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Sega Forever

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Sega Forever
DeveloperSega
TypeOnline service
Launch dateJune 22, 2017
Platform(s)Android, iOS
StatusDefunct
Websiteforever.sega.com

Sega Forever was 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. In September of 2023 Sega quietly discontinued services by de-listing applications and leaving their social media pages inactive.[1]

Background

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Sega Forever is a service by Sega to re-release their previously developed video games on Android and iOS-based platforms.[2][3][4][5] Games included on the service are free to play, although they display with advertisements that can be permanently disabled per-game by purchasing them.[6][7] Game types vary between releases—while some are direct ports, others are emulated versions of the originals.[6] 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.[8][9] 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.[10] The end-goal is to eventually create a service similar to Netflix for their games.[9]

Games

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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.[9] 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.[8] 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.[9] Sega is also open to releasing games that had not previously had English localizations, such as the Yuji Naka-designed game, Girl's Garden.[10]

Games have new features added, such as leaderboards and cloud saves, and touchscreen controls, though they also have controller support as well.[11] Games are also playable offline without an internet connection.[12][10] Five games were available at launch, with more games being added over time.[13] In March 2018, Sega announced their intention on releasing native ports, rather than emulated, for the service.[14] 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.[14] At the same time, Sega announced that games on the service had been downloaded more than 40 million times.[14]

List

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† = Native ports as opposed to being emulated

Title Original platform Release date Reference
Sonic the Hedgehog† Sega Genesis June 22, 2017 [10]
Phantasy Star II
Comix Zone
Kid Chameleon
Altered Beast
Virtua Tennis Challenge† Android, iOS July 12, 2017 [15]
The Revenge of Shinobi Sega Genesis July 27, 2017 [16]
Ristar August 10, 2017 [17]
Golden Axe August 31, 2017 [18]
Crazy Taxi† Dreamcast September 13, 2017 [19]
Space Harrier II Sega Genesis
Beyond Oasis October 11, 2017 [20]
Decap Attack October 25, 2017 [21]
ESWAT: City Under Siege November 8, 2017 [22]
Sonic the Hedgehog 2† November 21, 2017 [23]
Streets of Rage December 6, 2017 [24]
Gunstar Heroes December 20, 2017 [25]
Sonic CD† Sega CD February 1, 2018 [26]
Dynamite Headdy Sega Genesis April 18, 2018 [27]
Super Monkey Ball: Sakura Edition† Android, iOS May 17, 2018 [28]
Vectorman Sega Genesis June 21, 2018 [29]
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II† Android, iOS August 2, 2018 [30]
Streets of Rage 2 Sega Genesis September 20, 2018 [31]
Shining in the Darkness October 24, 2018 [32]
Shining Force
Shining Force II
Golden Axe II January 17, 2019 [33]
Golden Axe III
Phantasy Star III February 21, 2019 [34]
Phantasy Star IV
After Burner Climax† Arcade April 4, 2019 [35]

Reception

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Reception at launch was mixed, with critics noting that the service had a number of technical issues, mostly regarding the frame rate.[36] Sega later resolved most of the issues in a July 2017 update.[37] 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.[38]

