Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. Guides

Where are Sega’s games? Phantasy Star Online 2, Yakuza 5, and Anarchy Reigns all absent from Sega’ E3 line up

By
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Sega is bringing a modest selection of wares to show off at E3. Aliens: Colonial Marines will have a proper showing for the second year in a row. Jet Set Radio HD will make it feel like it’s the year 2000 again. The Cave will be on hand, giving old school adventure fans a fresh taste of Ron Gilbert and Tim Schafer for the first time in an age. What’s an E3 without a sequel? Sega’s got Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz, Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown, and even a quirky original, Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit. A pretty muted affair all told.

They’re all right there on Sega’s official blog. Keen minded folk might be wondering though: Where the hell are the rest of Sega’s games?

Recommended Videos

The first significant absence of note is Phantasy Star Online 2. The sequel to the Dreamcast’s trailblazing online role-playing game is due out in Japan this winter on PCs as well as iOS and Android handhelds with a PlayStation Vita release expected in early 2013. An open beta is scheduled for this summer, and since Sega has released English patches in tests before, a Western release is expected as well. Why wouldn’t the company want to lay the groundwork at the biggest trade show in the U.S.?

Then there’s Yakuza 5. The company recommitted to the series in the U.S. in the past few years with successful localizations of Yakuza 3 and Yakuza 4. Sega announced the first details about Yakuza 5, due out in Japan in December, on May 23. The game will use a new engine, feature five playable characters, and explore a swatch of new environments. Given the small but steady sales of the series in the U.S., it’s peculiar that a title that would finally see the west receiving new series entries in the same window as Japan is absent.

Finally, there’s Anarchy Reigns. We learned last Friday that Sega was delaying the release of the game in the U.S. from its original Jul. 4 date to an unspecified point in the future. Reigns creator Platinum Studios said at the same time that the game is complete and ready to ship around the world with no additional localization necessary. While Anarchy Reigns made its playable debut at last year’s summer press events, the finished product is mysteriously absent from Sega’s E3 line up.

We ask again, Sega: Where the hell are your games?

Editors’ Recommendations

Anthony John Agnello
Anthony John Agnello
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Anthony John Agnello is a writer living in New York. He works as the Community Manager of Joystiq.com and his writing has…
You Asked: What’s the most impressive thing you saw at CES?
You Asked CES Editors Cut

On today’s special edition of You Asked, we tracked down each of our editors and put them on the spot to find out what they thought was the most impressive thing they saw at CES 2025 in Early January. Let’s find out what they had to say.
Panasonic Z95B

There’s been some really cool TV tech at CES, but the thing I’m most excited about is the new Panasonic Z95B. Instead of the regular OLED display structure we’ve seen in recent years with MLA technology, this uses a four-layer panel structure. It features individual red, green, and blue layers (two of the latter) for the emissive light.

Read more
3 game studios are closing their doors, including the developer of Godfall
Godfall player in combat.

We're barely into 2025, and the gaming industry has already delivered bad news: Three studios are shutting their doors, resulting in dozens of layoffs. Two of the three studios are subsidiaries of Enad Global 7, and the company said, "This decision does not come lightly and follows several initiatives to turn the subsidiary profitable."

The first studio to close is Toadman Interactive, best known for Immortal: Unchained and Bloodsports TV. While not the direct developer, the studio offered support during the development of The Lord of the Rings Online and MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries. According to Enad Global 7, the closing affects everyone not under contract, and existing employment contracts will be honored. Adding salt to the wound is the news that 38 developers from Piranha Games are also going to be laid off following the subpar performance of MechWarrior 5: Clans.

Read more
Hyper Light Breaker is starting early access on the right foot
A group of Breakers in Hyper Light Breaker.

Hyper Light Breaker finally enters early access later this week, and the future is already looking bright for it. Ahead of its January 14 release, I played Heart Machine's new co-op game with its developers and saw its game loop in action. The bones of a fantastic action-roguelike are here, setting the stage for a true Risk of Rain 2 rival. I could see it becoming the next roguelike I lose dozens of hours to as I'm already eager to do just one more run.

I see room for Hyper Light Breaker to grow too as Heart Machine continues to balance and polish it in early access by adding more gear and variety in its open world. I’m already comfortable recommending Hyper Light Breaker as it enters early access, and I can’t wait to see where it ends up a year from now as we approach its 1.0 release.

Read more