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Sega's plans for Wii U Virtual Console are non-existent
The age-old rivalry between Sega and Nintendo may be all but over, but that doesn't mean the two companies are sharing everything with each other. Case in point: the distinct lack of Sega games on the Wii U Virtual Console. Case in sad point: that situation may not change anytime soon, if ever. In response to a Twitter user's question about plans to bring Sega games to the Wii U Virtual Console, Yosuke Okunari - a company producer who has worked on 3DS conversions of classics like Outrun and Space Harrier - said plainly that "there are no such plans." Not all hope was dashed however, as Okunari suggested the fan make their desires known to Sega West. So the bad news is the Wii U Virtual Console shall be sorely lacking Sega favorites like Sonic The Hedgehog, Golden Axe, Altered Beast or - let's face it, everyone's favorite - Vectorman, at least for now. The good news is you can still play most games released for the original Wii's Virtual Console by going through the Wii U's emulation software by selecting the "Wii Menu" channel on the console's start menu. You'll have to use a Wii Remote or Classic controller to play the thing, and you won't have access to that game's Miiverse or off-TV options like you would if it were native to the Wii U Virtual Console, but technically you can still play. So on the bright side, you're not actually missing out on access to some of these games, it's just time-consuming and inconvenient! Yay? [Image: Sega]
Sega to continue 3D Classics series on 3DS, US release depends on sales
The remainder of Sega's first round of 3D Classics for the 3DS eShop will be made available in the US store over the next few weeks, but it seems like another batch is already in the works. Siliconera noticed a Twitter exchange between James Booth, an assistant producer at Sega's mobile-oriented Hardlight Studio, and Yosuke Okunari, a producer at Sega CS3. When Booth congratulated Okunari on the 3D Classics series, Okunari's reply thanked him and said "we develop the 2nd series for Japan. If this overseas release succeeds, it may release these in the world." Okunari did not hint at which games might be included in a future round of 3D Classics. So, there you go. If you're gunning for more 3D Classics in the US beyond those that have already been announced, the series' performance across our shores will need to satisfy Sega, first. The question is, will you love the 3D effect and features added to Streets of Rage, Shinobi and Sonic the Hedgehog enough to buy them again?
Sega thinking about downloadable Saturn games
Sega is already selling its Genesis library all over the place (as downloads on XBLA, PSN, WiiWare, and iPhone, and on retail collections). Dreamcast games are due this fall for XBLA and PSN. Now Sega is considering adding selections from the Saturn library to its catalog of digital releases. Yosuke Okunari, producer of the Dreamcast remakes, told GAME Watch (translated by Andriasang) that Sega might consider Saturn games in the future, though it's a different initiative from the current releases. "What we announced this time is a project where we will have consecutive releases of titles that were debuted on Dreamcast," he said. "Separate from this, we're of course thinking about ports of Saturn games. It's the same as how Sega Ages and Virtual Console were separate existences. It's not that we have no intention of porting Saturn titles, so please share your requests." Sega Ages was a series of disc-based PS2 rereleases of classic Sega titles. Coincidentally, the NiGHTSintodreams.com fan community sent out an announcement today for its campaign to convince Sega to port NiGHTS Into Dreams to modern consoles, in honor of the game's 15th anniversary. As one of the most prominent first-party games, NiGHTS has a good chance of being one of the first releases, should Sega decide to pursue Saturn ports. [Update: This post originally referred to the XBLA Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram as a Dreamcast port. It's actually a port of version 5.66, which was released as an arcade game after the Dreamcast version.]
