Update: The reports are incorrect. According to a picture taken of the magazine (click to view NSFW), Beyonetta didn’t actually get that “prefect score”. Instead, Beyonetta manage at total of 38 points out of 40 – 40 being the highest that any game can receive from the magazine.

Original: While we’re anticipating its release here in the United States, over in Japan, Famitsu has handed Bayonetta a “perfect score” – which isn’t a honor handed out freely by the magazine.

Until today, only eleven (well, now twelve) games have ever been given that honor by the magazine. So this kind of a big deal. However, within the last two years [2008-2009] three games have been given this honor, which leaves one to question the scoring by Famitsu.

[Famitsu Awards Bayonetta A Perfect Score via Kotaku]

Alpha Protocol is a contender, none the less. However, with such heavy holiday competition, it needs the cutting edge tools to impress potential buyers; seeing that it’s a freshman in the presents of senors. With that said, SEGA revealed that Alpha Protocol has stepped back into the shadows, and that it won’t release this year.

The reason behind its delay, is to fulfill its “AAA potential,” states SEGA of America’s President Masanao Maeda. “Since the inception of Alpha Protocol, Sega has recognized the potential for the game to establish itself as an AAA title,” said Maeda. “We’ve worked in conjunction with Obsidian Entertainment in making the decision to move Alpha Protocol’s ship date to spring 2010 to ensure that we have the best game possible at launch.”

We think that it’s great that their not rushing the Alpha Protocol out the door. However, this means that there’s one more game that we won’t be playing by Christmas. Alpha Protocol is, now, do out in “Spring 2010″, which is more then enough time for them to fulfill its “AAA potential”.

Created & Written by: Jerry Bonner; Animation & Design by: Matt Garafalo; Technical Wizardry by: Joel Young; Narration by: George Filip; Music by: Blitz

This animated short was originally created back in March to be part of our “family” gaming show, GAME TIME! The basic idea behind the “‘Great Moments in Video Gaming” segment was to take a fun and/or historical glance back at the people, technology and ideas that shaped the interactive entertainment industry into what it is today. Important lessons are proffered during the course of these segment(s) but nothing is forced – everything is presented in an entertaining manner, much like “Sesame Street” or “The Electric Company,” so the viewers are learning without really knowing it…and (hopefully) having a good time doing it! The last thing we want to do is to be heavy handed or hit people over the head with what we are doing.

Initially, the Dreamcast wasn’t going to be the topic of our “pilot” piece. Since this was our debut show I, naturally, wanted to start at the beginning, so the 1961, MIT developed SPACEWAR! (considered by many to be the first, “true” video game) was my original choice of topic. But, after knocking it about for a bit, SPACEWAR! seemed somewhat obscure and not “sexy” enough of a subject for the pilot episode. So, after some additional thought on the matter, Sega’s Dreamcast was ultimately chosen as the topic for the big, GAME TIME! kickoff. And, with the help of my talented co-conspirators, I think the final result turned out to be a more than fitting “Swan Song” for Sega’s last hurrah in the console hardware market.

Looking back, it’s hard to believe that 10 years have passed since 9/9/99. So much has happened to us as a nation, and to me personally, since that day. I won’t get into a laundry list of everything here, as it isn’t really pertinent, but I do vividly recall all the hype and hubbub surrounding the DC’s numerically savvy launch date. I wasn’t silly (or brave…) enough to get my Dreamcast on that first day, as I’m not a huge fan of sleeping outside on cold concrete or waiting in deathly looooong lines. I did, however, manage to score one about month later at a KB Toy store of all places. And I fell in love with that little, white machine as soon as I unboxed it and fired up my first gridiron battles of NFL 2K, then handed out several, chop-sockey beatdowns in Soul Calibur and topped my evening off by collecting an overabundance of gold rings in Sonic Adventure. Good, good times.

