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Samba de Amigo officially official

Sega salsas with Gearbox to revive acclaimed Dreamcast rhythm game for Nintendo's console next spring.

Sombreros, monkeys, and maracas are a recipe for success any day of the week. Inclined to agree, Sega today officially revealed that it would be reviving the Dreamcast classic Samba de Amigo with a Wii version of the game, aptly titled Samba de Amigo. The decidedly Japanese take on Latin culture is slated to shake its way exclusively to the Wii in spring 2008.

What a happy little monkey.

What a happy little monkey.

Speculation over whether Sega's musically inclined monkey would hit Nintendo's latest console took off after a blurb for the game appeared in the final in-house published issue of Nintendo Power several weeks ago. Sega finally officially confirmed today that the Wii Remote and Nunchuk would replace the at-the-time outrageously priced maracas that were necessary to take full advantage of the original game.

Sega also confirmed that it would be reviving some of the more popular songs from the original game as well as adding in a number of new samba-infused tunes. Gameplay will be much like the original, where players keep a beat to the music by shaking the Wii Remote and Nunchuk in time with onscreen indicators.

In a radical departure from its previous offerings, Gearbox Software will be developing Samba de Amigo. It's the first rhythm game for the Texas-based studio, which is best known for first-person shooters such as the Brothers in Arms series. It's also the second game Gearbox and Sega are collaborating on, with the pair developing a sci-fi FPS based on the film Aliens. Other upcoming Gearbox games include the recently delayed Brothers in Arms Hells Highway for Ubisoft and the sci-fi shooter/RPG hybrid Borderlands for 2K Games.

54 Comments

  • thestickman

    Posted Oct 28, 2007 8:16 pm GMT

    This is such great news. I never got to try Samba de Amigo when I owned my Dreamcast as a result of, as listed above, the outrageous prices that it goes for nowadays, and I never knew much about it when the Dreamcast was first released so I never got a chance to try it then. Definitely a great move for Sega to revive it on the Wii, since the Wiimote and Nunchuk pretty much take care of the maracas. Can't wait to try it out this time around

  • playstation_wii

    Posted Oct 28, 2007 1:40 pm GMT

    Oh how I love the DreamCast.

  • Sonicgod

    Posted Oct 28, 2007 8:09 am GMT

    SEga has to include a Wii attachment that makes the wii remote look like a maracas set and there has to be beans in the attachment so they make maraca noise while shaking.

    I have a dreamcast maracas set with beans in them they are better than my red sega maracas set.

  • Strike_Zer0

    Posted Oct 26, 2007 6:36 pm GMT

    Seems like a perfect fit for the Wii. Should be fun.

  • MasterChief725

    Posted Oct 26, 2007 5:04 pm GMT

    MEXICAN MONKEY! YAY!

  • WIERD-O

    Posted Oct 26, 2007 12:52 pm GMT

    Well, this seems interesting...This game should be a fun one, especially since I've been having an odd music obsession recently.

  • sieg6529

    Posted Oct 26, 2007 10:29 am GMT

    Great, this should go great with the Wiimote. Plus, I could never find a decently-priced DC copy.

  • gir42

    Posted Oct 26, 2007 9:28 am GMT

    Man i Hope they bring back Take on Me that was my favorite song from the original game. Hooray for the Ska!

  • GrimBee

    Posted Oct 26, 2007 9:06 am GMT

    Maybe they will release maraca shells to put over the wii remotes! That would be very cool.

  • bardkieran

    Posted Oct 26, 2007 7:43 am GMT

    cool stuff. I love multiplayer music games. as a musician, my non music friends often wish to learn to play an instrument, or just pretend they can.. music games like guitar hero, donkey conga, and samba de amigo allow me to "jam out" with my non-music friends, especially over a few beers too. I'll check this one out, never heard of it before

  • Mattyrock

    Posted Oct 26, 2007 1:44 am GMT

    They gotta get a Sega Dreamcast category on the Virtual Console or at least the Xbox Live Arcade Store...

    That'd be awesome...

  • kavadias1981

    Posted Oct 26, 2007 1:26 am GMT

    Wow, lots of Sega franchises coming out on Wii. Please Shenmue 3 (crosses fingers, clenches butt cheeks)

  • PixyMisao

    Posted Oct 26, 2007 1:19 am GMT

    Not a fan of the game, but always glad to see that a well liked game getting a second chance. Especially here, they can sell the game for much less than the Maracas package since they're using the Wii remote & nunchuk. Sega would be a fool to sell it for $50 though since it's kinda old.

    But of course... I'd rather have Phantasy Star Universe on the Wii.

  • MasterAsh42

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 10:57 pm GMT

    The Wii Remote and Nunchuck worked just fine for the dancing games in Raviing Rabbids, though I never played the original, so I don't know if that will be enough.

    Still, it's worth a rental for me.

  • S1ckle

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 8:17 pm GMT

    Finally! I have waited so long to play this game again!

