Tag: Sega - Page 17
Hardware Classics Unpacking The 32X, Sega's Most Catastrophic Console Failure
"It was like watching the death of the Hindenburg in slow motion"
How do you take half a decade’s worth of critical and commercial success and flush it down the toilet? Easy – you release a device like the Sega 32X. At the start of the 1990s Sega was arguably at the height of its powers; the dawn of the decade saw the western launch of the...
News No, Sega Is Not Returning To The Home Console Arena
It's a lot less exciting than that
In a recent interview with Yahoo! Japan, Sega Games COO Kenji Matsubara got chins wagging by pointing out that the Japanese giant is considering releasing a new console in Japan - but it's not quite what you think, or what some other sites have reported, either. Matsubara is in fact talking about importing the...
News After The NES And SNES, Bitmap Books' Next Tome Tackles The Sega Master System
To be this good takes ages
UK publisher Bitmap Books has confirmed that its next "Visual Compendium" will switch focus to Nintendo's rival, Sega. Bitmap's last two compendiums focused on the NES and SNES, and showcased loads of lovely screenshots, artwork, features and exclusive interviews. The next book will highlight the talents of th
News Yu Suzuki Says There Are No Plans For Shenmue III On Switch, Unsurprisingly
It's Bayonetta, in reverse!
Shenmue III may be getting some stick of late for its rather unusual character models, but as fans of the first two games on the Sega Dreamcast, we can't wait to play this third outing. It would seem that a great many people feel the same way, and as a result we're getting into "wishful thinking" territory when it comes...
News Sonic Mania Plus Arrives On Switch This Summer
Physical version coming, but existing owners don't miss out
Announced during the SXSW Gaming live broadcast, one of the most requested physical editions of last year will finally become a reality during Summer 2018: Sonic Mania Plus will be available on the Nintendo Switch featuring extra content. Two new playable characters join in the existing...
News Mysterious 'Project R' Sonic Racer Teased By Sega
Not a sequel to any previous Sonic games
Just as the SXSW Gaming panel was closing, Sega had time for one final tease: The only information given out is that it is 'not a sequel to any of the previous Sonic games'. That means that despite that very familiar R it is not a Sonic R remake (because there is definitely a car in there) or a new...
News Valkyria Chronicles 4 Combat Trailer Shows Off Larger Maps And New Features
Rolling into action later this year
Sega has released a new trailer for the upcoming Valkyria Chronicles 4, which launches on Switch later this year. The trailer focuses primarily on the game's combat system, which looks set to build on the good work seen in the previous titles. It's also clear from the footage that this sequel will benefit from...
News Oh Boy, Sonic The Hedgehog Was Almost Human
"The main character was a human boy"
Sonic the Hedgehog is one of gaming's most iconic characters, and ranks alongside Mario and Mickey Mouse when it comes to international recognition. However, Sonic designer Naoto Ohshima has revealed that the speedy chap was human like Mario in his original design pitch, rather than an animal. Speaking...
Random There's Nothing Quite Like The Creator Of Sonic Doing An Impression Of Michael Jackson
"Jackson had made all of it with his mouth"
One of the most persistent anecdotes in the history of video gaming is Michael Jackson's connection with Sonic the Hedgehog 3. It's often been rumoured that he wrote the soundtrack for the game, having enjoyed a strong relationship with Sega during the early '90s. The story goes that when allegations...
News Sega's Shining Series Returns To The West After A Decade Away, And It's Coming To Switch
Rock on, Tommy
Sega has revealed that its beloved Shining series - which began during the Mega Drive era - is making a return to the west after a decade away. Shining Resonance Refrain will launch this Summer on Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One and PC, and tells the tale of "sword-wielding Yuma and his friends as they fight the Empire."...
News Sonic The Hedgehog Movie Will Race To Theaters in 2019
Beating Mario to the screen
It seems like it’s been ages since we first heard that SEGA was working on producing a big-budget Sonic the Hedgehog movie, but production has very steadily been moving along over all this time. The last major news about the project was that Paramount had brought it back from the brink and would be handling the...
Rumour Sumo Digital's New Kart Racer Focuses Solely On Sonic And Friends
No Sega All-Stars this time around?
Despite Sega's Aaron Webber pouring a bucket of cold water over reports that Sumo Digital is working on a new Sonic & All-Stars racer, the rumours persist. We're now hearing that Sumo is indeed beavering away on a Sonic-themed speed-fest, but this time around it won't be pulling in characters fro
News FDG Is Teaming Up With Sega To Publish Monster Boy In Physical Form On Switch
Digital and physical versions launching at the same time
FDG Entertainment has revealed that the upcoming Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom will launch in both digital and physical formats, with Sega helping in the publication of the latter. Monster Boy is seen as the spiritual successor to the famous Wonder Boy series, which Sega owns the rights...
