Sega to "continue reinvention of classic IP" over next 3 to 5 years

Following today's news of Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown, Sega West president Mike Hayes has told VG247 it'll continue to reinvent some some of its classic IPs over the next three to five years on various platforms.

He said to us in a phone interview a couple of weeks back that it "constantly" looks at its back catalogue. Yes, that includes - but isn't limited to - Shenmue.

"We constantly review the IP we've got in the locker because that's one of Sega's big advantages," Hayes said.

"And when we bring it out and do it properly, like re-imagine Sonic or doing Sega Rally Arcade Online and stuff like that, we have success. Some of it when we try and do it, like Golden Axe on PS3 and 360, it didn't do so well.

"So we carefully look at each IP and every month, we review the locker of IP and think, 'how could we release those and if so, what are we going to? Will it be a big game, digital, free-to-play?' We constantly look at it. What I can say is that you will continue to see a reinvention of classic Sega IP coming to various platforms over the next three-five years."

Hayes added that its plan is a "cornerstone of our strategy," citing the upcoming Shinobi 3DS as part of the plan working.

"Shinobi on 3DS is a good example and some of the digital games we're releasing are good examples, like the Golden Axe redeux and stuff like that. So you'll see more of it, but we literally look at it all the time."

And yes, we did ask about Shenmue. But not 3. To be more specific, we asked about Shenmue City, the game's F2P title when we talked to Hayes about the popularity of the market and if it would come west from Japan. Don't count on it, though.

"There are no plans for Shenmue City."

Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown releases next summer for PSN and XBL. Get the rest of our interview with Mike Hayes here.