The next round of Model 2 games will stay in Japan
When Sega originally teased their Model 2 Collection was coming to Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network, they previewed the games in two batches. We’ve already gotten the first batch, which included Virtua Fighter 2, Fighting Vipers, and Sonic the Fighters (see our review here). Batch two was slated to include dual-joystick classic Virtual-On as well as Virtua Striker.
Unfortunately, according to Destructoid, Sega has today announced that there are no plans to bring Virtual-On or Virtua Striker to english-speaking audiences – they will remain exclusive to Japan. This is not the first time Sega has neglected to release a Virtual-On game in America; in 2010, they released “Virtual-On Force” for the Xbox 360 in Japan, an HD remake of the original Virtual-On game. However, Sega did publish the english Dreamcast version of Virtual-On 2: Oratorio Tangram on Xbox Live Arcade back in 2009.
Given that a localized version of the original Virtual-On has existed in Arcades and on the Sega Saturn for more than a decade, it seems odd that they would pass on releasing this new version in english, but that’s the way it looks from here.
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Who cares? I think it’s enough that the Sonic-skinned one was released here.
Maybe the first batch had really poor sales anyway.
They were dismal sellers in the West.
Why?? I was waiting for Virtual-On. I never got to play the arcade game, only the Saturn version. This is depressing, because I’m a huge fan of the series.
SEGA: “We don’t like money”
Real smart, SEGA, real smart.
Jeffrey: You must be confusing this game with Virtua Fighters or Fighting Vipers. Virtual On is about mechs fighting/shooting in big 3D arenas (sorta similar to what Budokai Tenkaichi is today).
For the record, I was looking forward to Virtual On just as much if not more than Sonic the Fighters, none other of the AM2 games I care about. T_T
I would’ve liked to see Virtual On make its way stateside. Giant mechs are the shit.
I think it will be the first time on Xbox Live story that an XBLA game doesn´t get released outside Japan. As far as I know, there´s no single game that got released only in Japan. The most similar case was Bubble Bobble Neo, which got released there months sooner because another Arcade game wasn´t going to be released there.
This is surprising, for Sega to be the first company to launch an XBLA game only in Japan.
Well sega is a very japanese centered company, (Fans of sonic and thus sega should learn this) so it makes sense in retrospect. However, I recommend people buy Oratorio Tangram for xbox live to show support of the Virtual-On series in the west.
Its a very great game, Especially considering that its over 12 years old and still looks and plays quite well. I have been lucky enough to stumble across a virtual-on community over xboxlive Called Oratan.com http://www.oratan.com/and i have been apart of a few online tournaments for VOOT. However since then, the community is getting smaller and people are forgetting about sega’s good ol japanese giant fighting robot game that out styles and out classes Armored Core in many ways.
Do some reading up on this game and at least try it out and get some of that old sega classic goodness that sega has neglected to bring to the west since the dreamcast era.
Guys relax, if its a digital game, you can just download it with a japanese account, switch back to your regular account and purchase it from there. Simples.
@AshtonNextGen
Microsoft has been known to ban people who register foreign accounts, and you’d have to buy Japan-specific Microsoft points, too.
@Ryan Bloom
Really? Why? I don’t understand the harm in it if all you wanna do is browse foreign ps-stores/marketplaces/e-shops/etc
Seriously f**k the guys who came up with all of this region locking bullcrap, the minute the world ditches their ways we can finally move on as a species!