Virtua Tennis 2009

[Toxa]

Publisher: SEGA
Developer: Sumo Digital
Platform: PLAYSTATION®3 Computer Entertainment System
Genre: Sport
Players: Single-Player, 2-4 Players Online
Rating: “E3+” for Everyone 3+

Released on Blu-ray Disc: North America – Out Now | Europe – Out Now| Asia – NA

A new Virtua Tennis game is tantalisingly imminent, with SEGA announcing that Virtua Tennis 2009 will be coming to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC this May.

SEGA's being coy on who's developing the title, with an official spokesperson unwilling to disclose whether the game's being made in-house, being handled by Sumo Digital, the team responsible for the home ports of Virtua Tennis 3, or being developed elsewhere.

One of the early games of the current generation, Virtua Tennis 3 was served an 8.0 when reviewed in 2007.

Virtua Tennis 2009 will retain the mini-games that have helped define the series' arcade status, and will also include an improved World Tour mode. Contemporary stars of the game such as Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Maria Shaparova also feature, joined by new additions such as Andy Murray and Ana Ivanovic. Virtua Tennis 2009 will also have the official Davis Cup license.

"The return of Virtua Tennis promises to be a real treat for both fans of the series and sports game fans everywhere" said SEGA's European Marketing Director Gary Knight.

We'll have a full preview of Virtua Tennis 2009 for you within the next few weeks.

Overview:

Virtua Tennis 2009 allows you to take on the world's top tennis players. Take on the likes of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer or play as Maria Sharapova against Venus Williams to recreate some classic court battles. Joining this impressive roster of tennis stars are Andy Murray and ladies French Open champion Ana Ivanovic. In addition to the traditional singles, doubles and mixed doubles matches, Virtua Tennis 2009 also has the official Davis Cup license, giving players the coveted opportunity to lead their country to glory.

General Features :

• Fan favorites return alongside each other in completely new minigames, ensuring the tradition is carried on into this new iteration of the series
• The popular World Tour Mode has been given innovative new features offering a fully integrated online system, and new online ranking system available for the PlayStation 3
• Player stumbling adds a new dimension to matches, while improved volleying, serving and net play allow you to express yourself on court like never before

[Mystique]

The PS3 version better have online mode. I got so bored playing against the computer in VT....

[brett_day]

cool! have always liked this franchise! Hopefully this will be a winner

[Toxa]

http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/968/968555p1.html

We popped by SEGA Australia's offices a couple of days ago for a quick – and we do mean quick – look at Virtua Tennis 2009. Expect a full rundown on the game soon, but for those of you craving a quick info-hit, this should tide you over for the moment:

• VT Factoid #1: It's once again being developed by Sumo, the UK-based studio behind the last Virtua Tennis, as well as the Outrun reboot. As you may have gathered from its previous games, this team likes mini-games with oversized fruit and comical alligators… a propensity which hasn't changed in Virtua Tennis 2009.
• VT Factoid #2: 23 of the world's top players are included in the game. Many return from the last game, but there are eight newcomers and three legends. For the former we're talking about Djokovic, Murray and Ivanovic. For the latter, Boris "Boom Boom" Becker, Tim "Does he really qualify as a legend yet?" Henman and Stefan "Hot-stuff coming through" Edberg are all in the game.
• VT Factoid #3: Lleyton Hewitt is not in the game. We can't see how this could be interpreted as a bad thing. Players that do return include Nadal, Federer and Sharapova, and as you'd expect, they have their signature stroke styles. Nadal's groundstrokes are immediately recognisable, for instance, as is Murray's jumping backhand and Roddick's serve.

• VT Factoid #4: The game has 40 courts to choose from, including vaguely exotic locations such as Dubai, where the court is high up, surrounded by skyscrapers, with a huge arching metal structure reaching over the court, and Shanghai, where play takes place on some variety of rectangular pitch, with lines marking out the borders. Innovative!
• VT Factoid #5: Virtua Tennis 2009 introduces an additional camera perspective on top of the normal and baseline views. This over-the-shoulder perspective is far more dynamic, sitting lower and moving about subtly as players move about the court.
• VT Factoid #6: If you're a fan of the series you're going to be able to jump right into this game, but there are a number of important changes to the gameplay. Importantly, positioning comes into play even more than in previous games, allowing you to generate power and angle. Fail to get in position, however, and your player will no longer theatrically dive – that's been taken out, replaced by a stumble, which leaves you on your feet and with less recovery required to stay in the point. Serving has also been made more sensitive – and thus requiring more skill.
• VT Factoid #7: World Tour mode has apparently been given an overhaul, but we weren't really shown this. From what we've been told, however, there's a new player creator, with much improved fidelity, allowing you to create everyone from Hitler to Fidel Castro. Fidel-ity indeed! You'll also be trained for your journey from amateur to card carrying professional by two of the aforementioned legends, and they'll set targets to meet and challenges to achieve. The World Tour can now be taken online, and is fully integrated with your single player World Tour.
• VT Factoid #8: Playing the mini-games are the only way to raise your stats. That's right, once again, the actual process of playing has no bearing on your skills. We're disappointed, but hopefully the mini-games will be more engaging in VT 2009. There are now twelve of them, six of which are completely new. We saw a couple, and they deserve their own bullet points…

• VT Factoid #9: One of the mini-games is called – in all seriousness - Meat Defender. There's a big Golden Axe-style rack of meat on the court – the opposite end of which is, for some reason, some kind of swamp, pond or bayou. Alligators waddle out from amongst the reeds and you hit them with tennis balls to stop them getting to the meat.
• VT Factoid #10: Another mini-game goes by the name Zoo Keeper. On either side of the court is a zoo keeper and they throw out fruit to you. There are several animals at the opposite end of the court, each of which wants a different type of fruit. You must hit the right piece of fruit to the right animal. Okaaaay.
• VT Factoid #11: We may not be in love with the mini-games, but there's no doubt the gameplay looks as fantastic as you'd expect from such a venerable series. The visuals have also been given a nice tweak, with great player models, first rate animations, sophisticated lighting and shadows, and fully 3D crowds.

[Pepelutivruski4]

i liked this one better than the other tennis game.

[Xerios]

im a supporter of the VT series

[Goodintentions]

i alwaysloved the mini games .. but honestly do only have the minigames as a way to build a better character is bad .. os basically its either play tennis or make a better character .. not a good idea IMO ..

[kingofgrills]

Did I just miss it, or was there no mention of online gameplay? It better have online gameplay, both singles and doubles with tournaments available, or there is no point.

[Toxa]

http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/969/969455p1.html

[Toxa]

Originally Posted by kingofgrills

Did I just miss it, or was there no mention of online gameplay? It better have online gameplay, both singles and doubles with tournaments available, or there is no point.

The popular World Tour Mode has been given innovative new features offering a fully integrated online system, and new online ranking system available for the PlayStation 3

There's your answer

[mgrimsley]

playing this on my ps3 via my a/v receiver and not getting any sound from my front speaker. run it through the tv directly and its fine. is anyone aware of a known issue or is their any settings i should be looking for on my ps3 or amp. other games and films are fine. help !

[dobyblue]

Did this actually come out on May 19th?
Amazon has it listed for June 9th release, PS3 version $5 cheaper than the 360 version.

[Toxa]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

Did this actually come out on May 19th?

Oops nope they push back the release date for June 2, 2009 according to IGN, the game is already available in Europe