Sega Genesis Classics rising from their graves, hitting Steam and other PC platforms [update]

by JC Fletcher on May 21st 2010 2:30PM

POWER UP in our gallerySega is bringing a Virtual Console-like experience to PC digital distribution platforms. Sega Genesis Classics is a series of individual Genesis games available for download via Steam and additional, unspecified download services.

On June 1, PC users will be able to download Golden Axe, Ecco the Dolphin, Comix Zone, and Vectorman, "from $2.99." We don't yet know how the prices will vary per game, but even if just one is that cheap, it's quite a savings over the $8 Virtual Console price.

The screenshots sent out by Sega also include images of Gain Ground, Altered Beast, Space Harrier, Crack Down, Sonic 3D Blast, and Shadow Dancer, so we can expect to see those games from the distant past on PC in the near future.

Update: Sega's blog post about the collection clears up the launch lineup: all of these games will actually be available June 1.

Sega Genesis Classics (PC)

Tags: altered-beast, comix-zone, crack-down, ecco-the-dolphin, gain-ground, genesis, golden-axe, retro, sega, sega-genesis, sega-genesis-classics, shadow-dancer, sonic-3d-blast, space-harrier, steam, vectorman

Reader Comments (36)

I have a question about Altered Beast... I have never played it before but every single screen shot of the game happens to be in the same level, those animal ruins if you will. So just to cure my curiosity, are there other levels to the game?

Yes. That's the first level.

Don't worry, it is a terrible terrible game. The playability is, well, none. I was so excited when that Genesis collection came out for the 360, and Altered Beast was by far the biggest let down. Best to leave it happily in your nostalgia.

Hey, I *liked* Altered Beast.
The arcade version was a lot more colorful and the sprites were better but the Genesis version wasn't too shabby for it's time.

I think you mean Gwave.

Rise from your shoe.

you totally beat me to the punch on this one. But on the Genesis version it was more like "Wise Fwum Yo Gwave"

Eventually game publishers will have enough of a back catalog that they'll be able to stop producing new games completely, and simply re-release old games over and over again on different systems.

Isn't that pretty much all Capcom did last generation?

OMFG...how many times is Sega going to re-release these games?

I bet even the Pope has played these games by now.

How about different Genesis games...how many times for Altered Beast? Where's my Bubble and Squeak!?

really.. nobody here knows emulators??? why they keep releasing this SAME GAME AGAIN when i´m sure everybody around here has this game?'???

Are we really down to re-releasing games that were only decent in their own time? I'm sure we're not out of actual good titles yet.

I never played much Altered Beast, but at the very least Ecco the Dolphin and Sonic 3D Blast were good!

When you compare it to how much there is to complain about I barely scratch the surface. =)

How can these games rise from their grave when they aren't in a grave? Sega keeps releasing almost all of these games over and over and over and over and over.

I'd get Vectorman for my netbook.

As long as they're doing this they really should re-release Kid Chameleon.

Good call. Kid Chameleon is one of the best games ever.

Please tell me we're going to get something that HASN'T been re-released in a collection already. There are so many other good Genesis titles that never see the light of day because Sega feels that we need another port of Sonic 3.

im not fond of genesis games anymore. are these games online play enable? i mean seriously. if one own a pc, one dont really need to buy this, if you get what im saying.

A game that is legal, and supports the publisher. And is available everywhere you are at using your account. Nope, no reason whatsoever.

I am not defending the quality of the games (not arguing for or against them) but still supporting the company is nice, you know? It isn't like these are coming out for full price, or even $20. It's $3. That's cheaper than even on the Wii.

Yes, use ROM's of games you can no longer find, games that are out of print. Games that were so hard to find even then, you have no chance of finding them now. But advocating piracy of legally-available, cheap versions of the game? No. That's still piracy.

Tip: Even if you own the game (or CD/DVD/etc.) for something and you decide to download a "backup copy" from the internet, you're still breaking the law.

Technically, for most items you're allowed to have one digital backup copy so long as you yourself make that copy from the actual physical media that you own.

Basically, it means you'd have to own the original cart, buy rom dumping hardware to transfer said cart's magical innards to your PC, and then never let anyone else have that PC copy.

Anything else is illegal. There is no "24 hour demo/trial" law or anything of the sort. Even if you just download it, test it out once for 5 minutes, then delete it, it's still illegal because you downloaded it in the first place.

Ahh come on we all know it's really "Wise Fom Your Grave!"

E-SWAT and Midnight Resistance along with the Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse (and it's similar Disney themed cousins), please.

I really believe that since Sega is moving more to the download method on the consoles, they are also going to be introducing those download console games to the PC as well via Steam. Specifically, they might be getting ready to introduce Sonic 4 on Steam in June when it is launched on the consoles that same month. I really hope so!

I want to play the newest Thunderforce games, how can I do this? I don't have a PS2 or a backwards compatible PS3.

Sega has to make money even if it means re-re-re and re milking old games that were re-released in the form of a Classic Collection on the Playstation 2, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. They have re-released some Sega classics on the Nintendo Wii Virtual console, but only individually like they are going to do for the PC. Since it's going on Steam, perhaps Valve can make its own package and sell the game the same way Sega did for the console audience. I think this story explains the post I read on gametap forums; about Sega removing all of their Genesis games from the gametap service.

Let's hope the genesis emulation is better than the Sega Smash Pack that was released back in 1999 (PC version). They didn't emulate the YM2612 at all! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvHoHTQV33Y

i hope that means we'll hear an XBLA Game Room announcement for Genesis games as well...

come on sega hurry up and release radiant silvergun before pc's get fast enough to run the mamed version and you'll sell a boatload

also why oh WHY are they trying to sell the genesis version of Altered Beast. that's like trying to sell the atari 2600 version of pac-man over the arcade.

I can pretty much guarantee any arcade game from the 80-90's can be played on a computer. Unless it was hard to emulate, or no one has cared to dump it, modern systems are plenty fast enuf to run a game like that.

funny thing is by 2001 the PSX was about 95% emulated to this day there is no saturn emulator that is even that good. has something to do with trying to sync 3 hard to emulate cpus with that odd square polygon rendering as opposed to triangle that everything else uses

the saturn is the definition of hard to emulate.

wait... i don't remember the player character wearing speedos and tiny tank tops when i played the game back when i was a kid.....

oh no.....

Correction: I believe that the Classics are "wising fwom theiw gwaves".

Why. Just why?

Hold me closer, Shadow Dancer.

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Sega Genesis Classics rising from their graves, hitting Steam and other PC platforms [update]

Sega Genesis Classics (PC)

Reader Comments (36)

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