July 31, 1996

Legend of Oasis has arrived in stores, today July 31, 1996.

Expanding their Pepsi theme in the Japanese incarnation of Fighting Vipers, Sega is including a new character in the Saturn version: Pepsiman. Pepsiman is Pepsi of Japan's new metallic mascot who appears in several recent TV commercials produced by Skywalker Ranch-based Industrial Light & Magic. No screen shots have been shown, but AM2 has stated that most, if not all, of Pepsiman's attacks and motions will be "borrowed" from other Fighting Vipers characters. In other Sega product-placement news, Tokio will apparently wear a watch popular with Japanese teenagers called the "Albaspoon" in the game's intro. Note: News of Pepsi Man was first broke on Eidolon Gamer's Society in it's Nippon! section.
from Game Fan Online

Daytona CCE is due to be unveiled to the press in the next month or so. Improvements on the original Daytona are said to include a higher graphical resolution as a result of using the latest in Sega's graphics library. Perhaps more impressive is the game's supposed speed - up to 30 frames per second. Three more tracks have been added as well as the ability to create your own. Plus there's a two-player split-screen option and, as widely predicted, X-Band compatibility.
from Next Generation Online

July 30, 1996

SegaSoft, Inc., the independent interactive entertainment developer, today announced the launch of a new brand, Jack Hammer, and three initial action titles: Three Dirty Dwarves, MetalWerks and Emperor of the Fading Suns.

Quintet, the developers of seminal Super Famicom/SNES titles such as Soul Blazer, ActRaiser, and Illusion of Gaia, have announced that they are working on a Saturn Action RPG with a theme of "Creative Action." This sounds similar to their last effort, an SFC ARPG (which will be released this year in Europe by Nintendo, where it will be titled Terranigma) called Tenchi Sozo. It is currently unclear whether the game will be published by Enix, Sega, or Quintet themselves.
from Game Fan Online

July 29, 1996

Tetris Plus has been announced for the Sega Saturn for a 3rd Quarter '96 release. It will have an estimated retail price of $49.99. Tetris Plus will feature four modes of play, includes four modes of play, including "Classic Tetris," the version of the game that skyrocketed its Russian inventor, Alexey Pajitnov, to fame. "Tetris Plus" also comes with two puzzle modes.

July 27, 1996

Sega and Capcom, yesterday, announced that they intend to merge the pinball business of Sega Pinball, Inc. and Capcom Coin-op, Inc. There are no details as to the time the deal will begin, or the structure of the deal. The merger should benefit both parties involved, by giving the new company a stronger market position, with the combination of both companies facilities and staff.
from Game Fan Online

July 26, 1996

Sega is working on a network version of Sega Rally for it's upcoming Net Link peripheral. The game will be named Sega Rally Plus.
from NG Online

July 25, 1996

There has been NO confirmation on MSH using the 8MB RAM cart whatsoever. It is understandable that there could have been some confusion (in the Saturn Fan) because there is a picture of Marvel Super Heroes under the section talking about the 8MB RAM cart. It clearly stated that Capcom was just thinking about it. Although, it does seem very likely, if the cart does penetrate a lot of homes.
from JAMMA

Sega Enterprises Ltd., said Thursday that it has contracted with a Dubai-based company in a bid to sharply increase sales in the Middle East. Sega said it hopes in the first year to boost annual sales in the region about 10 times to around 500 million yen, or about $4.6 million. It is shooting for annual sales of 5 billion yen by the year 2000.

July 24, 1996

Mech Warrior 2 has been announced for the Saturn, by Activision. ID4 the Game has been announced for the Saturn by Fox Interactive. ID4 is, of course, based on the hit summer movie Independance Day starring 'great special fx'. The Saturn translation of Virtua Fighter 3 will use the 8 mbit RAM cart (the VF3 info is from Dustin's Page).

July 23, 1996

The following titles have been recently released in Japan: Virtua Fighter Kids 7/20, Tokimeki Special 7/20. Langrisser 3 should arrive around the 30th of July in Japan.

