Skip to main content

Sega Rally hands-on preview: A new age for digitally distributed games?

The concept of selling games via the online services like Xbox Live and PlayStation Network is nothing new. The trend has been gaining steam in recent months, but primarily it remains the realm of the indie developers, as well as the developers looking to repackage older titles for a new system. You go online, scan the library, drop some cash and after a short download you are playing the game you chose. Typically, those games have relied on clever gameplay to make up for what many have perceived as a lack of sophistication. Online distributed games have never seen the budgets that major releases on physical media can muster, so it makes sense.

That trend may be changing, if developers like Sega have anything to say about it.

Recommended Videos

Although GDC has not officially opened to the public yet, several groups are looking to promote their new titles before the official event begins. Sega joins the early risers with Sega Rally, an online-distributed game that offers a handful of cars and tracks that you can play through a campaign, with a friend via split-screen, or with up to 22 others online.

The game itself doesn’t offer the customization that the DiRT or Gran Tourismo franchises can offer, but Sega Rally doesn’t try to be anything other than what it is — a fun racing game. The controls are simple but responsive, and the racing is straightforward and moves well. The physics feel well tuned, and there is a logic to the way the cars move.

Overall, Sega Rally is a fun game, but with a twist — it looks great. It isn’t that developers couldn’t create top-notch graphics for a game that was only available for digital distribution, they can, it has just been a matter of resources. But games like Sega Rally — and a handful of others you will be hearing about later this year — show that developers have caught up with the mainstream in a way.

You probably won’t see games with a $100 million budget as online-only titles anytime soon, but if games like Sega Rally can be offered for a moderate price, and still be fun to play, there could be a shift in the coming years, or more likely months. Mid-level titles may disappear from the stores and re-appear as online only titles, with a smaller price tag and a wider potential audience base. The libraries available on XBL and PSN both continue to grow, and the next evolution seems to be heading towards games that would once have been released in stores instead heading online at lower prices.

Don’t expect Bethesda or Rockstar to abandon their current business model, but publishers like Tecmo Koei, and Namco Bandai, neither of which have the reach in America that they do in Japan, may forgo the typical release model of charging $60 for titles that are not geared for American audiences.

But that is all potential and possibility. For now though, keep an eye out for Sega Rally. No price has been announced, but it should be available later this spring on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network.

Ryan Fleming
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…
This excellent game about waiting is the anti-WarioWare
A boy waits at an airport in While Waiting.

How much of your life is spent waiting? Think about it. Waiting at the DMV, waiting for a train, waiting for an important phone call, waiting for your perpetually late friend to show up, waiting to grow up. Life is a long endurance test of patience.

That’s the simple thesis of While Waiting, a new puzzle game that’s deceptively emotional. On paper, it sounds like a one-note gag. It features 100 bite-sized levels, each tossing players into a familiar life experience that requires some form of waiting. It’s like the anti-WarioWare, swapping five second microgames for drawn out ones that require virtually no reaction time. Don’t let that light premise take your guard down, though: While Waiting is an ingenious bit of video game storytelling that’ll stick with you so long as you’ve got the patience to see it through.

Read more
One of 2024’s most overlooked games just came to consoles. Don’t miss it twice
A young girl in a white dress looks back. She carries a bag and a bow on her back while holding an orange leaf in her hand.

We are currently in something of a Metroidvania boom. With the genre reaching peak saturation, new releases -- of which there are many -- are forced to expand upon the core formula fans know and love in hopes of standing out. Take the thrilling Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist as an example, which imbues the Metroidvania with RPG systems and a focus on player builds. Momodora: Moonlit Farewell, on the other hand, believes that simple is better.

Originally released in January 2024, Moonlit Farewell is the fifth and final entry in developer Bombservice’s Momodora series. While it might not have any ostentatious additions to the basic Metroidvania formula, Moonlit Farewell’s devotion to a sleek rendition of the genre’s core pillars make it a refreshing adventure. The game went under the radar in 2024 but now, with its release on consoles, Metroidvania fans have the perfect way to tide yourself over until Hollow Knight: Silksong.

Read more
Trading digital Pokémon TCG Pocket cards is a risky but lucrative business
Trade cards in Pokémon TCG Pocket.

After Pokémon TCG Pocket released its controversial trading feature, an odd sort of "black market" has arisen around some of the rarer cards. Some players have started to sell the digital cards on eBay, charging anywhere from $5 to $10 per card. Yes, it's a definite violation of the games' terms and conditions, but the real-money trades are difficult to prove and present little financial risk to the seller  — but don't think it's an easy to line your pockets.

The initial release of the trading mechanic was met with backlash from players. Developer Creatures, Inc promised changes to the way the system works, but provided few details regarding how or when those changes would take place — and while there are restrictions on how trading works, those restrictions haven't stopped players from finding workarounds.

Read more