Since I was the defacto gamer in my family AND just dropped a pretty substantial amount of cash on the system (plus the games), my initial opinion of the Dreamcast was somewhat biased. I mean, I HAD to love it, right? I couldn’t justify the purchase otherwise. So, I took my alabaster baby (with that adorable, red curly-Q) over to my brother’s house that weekend to gauge his reaction and (tried) to get an unprejudiced estimation of the system as a whole. It was at this moment when I fully understood the power of the Dreamcast and the true “generational leap” that this system was.

As the intro/demo of Soul Calibur played on my brother’s TV, his eyes widened to almost comical proportions and his jaw grew slack. The only awestruck words he could manage were, “Holy shit, this is better than the arcades…”

True dat, my brother. True dat.

Please enjoy the video. I can truthfully say that it was a labor of love and a blast to make. Hopefully, we’ll get to do more at some point…

VIVA LA DREAMCAST!

~ Jerry Bonner

Jerry Bonner is a writer and journalist whose work has appeared in GQ, EGM, 1UP, What They Play, Yahoo!, Ars Technica, Game Focus Canada, Geeks of Doom and Game Stooge. He also worked for the ESRB (Entertainment Software Ratings Board) for a time as the Senior Game Content Rater. He currently lives in Southern New Jersey with his wife and four children.

Taking a momentary break from his “fast paced” third-dimensional action, SEGA revealed their plans to take Sonic back to his two-dimensional (2D) roots. In order to answer the fans demands for a new 2D Sonic game, SEGA stated that this is a Sonic game for “old-school Sonic fans”, and that it’s briefly named “Project Needlemouse“.

“Old-school Sonic fans have long asked to see Sonic return to a more 2D style of gameplay,” said Ken Ballough, associate brand manager at Sega America. “Many liked the daytime stages in “Unleashed,” but wanted to see a game that plays purely similar to the early games of the Genesis. “Project Needlemouse” is that critical first step that brings Sonic back to his 2D roots.”

Although the new Sonic game wasn’t explicitly named, the trailer features many signature sounds and effects from the original games, which showes that the game is really being made for ”old-school Sonic fans”. The new game will viewed in 2D and in HD, however, no platforms were announced. So we’re left wondering if “Needlemouse” will be a traditional $60 boxed game or a download-only title. I guess we’ll see when the game releases in 2010.

With the release of the sequel soon underway, there’s no doubt that there’s going to be a video game tie-in. However, with the first Iron Man video game, the story wasn’t well represented. This is what brings us to this announcement.

SEGA announced today that renowned comic book author, Matt Fraction will be creating the game’s all-new storyline, including familiar elements from both the movie and comic book universe, for Iron Man 2.

Iron Man 2, the video game, allows players to truly feel the power of Iron Man with new destructible environments, epic enemies, and innovative hand-to-hand combat moves, as well as other features from the film and comic book.

Iron Man 2 will exclusively offer fans a chance to play against enemies such as the unforgettable Crimson Dynamo, not found in the film.

“Iron Man 2 presented me with the challenge and opportunity to work with both SEGA and Marvel on creating something wholly unique- a story that exists at the cross-roads of the comic I write, the film universe which I was lucky enough to be asked to contribute to, and a wholly- immersive interactive experience like a game,” says Fraction.

“A game presents an entirely new challenge, where the audience/consumer/player engages with the world, with the big and small aspects of the place and characters. They’re a co-conspirator in the narrative. I hope it’s as exciting and challenging to play as it was to write.”

Yet another anticipated fall release has been delayed. Early this morning, SEGA announced that Bayonetta, the over-the-top action brawler from Platinum Games, has been pushed into next year.

However, while the Japanese version of Bayonetta manages to keep its October release date, the western version Bayonetta will release in January 2010, almost two months from its original release date in November.

“Bayonetta is an extremely important new IP for Sega and adds a new level of depth to our growing portfolio,” said Sega West president Mike Hayes.

