Sega delisting standalone versions of Sonic 1, 2, 3, and CD ahead of Sonic Origins' arrival
Hedge trimmer.
Sega has revealed it'll be delisting the standalone versions of Sonic of Hedgehog 1, 2, 3, and CD from all digital stores on 20th May - just in time, although it doesn't say as much, for the the arrival of its upcoming retro bundle, Sonic Origins.
Currently, standalone copies of Sonic the Hedgehog 1, 2, 3, and CD can be purchased for between £3-4 a piece on Steam and the Xbox Store, putting their combined value significantly below the £32.99/$39.99 asking price of Sonic Origins' standard edition.
As of those games' delisting on 20th May, however, the only way to purchase Sonic's early titles digitally will be via Sonic Origins, with the one exception: the Sega Ages versions of Sonic 1 and 2 on Switch will remain on sale. Sega also notes Sonic the Hedgehog 2 will remain playable as part of a Nintendo Switch Online + subscription.
While Sonic Origins will present a significant mark-up on the currently available versions of Sonic 1, 2, 3, and CD, Sega is, of course, attempting to justify the upcoming bundle's price with a number of new features.
All four games have been "remastered", for starters, and include the likes of opening and ending animations, museum content that can be unlocked by completing challenges, and two separate game modes for each title: Classic mode features limited lives and the games' original aspect ratio, while Anniversary mode includes fullscreen support and unlimited lives.
Sonic Origins will launch for Switch, Steam, the Epic Games Store, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on 23rd June, and you've got until 20th May to snap up the existing standalone versions of Sonic 1, 2, 3 and CD from digital stores if you'd prefer.