Out with the old, in with the new is very much the latest piece of news from SEGA’s PR team, as the company has announced that the standalone digital releases of the Classic Sonic games included in Sonic Origins will be delisted. That’s Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles and Sonic CD.
There’s no mention of specific platforms, but it’s safe to say this probably applies mostly to Steam (the only platform that currently offers all four of the titles standalone). That being said, the press release does note that the versions of Sonic 1 and 2 released for the SEGA AGES line on Nintendo Switch will survive the purge, as will the available titles on the Nintendo Switch Online Mega Drive app.
It’s perhaps to be expected, but still quite a shame. In particular the Sonic 3 & Knuckles and Sonic CD releases offered legal means to use fan projects such as Sonic 3 A.I.R. and the Sonic CD decompliation project. It’s also somewhat odd as the versions of Sonic 1, 2 and 3&K on digital platforms aren’t even the souped-up Retro Engine versions offered by Origins. That is, unless this purge includes the mobile releases… which would be confusing seeing as Origins isn’t coming to that platform.
On the whole it’s a bit of a rubbish situation for preservation as delistings always are, but from a business standpoint was probably to be expected. We’ll forgive them if they relist After Burner Climax on consoles somehow. Maybe.
When Tracker isn’t playing SEGA games, he’s talking about SEGA games. Or drawing about SEGA games. Or all of the above. You can also catch him over on Twitter.