“As a result of marketing analysis we have taken a publishing decision that January 2010 is the optimum release time in the Western Markets to maximize this exciting new title’s potential.”

Valkyria Chronicles has seem to have hit gold within the month of April with a huge sales jump from its predecessor month March, skyrocketing the game into best-seller lists, off of store shelves.

In the month of April alone, Valkyria Chronicles sales in North America increased by over 400% from, once again, March.

Half a year after a game is out, being able to say that sales doubled is a fantastic thing – that sales suddenly tripled is even more rare, said SEGA.

The burning hot sales can be attributed to community contests, DLC and the temporary price drop to $30.

A few weeks ago, SEGA announced a highly anticipated title for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 entitle End of Eternity. However, it now seems that it’s the same trailer for Resonance of Fate, which is the North American version of the same game.

SEGA is teaming up with Tokyo based developer tri-Ace to bring the title to market in Spring 2010.

“Partnering up with a respected developer like tri-Ace adds to SEGA’s already great line-up,” said Gary Knight, European Marketing Director for SEGA Europe. “With titles like Star Ocean and Valkyrie Profile, the team at tri-Ace has proven themselves as masters of real-time combat and great storytelling.”

Update: We have just been informed that it could be coming  October 2009, which was stated by the games SCEE game page.

Original: When we first gained news that Devil May Cry director Hideki Kamiya was heading a hardcore action title at Platinum Games, we then and there started jumping for joy. But, for the longest time we weren’t sure when and were they were going to release it.

Now, however, we have been informed that at a SEGA press event recently in Japan it was said that Bayonetta will be giving enemy’s big kicks in the face this fall. And here’s were it gets interesting, according to information giving at the event, its do for a ”simultaneous worldwide release for Fall 2009″.

[【セガ新作発表会2009】∞クライマックスアクションここに誕生『BAYONETTA via Inside-Games]

In the shadow of the dating and pricing of the DLC, it now seems that Sega would like to continue the story of ‘Valkyria Chronicles’ in the form of a sequel.

In a report by PS3center, it was revealed in the latest issue of Famitsu Weekly, that the games producer Nonaka Ryutaro was ecstatic that Valkyria was embraced by the Japanese public in the way it was. He was also excited about the  anime’s debut, explaining that the anime served as another means to further develop the IP.

However, in light of the recent popularity, Ryutaro told the magazine that he really wanted to do a sequel to the game, and he was adamant about not leaving the game at just one title.

Alot of people have been, appearently, asking about this. Now, it seems that SEGA has the answered the call. Beginning on April 16th PlayStation owners will be able to return to Gallia to fight in new EWII battles once more in the upcoming Downloadable Content for Valkyria Chronicles, which you can only play if you have the game.

[Valkyria Chronicles DLC marching to PSN soon via PlayStation.Blog]

I really don’t know why they’re doing this again, but it seems that the games director, Tetsu Katano, isn’t finished with the ‘Wherehog’ just yet because in an recent interview, when being asked about the things he’ll like to see return, he split his like-ables.

 Katano was quoted saying that ‘you will see the Werehog again.’ Along with the return of the ‘Wherehog’, the developer as would love to keep the Secret Rings, which will be making a return in Sonic and the Black Knight and were also in Sonic Unleashed.

Anyway, in the interview he said that these as just ideas for the ‘Sonic Unleashed sequel.’

Ending with that, I don’t know why they don’t do the some thing that they are doing for ‘Modern Warfare 2′? Atleast it will be what the fans like.

Well, Well, Well… What do we have here? I don’t know if you missed this when SEGA released there latest trailer for MadWorld, but when we re-watched the trailer, which was the ‘Black Baron Announcement Trailer’, we saw a little co-op multiplayer action going on, but if you didn’t notice it here’s the trailer, it should be in there some were.

Update: This is only for the European version of the game. There’s no word on if the other versions will be getting the same treatment.

