Disney created Crazy Taxi: Jon Snoddy interview reveals Disney x Sega collab which became DisneyQuest, GameWorks

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Sega Retro interviewer Ashley Rojas has published an in-depth interview with Jon Snoddy, the former Walt Disney Imagineering designer and founding creative force behind GameWorks. The interview follows Snoddy from his start at Lucasfilm in 1984, where he helped launch THX and bring Captain EO to the Disney parks, through his time at Imagineering, where he did the original concept and ride system for Indiana Jones Adventure and founded the Disney VR Studio in 1992. Snoddy recounts the “Sega Project,” Hayao Nakayama’s failed attempt to bring Joypolis-style venues to America with Disney, and reveals that the brainstorm behind it produced the idea that became Crazy Taxi. He explains how Disney’s decision to go it alone led to DisneyQuest, how Nakayama and Jeffrey Katzenberg both independently chose him to lead what became GameWorks, and touches on the sustainability of GameWorks at large. The interview goes on to cover his 20 trips to Sega in Japan, the 1996 tour with Steven Spielberg, a Disney partnership with Nintendo that never happened, and his return to Imagineering to lead its research and development group through to the modern era.

Read the interview on Sega Retro

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Secrets of Sonic X-treme: New 10 hour interview with SEGA producer Mike Wallis

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Sega Retro interviewer Ashley Rojas has published a 10-hour, four-part interview with Mike Wallis, the Sega Technical Institute producer behind Comix Zone, The Ooze, Sonic X-treme, and Sonic 3D Blast. The interview follows Wallis from his start as a high school hints hotline operator at Electronic Arts in 1987, through his time at The 3DO Company, to his arrival at STI in November 1994. Wallis gives a rare first-hand look at STI’s day-to-day culture and structure, weighs in on the long-running debate over whether the X-treme team received the NiGHTS development tools, recounts the presentation to Shoichiro Irimajiri that ended Point of View’s involvement, and explains how he produced Sonic 3D Blast across three continents in about five months. The interview goes on to cover STI’s transition into Sega of America Product Development, his work on Decathlete and NBA Action ‘98, and his departure from Sega in 1998, before following his later career on EVE Online, The Lord of the Rings Online, Blizzard’s Battle.net, PlayStation Studios, and Epic Games.

Read the interview on Sega Retro

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SEGA Talk #196: Condemned 2: Bloodshot (2008)

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On this episode, we celebrate the spooky season by returning to the world of Condemned with a sequel that will leave your eyes bloodshot! Why did they recast the lead voice actor? How did Monolith Productions address fan feedback? And why is the game banned in Germany!? Find out on a bare knuckle episode of SEGA Talk!

[iTunes – Stitcher – YouTube – Download]

Support us on Patreon! Get early access, have your memories read on the show, select the games we talk about!

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Retro-Bit opens pre-orders for Twinkle Tale Collector’s Cartridge for Genesis/Mega-Drive; pre-orders open now until December 20th, 2026

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Once again, Retro-Bit found a classic cult Mega-Drive shooter only released in Japan, made by an obscure, long defunct studio, and decided they had to rectify that for us westerners.

Twinkle Tale is now the latest game they’ve set their sights on. Pre-orders for a fully decked out cartridge of this newly translated Genesis/Mega-Drive shmup classic from Japan have already begun at the usual online retailers. The pre-order period runs from today until December 20th, 2026. Retro-Bit has given you a little more time than usual to get your pre-orders in, but don’t put it off for too long if you want one. Like many of Retro-Bit’s re-released games, original copies of this game are ultra expensive, so this is your best bet to obtain an official, professionally constructed physical copy if you don’t already own an original copy.

Wanna find out more? Go ahead and check out what this game’s all about right below the break.

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Sonic Retrospective: Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik’s Teeth

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Yesterday over on Instagram, the unused opening cinematic for Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood began to circulate, showcasing how the cinematic would have appeared running on a Nintendo DS. The cinematic is actually not a new discovery, as the video of the full unused intro released back in December 2021. All that said, this article was really just an excuse to post the unused intro but since it isn’t news, I thought instead I’d take a quick look back at Doctor Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik’s teeth!

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Melodies Zone and fan composer KB release Sonic The Fighters: Redux cover album digitally and on CD

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Did you know that Sonic the Fighters turned 30 years old this year? Melodies Zone and composer Kamikaze Bitch (Henceforth KB) decided to celebrate the occasion with the release of a whole album covering the game’s entire soundtrack.

Sonic the Fighters was one of Sonic the Hedgehog’s very few arcade games and one of only two fighting games starring our favorite hedgehog (Not counting the Super Smash Bros. series). It was designed by the team at Sega AM2 that worked on Fighting Vipers and is very similar to that game, but with a very different kind of upbeat soundtrack originally composed by Maki Morrow and Takenobu Mitsuyoshi. Now, all 24 of the game’s songs were recently remixed by the talented EDM composer KB and compiled into a whole album now available to stream or purchase called Sonic the Fighters: Redux. As of this writing, there are even physical CDs you can buy if you’re one of the cool kids who collects those today.

