With the release of The House of the Dead: Overkill just around the corner, Sega has announced that a Collector’s Edition for the game will be released in the PAL territories.

The Collector’s Edition will be encased in an exclusive collector’s slipcase and will include an exclusive graphic novel titled “Prelude to an Overkill.” This specially commissioned comic will only be available in the Collector’s Edition and through selected retailers as a pre-order bonus.

“Prelude to an Overkill” takes a closer look at the stories of Agent Washington and Varla Gunns on the night before the events of the game.

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After the latest Football Manager title stomped the UK charts on its launch week, managing a No. 3 placing on debut, it can safely be said that the 2009 edition has proven popular with the fans.

If you haven’t got it yet and you’re wondering what it’s all about, you can watch the launch trailer below to get a slice of the glamorous life football team managers must endure as part of their job.

Football Manager 2009 is now available on PC.

From screenshots and videos of MadWorld, we can determine that it will be one of the most violent games ever released, and certainly the most gruesome on the Wii, its exclusive platform. Now, following controversy over the violence, Sega has announced that they are actively working with the ratings boards to ensure MadWorld will get the appropriate rating on its release.

A marketing representative for Sega, David Corless said: “Yes, it’s violent. We don’t try to hide that, but as publishers, we see it as a fantasy game - it’s fantasy violence. It’s over the top. It’s cartoony. We also take the violence very seriously. We are working with the age rating boards, with PEGI and with BBFC. We’re not at the end of the game’s development, but we’re working with them now to make sure that we don’t go over the top.”

While Sega are publishing the game in development at Platinum Games, they also worked with the ratings boards on another of their published games, Condemned 2, and that turned out pretty grisly. Nothing to worry about, then?

Sega’s Samba de Amigo will arrive on European shelves on the 19th of September and a few days later across North America on the 23rd of September.

Sega also revealed the full track-list for the game, including over 40 songs, 21 from the original game and 20 new tracks. In addition Samba de Amigo will be the first Wii rhythm game to offer downloadable content. The first track pack will launch on the 23rd of September and will include three songs: Lou Bega’s “Mambo No. 5,” “I want Candy” by Bow Wow Wow and Jet’s “Are you going to be my Girl.”

Gearbox is in charge of development of the remake of the popular Dreamcast classic Samba de Amigo. Get ready to shake the Wii Remote and Nunchuck like maracas in time to the visual beats of samba tunes on-screen as the sombrero-topped monkey Amigo.

Pricing for the game and DLC is sure to be announced soon. Check out the full track- listing below.

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Yesterday at Leipzig, Sega took the wraps off The House of the Dead: OVERKILL, a new “pulp-horror reinvention of the classic SEGA light-gun shooter franchise.”

Created by Headstrong Games, The House of the Dead: OVERKILL promises to be “jam-packed with arcade style shooting, over-the-top gore and a whole lot of zombies!” The game is a prequel to previous House of the Dead titles so will take gamers back to the beginning of this series and uncover the secrets behind the House of the Dead when it is released exclusively on the Wii in early 2009.

According to Sega, the game will get a new retro look taking audiences back to horror movies from the 70’s and 80’s. It will feature “distinctive graphics, sound and attitude that will add to its horror status” but will also stay true to its original game play. Special Agent G (fresh out of the academy) and Detective Washington team up to investigate a series of mysterious disappearances in Bayou City, Louisiana – unaware that zombies await them in the streets and swamps.

Use the Wii Remote to fight off zombies, whether that be hand-to-hand combat or using the trusty shotgun. Players will be able to use “Slow-Mofo Time” to get in the perfect head-shot ot “Evil Eye” to send environments up in flames. The game will also feature a co-op mode where two players can take on the zombies together.

If you are a House of the Dead fan you won’t want to miss the debut trailer, but if you have a nervous disposition you might want to give this one a skip!

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It seems some community fellows over at Sega of America headquarters have discovered a wondrous place, filled with historic delight, that no-one bothered to tell them about. After Sega moved office buildings, their community team went on a walk-about and came upon a strange and most holy room, containing basically every Sega game ever released on a Sega console, as well as “a ton of extremely rare or strange peripherals.”

The story of how ‘The Room’ came to be is unknown, as one of the community people, Clumsyorchid, explained: “We asked around about how the room came together and couldn’t get a straight answer. Some had said our old legal department had run the archive and given it up to someone else to manage. Others said that the legal archive still exists in another room in the office, and this was pulled together over time from producers and product managers. We don’t know the exact how or why, but we love that it exists and immediately accessible.”

You can go to their community blog for a lot more pics and anecdotes.

Thanks Kotaku!

The popular Dreamcast classic Samba De Amigo will be hitting shelves on the 23rd of September.

Developed by Gearbox, Samba De Amigo is a rhythm music game that sees players shaking the Wii Remote and Nunchuck like maracas in time to the visual beats of samba tunes on-screen as the sombrero-topped monkey Amigo. The game features over 40 tracks from the original game as well as new pop favourites and the chance to download new songs.

Two players can step up to the challenge in competitive and co-op multiplayer modes, with players using either the Wii Remote and a Nunchuk or two Wii Remotes. The game also includes career, single player, training and record modes as well as Quick Play, Classic, Battle, Survival, Hustle and Mini-games. Players will also be able to compare scores thanks to global leaderboards.

Screens follow.

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In the financials, Sega Sammy revealed a net loss of $95 million for their first financial quarter of 2009, from $47 million for the same period last year.

