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Sonic Adventure, Nights headline Humble Sega Bundle
Sega peeks into its storied past this week with the Humble Sega Bundle, a pay-what-you-want collection featuring a handful of classics adapted from the Saturn and Dreamcast eras. Pay any amount for the bundle and you'll get the surreal score-attack action game Nights Into Dreams, kart racer Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, and the Dreamcast Collection, which includes PC versions of Sonic Adventure, Sega Bass Fishing, Crazy Taxi, and Space Channel 5 Part 2. The package also offers Total War: Rome II's "Caesar in Gaul" expansion and the Miles' Tactic DLC for Football Manager 2015. Beat the bundle's average purchase price (currently $3.68) and you'll unlock Empire: Total War, Company of Heroes 2 - The Western Front Armies: Oberkommando West, and additional games that will be revealed as the bundle enters its final week. Total War: Shogun 2 - Fall of the Samurai is up for grabs as a $12 incentive, and you can also get an exclusive Dreamcast-themed t-shirt with a purchase of $50 or more. The Humble Sega Bundle will be available through December 9. [Video: Humble Bundle / Sega]
Sonic Lost World gets Nights-inspired pre-order bonus level
Players who pre-order Sonic: Lost World will receive a bonus level, Sega announced. Based on Sega's Nights Into Dreams, the level features Lost World's "Deadly Six" antagonists teaming up with bosses from the classic Sega Saturn game. Once players complete the level, which they can jump into at any time, they are given a special Color ability for Sonic to use. Sonic: Lost World launches on October 22 for 3DS and Wii U.
Almost every downloadable Sega game discounted through the holidays
Sega's pulling out all of the stops in the run-up to the holidays, discounting almost its entire catalogue of games across multiple platforms. Massive deals can be found on Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and mobile platforms Android and iOS.Highlights include discounts on Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown, Crazy Taxi, Sonic CD and just about everything on iOS, which has been reduced down to $.99. There's even a Sega Holiday Bundle being offered on PSN, a collection of Jet Set Radio, NiGHTS Into Dreams and Sonic Adventure 2 with DLC and custom theme, all for $20 – $15 if you're a PS Plus subscriber.In all, there are a lot of deals to sift through, so if you want to see the full list, head on past the break.
NiGHTS into Dreams flies onto Steam
The classic Saturn game NiGHTS into Dreams, in its HD-ified state, is available now through Steam. The fantastical flight romp is $10 at the moment, but with the Steam end-of-year holiday sales so very, very close... it would likely be in your best interest to wait for those discounts in a couple weeks.If you've never played NiGHTS, here's our deja review of the game. You can also take off with the magical flying jester thingy-guy through the digital distribution channels of Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network.%Gallery-167284%
PSN Tuesday: Day 1 Digital, NiGHTS, Silent Hill: Book of Memories demo
Today kicks off Sony's Day 1 Digital initiative, which sees some of the holiday's most high-profile games available as day-one downloads on PlayStation Network. Resident Evil 6 and NBA 2K13 are the first two games available as day one downloads in October.On top of the Day 1 Digital promotion, PSN users can pre-order Assassin's Creed 3 and snag a pair of Sega PSN games today: Sonic Adventure 2 and NiGHTS into DREAMS. More PSOne Classics are available on PS Vita today, including several Square Enix and Capcom games like Parasite Eve, Chrono Trigger, Resident Evil 2 and many more. Finally, a Silent Hill: Book of Memories demo is available for PS Vita owners.The full list of this week's content, hit up the PlayStation Blog.
