Sega has been quietly teasing something since earlier this month, and now we know what it is. The company is launching a new service called Sega Forever, with which it plans to use to bring a growing library of classic Sega games to mobile platforms, all for free.
In what seems like a common sense, but admittedly ambitious move, Sega Forever is a platform of sorts. It offers of Sega’s long history of classic games at no upfront cost to players. According to a report on Eurogamer , the games won’t even really have obtrusive ads. Outside of content on loading a game and perhaps save screens, these games can be played all the way through without sudden interruptions. A small fee can also be paid (per game of course) to remove ads entirely. Games also support cloud saves, leaderboards, and mobile-friendly controllers.
This leads to another interesting point. While Sega Forever has a unified identity, each game is a separate app to download, meaning players can pick and choose what they want through the mobile marketplace itself rather than having to download a goofy kernel like many other retro services. Games will reportedly come in at a rate of once every two weeks, with a full range of platforms leading from Sega’s roots all the way to the Dreamcast. Saturn games may even be ported to the service as time passes. The initial list is Sonic the Hedgehog , Altered Beast , Phantasy Star II , Kid Chameleon and Comx Zone – a coming soon sections shows what seems like Virtua Tennis .
While you wait for the games to officially launch once marketplace updates go live, check out Sega Forever’s website and social media for more information.
Source: Sega