Tag Archives: PC

SEGA Releases 8-Bit Bayonetta on Steam Along with a Teaser Countdown Website

Draikin April 1, 2017 1 Reply

SEGA have released an 8-bit version of Bayonetta on Steam for free, which is a nice present to the fans in its own right, but the bigger news is probably that it hints at a different announcement next week. Fans quickly discovered a link hidden in the achievement images that points to the website http://www.sega.com/14111219, featuring a countdown towards April 11. In the background, a promotional image used for Bayonetta is shown. While it’s April Fools’ Day, and SEGA Europe’s “Bayonetta out now on PC!” tweet linking to the 8-bit game was definitely meant as a prank, the countdown suggests that SEGA may in fact be planning to announce the original Bayonetta for a release on Steam next week. We’ll know for certain next week!

Shenmue 3 Dev Room Progress Report Shows Brief Glimpses of Gameplay

Draikin March 16, 2017 Leave a reply

After a long silence, the Shenmue 3 team has posted a new update on their Kickstarter page, titled “Dev Room Progress Report Vol. 2”. It shows us a few brief glimpses of the game, although it’s stated that all characters shown are used from older resources. Which is likely also the reason why the developers are still avoiding showing Ryo’s face. Other than showing us the development team at work, the video features Ryo performing some basic animations, and also reveals an in-game arcade cabinet. You can view the video below!

Shenmue 3 is still scheduled for a release in December 2017 on PlayStation 4 and PC.

Nier: Automata X Phantasy Star Online 2 Collaboration Screenshots and Video Released

Draikin February 18, 2017 Leave a reply

In the latest PSO2 Station, SEGA have revealed screenshots and video footage of the characters from Nier: Automata, as they appear in Phantasy Star Online 2. Someone captured the video stream and uploaded it to YouTube, you can that video below. As detailed in an earlier article, the collaboration sees costumes of the Nier: Automata characters 2B, 9S and A2 added to the game, along with hairstyles, accessories, weapon camos, lobby actions, music discs and posters. The Pods from Nier: Automata make an appearance as well. The update is scheduled to be released on March 10 in Japan.

Shenmue Remasters Planned? New Domain Name Registrations Raise Questions

InTheSky January 6, 2017 1 Reply

When Shenmue III was initially announced during E3 2015’s Sony Conference, fans immediately began to hope for remastered re-releases of the first two Shenmue games. Considering the difficulty of acquiring the two games at the current time, and as a means to boost the profile of the Shenmue franchise ahead of the long-awaited third title’s release, it was an oft-made suggestion.

Recent news of certain website domains being registered offers some hope in this direction. Initially, TSSZNews.com broke news of the registering of shenmuehd.com. Additionally, Shenmue Dojo noticed the registering of shenmueremastered.com. These two URLs, alongside a shenmuegame.com (which redirects you to YSNet’s Kickstarter page), were referenced in SEGABits‘ article on the domain name registrations; their article also includes a reference to a reversewhois page from sega.co.uk – which was used to register these URLs. But if you try to visit the URLs now, you’ll be taken to blank webpages.

As Gematsu notes in response to a SEGA Central community issues discussion video made during May of last year, SEGA has previously mentioned interest in exploring options to bring Shenmue to current gaming consoles.

The news of these two domain names being registered offers hope to the prospects of the Shenmue and Shenmue II re-releases! Let us hope that the games do come to fruition.

Valkyria: Azure Revolution “Enter the Vanargand” Trailer, More 1080P Screenshots and New Character Introductions

InTheSky December 18, 2016 Leave a reply

SEGA of Japan has uploaded a promotional trailer for Valkyria: Azure Revolution that showcases the Vanargand, an elite unit representing the Kingdom of Jutland whose members are tasked with coordinated opposition to the Rus Empire and the Valkyria named Brynhildr.

The trailer is just short of two minutes and offers voice clips and a brief stylized in-game model portrait of each of the Vanargand members. In the order that they’re shown, the characters are: Amleth (of The Five), Godot, Brigette, Helena, Blum, Tilda, Isaac, Daryl, Sara, Jordur, and Ophelia, the heroine. These are the characters who will actively be fighting on behalf of the Jutland Empire and, so far as we know, will often serve as player characters.

Phantasy Star Online 2 and NieR: Automata Collaboration Announced

Draikin December 17, 2016 Leave a reply

I lost track of how many collaborations articles related to SEGA of Japan’s games we’ve posted here already, but it appears these events have been rather successful for SEGA as they’ve just announced another collaboration event for Phantasy Star Online 2. After Gravity Rush 2 earlier on, it’s now time for NieR: Automata to get a collaboration with SEGA’s online RPG.

Phantasy Star Online 2’s New Update Includes the Persona 5 Collaboration Event

Draikin December 9, 2016 Leave a reply

Phantasy Star Online 2‘s next update, scheduled for December 21, includes a new AC Scratch called “Phantom & School Life” as part of the Persona 5 collaboration event that was announced some time ago. It includes outfits for the Persona 5 Protagonist, Ann Takamaki, Makoto Niijima, Futaba Sakura, and Joker, in-game Persona 5 posters, music, a Persona Summoning Lobby Action and an Arsène Figure Room Item.

Shenmue III Developer Diary – The Music of Shenmue

InTheSky November 30, 2016 Leave a reply

A new developer diary for Shenmue III has been published by Ys.net, focusing on the music of the Shenmue series. The interview clips with Yu Suzuki were recorded in August, but provide insight into Suzuki’s mind with regards to music philosophy in games and in Shenmue III in particular.

The topics covered include: the types of music that Suzuki likes, the variety of roles he has taken on in video game music composition in the past, and his current focus in music composition. Suzuki says that his primary role is establishing a concept or thematic direction for music, and notes that since Shenmue III takes place in China, he is aiming to capture the atmosphere of China in 1987. Suzuki also expresses fondness for the erhu.

Digital Foundry Retro Revisits Shenmue 2

Draikin November 27, 2016 Leave a reply

From time to time Digital Foundry revisits classic games in their Digital Foundry Retro articles, and the latest one features Shenmue 2. Around a half our long it’s the longest Digital Foundry Retro video yet, and explores not only the original Dreamcast version, but also the Xbox version, its emulation on Xbox 360, and emulation on PC via DEMUL. They also compare the Japanese and English voice acting and the work of the modding community on the Shenmue Dojo forums. It’s definitely worth watching for anyone interested in Shenmue, Dreamcast or just video games in general. You can find the DF Retro video of Shenmue 2 below, as well as their video for the original Shenmue. It’s worth noting that DF Retro also took a look at Daytona USA some time ago.

You Can Now Nominate SEGA Games for the Steam Awards

Draikin November 24, 2016 2 Replies

Along with their Autumn Sales, Valve have now launched its own Steam Awards, and are asking the Steam community which games should be nominated for each of the 8 different categories. This provides an interesting opportunity for fans to nominate their favorite SEGA games. There’s also an opportunity to submit your own category, and the Steam Awards Selection Committee will review the most popular user submitted entries and select the best ones. Nominating can be done simply by searching for a game in the Steam store, clicking “Nominate this game for an award” and selecting a category for that game. You can find an overview of all the 8 categories below.