  • Agreb91

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 6:41 pm GMT

    Awesome. Sounds fun.

  • alexgangur

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 6:38 pm GMT

    This is fantastic... but please... not Wii-mote and Nunchuck. 2 Wii-motes - nunchucks just aren't accurate enough...

  • BL1NDS1DE

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 6:15 pm GMT

    wish the maracas were making a comeback, but this game will rule regardless... loved the original

  • BradBurns

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 5:35 pm GMT

    Japanese take on latin culture? It's just a monkey with maracas dude.....

  • doctorteeth

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 4:57 pm GMT

    Spectacular! I've been pulling for this port since the Wii's remote was unveiled. It is a great game, and a perfect fit for the Wii. I would love to see some maraca tops for the controller....

    PS. One of the greatest drunken post-bar games of all time.

  • theclaw135

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 4:43 pm GMT

    Gearbox also helped port Halo 1 to PC, and designed the Blue Shift levels for Half-Life.

  • lamprey263

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 4:40 pm GMT

    wait, wasn't there a game like this out for the GameCube a few years ago, had special remotes you had to shake?

  • Giratina667

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 4:14 pm GMT

    Cool,hope it's faithful to the original.

  • Rmadilo

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 3:37 pm GMT

    Also, this should somehow take advantage of the Trance Vibrator.

  • marcelopunk2004

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 3:36 pm GMT

    hehe that's pretty funny..ya know Samba is a 100% brazilian music genre but the game is mexican-themed btw samba rocks

  • monco59

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 3:28 pm GMT

    Gearbox, what have you done!?!

  • DonutTrooper

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 3:06 pm GMT

    Before I die that monkey will be the last image I see....

  • Dr_Corndog

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 3:03 pm GMT

    w00t for not having to pay extra for special controllers! It's the need for special controllers that kills games like the original Samba de Amigo and Donkey Konga.

  • devilmaycry2020

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 2:46 pm GMT

    damn it now i HAVE to buy a Wii !!!
    but first i have to find one : (

  • CodingGenius Site moderator

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 2:35 pm GMT

    This is so great! I always wanted to get it for the Dreamcast, but could never find the maraca controllers for sale.

  • Col-Neil

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 2:23 pm GMT

    Excellent i had a lot of fun with this game on the dreamcast and i hope they are smart enough to do it right for the Wii

  • Rmadilo

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 2:18 pm GMT

    Awesome! Sega better make some sort of plastic maraca shell for the controllers.

  • ChickenHounk911

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 2:17 pm GMT

    Dude! This looks TOTALLY sweet! I still insert the Donkey Konga game into my Wii and hook up all four bongos. I see a reapeat performance like that with this game.

  • RaiKageRyu

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 2:07 pm GMT

    Wii maracas...

  • Dirk13

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 2:05 pm GMT

    No more maracas? no more suitcase gamecase? i dunno, that kind of takes some of the magic away dont it?

  • KakarotTheMonky

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 2:01 pm GMT

    Why do people keep saying they heard about this a month ago from Nintendo Power when it clearly mentions that but says it was OFFICIALLY announced by Sega today.

  • PacoL250

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 2:00 pm GMT

    This was hilariously fun on for the Dreamcast. This is perfect for the Wii.

    Although I'm surprised Gearbox is developing this...

  • nirvanafan456

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 1:55 pm GMT

    Needs more Jet Set Radio and/Shenmue coming from Sega

  • Axe_336

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 1:55 pm GMT

    Heck yes my friend, heck yes.

  • ZOnikJJ

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 1:54 pm GMT

    WTF?!?!?!

  • roadrunner1178

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 1:47 pm GMT

    The original was a fun party game, but the maracas were way too expensive. This might be fun.

  • Sonicplys

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 1:40 pm GMT

    Once Again, Thank You Nintendo.

  • puppiemaster

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 1:34 pm GMT

    Well I'm buying it, I'm more stoked about this becoming a game than the launch of Mario Galaxy, SSBB, GTA4 etc, I own both of the original games and have 2 pairs of Sega Maracas, this is the ultimate party game. So much fun.

    Lets hope they include extra songs on the virtual console as well.

  • Legir

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 1:31 pm GMT

    Awsome! I was going to get it for DC but the controller was hella expensive.

  • StarFoxA

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 1:17 pm GMT

    I read about this last month in Nintendo Power. A little late, aren't we, GameSpot?

  • Np_Pro

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 12:58 pm GMT

    i liked the eye toy game of this

  • SmoothCrimen

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 12:58 pm GMT

    hey, this game looks funny, it isn't new concept but a funny one.

  • supersonicGO

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 12:53 pm GMT

    very interesting, might play it

  • chicken008

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 12:49 pm GMT

    This was announced last month in Nintendo Power..

  • oliver_475

    Posted Oct 25, 2007 12:39 pm GMT

    That's cool, i never got to play the original So yeah, this 1 hopefully is just as good

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