Sega of America Inc. Monday announced that it has entered into a deal with Los Angeles-based Ideal Entertainment Inc. for the motion- picture, television and merchandising rights to the top-selling Sega video game ``VectorMan.''

Ideal Entertainment will initially produce a computer-animated sci-fi/action film for theatrical release in late '97 in association with Tribaltek, a team of acclaimed digital-effects producers on the current blockbuster hit ``Independence Day'' who are overseeing the

Toy Story''-like 3-D rendering of characters and environments based on the popular Sega Genesis video game.

We're excited that Ideal and the digital wizards from `Independence Day' are taking `VectorMan' from the Genesis to the silver screen and beyond,'' Shinobu Toyoda, general manager of licensing for Sega of America, said. `` `VectorMan's' characters, story line and visual imagery are the perfect foundation for an action-packed entertainment franchise.''

The colorful interactive PICO School Bus, which travels the roads of America each year, will stop and visit the Carnegie Science Center and Three Rivers Regatta/Point State Park. Shuttling loads of award-winning PICO systems and new storyware, the roving edutainment center showcases creative high-tech approaches to teaching 3-7 year olds how to count, spell, solve problems, match and use hand-eye coordination skills.

Sega of America offers families in Pittsburgh a hands-on look at PICO, their highly acclaimed learning edutainment system for children. Up to 14 PICO Interactives will be displayed around the colorful PICO bus, featuring fun storyware such as Disney's "101 Dalmatians," "Smart Alex and Smart Alice" and Sonic the Hedgehog's first Pico appearance in "Sonic's Game World" plus costumed Pico characters.

July 21, 1996

According to the latest issue of Saturn Fan, the Japanese release date for Street Fighter Zero 2 is August 26th. Also mentioned was that Capcom's first game to make use of the 8 megabit memory cart by SNK, will be Marvel Super Heroes.
from Michael Lit

July 18, 1996

Decathlete arrived in stores, yesterday, July 17, 1996. (correction: earlier I today I had World Series Baseball listed as a release for the Saturn, but that was actually for the Genesis, sorry).

July 16, 1996

Sega of America Inc. Monday announced that Shoichiro Irimajiri has been appointed chairman and chief executive officer.

In addition, Sega announced that Bernard Stolar, previously of Sony Computer Entertainment America, has joined the company as executive vice president, responsible for product development and third-party business. Stolar will also sit on the board of directors of SOA.

These appointments complete SOA's seasoned executive management team, which with Irimajiri at the head, is responsible for Sega's business in North America.

In addition to Irimajiri and Stolar, the executive management team includes recently promoted Ted Hoff, executive vice president, sales and marketing, Katsufumi Miyazawa, chief financial officer, and Makoto Kaneshiro, vice president, business planning and operations.

As chief executive officer, Irimajiri replaces Tom Kalinske, formerly president and chief executive officer, who has announced he is leaving Sega after six years to join Education Technology LLC. Kalinske will remain at Sega until Sept. 30, 1996, and will remain a member of SOA's board of directors.

Sega also announced that Hayao Nakayama and David Rosen have resigned as chairman and co-chairman of Sega of America, respectively. Nakayama, Sega Enterprises Ltd.'s president and chief executive officer, remains as chairman of the board of directors for Sega Holdings USA Inc. Rosen retains his directorship in Sega Enterprises and Sega Holdings.

Irimajiri, who retains his position as representative director and executive vice president of Sega Enterprises, Sega of America's parent company, has been actively involved in the company's North American business since he joined Sega in 1993.

"We are sorry to see Tom leave Sega, but he has left us in a strong position in the marketplace," said Irimajiri. "I am excited to be taking a more active role at Sega of America now. We're looking forward to an extremely favorable holiday season."

Prior to joining Sega Enterprises, Irimajiri served almost 30 years at Honda Motor Corp.; serving more than four years as president and chief executive officer of Honda of America, where he led the way for Japanese car makers into U.S. manufacturing.