Deja Review: Nights into Dreams
We're of the firm opinion that your time is too precious, too valuable to be spent reading a full review for a game that was already reviewed many, many years ago. What's the point of applying a score to a game that's old enough to be enrolled in the sixth grade? That's why we invented Deja Review: A quick look at the new features and relative agelessness of remade, revived and re-released games. Back in 1996, a war was raging between Sega and Sony. Whilst Sony told consumers that they were not "e" for its fantastic PlayStation, Sega tried to find a killer app for its Saturn, which simply didn't have the 3D chops to compete (2D ... well, that's an entirely different article). One of the volleys Sega aimed directly at the PlayStation was Sonic Team's Nights into Dreams, a 3D game that allowed players to fly with complete freedom.Okay, so it was actually confined to a predefined, mostly two-dimensional plane, but that didn't keep Nights from being a hallmark experience for anyone who happened to have a Saturn.%Gallery-159788%
Nights HD includes Christmas Nights, arrives October 2 on PSN and October 5 on XBLA
Nights Into Dreams HD and Sonic Adventure 2 will both cost $9.99 when they launch on XBLA and PSN this October. Both games in the "Sega Heritage Collection" will be available on PSN October 2, and on XBLA October 5.Both games have extra content that will be exciting in varying levels, as well. Sonic Adventure 2 is upgradable with "Battle Mode" DLC for $3, which adds the GameCube-specific content including new maps and characters. And Nights includes "free access" to the content from Christmas Nights, the hard-to-find expansion disc that was only available through magazines and other special giveaways!%Gallery-165617%
NiGHTS into Dreams, Sonic Adventure 2 HD receive October release window
>Sega's "Heritage Collection," the fancy name for the HD-ification of classics NiGHTS: into Dreams, Jet Set Radio and Sonic Adventure 2, recently released a trailer with more specific launch windows. NiGHTS: into Dreams and Sonic Adventure 2 are now set for this October.Jet Set Radio already has a PlayStation Plus launch of September 11, with the PS plebs receiving it September 18 for $9.99. The XBLA and Steam version will be available for September 19, with the Vita version rolling in October 16.
NiGHTS Into Dreams gets a sweet sixteen present: an HD re-release on XBLA, PSN, and PC [update]
Everyone's favorite surreal flying game for Sega Saturn, "NiGHTS into dreams...." is getting an HD rebirth "this fall" from Sega. Planned for Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and PC, NiGHTS is an HD update of the original Sega Saturn release from 1996. Not that you weren't expecting one, of course.Beyond the beautified graphics, Sega's adding a 16:9 aspect ratio, leaderboards, Achievements/Trophies, and "an optional Saturn Mode" (which reverts the game back to 1996 graphics). No release date is given just yet beyond the amorphous "fall," but there is the snazzy new trailer above. And these screens below. And hey, if you can't wait, you could always go play the game right now on your Saturn.Update: We asked Sega whether the Christmas NiGHTS content would be part of the HD re-release, and were told, "Can't confirm anything about that yet." We have to keep an eye out in "the coming weeks," as Sega has "a lot of stuff in the air right now for this year."%Gallery-159788%
Sega teases ... something to do with NiGHTS
Sega's Facebook page features the above screenshot, of "Stick Canyon," an environment from the Saturn classic NiGHTS into Dreams. This could portend an HD re-release like we're seeing for Jet Set Radio and some Dreamcast games, or it could be a new track for Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed.The screenshot itself doesn't appear to be new – identical-looking renders of the Stick Canyon location can be found on NiGHTS fansites from years ago. We've asked Sega for more information, but in the meantime, something NiGHTS-related is happening!
Sega thinking about downloadable Saturn games
Sega is already selling its Genesis library all over the place (as downloads on XBLA, PSN, WiiWare, and iPhone, and on retail collections). Dreamcast games are due this fall for XBLA and PSN. Now Sega is considering adding selections from the Saturn library to its catalog of digital releases. Yosuke Okunari, producer of the Dreamcast remakes, told GAME Watch (translated by Andriasang) that Sega might consider Saturn games in the future, though it's a different initiative from the current releases. "What we announced this time is a project where we will have consecutive releases of titles that were debuted on Dreamcast," he said. "Separate from this, we're of course thinking about ports of Saturn games. It's the same as how Sega Ages and Virtual Console were separate existences. It's not that we have no intention of porting Saturn titles, so please share your requests." Sega Ages was a series of disc-based PS2 rereleases of classic Sega titles. Coincidentally, the NiGHTSintodreams.com fan community sent out an announcement today for its campaign to convince Sega to port NiGHTS Into Dreams to modern consoles, in honor of the game's 15th anniversary. As one of the most prominent first-party games, NiGHTS has a good chance of being one of the first releases, should Sega decide to pursue Saturn ports. [Update: This post originally referred to the XBLA Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram as a Dreamcast port. It's actually a port of version 5.66, which was released as an arcade game after the Dreamcast version.]
