SEGA Forever Brings Back Classic Titles For Smartphones

SEGA intends to revive their legacy IPs. And one step towards that goal has recently launched: SEGA Forever, a platform dedicated to curating a catalog of games spanning SEGA’s console history.

SEGA FOREVER LAUNCHES, BRINGS BACK CLASSIC TITLES

SEGA Forever has begun for iPhones and Androids with no current announcements concerning whether it will expand to dedicating gaming hardware or computers. Only five Genesis games are currently playable, but more will come. Nevertheless, the five titles are five of the most emblematic games of their era:

• Sonic the Hedgehog
• Altered Beast
• Comix Zone
• Kid Chameleon
• Phantasy Star II

The games themselves are free to download, although they’ll come encumbered with in-game ads. However, a single $1.99 purchase will remove them.

Two or three games are slated to be added on a monthly basis under the Forever banner. And, according to SEGA themselves, this program will span the “Master System, Genesis/Mega Drive, Dreamcast, and more.” To gather a backlog this good takes ages, and SEGA’s history houses many cherished titles. Personally, I hope NiGHTS into Dreams graces us soon.

Mike Evans, Sega Networks’ chief marketing officer, recently had an illuminating discussion with GamesIndustry.biz concerning the goal of his project. Therein, Evans notes the marketing potential the Forever initiative can provide.

Crazy Taxi was given as an example – the series’ new smartphone title, Crazy Taxi Gazillionaire, could attract more attention once the Dreamcast original releases for SEGA’s new service. Furthermore, should an older title garner attention, it could usher in a formal revival for that franchise.

SEGA intends to position Forever’s growing catalog to highlight their legacy IPs, and they’re invested in feedback from the fans. Moreover, Evans also implies his brand will eventually expand beyond smartphones:

“So my first focus is mobile. It’s a huge project and what I really want to do is get mobile right. After this, there are options: we can look at desktop, Facebook, we could even take these games to consoles like Switch.”

Which SEGA games would you like to replay?