News Sega Is Getting Ready To Show Us What's Next For Sonic The Hedgehog
"Sonic is back, and ready to take 2018 by storm"
Sonic had a mixed 2017. Sonic Mania was amazing, but his "big" game - Sonic Forces - was met with less enthusiastic reviews. The character remains a cash-cow for Sega however, and we're going to hear very soon what it has planned for Sonic in 2018. A SXSW panel will deliver a...
Rumour SEGA And Retro-Bit Might Actually Be Working On A Secret Retro Console
Dreamcast Mini anyone?
It wasn't so long ago that we reported on the exciting collaboration between SEGA and retro hardware maker Retro-Bit. Sadly, that partnership only extends to accessories for classic SEGA machines, but now the rumour mill has fired up yet again with murmurings that the two really are working on a secret project and said secret...
News Sega Lowers Full Year Forecast Amid Pachinko Performance Problems
Sales and profit predictions both take a dive
Sega has reduced its full year sales and profit forecasts for the current financial year amid struggles in the pachinko industry. Full-year net sales of $3.38bn and profits of $98.1m were originally predicted by the Japanese veteran, but it has now revised these totals to $2.94bn and $44.6m...
News Sega Finally Embraces Sanic Hegehog With Sonic Forces DLC
Cumon step it up!!!!!
Sanic Hegehog's twisted and tortured history isn't one we're comfortable with explaining here - just check out the always-reliable Know Your Meme for the full low-down - but Sega has finally embraced this distorted version of the character by including it in Sonic Forces. That's right, you can now clad your avatar in a...
News Sega's Valkyria Chronicles 4 Is Marching Towards Nintendo Switch
Deploying next year
Sega has announced that Valkyria Chronicles 4 is coming to the Nintendo Switch in 2018. The tactical RPG sequel is also launching on the PS4 and Xbox One, and mixes turned-based strategy with third-person action. Set in a fictional world which resembles World War II-era Europe, Valkyria Chronicles 4 sees the return...
News Sonic Forces on Switch Has Solid UK Launch as DOOM Moves Up the Charts
Super Mario Odyssey is still going strong, too
Last week brought quite a few major retail releases, with the Switch featuring quite prominently. All told Nintendo's diminutive system had a decent set of results in the UK charts (which don't include eShop sales), albeit with a familiar face still leading the way. In the all-format stakes Sonic...
Video Digital Foundry's Analysis Points To Switch Sonic Forces Being The Worst Version
Does that surprise anyone?
Sonic Forces launches today and we sadly don't have a review for you - suffice to say review code has gone out very late indeed - but our friends over at Digital Foundry do at least have some comparison footage which shows how the Switch version shapes up against the PS4 and Xbox One iterations. The news isn't good for...
News Treasure's Masato Maegawa Wants Sega To Make A Mega Drive Mini
It's time to give the SNES Mini some competition
It's fair to say that the NES Mini and SNES Mini have been very successful ventures for Nintendo, selling millions of units and creating a new awareness of the company's glorious past. However, when the NES Mini was announced it felt very much like Nintendo was playing catch-up; we'd already seen...
News Camelot Software Boss Is Keen To Make Shining Force IV A Reality
Listen to this man, Sega
The Shining Force series has a special place in the heart of many a Sega fan, but Camelot Software Planning (previously known as Sonic! Software Planning) - the main company behind those titles - doesn't have a working relationship with IP owner Sega right now. The story goes that the two fell out after the development...
News SEGA's Shun Nakamura 'Really' Wants to Make Samba de Amigo for the Switch
"I saw the Switch, I thought oh my god - this is it!"
Plenty of developers have spoken about seeing the Nintendo Switch - and its integrated Joy-Con controllers - and being inspired with gaming ideas. That seems to have happened to Sonic Team designer and producer Shun Nakamura, which could be good news for Dreamcast fans. The cult hit on SEGA's...
News Sega Confirms Sonic Forces Is 720p, 30fps On Nintendo Switch
In both docked and handheld modes
Sonic Forces may not be the blue hedgehog's first game on Switch - that honour falls to the amazing Sonic Mania - but it's likely to be the one that Sega hopes will find the larger audience, given the hype which has surrounded its development. Fairly early on, it was rumoured that the game wouldn't be hitting that...
News The Sonic Movie is Now Being Produced by Paramount
Sony gave it up
It seems that the upcoming live action/CGI Hollywood Sonic movie has been toiling around in development hell for quite some time, but every now and then it makes a little bit of progress forward. Though it doesn’t sound like it’s going to actually be happening anytime soon—definitely not in time for that ‘2018’ release...
