SEGA ANNOUNCES 'LOST LEVELS COLLECTION' CONSISTING OF NiGHTS 2.0, SHENMUE III, RISTAR: PLANETS ALIGNED AND DUKE NUKEM FOREVER
TOKYO, Japan - SEGA had leaked to the press that they were planning a surprise title, but none expected a collection of classic, unreleased gems that many gamers speculated would never see the light of day. Managing Director Hideki Okamura referred to the new release as the Lost Levels Collection, a tongue-in-cheek reference to all the of titles' lengthy production cycles.
The crowd gasped as Okamura carefully displayed each game in the collection via a live Internet broadcast, starting with the long awaited NiGHTS 2.0 and ending with the biggest surprise of them all - Duke Nukem Forever. Duke Nukem Forever, a notoriously titled piece of "vaporware" is not even a SEGA property, and its journey to joining the likes of SEGA was an odd one. "We originally joked around that we should include Duke Nukem Forever considering the theme of the collection," said Hideki Okamura, "Then one of our executives had lunch with another at Take-Two and shared the joke. At first, they laughed, but then it was decided that this would be a great opportunity to release the game in this format. Apparently, it had been done for years, but was aging so badly that Take-Two shelved it."
The other announcement that sent shockwaves through the industry was the inclusion of Shenmue III, which is apparently unfinished and will not resolve the series' epic storyline. "We talked with Yu, who has washed his hands from the project, and he just wanted the playable stuff released. We are tinkering with having another development studio tack on an ending that is loosely based on the ending written by Yu. But if it takes too long, this collection might be delayed! [Okamura laughs]"
To cap off the epic announcement, SEGA announced that it will be releasing the Lost Levels Collection exclusively for the Nintendo Wii, disappointing fans of rival videogame consoles. "The Wii has firmly planted itself both in Japan and abroad as the market leader," said Okamura, "And we are in the business of making money. The ability to use the Wii controller to bring all of these anticipated games to fans in a new, innovative way is just a bonus."
SEGA says the Lost Levels Collection will hit store shelves in time for Christmas, with a MSRP of $59.99.
