It’s somewhat of a sad day for budding vintage gamers and game collectors. SEGA is about to remove a long list of its old Genesis and Dreamcast classics from digital storefronts. That includes Steam, Xbox, Nintendo Switch Online, and the PlayStation Store. These old games would then cease to be available for new purchases starting December 6, 2024, so you still have a chance to grab them before they disappear.
Luckily, those who have purchased and owned the game prior won’t lose them. You’ll still be able to play them and they will remain in your library. These are titles from SEGA Mega Drive and Genesis Classics & Dreamcast Classics, some of which run via an official emulator. You can view SEGA’s official FAQ page about the matter for more details.
It’s not clear when they will come back, if at all. As expected, people are somewhat stumped. SEGA didn’t announce the reasoning behind this move. But in the months prior, SEGA has been rather loud about its teasers and announcements for remakes, reboots, and maybe even remasters.
SEGA Wants to Reinvent Them
If you’ve been living under a rock or are new to gaming, SEGA owns some notably huge intellectual properties. These include Sonic the Hedgehog, Persona, and Yakuza. Its success with the Sonic movies has become a launching pad for SEGA to explore more adaptations and branch out.
Back in the 2023 Game Awards, SEGA revealed trailers for some of its old games. They’re either slated for revival or belated sequels. Some are getting movie adaptations following Sonic the Hedgehog‘s commercial success.
Shinobi, Jet Set Radio, the Streets of Rage series, the Golden Axe series, Eternal Champions, etc., are all included among the games that SEGA is about to delist in December. So the fair assumption is that SEGA might create a new bundle for these games as remakes. In turn, they could be replacing the old Dreamcast and Genesis bundles.
It’s not clear, however, when they plan to release the following remakes, reboots, or perhaps remasters of these old games. That’s quite a long list of IPs to reinvent. Not all the delisted games will likely get a chance to be reinvented. But now that the old Genesis and Dreamcast games won’t be available digitally, it might be best to preserve them in your library. They’re bound to be more valuable now.
