SEGA is having yet another organisational shift, as the start of the new fiscal year looms. From April 1st, corporate functions will be integrated between the SEGA SAMMY Holdings group (aligning the operations of SEGA and Sammy more, from what we understand), and there’ll be some staff shifting about too. Perhaps none more eye-catching than Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi, who’ll be stepping back from his role as SEGA’s CCO (that’s Chief Creative Officer) and into a Creative Director role.
The corporate changes aren’t anything surprising and are fairly normal around the start of a new fiscal year, and it might not even mean a whole lot to the average SEGA fan; but SEGA’s getting it out of the way quite early, and Nagoshi stepping back is at least somewhat of a surprise. He’s certainly had a bumpy couple of years; with his revelation in 2019 that he’d had heart surgery, and the furore he kicked off in 2020 after managing to insult a pro Puyo Puyo player live on air. Either way, we do wonder if this could mean Nagoshi gets closer to the games being developed at SEGA again, because that would obviously be no bad thing.
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: sega japan, sega sammy, Toshihiro Nagoshi Posted in News | Comments Off on SEGA Reshuffling Management And Structure Again, Toshihiro Nagoshi Steps Down as CCO And Becomes Creative Director
If you’re unfamiliar with the Sonic Cafe line of mobile games they were a series of i-Mode titles released exclusively in Japan between 2001 and 2007. The service is due to be discontinued which has sparked Japanese YouTuber Ruwa into action. Ruwa is currently capturing as many i-Mode games as possible and among them are direct feed captures of various Sonic Cafe titles like Sonic Darts, Sonic Golf, Sonic Jump and Sonic Kart 3DX. It makes for some truly fascinating viewing for Western SEGA fans as these games never made their way across the pond.
There’s also a number of SEGA i-Mode games like Out Run, Pengo and Monaco GP in there. Here’s an incomplete list of SEGA i-Mode games captured by Ruwa. I would list them all but there’s honestly just too many for me to list here. Check out the channel to browse more of his i-Mode captures by clicking here:
In the new year, SEGA are running a 60th anniversary initiative called the SEGA Test. This will be an online course that will contain 60 questions and take roughly 60 minutes to complete. The test will take place 3 times a day on January 23rd and 24th 2021.
In preparation for the test, Hiroyuki Miyazaki, the Chief Contents Officer at Sega of America, is hosting a series of online SEGA history videos and the first is now available to watch below. In this video, Professor Miyazaki discuss SEGA’s console history and the code names used for its various hardware.
A real surprise occurs at 11:36 has Professor Miyazaki shows the Venus prototype of the Genesis Nomad for the very first time. It’s a fascinating look at the console’s development and it clearly uses the buttons of a stock 6 button Mega Drive controller and a directional pad from a Game Gear. Check out the full video below and brush up on your SEGA knowledge so you’re ready for the SEGA Test!
The official Astro City Mini website has now gone live and with it we have the reveal trailer you can watch below, and our first look at one of the system’s extra peripherals which will be sold separately.
The Astro City Mini control pad will be sold for an additional 2,780 yen (approximately £20) and feature a d-pad instead of an arcade stick, as well as the standard 6 button setup.
We also have a more accurate release date of December 2020, but the console is still Japan exclusive at the time of writing. The same lineup of 10 titles from yesterday’s news leak are also confirmed. There was some confusion about whether it was Puzzle & Action: Tant-R or Ichidant-R that was making it to the system, but as previously reported it is in fact Puzzle & Action: Tant-R.
Pre-orders from Amazon Japan are now available but only the Astro City Mini ships worldwide. The control pad is Japan exclusive:
– Astro City Mini
– Astro City Mini Control Pad
SEGA Japan (more specifically their SEGA Toys subsidiary) are back on the micro console hype train with their latest effort – the Astro City Mini. This mini arcade cabinet features 36 SEGA arcade titles and is due to release by the end of the year.
