Since its arcade debut in 1999, the Virtua Tennis series has been the go-to game for an experience with the wackier side of tennis. The series has been defined by its inclusion of power shots and crazy training minigames while retaining the more solid mechanics found in other, more simulation-esque tennis games. Virtua Tennis 4 strikes that same balance of simulated absurdity.
Sega's prominent tennis sim just couldn't be beat. And then vanished without a trace. Why?
Answer: Sega.
You could change the name of the game in the title that was awesome in its day, could still be around today because of its fun factor with a remake, remaster or sequel, that's in their huge back catalog, that's no longer being produced as a franchise. And the answer would still be the same: Sega.
As much as I love their games and their spunky attitude. That Sega no longer exists that I grew up with. The current company is a mere shadow of its former self with only a few moments of grandeur. Which is why owning their previous consoles like Dreamcast, is a necessary thing if you want to continue playing games like Virtua Tennis. The reason why I have two of them just in case one stops working. And of course emulation on the go. Wink. Dreams do come in red.
Both Virtua Tennis and Top Spin have gone. It’s annoying for tennis game players.
Yeah....all 5 of them. Obviously, game budgets now outweigh profit for what essentially boils down to Pong. I'm not talking about coders but licensing costs. Boxing, golf, etc...all fall in this category where real life athletes far supersede their worth in video games. Same thing occurred to Sony's Playstation All-stars. Sony spent 2 generations helping to cultivate all these 3rd party mascots into recognizable assets but when it came to license them for a game, they didn't want to pay the exorbitant fee. That game's 1 million sales didn't warrant a sequel and I very much doubt ANY tennis game could reach that sales plateau
It’s funny how you’re over the age of 3 and don’t know how to read properly 😅😅 Why the bizarre response?
I couldn’t care less about licensing in a tennis or golf game. I don't need real-life players or locations/tournaments.
Just give me some fun cool characters, some courts/courses in varied gorgeous locations, and use the Virtua Tennis or Everybody’s Golf gameplay. That’s it.
I used to play tennis IRL and in videogames. My 2-cents is that a boring game that was simulating an extremely boring sport, was thrown under the rug, now that the devs can produce more complex and interesting games.
It's like the tetris-like games and games like space-invaders, that stopped being produced ... it is because they were good and simple to make in the early days of commercial videogame development but they are just not as interesting as, let's say, an open-world coop arpg ...
GF365: "The US Open is currently underway. It reminds me of the lack of top-notch tennis video games on PS4 and Xbox One. In short: we need a new Virtua Tennis or Top Spin."
Couldn’t agree more. Been too long since I last broke some ankles in a good tennis sim.
I don’t play tennis irl, but these two games series I played the hell out of. Definitely need a new one.
Anna Kornikova’s Smash Court Tennis should have a come back!
Love them bomb blast games
Preferred the top spin series compared to Virtua but since Top Spin 4. Tennis games have been dire and bad. From bad development and junky controls nothing comes close to TS4. Only new Tennis game I've actually enjoyed has been Mario Tennis on the Switch
VGChartz's Adam Cartwright: "Ever since the advent of full-game downloads on consoles, it seems the market has slowly been shifting towards a digital future where games are delivered through internet connections rather than physical disks. While the convenience this brings is undeniable, and plenty of gamers have embraced having a stuffed memory card in their Vita, there are major pitfalls that are slowly beginning to show, one of which is that games can be delisted without any prior warning, leaving them lost to time unless you bought them before they disappeared."
nice interview