Top 5: Christmastime in Gaming
Ahh, Christmastime. Every year, we look forward to cherished traditions such as fighting traffic, stressing out over finding gifts, and even the occasional Black Friday trampling. Yet one would be surprised to learn that December 25th has a history which shares very little with frivolous lawsuits and Bill O'Reilly frothing at the mouth. Indeed, aside from its litigatious and hostile depiction on the news, Christmas is largely an excuse to shower our loved ones with food, presents, and joy. It's also an easy inspiration for a stressed columnist trying to finish his Christmas shopping to create a Top 5 list. As such examples of religious-based holidays are rare in gaming, this list will not be Nintendo-specific. For those who celebrate the date, I wish you a Merry Christmas. For those who don't, I wish you well just the same. NEXT >> #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } The Top 5 is a weekly feature that provides us with a forum to share our opinions on various aspects of the video game culture, and provides you with a forum to tell us how wrong we are. To further voice your opinions, submit a vote in the Wii Fanboy Poll, and take part in the daily discussions of Wii Warm Up.
PSP Fanboy Theatre: Volume 48
Star Ocean: First Departure intro (10.6MB) Also featured: Devil May Cry 4, Dark Sector, NiGHTS Into Dreams, Condemned 2: Bloodshot
Sega: No plans to release NiGHTS PS2 outside of Japan
Those hoping that the PS2 port of the Sega Saturn classic NiGHTS would be released outside of Japan may be out of luck. Takashi Iizuka -- producer, director, and lead game designer on the Wii-sclusive NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams -- recently spoke with Sega Nerds about all things NiGHTS.When asked about the PS2 enhanced port of the original NiGHTS Into Dreams, Iizuka commented that at present, the title is only scheduled for release in Japan, and that there are no plans to bring the title to other regions, or, for that matter, to the Nintendo Wii.Iizuka also commented that the PS2 port was the direct result of a high demand for the game in Japan. Given that, it's still possible that solid sales of the NiGHTS sequel might inspire releases of the original in more regions. Let's keep the hope alive.
Original NiGHTS into Dreams coming to PS2
While Wii owners will soon be enjoying the first NiGHTS sequel, it looks like PS2 owners will eventually be enjoying the original. Famitsu Magazine reports that an enhanced port of the original Sega Saturn game NiGHTS into Dreams will be coming to the Playstation 2 in Japan in February of next year.The PS2 version will display in 16:9 widescreen, and feature slightly improved graphics. The game will also include galleries of video, art, and stills from the marketing and production of the game. We're pleased as punch that the original NiGHTS is being revisited, but it is a bit odd that the Wii will be graced with NiGHTS Journey of Dreams and not its predecessor. Perhaps the odds of a Virtual Console release have slightly increased?Check out the Famitsu page scan after the break.
NiGHTS Wii screens, interview found in Portuguese game mag
French gaming site Jeux France has what it claims is the first images of the new NiGHTS title for Wii, from magazine scans of Portuguese magazine Maxi Consola. (We're so multicultural.) So far, NiGHTS has been an extremely persistent rumor; this is the either the first concrete evidence of the title's existence or the cleverest Photoshop effort to date.The magazine scans feature an interview with Takashi Iizuka (here written Takeshi), a Sega developer who's had a hand or two in every Sonic game since 1994 as well as the original NiGHTS Into Dreams. Our Portuguese is a bit pathetic, but Play Nintendo has translated the interview. The game is purported to have a two player mode and some online capabilities. Jeux France purports that Sega will make an announcement early April.
