Sega is a very popular company, having gained a lot of fans in the 1990s when it was one of the biggest developers and publishers of games for the consoles of the time, like the SNES or PlayStation 1. Although not a lot has been heard about the company these days, it still manages to release quite a few titles that are sure to have some very decent sales, like Football Manager.

Recently the Japanese company announced that it would be releasing a collection of 40 games that originally appeared on the Sega Genesis console. The pack, entitled Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection, is slated for an early 2009 release and will contain very popular titles like Sonic 1, 2, and 3, the Streets of Rage series, Ecco the Dolphin or Space Harrier.

It will be released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles, with a native resolution of 720p by using animations that are a bit more blurry, to mask the pixels that might ruin the whole gaming experience. The pack will also contain some of the popular titles from the 8-bit collection of 1980s Sega games.

"SEGA Mega Drive Ultimate Collection is a must-have for any SEGA enthusiast," commented Gary Knight, European marketing director for SEGA Europe. "Fans will get a chance to relive fond memories from these classic games in HD format."

This is definitely great news for retro fans who have some very fond memories with a lot of these classic titles. These games had a massive fan base when they were launched back in the day, and now, a lot of people are sure to grab this collection, for the chance to relive those past experiences.

The decision to revamp some older titles isn't a new strategy in the game world, as Capcom will employ it with the classic Street Fighter franchise, with Street Fighter IV and the HD version of Super Street Fighter II Remix. It definitely looks like retro gaming is the new direction the big companies are heading in.