Sega to delist 60 games off digital storefronts
On November 6th 2024, Sega announced that on December 6th they will be delisting 60 Genesis and Dreamcast games from digital storefronts. These games will no longer be able to be purchased or otherwise obtained digitally and legally past this date. This comes as a major blow to the accessibility and preservation of these games. Sure, they might make a subscription service where you can play these games on the most up to date systems (they confirmed you can with a switch online subscription but only "select individual classic titles") but it only goes to show how increasingly anti consumer big game companies have gotten. "You will own nothing and be happy"
Delisted Dreamcast Games
- Crazy Taxi
- Jet Set Radio
- NiGHTS into Dreams
- Sega Bass Fishing
- Space Channel 5: Part 2 (Part 1 was never released on other platforms)
Delisted Genesis Games
- Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
- Alien Soldier
- Alien Storm
- Altered Beast
- Beyond Oasis
- Bio-Hazard Battle
- Bonanza Bros
- Columns
- Columns III
- Comix Zone
- Crack Down
- Decap Attack
- Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine
- Dynamite Headdy
- Ecco Jr.
- Ecco the Dolphin
- Ecco: The Tides of Time
- ESWAT: City Under Siege
- Eternal Champions
- Fatal Labyrinth
- Flicky
- Galaxy Force II
- Gain Ground
- Golden Axe
- Golden Axe II
- Golden Axe III
- Gunstar Heroes
- Kid Chameleon
- Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole
- Light Crusader
- Phantasy Star II
- Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom
- Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium
- Ristar
- Shadow Dancer
- Shining Force
- Shining Force II
- Shining in the Darkness
- Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
- Sonic 3D Blast
- Sonic Spinball
- Space Harrier II
- Streets of Rage
- Streets of Rage 2
- Streets of Rage 3
- Super Thunder Blade
- Sword of Vermilion
- The Revenge of Shinobi
- ToeJam & Earl
- ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkoton
- VectorMan
- VectorMan 2
- Virtua Fighter 2
- Wonder Boy in Monster World
- Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair
The Missing Rūdīzu Report
One of my favorite game series was effected by the decision that Sega made. Jet Set Radio was only able to be purchased on steam. Jet Set Radio Future has been unobtainable on digital marketplaces for it's entire existence. (22 years!) These games did not fade into obscurity, they still very much have a following. Despite this, the best sega was willing to do was keep up the steam page for JSR and now even that is apparently too much to ask from them! Yes I am aware of the remake, no I don't think it matches what a Jet Set Radio game ought to be visually! The cellshading and style is half the draw to these games to begin with. It's what made JSR such a big deal in the first place.
The reality of this decision
The anti consumer nature of Sega's choice will ultimately lead to people resorting to piracy, paying exorbitant prices to get physical copies of games that continue to scratch and get disc rot over time, or games becoming "lost media" forgotten by future generations due to a lack of legal accessibility and out of touch copyright holders. The only games that survive this delisting are the sonic games and not even all of those survived.
Anyways you know what they say about these kinds of things...
Hey 360 and PS3 Owners, time to shine
Sega has released game collections in the past. For genesis games, a collection that I recommend is Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection. It was released for the Xbox 360 and PS3, I found a copy at my local retro game store and it was only $14.99. It comes with 40 games, however you own the disc. Nobody can come and claim "Hey, you can't play this anymore" or restrict the sale of it. Anyways enjoy this image of a crusty game case.
Missing Games
- Alien Soldier
- Bio-Hazard Battle
- Columns III
- Crack Down
- Ecco Jr.
- Eternal Champions
- Galaxy Force II
- Gunstar Heroes
- Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole
- Light Crusader
- Shadow Dancer
- Sonic Spinball
- Space Harrier II
- Sword of Vermilion
- The Revenge of Shinobi
- ToeJam & Earl
- ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkoton
- Virtua Fighter 2
- Wonder Boy in Monster World
- Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair