Sega Ages is a series of video game versions, new editions, and collections made by Sega. It includes games from Sega's arcade machines and home consoles, such as the Sega Genesis and Master System. The series began on the Sega Saturn in 1996. Later, games were released for the PlayStation 2 under the name Sega Ages 2500, which refers to its ¥2500 price. The series also appeared on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 as Sega Ages Online, and on the Nintendo Switch as Sega Ages. The name "Sega Ages" is a palindrome, meaning it reads the same backward. The word "Ages" is "Sega" spelled backward. This naming style was used by Sega in Europe during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Games released for the Sega Saturn and PlayStation 2 often included one main game with additional features, such as remakes or developer information, and were sold at low prices. Most of these releases were only available in Japan. Three games—Space Harrier, Out Run, and After Burner II—were included in Sega Ages Volume 1, which was released in Europe in 1996 and in North America in 1997. Later, several PlayStation 2 games were released in Europe and North America as part of the Sega Classics Collection in 2005. The PlayStation 2 series was first created by 3D Ages, a team formed by Sega and D3 Publisher. However, after D3 Publisher left the project, Sega took over the development of the games.
Games
The first Sega Ages series was released in 1996 for the Sega Saturn in Japan and ended in 1998. Most of the games in this series were only available in Japan, but three games—Out Run, Space Harrier, and After Burner II—were included in a compilation called Sega Ages Volume 1. This compilation was released in Europe in 1996 by Sega and in North America in 1997 by Working Designs under their Spaz imprint. No additional volumes were released in these regions. Due to technical challenges, Working Designs had to remove the original arcade music from Out Run to make space for all three games on the disc. The game still included an arranged version of the music. Reasons for the removal were explained in the developer and translator notes in the manual.
= Released in North America as part of Sega Ages and Europe as part of Sega Ages Volume 1.
The second series was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2003 and ended in 2008. It was called the Sega Ages 2500 series, named after the ¥2500 price point of the games. This series was inspired by the success of D3 Publisher’s Simple budget-title series, which sold low-cost games. This led Sega and D3 Publisher to create a new company called 3D Ages in 2003 to develop games for the Sega Ages 2500 series. In 2004, D3 Publisher left the project, giving Sega full control of the company.
The main goal of the series was to remake older Sega games with 3D graphics, better sound, and improved gameplay. After D3 Publisher left, the series shifted to include compilations of other Sega games alongside remakes. The series officially ended in 2008 after 33 releases, though some games like Streets of Rage and Alex Kidd were planned but not released. 3D Ages was dissolved in late 2005 and merged into Sega.
Because of problems with Sony Computer Entertainment America, Sega could not release the games individually outside Japan. Instead, nine games from the Sega Ages 2500 series were compiled into the Sega Classics Collection for the PlayStation 2. This collection was released in North America by Sega in 2005 and in Europe by Conspiracy Entertainment in 2006.
= Released in North America and Europe as part of Sega Classics Collection. Alien Syndrome was removed from the European release to lower the game’s rating.
= Re-released on PlayStation Network for PlayStation 3 in Japan.
The third series was introduced and ended in 2012. These games were developed by M2 instead of Sega. Eleven games were released, making this the shortest series in the Sega Ages line.
The fourth Sega Ages series was released for the Nintendo Switch in September 2018 through the Nintendo eShop. This series was developed by M2, with lead producer Rieko Kodama from Sega. Although Sega mentioned plans to release games from the Sega Saturn and Dreamcast later, the series ended in Japan in August 2020 and in other regions the following month without these games. Sega stated its intention to continue re-releasing older titles in other ways.
Reception
The first Sega Ages collection sold many copies in the United Kingdom. Next Generation gave it a 3 out of 5 rating and said it was better than the Namco Museum series. GamePro had a negative review, saying the three games in the collection "were never very good" and suggested including other Sega games instead. Electronic Gaming Monthly's four reviewers all agreed the three games were excellent and praised their perfect copies of the original arcade games. However, they thought the collection should have included more games and historical information, like other retro compilations. They gave it a 6.5 out of 10. Sega Saturn Magazine gave it a 91% rating, praising the three games and the quality of the conversions. However, they said that After Burner and Space Harrier were not as useful because they had already been well-ported to the Sega Mega Drive and Sega 32X. They still thought the collection was worth buying for Out Run alone.