Rumorang: NiGHTS 2 spotted on game mag cover
Apparently, world exclusives just aren't what they used to be. Shortly after Official Nintendo Magazine teased readers with "world exclusive" information on a new game, only to backpedal once internet speculation deemed the game to be NiGHTS 2, comes this image of an upcoming issue of Swedish mag, Game Reactor. Their exclusive is right there on the cover -- the androgynous acrobat himself sporting a grand new costume. No mention of platform is made, though most online pundits point to Wii.The image, which was posted on the NeoGAF forums and the Game Reactor website, has since been replaced on the latter page with a version containing an empty outline of NiGHTS. Is that the official motif for teasing gamers with the sequel to a deeply loved Saturn classic? Caution requires us to continue labeling this as an unconfirmed rumor, but we think it's about time we changed our line of questioning.It's not a question of whether NiGHTS 2 exists now, but rather a question of how completely modern Sega (sans Yuji Naka) will mangle a cherished property. We say it in jest, but deep down, we can already picture an Afterburner clone, complete with fly-by shootings and bordello bombing runs.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Yuji Naka not involved in any new NiGHTS game
As dubious as we find this NiGHTS rumor, the community love for the game has kept it alive and kept gamers hopeful. However, the one man who could truly make a high quality NiGHTS game has no intentions of returning to the franchise.Speaking to CVG, Yuji Naka, the former leader of Sega's Sonic Team, has stated quite bluntly that "at present, I have no intentions" of revisiting any of his old Sega franchises, which includes Sonic and NiGHTS. Granted, Sega could make a new NiGHTS title without Naka, who left the company in May 2006 to form his own studio Prope. But the quality of Sonic Team's work has been questionable at best since his departure.If all these rumors lead to a NiGHTS virtual console release, then consider us excited. However, if Sega looks to add another entry in the series, then we hope the hype wears down (not likely) or that Sega gives this to a new studio. Considering recent releases, we're not sure a NiGHTS game from the Sonic Team will be capable of living up to the fanbase's high expectations.
Rumorang: NiGHTS returning on the Wii
This is one recurring rumor we'd rather not toss away, instead warmly embracing it and gently scratching behind its furry little ears. Unfortunately, much like realizing the kitten in your hands is actually a squirrel infected with rabies, the truth about a sequel to NiGHTS may just upset you. And tear your face clean off.If you follow the dubious rumor treasure trail, you're bound to end up at a Wii release list published on Japanese website, G-rev. Stashed between Animal Crossing and a Naruto game is the tantalizing mention of NiGHTS (or Naitsu), though no accompnaying release date can be found. It could be a remake, a sequel or an elaborate dance interpretation -- or a complete fabrication. Is the modern Sega even capable of producing a good follow-up to NiGHTS? Would Wii controls shine through the possible dreck of NiGHTS 2: Into Dwiims, now with fly-by shootings and a talking rabbit? Perhaps, but they'll have to make the game before we know. (In other news, G-rev's Xbox 360 page lists a Radiant Silvergun 3 ... )[Via Siliconera, Insert Credit]
Yuji Naka confirmed to be leaving Sega to form Prope
Back in March, we heard rumblings that Sega stalwart Yuji Naka was planning to leave Sega to start his own studio. Today, that rumor's been confirmed. According to Next Generation, Naka's new company is called Prope, which means "'beside' and 'near' future." Prope's web site (not linked on Next Gen) apparently explains that the name was chosen "in the hopes of bringing game entertainment much closer to users, establishing closer ties between users and us, and creating near future entertainment." We're just happy that Naka is retaining some ties to his old corporate home thanks to a 10% contribution on Sega's part to prop up the emerging new independent studio (a concept which Sega seems to support with its developers). Unfortunately, as the firm "will commit to new IP," you shouldn't expect updates of Sega classic franchises from the old hand anytime soon. It will also be interesting to see who's guiding the new Sonic games as well. Prope will open for business on June 1st. [Thanks, Sense; via 8-bit Ninja] See also: Rumor: Yuji Naka set to leave Sega NiGHTS Into Dreams, onto Revolution? Next-gen Sonic to be "re-invented" for PS3 and Xbox 360
