Hoping to evolve the series – and in reaction to criticism that the last game, Virtua Tennis 2009, was essentially a carbon copy of Virtua Tennis 3 - Sega has ditched U.K. developer Sumo Digital and has created Virtua Tennis 4 at its own Japanese studio, Sega AM-3, who worked on the original Virtua Tennis arcade game.
Though use of the devices will be optional, Virtua Tennis 4 will support PlayStation Move, MotionPlus and Kinect and will also feature stereoscopic 3D for those with compatible T.Vs.
The announcement trailer doesn’t reveal much, other than confirmation of some of the players in the game, who include Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Juan Martin Del Porto and Caroline Wozniacki.
We also know that it will feature a Match Momentum gauge that will help your player to perform better as they grow in confidence, as well as a World Tour mode where decisions made on and off the court affect your path.
There are gameplay videos on YouTube showing footage of some of the matches and it does look very similar to Virtua Tennis 2009. But it's going to be interesting to see if motion-sensing will deliver a more immersive experience and whether any of these peripherals can cope with the intricacies of some of the more subtle tennis moves, such as slicing and drop-shots.
There’s not too long to wait to find out - Virtua Tennis 4 will be available in Europe on April 29th and North America on May 10th 2011.