The full list of games has yet to be revealed, but a small selection have been confirmed and they are listed below:
– Alien Syndrome
– Alien Storm
– Golden Axe
– Golden Axe: Revenge of Death Adder
– Columns II
– Dark Edge
– Tant R
– Virtua Fighter
– Fantasy Zone
– Altered Beast
All games will be presented in their original arcade format. The Astro City Mini can be played using its built-in screen or sent to a television via HDMI. The system itself has its own arcade 8 way micro-switched joystick and 6 button setup. When the console is powered on the marquee also lights up. The system needs to be powered via a micro USB connection and there are also 2 extra USB slots for additional joysticks which are going to be sold separately. There is currently no word on whether the system will release in Western territories. The Astro City Mini will be priced at 12,800 yen which currently converts to £93.70.
The SEGA no Taiyaki Store in Akihabara is selling the SEGA logo-shaped Taiyaki that previously made an appearance at last year’s SEGA Fes. Taiyaki is a traditional Japanese cake normally filled with red bean paste.
Alongside the SEGA logo Taiyaki, the store is also selling an exclusive phone case that transforms your phone into a miniature Astro City arcade cabinet. Check it out in action below:
The SEGA no Taiyaki Store in Akihabara is located in the Akihabara Bldg, No.5 1F, Chiyoda 101-0021 Tokyo Prefecture.
For SEGA’s 60th anniversary, the company have revealed a new novelty micro console in the form of the Game Gear Micro.
Currently only scheduled for a Japanese launch on October 6th 2020, the console will be available in 4 colour variants, each bundled with its own compilation of 4 Game Gear titles. Each system will launch for ¥4,980. A special edition bundle is also available which includes all 4 console variants, a set of replica game cases for each of the included titles and a working SEGA Big Window (aka the Super Wide Gear) which allows you to magnify the screen. This will set you back ¥29,980.
The Game Gear Micro will measure 80mm wide, 43mm tall and 20mm deep and include a 1.15″ display. It also includes a single mono speaker, a headphone jack and is powered by 2 AAA batteries. Supposedly you can power the system for a longer period of time with a separately sold USB cable.
The full list of included titles on each of the Game Gear Micro variants now follows:
Black Game Gear Micro
Out Run, Puyo Puyo Tsu, Royal Stone and Sonic the Hedgehog
Blue Game Gear Micro
Baku Baku Animal: Sekai Shiikugakari Senshuken, Gunstar Heroes, Sonic & Tails and Sylvan Tale
Yellow Game Gear Micro
Nazo Puyo: Arle no Roux, Shining Force, Shining Force II and Shining Force: Final Conflict
Red Game Gear Micro
Columns, The G.G. Shinobi, Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible and Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible Special
SEGA Japan have revealed plans for a new Sonic the Hedgehog initiative that will run every month this year. The ‘Sonic 2020’ initiative promises new Sonic news on the 20th of every month throughout 2020 with today’s news being the reveal of the initiative alongside new key art, wallpapers, a Twitter header and profile icons. You can view and download them from this page on SEGA Japan’s Sonic Channel.
It looks like SEGA has big plans for the Sonic franchise this year, so keep an eye on the official Sonic 2020 page to see what new announcements come our way. If you’re a Sonic fan then this is definitely worth bookmarking!
SEGA’s UFO catchers are a staple of the Japanese arcade. This crane game allows players to win exclusive licensed merchandise from a huge range of properties. While similar games have existed in Western arcades for quite some time, the quality of merchandise is often lower quality to what SEGA offer in their UFO catchers.
SEGA Japan also run an online service where people can play on UFO catchers from their computers and still win physical prizes that are then delivered to your home. This service is going to be expanded outside Japan for the first time ever when it comes to the US on December 3rd 2019.
SEGA Catcher Online can be accessed via this link, but the US site won’t go live until December 3rd. Probably best to bookmark it and come back on December 3rd if you’re interested in winning some exclusive goodies produced by SEGA Japan’s SEGA Toys division.
2 new features on some rather obscure Dreamcast hardware have now been added to our hardware section.
To begin with we have a feature on the incredibly rare, Japan-only SEGA Fish Life unit. This piece of hardware was sold to businesses as a way to add a virtual aquarium to their decor.
The other hardware feature we’ve added is on the unreleased Dreamcast Zip Drive peripheral. This peripheral would have connected to a Dreamcast and sat underneath the console and given users access to 100mb zip disks to allow for greater storage space while browsing the internet and downloading additional game content.
Both features contain multiple images of both pieces of hardware.
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