Retro Gaming Australia

Siliconera is reporting that a source close to Sega informed them that ToeJam & Earl and its sidescroller sequel Panic on Funkatron will be the next part of the next wave of Sega’s Vintage Collection releases. This seems to gel pretty well with the renewed focus on digital and heritage content Sega has been touting lately.

There are a few licensing hurdles to get over. While fans commonly associate the characters with Sega, they are not actually owned by the company, rather remaining the property of their original creators Greg Johnson and Mark Voorsanger (hence their omission from Sega Superstars/All Stars games to date).

If the collection is happening, you’ll hear about it soon.

Sega has revealed it will be releasing Jet Set Radio for iOS and Android alongside the Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and PC (via Steam) versions.

Jet Set Radio for iOS and Android includes OpenFeint support and the ability to create in-game graffiti using your device’s camera – this is in addition to the widescreen HD graphics, new camera system, online leaderboards and original game’s soundtrack featured in the other versions of the HD port.

Expect the digital onslaught of Jet Set Radio in Q3 of this year.

Source: Joystiq

It was rumoured last week that a Yakuza 1 & 2 HD Edition was on the way, and the latest issue of Famitsu confirms this to be true.

Alongside HD visuals, the HD remake will feature improved load times, item box management in phone booths, and food you have eaten will be checked off in menus – making particular sides a tad easier! An official site has gone up with wallpapers and a comparison of the HD and PS2 versions’ screenshots.

Coming to PlayStation 3, Yakuza 1 & 2 HD Edition is planned for release November 1 in Japan and is priced at 5,290 yen. No news on a western release yet, but it is still very early days. Oh, and there is a trailer – check it out below.

Source: Andriasang

During their Sonic Boom event at San Diego Comic-Con, Sega has announced Sonic Adventure 2 for PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade.

Such a release for Sonic Adventure 2 was rumoured last month when the title briefly appeared on the official Xbox site. The official announcement was sparse in details, but the title appears to be a HD re-release as part of Sega’s renewed focus on digital content.

Footage of the reveal informs us that Sonic Adventure 2 was be “leaking onto consoles this fall”.

Sega Japan may have unintentionally revealed a HD re-release of Yakuza and Yakuza 2 for PlayStation 3.

Appearing on Sega’s release schedule for a short time, RyÅ« ga Gotoku 1& 2 HD Edition (Yakuza 1 & 2 HD Edition) was listed for a December 1 release at 5,229 yen. The now amended release schedule shows no sign of Yakuza 1 & 2 HD Edition, however Andriasang, who originally spotted the “announcement”, posted a link to the cached version of the original schedule which outed the title.

With Yakuza 5 set for release around the same time, December is shaping up to be a great month for series’ fans.

Sega appears to have discovered the Saturn’s back catalogue with the announcement that NiGHTS into Dreams HD will be coming to the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC later this year.

The HD version of the game will include 16:9 support, trophies/achievements, leaderboards and Saturn Mode, which allows you to play the game in its original glory. One has to wonder if the prettier HD version is based on the PlayStation 2 release that was exclusive to Japan.

Whatever version it is, you’ll get the opportunity to see that NiGHTs is totally overrated later this year.

For a limited time, Red Rooster is offering a host of Sonic the Hedgehog toys with their kids meals.

There are seven toys in all – three “3D” cups (featuring Sonic, Tails and Amy), an expandable flyer, a pencil case, a bouncy ball and a pack of cards for memory.

So if you’re after some Sonic merch and are unafraid of being judged by spotty teenagers for ordering a meal meant for children, this should be right down your alley.

The Sega AGES 2500 series was an interesting experiment early last decade. It started out with D3 and Sega teaming up to produce 3D remakes of classic Sega franchises like Phantasy Star, Golden Axe and Space Harrier and selling them for 2500 yen. However, after some of these remakes turned out to be terrible, Sega teamed up with M2 to produce highly accurate ports of their other popular games like Virtua Fighter 2, Gunstar Heroes and Fantasy Zone.

Today the company announced that some of these games will be coming to the Japanese PlayStation Network as part of the PS2 Classics line up. First game up is the Saturn classic Dragon Force. It will be followed by the STV brawler Dynamite Deka (or Die Hard Arcade) and Gunstar Heroes: Treasure Box

Sega’s embrace of digital distribution appears to be paying dividends – at least for Japan.

There was a time, once, where Garfield was actually quite popular, and deserving of that popularity thanks to a quality cartoon show and a still halfway decent comic strip. Sega attempted to cash in on that popularity with Garfield: Caught in the Act, a somewhat average platformer.

Phantasy Star III is the most divisive game in the series among fans. Some fans were upset that the game seems to take place outside of the established sci-fi setting of the series, while others enjoyed the cross-generation story, twisting gameplay paths and multiple endings.