taki’s role with another actor and then re-enter development. There is currently no word on when Judge Eyes will resume shipping or if Taki’s arrest will affect the June 2019 release of the game in the West.
The whiteands rehabs have a habit of dealing with celebrity drug and opiod rehabs in quite extreme ways. It is not uncommon for actors to be entirely stripped of all association to any companies and products they publicise or work with after an arrest involving drugs.
Hidden Palace user ‘drx’ has discovered, dumped and released a cancelled Dreamcast game called Internet Game Pack. This title was developed by Visual Concepts in 2001 and was scheduled for release as an Official Dreamcast Magazine cover disc, but presumably shelved due to the unpopularity of the Dreamcast.
The game features a selection of classic games like Chess, Poker and Dominoes and was made for online play. However, all the games can be played offline as well. You can see the title in action via the embed below:
Opponents of DRM rejoice – the controversial Denuvo anti-tamper DRM has been removed from Sonic Mania’s Steam release, in a newly launched beta patch.
The official patch notes cite changes to controller and shader support, as well as adjustments for the time attack mode – but one user verified that Denuvo had been removed from the game. It’s actually somewhat obvious just from looking at the game’s .exe file, which has gone from 117MB in size to a mere 3MB. This also allows the game to boot up much faster, and allows greater potential for modding.
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: Denuvo, DRM, pc, sonic mania, steam Posted in News | Comments Off on Beta Patch Now Available for Sonic Mania on Steam, Removes Denuvo Anti-Tamper
The latest from SEGA’s RGG Studio, Judgement (known as Judge Eyes in Japan) finally has a Western release date, along with further details on its digital and physical releases.
First of all, the game will be out June 25th, and includes dual audio. Something particularly impressive is the game has effectively been localised twice, as there’s subtitles for the English audio track and a separate translation for the original Japanese dialogue – and there are also subtitles for multiple European languages as well. In addition, the physical version will include reversible cover art, allowing you to display the original Japanese cover art of the game. Finally, it’ll also come with an RGG Studio sticker, to slap wherever you see fit.
All good then, but slightly more questionable is SEGA hopping on the recent ‘early access’ trend. Some publishers have started offering early access for those who pre-order the game, and Judgement is the latest game to do that – digital pre-orders will get access to the game a whole 4 days ahead of physical buyers. It’s a bit of an odd move, but perhaps inevitable as the latest industry trend.
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 first unobscured look at Sonic’s design in the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie is here! A style guide for the film has leaked online and it gives us the first real look at Sonic’s face.
The Sonic the Hedgehog movie is due to launch in North America on the 8th of November 2019 and features Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic and Jim Carrey in the role of Dr. Robotnik.
SEGA has confirmed that the Mega Drive Mini is currently planned to have one game per series – so don’t expect every Sonic game to be on there, as with most Mega Drive collections. The possibility was floated at SEGA Fes 2018 when the console was announced, but this is a more solid confirmation of the plan.
As a result of this, SEGA has decided to open up some of the game choice to the fans – asking them which game from the Sonic the Hedgehog, Puyo Puyo and Shining series should appear on the console. The options are:
Sonic the Hedgehog vs Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Puyo Puyo vs Puyo Puyo Tsu
Shining Force vs Shining Force II
The poll is available as a Twitter thread and on the Mega Drive Mini website. It’s worth mentioning also that something like Puyo’s choice may not matter for us in the West, as the system is planned to have different games per region – so we’ll probably get Puyo Puyo in the guise of Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine regardless.
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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