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Sega Ninjas Remind Sega Employees To Keep Their Mouths Shut (pictures)

Posted 5/19/08 9:00 am EST by in Ninjas, Secrets, sega


Virtua Fighter (click for bigger image)While visiting the Sega offices in San Francisco last week, I noticed two arresting pieces of art on company walls.

Both featured ninjas.

But neither one was selling a game. Instead, they were reminding Sega workers to keep quiet about Sega's secrets.

(Click the image at left to see how Shakespeare helped the ninjas make their point.)

These posters were encouraging employees to not be like the people who let all those "Sonic Unleashed" shots permeate the Internet a few weeks ago. 

But surely these images themselves shouldn't be hidden, right? Surely the world must know how it is that Sega secrets remain secret.

Multiplayer readers, I give you: The Official Sega Ninja Keeping-Secrets Posters.

(P.S. Next time I won't use the flash on my camera. I won't even need a motivational poster to remind me.)

ninjabig.JPG

Sega Regrets: New 'Sonic Unleashed' Game Drops Bizarre Human-Hedgehog Romance

Posted 5/16/08 12:00 pm EST by in PreE3 May Gaming Tour, sega, Sonic, Top Entries


sonic.jpgIf you have the courage and haven't eaten any food in the last half hour, then you can search the Internet for proof that, in his last self-titled Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game, Sonic the hedgehog fell in love with and kissed a human woman.

This inter-species romance ends now.

A Sega representative demonstrating the new multi-platform "Sonic Unleashed" at a company event in San Francisco this week told me that "I promise there will be no humans making out with Sonic" in the new game.

He did say there will be "new humans" in the game. As long as they don't get to first base with Sonic, I think some (not all!) people will be happy.

Other "Sonic Unleashed" declarations from the same rep included:

  • The revelation that the game's director was "not involved with the previous outing."
  • The promise that the new game will be "expanding on titles people liked."
  • The intention of the developers "to make Sonic new and relevant again."

Anyone sensing a theme? Can you guess which game Sega regrets making?

"Sonic Unleashed " features day and night modes of play. Night mode was not shown. Day mode is the classic Sonic-runs-fast gameplay in a 3D environment that often runs in the so-called 2.5D of "Sonic And The Secret Rings." The game moved fast but is hard to judge without a hands-on, given that "Sonic" games live or die by things like camera and level flow. Sega was only letting its own employees play the game.

Reporters were also told that, for the most part, Sonic's friends like Tails and Knuckles will not be playable in this game. The figure I heard was that gameplay would be "95%" Sonic-based.

First Sega Master System Games Annouced For Wii Virtual Console

Posted 3/25/08 3:27 pm EST by in Retro, sega, Virtual Console, Wii


The Virtual Console's selection just got a little bit bigger. Sega just announced the first two Sega Master System games that will be making their way to the Wii's Virtual Console. "Wonder Boy" and "Fantasy Zone" will be available for the rock-bottom price of 400 Wii Points (100 points cheaper than formerly thought), but they have yet to be dated. Given that these games usually appear within a week or two after the press releases hit gamers that never had a chance to play these the first time around should be getting a crack at them very soon. Here's to hoping Sega CD games are next.

Women Working In Games: Sega PR's Tali Fischer On Progress, Sweatpants, And Naked Women At The VGAs

Posted 12/14/07 8:27 am EST by in eidos, Interview, sega, Women Working in Games


talifischer.jpgThis week, I spoke to different women working in games. Today's interview is the last of the series.

We've heard from journalists Morgan Webb and Jane Pinckard as well as game developers Elspeth Tory and Brenda Brathwaite.

Another sector of gaming that I wanted to delve into was public relations. There are many, many women working in public relations in general, and gaming is no exception. When I was asking around for female game developers, I stumbled upon Tali Fischer, who was willing to answer my questions via e-mail earlier this week.

Currently a public relations manager at Sega of America, the 32 year-old has been working in gaming PR for eight years. She seems to have had a positive experience overall and doesn't see any sexism within the video games industry:

Fischer: ...I feel like there is this constant scrutiny on everyone's behavior looking for an indication of sexism here. Almost like people outside the industry hope there is more sexism to point a finger at. I don't feel like there is. I do feel like every industry has its politics and every industry has its personality conflicts and every industry has its extreme example of bad interpersonal behavior. But when it comes to video games, there really is no dramatic story of women prevailing over the big bad men. ...

Read on for Fischer's thoughts on what it's like to work in gaming PR, how the industry has evolved, and speaking with journalists about Lara Croft's breasts...

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