Making up some of the numbers, their Pachinko division reported an operating loss of $39 million on net sales of $683 million, down from $873 million last year, while the video games division reported an operating loss of $37.8 million on net sales of $270 million, up from $140 million last year.

Game unit sales were just under 7 million units, comprising 3.2 million in the US, 2.9 million in Europe and 830 000 in Japan. These included 890 000 units from six Xbox 360 titles as well as nine Nintendo DS titles selling a combined 850 000 units. Strong performers for this period include Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk and Mario and Sonic at the Olympics.

Sega has announced Sonic and the Black Knight will be arriving exclusively on the Wii in spring 2009.

Earlier reports of Sonic adorning the cover of the latest Nintendo Power magazine hinted at the existence of the game.

Sonic and the Black Knight will be part of the storybook series of games that began with Sonic and the Secret Rings. Created by Sonic Team in Japan, the game will make use of the Wii Remote and Nunchuk and promises to bring a “new twist to Sonic game play by combining Sonic’s legendary speed with frenetic swordplay action.”

Set in a medieval world, the game sees Sonic armed with a sword as he embarks on a series of missions to become a knight and save the day.

“After the success of Sonic and the Secret Rings we’re delighted to announce a second title in the Storybook Series,” said Gary Knight, European Marketing Director, SEGA Europe, “Following Sonic on his way to knighthood will excite players of all ages.”

As the dust settles on another week of E3, some people aren’t too impressed with its new format.

John Riccitiello, EA CEO, said “I hate E3 like this… Either we need to go back to the old E3, or we’ll have to have our own private events.” Ubisoft’s North American president, Laurent Detoc, didn’t have any kinder words, saying “E3 this year is terrible…The world used to come to E3. Now it’s like a pipe-fitters show in the basement.”

Sega of America president Simon Jeffrey agreed with the sentiment that “more flash” is needed, but he does not want to return to spending $5 million on a once-off event every year.

While E3 of the past brought in over 60 000 attendees, publishers began to complain about the cost involved each year for a very little perceivable return, resulting in a downsizing of the event and an estimated 5000 attendees this year. Entertainment Software Association (ESA) president, Mike Gallagher, is open to another change in scale saying, “We just need to decide where the dial needs to go.”

Source: Gamasutra

The latest Nintendo Power magazine has revealed that Sonic may be setting out on a new adventure on the Wii soon.

The cover of this month’s magazine shows Sonic wielding a sword with the words “Sonic & the Black Knight” emblazoned in the bottom left corner. According to Nintendo Power the game will be a Wii exclusive.

Stick around for official confirmation from Sega.

While the original Golden Axe is still held in high regard, this new game, Golden Axe: Beast Rider, has a lot to prove. While it doesn’t feature the co-operative combat that made the original so great, Beast Rider is going to try to win players over with its brutal melee combat.

You play as Tyris Flare, a half-Gladiator/half-Barbarian in a story taking place before the original. You’ll get to ‘savage’ enemy beasts either on foot or while riding ‘massive mythical beasts’ - hence the name - while also having access to a range of magical weapons and spells.

Golden Axe: Beast Rider is expected on PS3 and Xbox 360 later this year, from Secret Level and Sega.

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A PC-only game to get excited about! From the mind of Chris Taylor, responsible for games such as Total Annihilation, Dungeon Siege and Supreme Commander comes a new game, Space Siege.

After earth is attacked, citizens need to evacuate the planet…only one evacuation ship, The Armstrong, makes it out intact. As character Seth Walker you struggle with a decision - how much of your humanity do you sacrifice in order to protect what little humanity remains. As you are able to upgrade your own flesh and bone to cybernetic and robotic implants, players will progressively lose their grip on what it is that makes them human, or fight on trying to retain their humanity.

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Sega has announced that The Creative Assembly (known for the Total War series) is developing Stormrise, a new console real time strategy game. Stormrise is being built specifically for the Xbox 360 and PS3 at The Creative Assembly’s Australian studio and is expected to be released in 2009.

Instead of controlling troops from a detached point of view, Stormrise enables players to lead their troops from the frontline of the battlefield. Using an element of “verticality,” players will be able to command units in the air, across rooftops, on the earth’s surface and even underground, all using an effective control system including easy unit selection, rapid navigation and precise deployment.

The game is set on a barren earth, destroyed by an ancient war, and sees the Echelon and Sai battling to survive. The Echelon have survived using technology while the Sai have adapted to the environment but now the difference between the two factions threatens the earth’s existence.

“The Creative Assembly have proven their general leadership in developing RTS games through the award winning ‘Total War’ series on PC”, commented Gary Knight, European Marketing Director, SEGA Europe.

“However, Stormrise has been built from the ground up specifically for high def consoles to provide a more intense, frenetic style of game that, coupled with the all new control mechanic, will revolutionise the way RTS games are played.”

If you are a Samba de Amigo fan, make sure you don’t miss the latest cinematic trailer which MTV scored as an exclusive.

Although there is no game play in the trailer you get an idea of which friends will be joining Samba and the music is really catchy too.

Last year Sega announced that it would be bringing the popular Dreamcast classic Samba de Amigo to the Wii. Get ready to shake the Wii Remote and Nunchuck like maracas in time to the visual beats of samba tunes on-screen as the sombrero-topped monkey Amigo.

Developed by Gearbox Software, Samba de Amigo will be available exclusively for the Wii this spring.

Head over to our previous coverage for another trailer.