The game maker Sega revealed on Thursday that it is having characters from its Sakura Wars (Sakura Taisen) dating simulation/tactical role-playing games cross over into the Border Break robot shooter arcade games. Sega made the surprise announcement during a Border Break stage event at its Amusement Machine Show 2011 booth, but gave no further details about the collaboration.
Red Company developed the first Sakura Wars game for Sega in 1996. The franchise follows the alternate-history adventures of several all-female mechanized task forces — that also perform musicals to maintain their top secret cover. NIS America, a subsidiary of the game company Nippon Ichi Software, adapted the Sakura Taisen V ~Saraba, Itoshiki Hito yo~ game as Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love, the first Sakura Wars game to be released in North America. There have also been many anime and manga adaptations over the years, including the return of Ikku Masa's Sakura Wars the Manga Part II in next month's inaugural issue of Kodansha' Monthly Shonen Magazine +.
Sega's AM2 division launched Border Break in 2009 as a fast-paced multi-player 3D shooter game with robotic mecha. It was an early showcase for Sega's RingEdge arcade hardware architecture. Yuichi Motohashi and Takumi Miyajima launched the Border Break NA manga series in the debut issue of Kadokawa Shoten's Newtype Ace magazine earlier this month. (ANN)