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| Developer | Sega |
|---|---|
| Type | Online service |
| Launch date | June 22, 2017 |
| Platform(s) | Android, iOS |
| Status | Active |
| Website | forever |
Sega Forever is a service from the Japanese video game developer Sega for re-releasing past games from the company on modern platforms. The service was launched for Android and iOS devices on June 22, 2017. By 2020, the service included over 30 games.
Sega Forever is a service by Sega to re-release their previously developed video games on Android and iOS-based platforms. [1] [2] [3] [4] Games included on the service are free to play, although they display with advertisements that can be permanently disabled per-game by purchasing them. [5] [6] Game types vary between releases—while some are direct ports, others are emulated versions of the originals. [5] While Sega stated that mobile devices were the initial focus for the service, they also stated it may also expand to other platforms in the future, such as PC and video game consoles. [7] [8] Similar to Nintendo's strategy of using mobile games and apps to attract attention to their console games, Sega hopes to release games to not only to promote their console games, but also to monitor game usage and use it as a metric to determine which franchises to make new games with in the future as well. [9] The end-goal is to eventually create a service similar to Netflix for their games. [8]
The initial wave of games were from Sega's Genesis/Mega Drive console, with the service later adding games from the Dreamcast, Sega CD, and arcade. [8] During the testing phases of the system, Sega Saturn and Dreamcast games did not perform satisfactorily, though Sega has on-going R&D efforts working on improving them in hopes of future release. [7] Games such as Panzer Dragoon have been considered for the service, but could not be successfully emulated in the testing phase, meaning that such a release would hypothetically require a lengthy porting process instead. [8] Sega is also open to releasing games that had not previously had English localizations, such as the Yuji Naka-designed game, Girl's Garden . [9]
Games have new features added, such as leaderboards and cloud saves, and touchscreen controls, though they also have controller support as well. [10] Games are also playable offline without an internet connection. [11] [9] Five games were available at launch, with more games being added over time. [12] In March 2018, Sega announced their intention on releasing native ports, rather than emulated, for the service. [13] Sega also stated that while they would continue to release emulated games, the change to primarily making native ports will result in fewer new games being released overall. [13] At the same time, Sega announced that games on the service had been downloaded more than 40 million times. [13]
† = Native ports as opposed to being emulated
Reception at launch was mixed, with critics noting that the service had a number of technical issues, mostly regarding the frame rate. [35] Sega later resolved most of the issues in a July 2017 update. [36] In September 2023, publications started to note that some games had been delisted, with downloaded versions having messages saying that support for the games had been discontinued. [37]
Sonic the Hedgehog is a 1991 platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Genesis/Mega Drive. It was released in North America on June 23 and in PAL regions and Japan the following month. Players control Sonic the Hedgehog, who can run at near supersonic speeds; Sonic sets out on a quest to defeat Dr. Robotnik, a scientist who has imprisoned animals in robots and seeks the powerful Chaos Emeralds. The gameplay involves collecting rings as a form of health, and a simple control scheme, with jumping and attacking controlled by a single button.
ChuChu Rocket! is an action puzzle game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega. Released for the Dreamcast in 1999, it was the first game for the system to support online console gaming. Players must place arrows on a board to lead mice into escape rockets while avoiding cats. The game features single-player modes in which a player must save all the mice on a board, and a multiplayer mode in which players battle to collect the most mice.
Altered Beast is a 1988 beat 'em up arcade video game developed and manufactured by Sega. The game is set in Ancient Greece and follows a player character chosen by Zeus to rescue his daughter Athena from the demonic ruler of the underworld, Neff. Through the use of power-ups, the player character can assume the form of different magical beasts. It was ported to several home video game consoles and home computers. It was the pack-in game for the Mega Drive when that system launched in 1988.
Golden Axe is a side-scrolling hack-and-slash video game released by Sega for arcades in 1989, running on the Sega System 16B arcade hardware. Makoto Uchida was the lead designer of the game, and was also responsible for the creation of the previous year's Altered Beast. The game casts players as one of three warriors who must free the fantastical land of Yuria from the tyrannical rule of Death Adder, who wields the titular Golden Axe.
Sega Ages is a series of video game ports, remakes, and compilations published by Sega. It consists of Sega arcade games and home console games, typically those for the Sega Genesis and Master System. The series was launched on the Sega Saturn in 1996. Entries were published for the PlayStation 2 as Sega Ages 2500, a reference to its bargain ¥2500 price point. The series later came to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 as Sega Ages Online, and finally to the Nintendo Switch as simply Sega Ages. The name Sega Ages is a palindrome, with "Ages" being "Sega" backwards — this was previously used by Sega in European marketing strategies from the late 1980s to early 1990s.
