Sega’s Master System comes to the Virtual Console
Not content with letting Nintendo dominate the 8-bit market on the Wii Virtual Console, Sega has announced that, starting in February, they will begin adding their Master System back-catalog to the service. There is no official starting date yet, nor is there an official price structure. However, the first two games to be released in Japan will be Fist of the North Star and Fantasy Zone, which will cost 600 and 500 points, respectively. Considering how Fist of North Star is a license game, we can probably expect most Master System games to be in line with NES pricing.
It was also announced that Sega Game Gear games will be distributed under the Master System banner. This will be the first handheld console to release games on the service, which will hopefully lead to Gameboy and Gameboy Advance downloads.
While not being particularly successfully in either Japan or America, the Master System did have a devoted following in some European countries. Subsequently, there are many cult favorites for the system, including the first Phantasy Star game. Originally released for the insane price of $80 in 1987, the inevitable re-release will hopefully be a tad more affordable.
via Neogaf
- Rob O’Reilly