Update 2: It’s still very unsure which version of the game this is for, but we all know it’s not the US version, sigh.

Update 3: This is for the Japanese version of the game following the release of the game on February 26. We are sorry about that, we had though for a second that the game was already released Japan.

Original: The game hasn’t released in the United States, yet, but it seems that SEGA has the downloadable content all figured out. When speaking on the games DLC, SEGA has confirmed its plan for releasing the future downloadable content for Yakuza 3 in a very elaborate manner.

Starting March 5, Sega will offer eight consecutive weeks of extra content for the game. Over the eight week period a total of 29 pieces of content, ranging from special missions to item packs, will make it out to players.

The details that were released last week where very vague as SEGA gears up to to release Alien vs. Predator across all platforms. But, somehow they are now able to reveal to us the release target on when we will be able to see Alien vs. Predator along without other upcoming titles.

The title is being developed by Rebellion Developments , who worked on a Alien vs. Predator game back in 1999. The press release also stated release plans for other SEGA titles coming in the future.

-Wii – Sonic and the Black Knight – 13th March 2009
-PS3/ X360 – Virtual Tennis 2009 – May 2009
-Wii – Let’s Tap – Summer 2009
-Wii/ DS – Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games – Late 2009
-DS – Phantasy Star Zero – Added to 2009
-Aliens Vs Predator – Added to Early 2010

Despite an inglorious first episode, Marvel Studios was willing to move forward with development of the second Iron-Man movie video game, Iron Man 2: The Video Game, as it is know for now.

The filming of the movie hasn’t begun yet, but with a title like that SEGA wasn’t willing to turn it down. The game is being developed at the publishers San Francisco-based development studio, Secret Level.

The release is planned for something around the movies release in 2010, I can’t believe that I’m saying that, were does the time go?

“We are thrilled to build on the success of the Iron Man phenomenon and work with Marvel and Paramount on another epic project,” says Simon Jeffery, President of SEGA of America, Inc. “SEGA and Marvel are collaborating closely to ensure we deliver an authentic Iron Man experience.”

When you think of Mario & Sonic what comes to your mind? Well, I know what comes to my mind, and that is two characters that have too many games. But, none the less, it sells that why Nintendo is, maybe, planning a second Mario & Sonic at the Olympic title.

According to Nintendo Action (Acción), a Spanish gaming magazine, Nintendo is maybe planning another title in the Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Sega.

And in order to avoid repetition they will be sticking to the Winter Games in Vancouver, but instead of being in the same year they will be moving into next winter. They also say that the game will focus more on ‘appropriate tests’, which was revealed by an Spanish/English Google translation.

After Australia banned such  games as Manhunt 2 and Dark Sector, it caused fear by SEGA that they would also be banning their game, MadWorld. But, that doesn’t seem to be the case because they have allowed the game into the country.

Today, we learned that the sale of Platinum Games ultra bloody MadWorld will be allowed into Australia.

This is great news for the publisher of the game, SEGA, because they feared that they wouldn’t be able to sell the game in the country, or worst they would have the developer censor the game.

But, talking on that note, this news does come with some bad because SEGA didn’t give any details on if the game would be censored in the country.

Probably one of the most under-appreciated titles in 2008 – it even won many “Most Overlooked” Awards – it makes sense that the title would be getting a re-release in the part of the world that RPGs are most dominant. After all, there were many reports that the game was not selling well in North America.

Now, however, it looks like Sega is scheduling a budgeted re-release of Valkyria Chronicles in Japan on March 5, and the game will include the Edie Nelson mission(s), which is currently only available via download on the Japanese PlayStation Store. The price has also dropped down to 3,990 yen, which is just about $44 U.S, give or take.

There is no word on if the title will re-release in North America, but there is a strong change that they will benefit from such a move. This will also help the popularity of the title in Japan, but this time let hope that they advertise the game better.

