SEGA Hints At Virtua Fighter 6 As Part Of A Big Classic Games Revival
Video game nostalgia has taken a strong hold of gamers, with a rich history from legendary franchises. SEGA, a pioneer in video games, is still cranking out titles both new and old. Known for franchises such as Sonic The Hedgehog, SEGA used to also be a best-selling console manufacturer back in the 1990s and early 2000s. Arcade titles ported to the home, such as Virtua Fighter, were also a large part of its repertoire. And guess what? A new Virtua Fighter is currently in development.
We know this because Justin Scarpone, who was recently hired by SEGA to head up Transmedia, revealed as much in an interview with VideoGamesChronicle.
"We have a suite of titles in development right now that fall into that legacy bucket, which we announced last year at The Game Awards; Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, Streets of Rage, Shinobi, and we have another Virtua Fighter being developed. And so all that’s very exciting," Scarpone said.
Classic console and game revivals have also been in high demand from gamers, with revamps such as the SEGA Genesis Mini. SEGA has also had tremendous success with titles such as Like A Dragon And Yakuza, together with the Total War Series. Even the Nintendo Switch offers a SEGA Genesis controller along with a treasure trove of SEGA classic games on its Nintendo Online service. They were once fierce competitors, but now work in harmony.
SEGA wants to bring back more than just historic titles like Virtua Fighter. Games that were die-hard favorites like Shinobi and Crazy Taxi are also in the mix. IPs such as Sonic and Persona have already been very active, as many gamers will know.
With a large focus on Sonic together with arcade titles, SEGA has a lot of popular intellectual property. Just like Nintendo, it will seek to expand opportunities on these names, like it has done with Sonic. Having a multi-media approach, such as movies and other media, is something SEGA has been doing during the last decade more than ever.
SEGA wants to have a wide spread approach to its games, according Scarpone. This means that movies, like it has done with the Sonic franchise, is very much on the table. Nintendo has had great success with its own transmedia efforts with its Super Mario franchise, as the popularity of its movie proves. Streaming and television are also possibilities, which is apt since Justin Scarpone came from Disney, who has a similar approach.
"We have a suite of titles in development right now that fall into that legacy bucket, which we announced last year at The Game Awards; Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, Streets of Rage, Shinobi, and we have another Virtua Fighter being developed. And so all that’s very exciting.
While no consoles appear to be in the mix, the push towards a more agnostic library that can be played on multiple platforms seems like the best approach. Continued classic mini consoles would be great to see, such as a potential SEGA Saturn Mini which has a rich library of games. For now, we can expect more classic revivals along with the Sonic titles that continue to come.
Check out the full interview for what else Scarpone had to say.
