Sega of Japan have just announced a new Project Morpheus demo called “SEGA feat. HATSUNE MIKU Project: VR Tech Demo”. The demo apparently allows people to watch a Hatsune Miku concert in VR. Details are scarce at the moment, but it appears the tech demo might be featured at SCEA’s booth at E3. For now it doesn’t seem like this is meant to become an actual game, but nonetheless, it’s interesting to see Sega have started work on a Hatsune Miku VR project!
Yu Suzuki has announced a Kickstarter for Shenmue 3 at E3 2015! You can find the link here, although Kickstarter is having trouble at the moment handling the requests:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ysnet/shenmue-3
The official website for the game: http://shenmue.link/
The goal is $2,000,000. The game is being built on the Unreal 4 engine for PC and PS4. That should be an easy target to reach for Shenmue fans! At the moment, it seems only the PC will receive a physical copy, with a digital copy being an option for PS4. However, a lot can still change, especially seeing how fast the Kickstarter is heading towards its goal!
Sam Mullen, localization producer at Sega, recently had a panel at Momocon (a fan convention in Atlanta), where he talked about Japanese to English game localization. The presentation starts from the perspective of a fictional company that wants to release an (also fictional) game. From there, Sam starts by looking at the various roles that are typically found in a localization team, and the tasks assigned to them. Then, the presentation moves on to the more technical aspect of the localization, such as the amount of text that needs to be translated, voice over work that needs to be done and possible changes that need to be made to the game’s content. Next is the commercial aspect to the game, which talks about things like limited editions. Finally, Sam looks at the reception the game might get from the consumers once it’s released. Fittingly, the possible outcomes are grouped in a “Bad End”, “Good End” and “True End”.
If you ever wondered why Sega doesn’t “just localize” a certain game, you really should take a look at this video. It’s the most comprehensive look at video game localization I’ve seen yet, and it really shows that game localization sometimes just isn’t as easy as it might seem. You can watch the Twitch video of the presentation below.
While she’s not one of the main characters or part of Yu’s Investigation Team, Margaret is still a key character in the various games based on Persona 4. In Persona 4, we learn that Margaret is Igor’s new assistant, a role previously assigned to her sister, Elizabeth. Igor is the proprietor of the Velvet Room, a place transcending dream and reality, and has been featured in every main Persona game.
In Persona 4, Margaret guides the player on their quest and helps them maintain their Persona Compendium (which contains every Persona the player has collected). Throughout the game, we learn that she’s a soft-spoken, calm and collected individual with a professional attitude. It takes some effort on the part of the player to get to know Elizabeth, but after completing all the tasks she assigned to you, she eventually does show a less stoic side and a sense of humor not dissimilar from that of her sister Elizabeth.
In Persona 4: Dancing All Night, Margaret is only playable in the game’s Free Dance mode, and only after certain conditions are met. As with all the characters featured in the Persona 4: Dancing All Night trailers, her dancing style reflects her personality. Margaret’s dancing moves are fast, precise and almost robotic at times, Interestingly, Margaret is only shown wearing her standard blue outfit that’s standard for servants of Igor, but the video does feature Yu Narukami wearing the male version of the Velvet Room outfit. The music in the video set to a remix of the classic Velvet Room theme. You can watch the new trailer below.
Persona 4: Dancing All Night will be released in Japan on June 25, 2015, exclusively on the PlayStation Vita. The release in North America is scheduled for fall 2015.
Sega celebrated its 55th anniversary on June 3rd, and Sega of Japan posted a new promotional video to commemorate the occasion. The video takes a look at both the past and present Sega, including their consoles and games like NiGHTS and Virtua Fighter, but also the company’s more recent Yakuza and Total War games. It also features footage from Persona 5, and a look at some of the CGI animations from Marza studio. The video also includes a group photo of Sega of Japan employees, with Nagoshi at the center. With all the difficulties the company has known over the past decade, it’s easy to forget just how long Sega has been around. It’ll be interesting to see what they have planned for the future! You can watch the promotional video below.
Atlus USA has announced that Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold will be released in North America on August 4th. Earlier on, we already posted the news on the European release date for the game, which is scheduled for February 12th. Along with the announcement, Atlus also posted a new video of the game, showing the game’s cooking feature. Using ingredients found in the game’s forest or monster ingredients obtained at the end of a battle, combined with recipes found on your adventures, you can create various dishes. Eating them may grant temporary buffs such as an increase of your resistance to poison. You can watch the video below.
Project Mirai DX, also knows as Project Mirai Deluxe in the West, was launched today in Japan. Although the game was created specifically for the Western market, SEGA recently delayed the launch there until September. This means the Japanese version of the game ends up being the first one to hit the market. To promote the new release, SEGA posted a new launch trailer for the game, showing a preview for all the of the game’s 48 songs. You can watch the video below!
Sony has a bunch of games discounted on the EU PlayStation store right now, and they include the first three Persona games from Atlus (Persona 2 is only available discounted in a bundle with Persona 3 Portable). While these are the PSP versions, they’re also playable on the PlayStation Vita, and should be playable on the PlayStation TV as well. You can find the exact price of the games below. The discounts run until June 3.
Sega has announced that the release of Project Mirai DX for the Nintendo 3DS, scheduled for May 26 in the US and May 29 in the EU, has been delayed until September. More precisely, the game will be released on September 8 in North America and September 11 in Europe. The game will be made available at both retail stores and through the Nintendo eShop at a price of $39.99. While the delay is unfortunate, Sega does have some good news to share as well, since they will be offering a special physical Launch Edition of the game. However, it’s not clear what the price for this special edition will be, nor is it clear if Europe will be receiving this special edition as well. Here’s the content of the Launch edition as detailed in Sega’s press release:
This launch edition of Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX will include the game, premium outer box packaging, and a wallet chain designed after Hatsune Miku’s iconic belt – a simple and stylish way for fans to represent their love for Miku. All copies of the game will include 19 double-sided augmented reality (AR) cards that show off additional dance moves and costumes.
The extras included in the Project Mirai DX Launch Edition
While it’s puzzling to see that Sega waited until a week before the game’s scheduled release to announce a three month delay, it’s at least good to see that the game hasn’t been canceled altogether, and that the physical release is still happening. We hope to learn more from Sega Europe regarding the Special Edition soon.
Atlus USA has announced that the tactical RPG Lost Dimension will be released on July 28 in North America for the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita. They also revealed that for the first two weeks after launch, $20 worth of DLC will be made available free of charge. This DLC includes 9 in-game character costumes, 12 PSN avatars, a map set with additional story and 3 quest sets where you can gain extra experience and special items.