| Sega Worldwide Soccer 97 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Sega (Team Aquila) |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Director(s) | Toshinori Asai |
| Producer(s) | Akira Kozu |
| Composer(s) | Jun Senoue Seirou Okamoto |
| Series | Sega Worldwide Soccer |
| Platform(s) | Sega Saturn, Microsoft Windows |
| Release | Sega Saturn Windows |
| Genre(s) | Sports |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Sega Worldwide Soccer 97 (known as both Sega Worldwide Soccer PC and Victory Goal Worldwide Edition in Japan) is a football video game by Sega released for the Sega Saturn in 1996. It was followed by three more titles: Sega Worldwide Soccer '98 still on the Saturn and two editions of Sega Worldwide Soccer 2000, the second being Sega Worldwide Soccer 2000 Euro Edition for the Dreamcast.
Sega Worldwide Soccer 97, produced by Sega themselves, was one of the Saturn's killer apps in the peak of popularity for the console. It was the sequel to Victory Goal, one of the debut titles of the console, which had a poor performance critically and commercially.[4] However, there was little overlap in the development staff of the two games.[4]
The game featured international teams and league, play-off and tournament modes. Although it used fictional player names (due to the lack of a license), 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 International Superstar Soccer 64 was released one year later. The game was ported to Microsoft Windows, with this version being released in Japan only on September 25, 1997.
- ^ "Game Informer News". Game Informer. 1999-02-09. Archived from the original on 1999-02-09. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
- ^ "Hull Daily Mail 16 Oct 1996, page 11". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-05-04.
Wipeout 2097 and Actua Golf on the PlayStation are out on Friday and are expected to do well. As is Worldwide Soccer '97 on the Saturn which is out on Thursday.
- ^ "Sega Online: Central (Press Releases)". 1998-02-02. Archived from the original on 1998-02-02. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
- ^ a b Bright, Rob (September 1996). "Escape to Victory!". Sega Saturn Magazine. No. 11. EMAP. pp. 42–45.