The next generation is now for Sega @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on February 17, 2005

News: Sega announces Condemned, their first "next-generation" game.

There is little doubt left in the gaming community that Microsoft plans to launch the Xbox Next this holiday season. Those plans became a little more concrete today as Sega has announced their first "next generation" title, Condemned, which is scheduled to ship this Winter.

Condemned will follow the exploits of FBI agent Ethan Thomas, a member of the elite Serial Crimes Unit. Its Ethan's job to track the John Wayne Gacys, Jeffrey Dahmers and Son of Sams of the world. According to Sega, he will be tracking "deadly sociopaths who lurk on the periphery of humanity" through "detailed urban environments." Players will also use "their instincts, forensic tools, and melee combat" to track and aprehend these killers.

Naturally, the spokesmen for Sega and Monolith, the game's developer, were very excited about this project.

"SEGA expects Condemned to engage the game player with visceral, in-your-face, urban combat and an unparalleled level of unpredictability," said Scott A. Steinberg, vice president of entertainment marketing, SEGA of America. "The atmospheric tension and cinematic qualities of Condemned offer consumers the rich experience of a psychological thriller; something that has not been accomplished on previous hardware platforms."

"New leaps in technology are allowing our teams to create immersive game environments that are incredibly realistic," said Samantha Ryan, CEO of Monolith Productions. "Monolith's goal with Condemned, is to combine a disturbing atmosphere with realistic physics, devious AI, and a sophisticated combat system."

It is important to note that Sega has not officially confirmed that Condemned is an Xbox Next title, just a "next-generation" title with a ship date of Winter 2005. And the Xbox Next is the only one that is even rumored to ship in that timeframe. Although the Alanis Morisette in me badly wants to point out the irony of Sega being the first company to officially announce a "next-generation" game.

I'm sure we'll have more on Condemned as E3 nears.