Retrogaming, also known as classic gaming and old school gaming, is the playing and collection of obsolete personal computers, consoles, and video games. Usually, retrogaming is based upon systems that are outmoded or discontinued, although ported retrogaming allows games to be played on modern hardware via ports or compilations. It is typically for nostalgia, preservation, or authenticity. A new game could be retro styled, such as an RPG with turn-based combat and pixel art in isometric camera perspective.
Feral Interactive is a British video games developer and publisher for macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows platforms. It was founded in 1996 to bring games to Mac and specialises in porting games to different platforms.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a 1992 platform game developed by Sega Technical Institute (STI) for the Sega Genesis. Players control Sonic as he attempts to stop Doctor Robotnik from stealing the Chaos Emeralds to power his space station. Like the first Sonic the Hedgehog (1991), players traverse side-scrolling levels at high speeds while collecting rings, defeating enemies, and fighting bosses. Sonic 2 introduces Sonic's sidekick Miles "Tails" Prower and features faster gameplay, larger levels, a multiplayer mode, and special stages featuring pre-rendered 3D graphics.
Sonic Jump is a 2005 vertical platform game developed by AirPlay and Sonic Team, and published by Sega for the digital distribution service Sonic Cafe, initially only available in Japan for mobile phones before being ported to iOS and Android and released in other regions in 2007. Unlike other games in the series, Sonic Jump doesn't involve running from left to right, but instead, Sonic automatically jumps up the screen, with the player needing to tilt the phone to move him from left to right. The original game's graphical style is based on the Sonic Advance series, which had ended shortly before Jump's release.
Puyo Puyo (ぷよぷよ), previously known as Puyo Pop outside Japan, is a series of tile-matching video games created by Compile. Sega has owned the franchise since 1998, with games after 2001 being developed by Sonic Team. Puyo Puyo was created as a spin-off franchise to Madō Monogatari, a series of first-person dungeon crawler role-playing games by Compile from which the Puyo Puyo characters originated. The series has sold over 9 million copies, including the Madō Monogatari games.
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I is a 2010 platform game developed by Dimps, with assistance from Sonic Team, and published by Sega. It is a sequel to Sonic & Knuckles (1994), following Sonic as he sets out to stop a returning Doctor Eggman. Like the Sonic the Hedgehog games released for the Sega Genesis, Episode I features side-scrolling gameplay, with movement restricted to a 2D plane. The player races through levels collecting rings while rolling into a ball to attack enemies. The game also features special stages in which the player collects Chaos Emeralds and online leaderboards comparing level completion times and high scores.
RetroArch is a free and open-source, cross-platform frontend for emulators, game engines, video games, media players and other applications. It is the reference implementation of the libretro API, designed to be fast, lightweight, portable and without dependencies. It is licensed under the GNU GPLv3.
Sonic Dash is a 2013 endless runner mobile game developed by Hardlight and published by Japanese game studio Sega. It is Hardlight's second Sonic the Hedgehog game, the first being 2012's Sonic Jump. The game was released in March 2013 for iOS, November 2013 for Android, and December 2014 for Windows Phone and Windows, along with an arcade release in November 2015 as Sonic Dash Extreme. It was initially released as a paid application, but was made free-to-play a month after its iOS release.
Sonic Runners was a 2015 endless runner game in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise for Android and iOS. It was developed by Sonic Team as its first Sonic game exclusive to smartphones and published by Sega. In Sonic Runners, the player-character constantly ran forward, and players controlled their jumping from a side-scrolling perspective using the touchscreen. The game was free-to-play, featured a wide variety of playable characters from the Sonic series, and received periodic updates.
Christian Whitehead, also known by his alias The Taxman, is an Australian video game programmer and designer. He is most recognized for his work creating updated ports of early games in Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series, as well as being the lead developer of an original game in the series, Sonic Mania. He has also developed multiple remakes of classic Sonic games and most recently, the remasters in Sonic Origins.
The Retro Engine is a multiplatform game engine developed by Australian programmer Christian Whitehead, best known for its use in Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series.
Hardlight is a British video game developer founded by Sega and based in Leamington Spa, England. Revealed in January 2012, it is focused on mobile games for smartphones and became part of Sega Europe.
GameClub is a video game subscription service for iOS and Android devices. The service primarily offers games that were previously delisted from app stores or are no longer actively maintained by their original developers, updated to support newer devices and software. They have since expanded to releasing mobile ports of games available for PC and console.
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