Sega yesterday announced plans to celebrate their 60th birthday by giving away a number of small retro-y games, including a Streets Of Rage-style demake of Yakuza and the prototype of a cancelled Golden Axe reboot. That last one has turned out to be a big surprise for some of the people who worked on it, who do not have good things to say about their experience of trying to resurrect the side-scrolling fantasy stabber. Not quite the pleasant nostalgic jaunt Sega had hoped for, this.

Update: Sega have responded with a statement saying they didn’t mean to “dredge up painful memories” or “appear disrespectful”, and have changed the Steam description. Read it in full below.>

(more…)

This Future Is Disappointing, Part #89: look at Jet Set Radio then look outside your window. Are a colourful cast of rollerbladers grinding down rails wound around your home and spraying neat tags? Of course not. But hey, at least all and sundry can now have a bash at JSR for free, as Sega have made it free for a little while on Steam. Also going free are platformer Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit and ye olde Golden Axe. Grab ‘em now and they’re yours for keepsies!

… [visit site to read more]