E3: Sega Announces HD-Enhanced Vintage Collection For Live Arcade

Sega has announced the first five titles in its new Xbox Live Arcade lineup of reworked classics to be known as the Sega Vintage Collection, with five titles including Sonic the Hedgehog, Golden Axe and Streets of Rage 2 coming soon to the service. Sonic the Hedgehog and Golden Axe kicked off the series, as announced at Microsoft's E3 conference yesterday, with Streets of Rage 2, Ecco the Dolphin, and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 slated to become available "shortly thereafter". Featuring newly-enhanced graphics, each title in the collection will also have its own standard set of achievement points and online leaderboards, and online multiplayer modes added to Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Golden Axe and Streets of Rage 2. Titles in the collection will be added to the service at a standard starting price of 400 Microsoft Points ($5). Sega has not yet announced if titles in the Vintage Collection will be limited to 16-bit MegaDrive/Genesis titles, or if other consoles will eventually be joining the collection. Sega of America marketing VP Scott A. Steinberg called the games "ground-breaking in their day," adding, "with their debut on Xbox Live Arcade, gamers can enjoy these classics with all new HD-enhanced graphics and online features."