Sega Worldwide Soccer
Encyclopedia
Sega Worldwide Soccer is a series of soccer games by Sega
for initially for the Sega Saturn
but later was moved to the Dreamcast.
), the non-volatile memory
of the Saturn allowed editing of names. The team kits were as close to the official 1996 kits as possible. The gameplay was also highly praised, and was the top-rated football game until ISS 64
was released one year later. Worldwide soccer was later ported to the PC
.
One year later Sega Worldwide Soccer 98 was released, again for the Saturn. This version featured (still unlicensed) clubs from England
, Spain
and France
, two new stadiums and the same free-flowing gameplay. However, it could do little for the ailing console, which had one of its worst moments when its version of FIFA'98
was completely levelled by critics.
One final title, Sega Worldwide Soccer 2000, appeared on the Dreamcast. However, instead of being developed in-house, Silicon Dreams
(who previously worked with Eidos
on the UEFA Champions League
series and also World League Soccer
) was given the rights to produce a game bearing the Worldwide Soccer name. While the first title left most fans pleased visually, but disappointed with the gameplay, a Euro Edition (capitalizing on the popularity of Euro 2000) was released in Europe and returned some credibility to the franchise. It still lost out to the arcade attraction of Virtua Striker 2.
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
for initially for the Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
but later was moved to the Dreamcast.
History
Sega Worldwide Soccer, produced by Sega themselves was one of the killer apps in the peak of popularity for the console. It was preceded by Victory Goal, an already ageing football game (one of the debut titles of the console). The game featured international teams and league, play-off and tournament modes. Although it used fictional player names (due to the lack of a licenseLicense
The verb license or grant licence means to give permission. The noun license or licence refers to that permission as well as to the document recording that permission.A license may be granted by a party to another party as an element of an agreement...
), the non-volatile memory
Non-volatile memory
Non-volatile memory, nonvolatile memory, NVM or non-volatile storage, in the most basic sense, is computer memory that can retain the stored information even when not powered. Examples of non-volatile memory include read-only memory, flash memory, ferroelectric RAM, most types of magnetic computer...
of the Saturn allowed editing of names. The team kits were as close to the official 1996 kits as possible. The gameplay was also highly praised, and was the top-rated football game until ISS 64
International Superstar Soccer
International Superstar Soccer is the name of a series of football video games developed by Japanese company Konami, mostly by their Osaka branch, Konami Computer Entertainment Osaka . It should not be confused with Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo's Pro Evolution Soccer series , which was...
was released one year later. Worldwide soccer was later ported to the PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
.
One year later Sega Worldwide Soccer 98 was released, again for the Saturn. This version featured (still unlicensed) clubs from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, two new stadiums and the same free-flowing gameplay. However, it could do little for the ailing console, which had one of its worst moments when its version of FIFA'98
FIFA Series
FIFA, also known as FIFA Football or FIFA Soccer, is a series of association football video games, released annually by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label...
was completely levelled by critics.
One final title, Sega Worldwide Soccer 2000, appeared on the Dreamcast. However, instead of being developed in-house, Silicon Dreams
Silicon Dreams
Silicon Dreams may refer to:* Silicon Dreams Studios, a computer game company* Silicon Dreams trilogy, a 1986 text adventure game trilogy by Level 9...
(who previously worked with Eidos
Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....
on the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
series and also World League Soccer
World League Soccer
World League Soccer - known in Japan as - is a Super NES game that is based on football .-Summary:This video game was ported from the original Amiga version called Kick Off 2; which was one of the most popular soccer game of the early 1990s.The game features a full tournament mode in addition to...
) was given the rights to produce a game bearing the Worldwide Soccer name. While the first title left most fans pleased visually, but disappointed with the gameplay, a Euro Edition (capitalizing on the popularity of Euro 2000) was released in Europe and returned some credibility to the franchise. It still lost out to the arcade attraction of Virtua Striker 2.
Installments
| Title | Release date | Console(s) | Alternative titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worldwide Soccer: Sega International Victory Goal Edition | 1995 | Saturn Sega Saturn The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe... |
International Victory Goal (Europe) Sega International Victory Goal (Japan) |
| Sega Worldwide Soccer '97 | October 31, 1996 | Saturn Sega Saturn The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe... , Windows Microsoft Windows Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal... |
Victory Goal Worldwide Edition (Japan) Worldwide Soccer PC (PC) |
| Sega Worldwide Soccer '98 | 1997 | Saturn Sega Saturn The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe... |
Sega Worldwide Soccer '98 Club Edition (Europe) |
| Sega Worldwide Soccer 2000 | December 1, 1999 | Dreamcast | - |
| Sega Worldwide Soccer 2000 Euro Edition | June 30, 2000 | Dreamcast | - |