We thought it might happen, and now it's official. SEGA has announced that it is delisting various classic Sonic games on Xbox (and other platforms) to make way for their newly remastered versions as part of the upcoming Sonic Origins.
This means that the original Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles and Sonic CD will no longer be purchasable separately on various platforms including Xbox as of May 20th, 2022.
It's understandable that SEGA wants us to enjoy these titles as part of Sonic Origins, and it looks like that game will have the best versions of them, but obviously it's a much more expensive package than buying them separately.
Right now, you can get something like Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for just £3.39 / $4.99 on the Xbox Store, so it's something to think about if you aren't too bothered about what Sonic Origins has to offer. Just make sure you're quick about it!
Disappointed about this? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below.
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Comments 9
I hate this.
Come on Sega, MS/XBOX have done so much for game preservation with back compat, they have really lead the field in the console space and yeah sure if you already bought it you can continue to play it.... But these games aren't being withdrawn from sale due to licensing issues (which are annoying in themselves), it is purely to make people buy the new shiny versions.
Crap decision Sega, I look at you in a worse light now. I won't be buying Origins.
EDIT:
I already owned Sonic CD, I just picked all the others up, so yeah Sega you got some money out of me, but you won't be getting any more.
@JetmanUK Yea I wanted to say the same thing. Xbox does all the work for backwards compatibility and then this happens. Take them off BC and re-sell them. Really bad. Same happened with the Doom games but they reversed it and restored them.
My Series X has so many backwards compatible Sonic games, it’s cool for anyone who wants to check them out but now you can’t.
The only good thing about it is that it was announced beforehand - better than a surprise delisting.
Given how difficult I found it to buy Sonic 3 off the Xbox store they should just leave them there, surely the improvements sell the new versions anyway and on Switch they are leaving the Sega Ages versions of 1 and 2 which are better than these.
Honestly, I played through Sonic 2 on NSO+ last week, and it was fun, but it left my desire to play a Sonic game very well satisfied and I think I’ll be holding off on the package until that inevitable deep sale. With the controversy on pricing and the digital only status of it, I think it’ll be on sale pretty quickly.
Well if this ain't the scummiest thing.
Thankfully I already own them all. And this action itself only solidifies me never buying Origins in any capacity that gives Sega money.
If I do get it, will likely be second hand from a mom and pop shop. But all this on top of the currency system pretty much is a no go from me.
@Xiovanni Fwiw, I recently played through X1 - X3 on the Switch and had zero issues with input lag.
If Origins really IS the best version of the game then why de-list all these other versions? If Origins is worth it then people would buy it over these titles.
@PhileasFragg Price, the 4 360 games combined is £12.06 meanwhile Origins is £32.99. It's the same reason Nintendo delisted the Wii U version of Tropical Freeze back in 2018 (and Pikmin 3 in 2020 but that got reversed over massive backlash).
@FraserG Sonic 3 & Knuckles have been delisted early.
https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/sonic-the-hedgehog-3/c59c8g9pqn1d
https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/sonic-knuckles/bxpk5k67dlj4
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