Well, for those of you who didn’t even think that this game was going to be good we have some very important news for you, it’s better then good it’s pure amazing. We all remember the hit game, Blue Dragon and when it was announced to be reincarnated to in a cartoon many of us were willing to think that it was going to suck, and it didn’t. Well, lets just hope the same goes here for the sleeper hit of the year, Valkyria Chronicles, because we have just received news that there’s going to be a television anime adaptation of the game. That’s right a television anime adaptation which is scheduled for release in next spring which we hope is enough time.

Sega’s Overworks development unit, Sakura Wars, had developed the game for the PS3 console and in recent reports it was revealed that Aniplex’s A-1 Pictures anime studio was given the heads up to develop the anime adaptation.

[2009年春より放映開始！ アクティブ・シミュレーションRPG「戦場のヴァルキュリア」のテレビアニメ化が決定 via Online Player EX]

The game is yet to release in North American stores, but yet it has been in Japan for sale for the pass few months. And recently, a new chapter of Valkyria Chronicles hit the PS3 network in Japan. The update focuses on Servelia, one of the games main characters, leading an Imperial force into Gallian territory. The pack is available in Japan of the price of 800 yen and it is going to be preceded by two other optional updates, Operation Edie for 600 yen and the Hard EX mode for 300 yen. The game was original set to be released in October, but because of SEGA changing their mind the game will be releasing this month.

[New Content for Valkyria Chronicles via RPGamer]

Remember all the fun you had playing Phantasy Star on the Playstation 2 and Sega Dreamcast? Well, imagine being able to relive all those moments over and over again on your PSP. Since the game has only been given a date for Europe there’s no date yet for the US version of the game. But, yet today Sega announced that the game will indeed be headed to the US, but there’s also a bad side to every good one, according to Sega the game has been limited to “ad-hoc” mode instead of online Multiplayer. So yeah, once again America gets the short side of the stick, but it’s ok. We also will get four player co-op and, of courses, single-player story mode.

According to Sega Germany, neither the House of the Dead: Overkill or MadWorld will be shipping to retailers in Germany. This news comes after the idea of not showing Gears of War 2 at the upcoming Games Convention in Germany. The likelihood of the games not be shown at the Games Convention in Germany is very high, but it’s still unclear if it will be shown at the event. But, as you may know Germany gamers may have to go out of their way to get their hands on the game, they may even have to go to another country just to get their hands on a wii game.

Do you want more Viewtiful Joe video games? Well do ya? According to Christian Svensson, Capcom’s Corporate Officer, Capcom is up on the idea of another Viewtiful Joe video game. That’s, of course, if the if potential is recognized, or so says information given to the people over a Nintendo Everything.

“There’s no ‘percentage chance’ that I could give you [Viewtiful Joe this generation] that would at all be accurate. If it strikes someone of influence (a producer of note, Inafune, Takeuchi, perhaps even me) that it’s something that has potential (both gameplay and sales) then it could happen. If not, it won’t. I can’t predict who might or might not see that potential.”-Christian Svensson

Looks like what he said was very true “Even if you kill me, our organization will live on.” and you’ll be helping his organization live on sooner then you may have though. We have received news from a Sega that the game will be hitting on September 9 in the U.S., along the North American release date we also have received the date for the European release. The game will be released in Europe this September also be just a little later then the North American version, which happens to be September 28.

The president of Sega of America, Simon Jeffery, has announced that Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games has aready sold 10 million copies around the world. The game is a sacred performance which combines naturally with both Wii and DS versions, bring gamers closer into the the world of Mario & Sonic.

The game has successed the 4 million mark which was expected by Masano Maeda. Obviously, with such figures the likeness of these two team up again are very high. So ending on that note, it really doesn’t look like Sega needs to try any hard to bring back Sonic because with Mario, Sonic can never die.

