Virtua Tennis 4, the latest consoles and PC entry of the series released back in 2011, is going to become unavailable digitally this week. If you thought that the advent of digital delivery on consoles and PC would mean that the days of out of print games would be over, you’d do well to think again about it.
SEGA has confirmed that Virtua Tennis 4 is going to be removed from PSN, Xbox Live and Steam soon. From April 23rd onward, it will only be possible to play the game by purchasing a physical copy of the game, something that might be difficult to do for obvious reasons.
No reason has been given for the decision to remove the game from digital marketplaces but it’s quite likely that it’s due to licensing issues. With the game featuring several real world players such as Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova and SEGA’s new focus on mobile gaming, it was only a matter of time before the licensing agreement expired and the game was removed from sale. This isn’t even the first time something like this happens, as fans of the Capcom’s Marvel VS Capcom series know well, with licensing agreements expiring and publishers no longer interested in renewing them.
If you feel the irresistible urge of purchasing and playing Virtua Tennis 4, now is the right time to get it, as it will no longer be available on PSN, Xbox Live and Steam from April 23rd. The game is also available with a 80% off its price on Steam so you have one more reason to grab a digital copy of SEGA’s tennis game. Physical copies are still out in the wild so it’s not like it will be impossible to get the game in the future, but getting hold of one will definitely be not as practical as purchasing a digital copy. Can digital games go extinct? They sure can.
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