Yesterday Sega announced the 40-strong Mega Drive Ultimate Collection for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation3, and fans were ecstatic, until they saw screenshots of the title’s HD smoothing in action. Yes it’s hideous, but it’s also completely optional. Martin Snelling of Sega UK confirmed with RPG Site that the hideous-looking smoothing filter can be shut off. Even better, all games will play in whatever aspect ratio your television supports. “I’ve had confirmation that the filter can indeed be switched off…And the games will display at whatever ratio your console is set at – 4:3 or 16:9. If playing in 16:9 the game will fit and not have black borders at the side.”
One would think the awesome power of today’s consoles and easy access to games in downloadable form would make publishers steer clear of retro compilations, but not Sega. They’ve just announced a 40 game strong compilation of classic Sega Genesis titles, coming in early 2009 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection will contain 40 16-bit classics, including Sonic 1, 2, and 3, the Streets of Rage series, Ecco the Dolphin, Space Harrier, and obviously more, along with bonus content from the Master System and Sega’s own 80′s arcade games. To sweeten the pot for today’s high-def console owners, the collection will be able to output the games at 720p, utilising some sort of ‘better blurry than blocky’ technology.
“SEGA Mega Drive Ultimate Collection is a must-have for any SEGA enthusiast,” commented Gary Knight, European Marketing Director for SEGA Europe. “Fans will get a chance to relive fond memories from these classic games in HD format.”
Oh the reliving we shall do! Hit link on the jump for more screenshots of your childhood favourites looking all runny.
