After Criticism, Sega Says It's "Working On" Its Classic Game Re-Releases
"We want to see them done right, and we're going to keep working until they are."
Last week Sega launched its Sega Forever service, which brings back classic games from its Master System, Genesis/Mega Drive, Game Gear, Saturn, and Dreamcast consoles and repurposes them as free-to-play mobile titles. The launch lineup incorporated Sonic the Hedgehog, Altered Beast, Comix Zone, Kid Chameleon, and Phantasy Star II--with new titles to be added every fortnight--but initial fan reception has been mixed. Some players have complained of dropped frames, poor audio mixing, and fiddly controls.
Now, Sega has defended the service's launch, at the same time as reassuring fans that it is working on improving the quality of both the lineup and each game's port.
"We've got lots of things planned as we go through, and we're going to keep on working on that quality," Sega Networks' chief marketing officer, Mike Evans, told Eurogamer. "For the vast majority of our fans it's solid, but the specialist guys who are looking for the absolute epitome of quality, we're going to keep improving for those guys."
"The launch itself has been really positive--if you look at the vast majority of feedback it's been strong, if you look at ratings on the App Store from consumers there's definitely some very good sentiment as well. Is there room for improvement like anything? Yeah there is."
Evans went on to say that Sega has "some really good updates coming out soon which will address some of the challenges of the d-pad, some of the [graphics] shading as well that we're looking at how to improve."
Currently, Sega Forever is only available on Android and iOS, but Evans hinted that an expansion to other platforms may come further down the line. He stated that developing these re-releases in the Unity game engine "opens up other commercial opportunities for us with Apple TVs, desktops and the Switch as well."
Lastly, regarding criticism of the games lineup at launch, Evans said the company started with Genesis games as it's the "most successful platform" and "a good place to introduce the mainstream audience," but that more platform favorites would be coming soon. "I'm actively looking at Segagaga as a title which will be a great thing, there are other titles I'd love to see, like Panzer Dragoon," he said. "They're the things that take a bit more time, but what we've got to do is get the quality right as well, and that's important."
You can read more about Sega Forever here, or take a look at the service's launch trailer above.
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