If you didn’t know by now, Sega is preparing another installment in Sonic series entitled, Sonic Unleashed. Today, Sega revealed a new trailer for that very game, in the trailer it showcases were sonic or werehog  in action around the city. Here is just some information you need to know, "….By day Sonic will be the blue hedgehog we all know and love but, when the sun sets, he turns into a werehog with claws and fangs". The game is set for a PS2, PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360 released in November.

SEGA of America today announced that it has extended its relationship with Epic Games by signing a new Unreal Engine 3 licensing deal for an unannounced, cross-platform game. SEGA entered into its original licensing agreement to develop multiple titles with Unreal Engine 3 in May 2007. Details of the project in development will be released at a later date.

“The great capabilities of Unreal Engine 3 make it possible for our developers to deliver incredible gaming experiences,” said Dave Cobb, Vice President of Development for SEGA of America, Inc. “Unreal Engine 3 provides superior power and flexibility enabling SEGA to bring original and exciting next-generation multi-platform titles.”

“SEGA has cultivated some of the world’s most treasured game franchises, and we are thrilled that they have decided to make more games with Unreal Engine 3,” said Mark Rein, vice president of Epic Games. “Epic is committed to supporting SEGA with exceptional tools and technologies so it may continue to build upon its successes.”

Developers and publishers around the world have licensed Unreal Engine 3 for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Since Epic has shipped its internal titles across all supported platforms, the engine’s content pipeline and technical capabilities have achieved unprecedented levels of maturity and accessibility. These advancements, combined with the continual incorporation of top quality middleware libraries via Epic’s prestigious Integrated Partners Program, present Unreal Engine 3 as a superior offering for cross-platform game development.

Through this licensing agreement, SEGA will be able to take advantage of Unreal Engine 3’s latest technological enhancements, including dynamic ambient occlusion, destructible environments, an advanced crowd system and much more.

New gameplay video of Dragon Ball Z Burst Limit surfaced today, Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit is complete with online battles, 3D graphic, enhanced playable characters, realistic battle stages, and much more. The story takes place from beginning of the Saiyan Saga to the end of the Cell Saga. The video game based off the popular anime show Dragon Ball Z, the game is releasing for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Thanks to one of our Moderator for posting info infomation:

The game begins with Super Sonic amidst a battle with Dr Eggman and his robots. Somehow Dr Eggman lures Super Sonic into a trap and using his latest invention misuses the power of the Chaos Emeralds to defeat Super Sonic and change something in Sonic’s body. Dr Eggman appears to break the planet apart soon afterwards.

Having been broken apart by the evil Dr Eggman, it’s up to Sonic to put the pieces of the world back together again by retrieving the power of the Chaos Emeralds! In doing so, Sonic will find himself in a race against time and faced with an unusual situation that will challenge him in ways never before seen. Both day and night play different, yet important, roles in Sonic’s newest quest… as the sun sets, a new adventure awakens. By completing a wide variety of action-packed stages, spanning the seven broken continents of the world, gamers will need to unleash Sonic’s amazing abilities to save the world, and himself!

By day Sonic will be the blue hedgehog we all know and love but, when the sun sets, he turns into a werehog with claws and fangs.

This does make a difference to the gameplay as the werehog is slower but stronger, meaning he can swing around levels, move obstacles and hurl enemies around.

You can read more about the werehog in the new issue of Official Nintendo Magazine which goes on sale on Friday. Featuring an exclusive preview of Sonic Unleashed an an interview with the game’s designer, Yoshihisa Hashimoto, ONM 29 is a must-read issue.

Source

Today, SEGA release a new teaser for there new video game Sonic Unleashed , Sonic the Hedgehog is a franchise of video games released by Sega starring and named after its mascot character Sonic the Hedgehog. The series began in 1991 with the release of Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. Sonic was responsible for turning Sega into a leading video game company during the 16-bit era, and his first game soon replaced Altered Beast as the default pack-in game for the Mega Drive/Genesis in North America and Europe.

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