References

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  1. ^ "Sega Forever Games Are Being Delisted from iOS and Android". September 28, 2023.
  2. ^ "Sega Forever makes Genesis classics free on mobile". Engadget. June 21, 2017.
  3. ^ Frank, Allegra (June 21, 2017). "Sega Forever makes your favorite classic games free to play". Polygon. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  4. ^ Webster, Andrew (June 21, 2017). "Sega launches free retro game collection for iPhone and Android". The Verge. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  5. ^ McFerran, Damien (March 30, 2020). "Sega Forever Isn't Just About Smartphone Games Anymore". Nintendo Life. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Sega Forever brings retro games to iOS and Android for free". June 21, 2017.
  7. ^ "The classic game streaming service SEGA Forever kicks off tomorrow on iOS". June 22, 2017.
  8. ^ a b "Sega Forever: The nostalgia trip that could change the company's future". June 21, 2017.
  9. ^ a b c d Statt, Nick (June 21, 2017). "Sega wants to turn its classic catalogue into "the Netflix of retro gaming"". The Verge.
  10. ^ a b c d Donlan, Christian (June 21, 2017). "Sega's back catalogue is headed to mobile with Sega Forever". Eurogamer.
  11. ^ "Sega is bringing Sonic, other classic games to phones for free".
  12. ^ "Sega announces Sega Forever, a collection of free classic games for mobile devices - Gematsu". June 21, 2017.
  13. ^ Webster, Andrew (June 21, 2017). "Sega launches free retro game collection for iPhone and Android". The Verge.
  14. ^ a b c Dotson, Carter (March 2018). "Sega Forever to Focus on Ported Titles in 2018". TouchArcade. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  15. ^ "Virtua Tennis Challenge joins the Sega Forever roster on iOS and Android". pocketgamer.co.uk. July 12, 2017.
  16. ^ "'SEGA Forever' (ALL) Adds The Revenge of Shinobi". worthplaying.com.
  17. ^ Minotti, Mike (August 10, 2017). "Ristar doesn't have Sonic's legacy, but it does have Sega Forever's blessing". VentureBeat.
  18. ^ Funnell, Rob (August 31, 2017). "Classic Beat 'Em Up 'Golden Axe' Is the Next Game in the SEGA Forever Series, Out Now on the App Store". Touch Arcade. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
  19. ^ "Space Harrier II now a part of SEGA Forever". TouchArcade. September 13, 2017. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  20. ^ Funnell, Rob (October 11, 2017). "Classic Action RPG 'Beyond Oasis' Is the Latest Game in the SEGA Forever Series, Out Now on the App Store". TouchArcade. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  21. ^ Riaz, Adnan (October 25, 2017). "Decap Attack Comes to Sega Forever". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  22. ^ Musgrave, Shaun (November 14, 2017). "'ESWAT: City Under Siege' Review - The Suit Fits, the Controls Don't". TouchArcade. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  23. ^ Riaz, Adnan (November 21, 2017). "Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Added to Sega Forever Collection". Hardcore Gamer.
  24. ^ England, Rachel (December 7, 2017). "'Streets of Rage' comes to mobiles with local multiplayer". Engadget. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  25. ^ Workman, Robert. "Legendary Run-And-Gun Shooter Gunstar Heroes Joins The Sega Forever Mobile Line-Up". ComicBook.com. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  26. ^ Workman, Robert. "Sonic CD Is Now Free On Sega Forever For Mobile Devices". ComicBook.com. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  27. ^ Glagowski, Peter (April 18, 2018). "Dynamite Headdy is coming to blow up your smartphones". Destructoid. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  28. ^ Wong, Alistair (May 17, 2018). "Super Monkey Ball: Sakura Edition Joins Sega Forever Lineup As Free-To-Play Game". Siliconera. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  29. ^ Glagowski, Peter (June 21, 2018). "Vectorman, possibly the best Genesis game, is now available on Sega Forever". Destructoid. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  30. ^ Sholtz, Matthew (August 2, 2018). "Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Episode II re-released as a SEGA Forever title". AndroidPolice.com. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  31. ^ "Streets of Rage 2 Classic is the latest SEGA Forever title on the Play Store". Android Police. September 20, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  32. ^ "Shining Force Classics is the latest SEGA Forever release on the Play Store". Android Police. October 24, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  33. ^ Forever, SEGA (January 17, 2019). "Save the world from chaos in Golden Axe II and Golden Axe III, now part of Golden Axe Classics, free on iOS & Android!". @SEGAForever. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  34. ^ Forever, SEGA (February 21, 2019). "What's your Phantasy? Whether it's Phantasy Star II, III, or IV, your collection just got an upgrade! Download free on iOS & Android now!". @SEGAForever. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  35. ^ "Soar above your high score! After Burner Climax has joined the ranks of SEGA Forever". Twitter. April 4, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  36. ^ Matulef, Jeffrey (June 21, 2017). "Sega releases classic games on mobile, for free, but at what cost?". eurogamer.net.
  37. ^ "Best iPhone Game Updates: 'Altered Beast', '868-HACK', 'Candy Crush Soda Saga', 'Survivalcraft 2', and More". toucharcade.com. July 17, 2017.
  38. ^ "Select 'SEGA Forever' Games Have Been Delisted on iOS and Android, "End of Service" Notifications In-Game for Some – TouchArcade". September 26, 2023.
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