Stolar, with more than 18 years of industry experience, joins Sega from Sony Computer Entertainment America, where he served as executive vice president and was one of the key executives responsible for the launch of the Sony Playstation videogame system.

In addition to his position at Sega of America, Stolar will also serve as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Sega Entertainment Inc., the joint-venture company of Sega of America and SOFTBANK Holdings Inc., formed to develop PC CD-ROM software based on Sega properties.

In a related move, Sega announced that Shinobu Toyoda will devote more time to Sega Entertainment in his capacity as president and chief executive officer in order to help grow the PC business. Toyoda will serve as executive advisor to the chairman and general manager of licensing for Sega of America.

Sega also announced that Ted Hoff has been promoted to executive vice president of sales and marketing for Sega of America. Hoff had held the titles of senior vice president of sales and marketing since joining the company in March 1996.

Sega of America is the arm of Tokyo-based Sega Enterprises Ltd. responsible for the development, marketing and distribution of Sega videogames in the Americas. Sega Enterprises is a nearly $3.6 billion company recognized as the industry leader in interactive digital entertainment media, and is the only company that offers interactive entertainment experiences both inside and outside the home.

Rumors of Enix joining the Saturn camp have a long history. Most recently, Enix has claimed that they'd consider supporting any system that has sold 3,000,000 units in Japan, a mark Sega is within a few hundred thousand of reaching. Insiders have also theorized that Sega's sudden decision to forbid porn titles from being released on the Saturn (after opening the doors to them less than six months earlier) was part of a deal to lure Enix over.

Now, the deal seems finally to have happened. The 7/26 issue of Saturn Magazine includes a carefully worded statement on the topic. They claim that a "certain E company" (and I don't think they're talking about Electrobrain), is expected to announce the newest sequel to a "certain famous title," which will reportedly be released this summer. Speculation is centering around a new Actraiser title.

Furthermore, they suggest another rumor, that a very familiar "E company" RPG series may appear on the Saturn. This could be a new game in Quintet's Soulblazer/Illusion of Gaia/Tenchi Sozo series, or Produce's Elnard [7th Saga]/Mystic Ark series, but speculation is, of course, currently centering on Dragon Quest. The first and possibly the second title will be announced in the next issue of Saturn Magazine, due out in less than 2 weeks.
from GF Online

-Sega Entertainment Inc., a leading publisher of arcade-style software for the PC, and Compaq Computer Corporation today announced a multilevel partnership that will bring stunning arcade- quality 3D game titles to Compaq home personal computers. This marks the first partnership between world leaders in the gaming, entertainment and home computing industries.

July 15, 1996

No official word has come from Sega yet, although an announcement is expected by the end of today. We understand that Kalinske will be moving to a separate company called Educational Systems. An internal promotion will fill the gap left by Kalinske.

Meanwhile, Bernie Stoller has been poached from Sony to oversee Sega Entertainment and Sega of America's in-house software development. His appointment is being seen as a major coup within the company. A source at Sega commented: "We've been courting him for a long time and we feel that it's payback for all the people Sony took from us."

Sega is not returning phone calls today, although an official announcement is expected later.

Kalinske took Sega of America from humble beginnings as an also-ran manufacturer of 8-bit consoles to a serious challenger to Nintendo's market-leadership. Recently, Sega's star has seemed wane. Despite some notable successes, the Saturn has struggled against Sony's PlayStation.
from NG Online

July 13, 1996

Executives from Sega of Japan are looking to revamp the management team in preparation for the peak selling season. An announcement is due some time next week, which will probably include details of greater control from Japan, as well as the personnel moves. We also understand that Bernie Stollar, a senior vice president at Sony Computer Entertainment America whose responsibilities include product development and evaluation will be joining the Sega team in some capacity.
from NG Online

July 12, 1996

The Japanese release date for Fighting Vipers has been announced, and it is much earlier than many expected. Fighting Vipers should be released on August 30th in Japan. The US release should be in October.