Random Sega Joins Up With Hooters To Promote Sonic Forces In Japan
Yes, you read that right
We almost didn't believe it ourselves, but Sega of Japan is teaming up with the racy restaurant chain Hooters to promote the forthcoming Sonic Forces. We can't help but feel this kind of marketing would be better suited for Sega's Yakuza franchise, but there you go. The full, lurid details of the campaign are yet to...
News SEGA Knows Fans Want Sonic Adventure 3
But, no, it doesn't sound like it'll happen
In his 16-bit heyday, Sonic was certainly a force to be reckoned with, something that was only further reaffirmed by the recent release of Sonic Mania. It’s when the blue blur stepped into the 3rd dimension that things started going off rails, and it could be argued that Sonic Team has never quite nailed...
News Sega Dreamcast: Collected Works Looks Like A Dream Come True
Sega's swansong
We love a good book here at Nintendo Life, and they don't get much better than Read-Only Memory's Collected Works series, which takes an in-depth look at classic consoles. As a follow-on to the excellent Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works there is now a Dreamcast book campaign on Kickstarter.
News Nintendo Switch Is Getting A New Phantasy Star Online Game
...and it's free-to-play with micro-transactions
During the Japanese version of today's Nintendo Direct it was confirmed that Sega is bringing its Phantasy Star series to the Nintendo Switch. Phantasy Star Online 2: Cloud is the next instalment in the Phantasy Star Online series, which in turn is a spin-off from the classic line of JRPGs which...
News Sonic Forces Hits Japan On November 9th
Just in time for Christmas
Sega has confirmed that Sonic Forces will launch on the Nintendo Switch on November 9th in Japan. The Nintendo edition will arrive alongside the PlayStation 4 version at retail, with a cost of 5,990 Yen. Japanese Xbox One owners will only have digital release, costing 5,980 Yen. In the west, Sonic Forces has a...
News Sonic Mania Dashes Straight To The Top Of The Switch Best Sellers Chart
Great news for the Blue Blur
It's fair to say that Sonic Mania has been really well received so far, attracting positive reviews all over the shop. Our own review will be with you shortly (spoilers: we like it too!). For many Sonic fans this is the game they've always wanted Sega to make -- a spiritual successor to the original Mega Drive trilogy...
News AtGames Confirms Its SEGA Genesis Clone Systems to Roll Out Ahead of SNES Mini
Ah, memories of console wars... sort of
While plenty went nuts over the NES Mini and the cycle begins anew with the upcoming SNES Mini, it's sometimes worth remembering that licensed (and unlicensed) clones of SEGA's old hardware have been around for years. Sometimes they're 'mini', occasionally they're chunky but offer plenty of games and...
News Sonic Mania's Special Stages Take Inspiration From Sonic CD
Studying the classics
The special bonus stages in Sonic games have gone down in legend; if you're old enough to remember the impact of Sonic 2's "run into the screen" stage and Sonic 3's rotating sphere, you'll attest to this. It has now been revealed that the special stages in Sonic Mania will ape the look of those seen in the Sega CD release...
News Sonic The Hedgehog Turns 26 Today
Happy Birthday, Blue Blur
Sonic the Hedgehog made his Mega Drive debut 26 years ago today. On June 23rd 1991, Sega's answer to Super Mario arrived on North American store shelves, with the Japanese and European releases following in July. With its incredible visuals and astonishing speed, the game was hailed as an instant classic, and went on to...
Random Ease The Pain Of Sega Forever's Botched Launch With This Official Cereal
FREE GIFT INSIDE
Sega Forever has finally launched after weeks of speculation, and sadly, it's not had the best of starts. Dogged by poor emulation, the games released so far may be free to download and play, but they're a long way from being the best way to experience such classic titles. While Sega clearly has some work to do in order to bring...
News Sega Forever Launch Marred By Terrible Emulation
"This feels kinda like watching a trainwreck unfold"
Yesterday with joyous glee we reported that Sega Forever had launched on smart devices, and we touched on some comments from Sega Networks' chief marketing officer Mike Evans about the possibilities of bringing the collection of games to Switch as they are built using Unity. However, it...
Video This Year's AtGames Sega Genesis Flashback Console Looks Much Improved
720p, Filters, save states and much more besides
It's fair to say that AtGames doesn't have the best reputation in the realm of clone consoles - which is somewhat ironic when you consider the company has been doing this for years now. Its systems are typically marred by poor emulation, terrible AV output options and ropey audio, but it's trying to...