The whole album maintains the entire upbeat, cartoonish nature of the game and its soundtrack, with an eclectic variety of instrumentation. As a love letter to Sonic the Fighters, it should please any fan of that game’s music and make clear what a fan KB himself is of the game (As well as a different fighting game series from Sega AM2, which you may be able to guess from the album art.) If you wanna hear this treat to the ears, gather all 8 Chaos Emeralds and take the one-seater rocket past the break to read more.

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SONIC WEEKLY: Not Whole w/ ALTSYNTH

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On the haunted 13th episode of season six, Altsynth returns to offer a unique perspective on the 1993 cartoon “Sonic the Hedgehog” also known as SatAM. Do you like our pun episode title?

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FiGGYZ Announces Jet Set Radio – The GG’s Box Set

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FiGGYZ has unveiled the Jet Set Radio – The GG’s Box Set, a new collectible set featuring three pixel-art versions of iconic characters Beat, Combo, and Gum.

The box set includes three FiGGYZ figures with display bases and wall mounts, three reversible backplates, and three exclusive holographic plates. Also included is a numbered commemorative coin with its own display stand. The box, holographic plates, and commemorative coin will all feature matching edition numbers.

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Nagoshi Studio has officially shut down, GANG OF DRAGON likely to never release

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Nagoshi Studio, the Tokyo-based developer founded by Yakuza and Monkey Ball series creator Toshihiro Nagoshi, has officially been dissolved. According to a notice published in Japan’s government gazette Kanpo on November 2, the studio was dissolved through a shareholders’ resolution on October 31. Founded in November 2021 under NetEase Games, Nagoshi Studio was established by Nagoshi following his departure from SEGA. The studio announced its debut project, GANG OF DRAGON, in December 2025. The Kabukicho-set action adventure stars Korean actor Ma Dong-seok (Don Lee) and was announced for PC.

However, the studio’s future came into question earlier this year. In March 2026, Bloomberg reported that NetEase planned to withdraw its funding in May, potentially giving Nagoshi the option to take the studio independent if it could secure the necessary financing. In April, we reported that the studio quietly deleted game trailers from their YouTube channel. With the studio now officially dissolved, the future of GANG OF DRAGON remains uncertain. It is likely the game will never see the light of day.

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Under the microscope: Ecco Jr.

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All of the mainline Ecco the Dolphin games have some sort of debug functionality hidden behind cheat codes. Codes for the Genesis games have been known for decades, and the codes for the PC and Dreamcast games were discovered more recently.

But what about Ecco Jr., the 1995 Genesis game aimed at younger kids that was published under the Sega Club label? Does it have a debug cheat?

Yes – I’ve rescued it from the tides of time. Details on how it works are below!

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SEGA Talk #195: Sega Superstars (2004)

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Ditch the controller and wave your arms around, because today on SEGA Talk, we’re stepping in front of the camera for Sega Superstars on PS2! From flailing in Sonic to shaking maracas in Samba de Amigo, we’re breaking down how Sonic Team turned Sony’s Eye Toy into arcade magic. Let’s jump right in!

[iTunes – Stitcher – YouTube – Download]

Support us on Patreon! Get early access, have your memories read on the show, select the games we talk about!

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VIRTUA FIGHTER CROSSROADS Reveals New Character Lionel Rafale in Latest Trailer

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Today, SEGA released the latest trailer for VIRTUA FIGHTER CROSSROADS featuring a new story character. Lionel Rafale is a mysterious young martial artist who has arrived in the city of Vilasapara. As a highly skilled fighter capable of outclassing Cielo in a street fight, he is a force to be reckoned with. But what is his true reason for coming to this city?‌

VIRTUA FIGHTER CROSSROADS is an all-new installment in the iconic fighting game series that delivers a bold action-adventure experience that blends a cinematic narrative with the pure, realistic combat the franchise is known for.

Check out screenshots of Lionel Rafale in VIRTUA FIGHTER CROSSROADS in the next section of the article!

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The House of the Dead Comes to VR with House of the Dead: Reawakened; Playable at IAAPA Expo in November!

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Nearly thirty years after first haunting arcades, one of horror gaming’s biggest names is reawakening! With just three days to go until Halloween comes the most ambitious build yet: House of the Dead Reawakened.

This two-player, attendant-free horror attraction brings the terror to life in a chilling, theme park-inspired manor cabinet. The cabinet sets the atmosphere and becomes an irresistible draw. Modelled on the game’s own manor, it pairs two 43” vertical displays—the manor’s side windows—with an 85” display as the main entrance. At first, all you see is shuttered windows and a locked front door. Then the windows blow open, the door bursts wide, and onlookers get a glimpse of the horrors waiting inside.

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