July 10, 1996

General Instrument Corporation the worldwide leader in wireless digital technology, will display its locally-originated, wireless Sega Channel Delivery System at the WCA Show in Denver, CO, July 10-12. The Sega Channel System is a complete headend-to-home solution that delivers 24-hour-a-day Sega game action to subscribers' homes.

GI's Sega Channel System offers subscribers a menu of at least 50 different Sega games each month, including the latest sports, racing, arcade and family-oriented titles. Plus the system also allows subscribers to preview the newest, unreleased titles prior to purchasing them.

To access the games, subscribers insert GI's latest-generation Sega Game Adapter into their Sega Genesis machines. The adapter displays on- screen tips while subscribers download a game. The adapter also offers built-in parental control features.

GI's Sega Channel System, which was demonstrated and tested on various wireless systems throughout 1996, uses a narrow-band transmission architecture. This architecture offers wireless operators the flexibility to place the system's five 1.2 MHz wide data carriers in many areas within their wireless bandwidth spectrum. And since GI's Sega Game Adapters use wideband tuners covering 48 to 860 MHz, operators can change the placement of these carriers at any time to accommodate new products and services.

July 9, 1996

A memory upgrade was recently announced for the Saturn in Japan. This 8 megabit cart (augmenting the Saturn's internal RAM from 4 to 5 megabytes) will be released on August 23 for 8800 yen and include a copy of Real Bout Fatal Fury. While this SNK title will be the first game to use the Saturn's new RAM upgrade, many more are planned. Confirmed titles in the works include King of Fighters '96 and Samurai Showdown 3, but Capcom is said to be interested in using this new cart for their future Saturn ports.
from GF Online

July 8, 1996

Alias|Wavefront and Sega Enterprises, Ltd. today announced the selection of Alias|Wavefront as an authorized Sega Saturn application software tools provider. With the Alias|Wavefront tools, Sega Saturn game designers will be able to improve the integration between the content creation process and the Sega Saturn game development environment.

As part of the agreement, Alias|Wavefront has developed data translators to export digital assets directly from PowerAnimator 3D software to the Sega Saturn CartDev system. With Alias|Wavefront's support of the CartDev device, game designers can now preview content developed on a Silicon Graphics workstation in PowerAnimator on the same desktop with full Sega Saturn emulation capabilities. The iterative feedback loop between content creation and digital asset preview for the Sega Saturn will significantly streamline the workflow of the game designer allowing for more time in the creative development process.

The Alias|Wavefront translator software supports exportation of geometry, material and texture information as well as SGL compatible source code for execution on the Sega Saturn. Camera viewpoint manipulation and object rotations can be used to inspect digital content from multiple viewpoints.

Sega of America will distribute the translator software to authorized Sega Saturn developers on the next Sega Developer Technical Support CD-ROM, which is scheduled for release in Summer 1996. The translator software will also be available for download from the Sega Developer Technical Support web site to registered Sega Saturn developers at www.dts.sega.com.

July 3, 1996

Galaxy Fight should start arriving in stores today, July 3, 1996. If it hasn't already arrived, NHL Powerplay '96 should be in stores today, as well.

July 2, 1996

Virtua Fighter 3 has started playtesting in a Japanese arcade. Some things of note include: A fourth button has been added. It is a dodge button that allows you to dodge an attact at the last moment. And the two player colors are not just different colored outfits, but entirely different outfits.
from GF online and NG online

Vectorman 3 is being developed for the Sega Saturn by Blue Sky. Vectorman 1 and 2 were action platformers released for the 16-bit Sega Genesis.
from NG Online

NHL Powerplay 'secretly' arrived in stores today, July 2nd for the Sega Saturn.
info from Hayden, who picked up a copy from EB

July 1, 1996

Nights was released late last week in Japan. Most importers should have received their copies today, Monday July 1, 1996. (I will receive my copy tomorrow :^) )