News Sega Forever Aims To Revive The Company's Past On Mobile, But Could Come To Switch
From Master System to Dreamcast
Sega's been teasing its Sega Forever service for a while now, and has recently indulged in a satfisyingly old-school promotional campaign which includes mailing out cassette tapes with classic Sega tunes
News According to this Teaser the Future of Sega is Gazing Out of Windows Philosophically
Teasing a new kind of gaming?
SEGA, or perhaps it'll be Sega, is gearing up for a rebrand and relaunch of priorities as we head towards 2020. The company is seeking to build buzz around its potential change in direction, pitching a localised video teaser on the 'Future of Sega', published via IGN. The original was published in Japanese a month ago,...
News Streets Of Rage And Etrian Odyssey Composer Isn't Sure Why The Switch Exists
"I'm not really surprised by it"
The name Yuzo Koshiro will be instantly familiar to anyone who has been gaming for the past 30 years. The legendary creator of music for games like Streets of Rage, Revenge of Shinobi, ActRaiser and Etrian Odyssey has been president of Ancient Corp for 27 years now, and during that time he has contributed some...
Video Sonic Forces Trailer Showcases Gameplay, Along With Familiar and New Foes
Do you believe, Sonic fans?
Sonic Forces is playable at E3, so naturally it's on our list of things to do in LA. More footage has been emerging of the demo, though, which features plenty of chatty Sonic buddies and a blend of 'modern' and 'classic' Sonic gameplay. There's a new trailer to showcase the game, too, replicating some of the demo stages...
News AtGames Is Refreshing Its Sega Genesis Line Of Clone Systems For 2017
Clone alone
AtGames has confirmed that it is rolling out three new versions of its "classic" Sega Genesis clone hardware this year, alongside three new Atari-themed systems. Coming this year are the Sega Genesis Flashback, a system we already knew about which features 85 games and support for original cartridges. Wireless controllers and 720p HDMI...
News Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary Figure Announced by First 4 Figures
Gotta go fast
Maker of high-end collectibles First 4 Figures has again gone above and beyond creating its latest piece to celebrate Sonic the Hedgehog's 25th Anniversary. Partnering with Sega to celebrate the occasion, the figure returns to Sonic's original outing on the Genesis. Sprinting across Green Hill Zone and passing the goal plate (which...
Video Rare Footage Of Sega's Epcot Innoventions Installation Appears Online
Genesis! 32X! Sega CD! '90s fashions!
Back in 1994, Sega and Nintendo were very much at war. The two companies were battling for dominance of the living room, with the Genesis and Super Nintendo firmly ensconced in millions of households all over the world. Keen to push its rival to the limit, Sega took part in a wide range of promotional activities...
News SEGA Forever May Be a Subscription Service for the Company's Iconic Retro Games
Probably for mobile, but the dream is for console...
Games companies face ongoing challenges in promoting and monetising their retro content, especially in this age of emulators that are readily available across various devices. Nintendo has the Virtual Console - though the details of its Switch equivalent are still largely a mystery - and we see...
News Sega Is Looking To Revive Some Of Its Past Classics
But which ones will be resurrected?
Sega may be one of the gaming world's biggest third-party publishers but it was once a mover and shaker in the world of hardware and the first company to seriously challenge Nintendo for dominance of the living room. During the '80s and '90s the company produced a string of hits, including Streets of Rage, Sega...
News AtGames Is Releasing A New Sega Genesis Clone To Rival The NES Classic Mini
85 games, 720p over HDMI and save states
If you've been following the growth of "clone" consoles over the past decade or so then the name AtGames will instantly ring a bell. This company has been producing licensed hardware clones for years, and has periodically updated its Sega Genesis / Mega Drive line with new features and games, but what it has...
News TecToy Celebrates 30 Years In Partnership With Sega With "New" Mega Drive Game
Updated model of the 16-bit console releasing this week
Brazilian firm TecToy has enjoyed a long and prosperous relationship with Sega which dates back to the days of the Master System and Mega Drive, and this year the firm is celebrating 30 years of partnership with the Japanese gaming legend. TecToy has already confirmed that it is producing a...
News Sonic's Lost GameCube Skateboarding Game Sure Does Look A Lot Like Sonic Riders
Vision Scape's forgotten prototype surfaces
Sonic Riders may not have been the most critically-lauded entry in the character's history, but it provided an interesting spin of the racing concept first introduced in Sonic R. However, according to Unseen 64, Riders could well have been inspired by pitch made by a North American studio called Vision...
Video SEGA Releases Handy Puyo Puyo Tetris Tutorials
Stack 'em up
Puyo Puyo Tetris is just days away from its Western release on the Nintendo Switch, and in recent times SEGA has been uploading some handy tutorial videos to help you prepare for its arrival. Considering the fact this writer continually gets battered by the CPU in the demo, watching these is certainly a good idea. You can see the full...