Sonic Origins controversy continues as Sega plans to delist classic games

techradar.com:

Sega has announced it will be delisting older ports of classic Sonic games ahead of the release of Sonic Origins on June 23. The much-anticipated compilation includes  Sonic's original four adventures, and Sega seems determined to have Sonic fans buy it whether they want to or not.

Sega made the announcement via an official press release, which states that older ports of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles and Sonic CD are to be delisted from digital storefronts on May 20. This includes the excellent mobile ports on Android and iOS, as well as various ports across PS5, Xbox Series X|S and previous generation consoles.

The only ports surviving the purge are the Sega Ages ports of Sonic 1 and 2 on Nintendo Switch. You'll also still be able to play Sonic 2 via Nintendo Switch Online's Expansion Pack subscription service, provided you have the Genesis / Mega Drive collection downloaded.

This latest announcement follows the confirmation that the PC version of Sonic Origins will feature Denuvo digital rights management. The controversial DRM software is written into the game's code and has a history of undermining game performance. If you're a long-time Sonic fan, you'll know that performance hiccups are the last thing you want in games as fast as these.

Beyond that, Sega also made the baffling decision to lock some features of Sonic Origins to a slightly more expensive Digital Deluxe Edition, such as menu animations and extra challenges in the collection's new Mission mode.

Naturally, Sonic fans aren't happy. Many of the ports being delisted are perfectly fine ways of playing the originals, and some are arguably the definitive way to play these classic games. The aforementioned mobile ports, for example,