Sega Launching Genesis Emulator for iPhone
Sega is launching a free Genesis emulator for the iPhone and iPod Touch next month, and will include a free game.
Gizmodo reports that Sega is gearing up to release a free Genesis emulator for the iPhone and iPod Touch next month. Currently Sega already offers six standalone games for the platform: Streets of Rage, Golden Axe, Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Monkey Ball, and more.
With that said, why would Sega bother to release an emulator? It's all about microtransactions. With Apple giving the thumbs up for in-app purchasing across the board, game developers are finding ways to offer free or reduced-priced apps... and make additional revenue on the side. Sega is embracing this structure with the release of its upcoming Sega Genesis Ultimate Collection app.
According to Gizmodo, the emulator app will come packed with one free game: Space Harrier II. Gamers will also be able to purchase Sonic the Hedgehog ($5.99), Golden Axe ($4.99), Ecco the Dolphin ($2.99), and Shining Force ($2.99) at launch. Currently there's no indication that pre-purchased copies of Sonic and Golden Axe will be migrated into the app.
The original Sega Genesis Collection release contained a plethora of Sega classics including Altered Beast, Comix Zone, Phantasy Star II - IV, Shinobi III, Vectorman, Virtua Fighter 2, and twenty other titles. Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection, released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 last year, offered a whopping 48 Sega games, some of which must be unlocked.
Although Sega did not reveal the emulator's eventual library, we expect an official announcement soon.
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$6 USD for a mobile phone game? No. $0.99 USD for the game, then maybe.
it's like a SEGA GAME GEAR but with out the crappy battery life and small screen lol. Still 6 bucks for a genesis game is too much. I agree that it should be $0.99^
it's like a SEGA GAME GEAR but with out the crappy battery life and small screen lol. Still 6 bucks for a genesis game is too much. I agree that it should be $0.99^
LOL the game gear had crappy battery life as well... I cant remember how many AA batteries it took
^ the answer is 6
Emulator = $6
Per Genesis Game = $1
Do that and I'll probably buy that...... On the PSP. =P
The GameGear and Nomad were both far superior to the GameBoy of the same time period, technically. They had Backlit color displays and 16-bit graphics, while the GameBoy sported 2-bit greyscale and no backlight.
But 6 AA's for 6 hours (2 hours for the Nomad!) was ridiculous, especially when rechargeable batteries were still expensive and impractical. Not to mention the cost for the system itself (when new). But still, the Nomad was pretty cool for being a (nearly) complete mobile Genesis with TV out and two-player capability.
Did Steve Snake write it for them?
Hah, the vector man games were so awesome. Makes me want to go and bust out an emulator
$3 for Shining Force? Sign me up!
The Game Gear didn't have 16-bit graphics, however it did feature a much larger colour palette than both the Master System and Mega Drive/Genesis, despite being limited in how it used it (32 of 4,096 - reminds me of the Amiga 600).
Turning the iPhone into a Nomad is great, but the prices do worry me. Why not charge based on the size of the game and not because of its name? I certainly wouldn't pay $6 for the first Sonic.
$6 for sonic?
I have a genesis in my closet, with Sonic... really.
$6... wow.
They should charge $1 per 8 megabits of game. So... $1 for Sonic, $2 for Streets of Rage 2, $3 for Street Fighter II: SCE, and so on. Most 16-bit titles wouldn't be any more than 16Mbit.
Golden Axe was fun, but it lacked stereo sound plus some of the coin-op's animation. It was also a 4Mbit cartridge, so... $0.50?
As time goes by, I increasingly feel I'm amongst a minority that believes there is a time, a place and a console for everything.
The GameGear and Nomad were both far superior to the GameBoy of the same time period, technically. They had Backlit color displays and 16-bit graphics, while the GameBoy sported 2-bit greyscale and no backlight.But 6 AA's for 6 hours (2 hours for the Nomad!) was ridiculous, especially when rechargeable batteries were still expensive and impractical. Not to mention the cost for the system itself (when new). But still, the Nomad was pretty cool for being a (nearly) complete mobile Genesis with TV out and two-player capability.
The Game Gear was basically a portable Master System, but with lower resolution and a much higher colour pallet. The Nomad was a portable Mega Drive/Genesis. Even the Game Gear had much more horsepower than the Game Boy. Don't think it was more powerfull than the Game Boy Color, though.
56 from 32,768 but at the same res at standard Game Boy and Game Gear (160x144). The CPU was double the speed (8MHz Z80-clone) and the memory was quadrupled to 32KB system, 16KB VRAM. It would have been easily superior to the Game Gear, and it came out a good 8 years later.
For reference, the Master System used 16 of 64 colours (ignoring shadow/highlight tricks) at 256x192, whereas the Mega Drive/Genesis used 64 of 512 colours at 320x224. All of the handhelds sported stereo sound; the Game Boy seemed to have a stereo version of the NES's audio system, and likewise for the Game Gear as compared to the Master System.
If I had an Iphone, I'd get it. Maybe I should look into a PC emulator. I remember lots of good times playing Altered Beast, Golden Axe II (better than the 1st) and Rock n Roll Racing.
A PC emulator would certainly be cheaper. Not that I'm condoning piracy, mind you, though aren't you still allowed to own software versions of cartridges that you physically possess?
Emulators in themselves aren't illegal. I play a Saturn emulator on my PC using the original game discs because my Saturn won't read discs (seems to do that a lot).
Ummm did they announce how would you be able to control the game on a iPhone? Do you have to buy a controller or you have to use the touch screen and thus make the screen smaller?
Ummm did they announce how would you be able to control the game on a iPhone? Do you have to buy a controller or you have to use the touch screen and thus make the screen smaller?
That's exactly what I'm wondering. Presuming they are just doing straight emulation then the games aren't exactly going to have the iPhone's control system in mind... And genesis games were pretty heavy on the button mashing, they could be quite hard to play on a touch screen.