Legendary video game company Nintendo isn’t the only one on a retro kick. Their one-time perennial rival sega looks to be trying to get into that spirit of nostalgia for games from the consoles of the past. One avenue of catering to retro-gamers that Sega has tapped is the licensed production of a mini-Mega Drive console filled with a number of their classic and traditional titles. They have even wisely timed it to come out after Nintendo’s limited run of their NES Classic Mini has ended. But Sega seems to be considering potential customers who are used to playing games on their Mobile devices too.
This is the driving force of their new mobile gaming initiative, Sega Forever.
Retro gaming library
Almost two decades have passed since Sega got out of making video game consoles with the Dreamcast, but that’s enough time already to build up one of the most extensive catalogs of gaming titles headlined by some very iconic characters. The company is thus making these old video games available to a broad market – mobile users – through Sega Forever, an online service for both Android and iOS. From this platform, gamers will be able to download and play from a selection of classic Sega titles, and it’s free to boot.
Just as the Nintendo NES Classic Mini made contemporary video game provisions for their retro titles through the use of emulation save states and graphic resolution adjustments, Sega Forever will also utilize the hardware and software advantages of contemporary mobile tech to help enhance the experience of playing their retro games.
These features include saving games on the Cloud, support for Bluetooth gaming controllers and even posting of top-score leaderboards online for bragging rights. And since the individual games on offer at Sega Forever are downloaded on players’ devices, they can game offline without needing internet connections.
Sega ‘Netflix.'
Sega announced the Sega Forever mobile service the early morning on June 21, and not to waste any momentum, they will be making the first batch of retro games available for download on mobile in the US the following day, June 22. The first five titles to be released under this banner are all from the iconic Sega Genesis: “Phantasy Star II,” “Kid Chameleon,” “Sonic the Hedgehog,” “Altered Beast” and “Comix Zone.” From there, a new Sega title will be added every two weeks, and they will all be free.
Well, the Sega Forever system has ads, but players can pay a one-time $1.99 in-app fee to turn them off.
Mike Evans, Sega chief marketing officer and Sega Forever’s development leader, notes that the company has over two decades of classic game content and that ultimately their goal with the service is to turn it into a mobile “Netflix for Sega games.” A version of the service for desktop computers is also being considered.
