Sega teased last month (& over the last few days) that some interesting announcements would be made at the Sega FES event in Tokyo this past weekend. Now that the weekend is over, we can honestly say the company lived up to and possibly surpassed fan expectations, disclosing several thrilling projects in the works.
Shenmue I & II
Dreamcast games, Shenmue I & II, are being remastered and re-released as a collection for the PS4, XB1, and PC.
Included will be:
– Japanese & English voice overs
– A choice of classic or modern controls
– New UI interface
Physical editions will be created for the PS4 and XB1. The collection will release sometime this year, retailing for $29.99.
You can see a brief, “work in progress” video, hyping the upcoming collection on Sega’s YouTube channel.
Mega Drive Mini
Following in the footsteps of Nintendo’s NES & SNES classic machines, Sega, with help from AtGames, will be bringing a miniaturized version of their Genesis (Mega Drive in Japan) system to fans sometime this year. No other details are known as of yet.
Sega Ages
With help from Japanese developer/publisher, M2, a line-up of 3D classics will be making their way to the Nintendo eShop this Summer, under the heading, “Sega Ages.” 15 games are planned for the initial release, 5 of which have been revealed so far.
– Alex Kidd in Miracle World
– Phantasy Star
– Thunder Force IV
– Gain Ground
– Sonic the Hedgehog
If Sega Ages proves successful, the company has hinted that the eShop assortment will continue to expand, possibly even including Dreamcast and Sega Saturn games down the road.
Sega also announced this weekend that the 1st Valkyria Chronicles is coming to the Switch eShop in Japan. It will be sold for a special deal for those who also purchase Valkyria Chronicles 4. No word yet on this specific title becoming available for the North America eShop.
Speaking of Valkyria Chonicles 4, per an announcement late last year, it will be coming to North America this Fall on PS4, XB1, and the Switch.
According to an article on IGN.com, it will include a new cast of characters, the return of the BLiTZ battle system, and a new Grenadier class. It’s currently up for pre-order at Amazon, Best Buy, and GameStop.
A definitive edition of Sonic Mania called, “Sonic Mania Plus” will be releasing on the PS4, XB1, and Switch this Summer. (You can read details here). A 5-episode Sonic Mania Adventures animation will be releasing one episode at a time, for free, on the Sonic the Hedgehog YouTube channel. Episode 1 is out now.
Also announced prior to this weekend, Shenmue 3 will be coming out late this year, thanks to creator/ director Yu Suzuki, his development team at Ys Net, Shibuya Productions, a successful Kickstarter Campaign, publisher Deep Silver, and Sony. The game is planned for the PC and PS4. You can see more about this release on the game’s website.
UPDATE: As of 5/17, Shenmue 3 has been delayed until 2019. An explanation from the developer about the delay can be found on the game’s Kickstarter website.
Sources: Sega, AtGames, NintendoEverything, IGN.com
