Space Channel 5 is coming back as a VR game

News
By published

"Groooooove evening, SpaceCats!"

A fresh version of one of Sega's classic properties that isn't Sonic the Hedgehog was announced last year, with Dreamcast classic Space Channel 5 returning in VR form. Now there's a launch trailer and while only the PlayStation VR version has a release date (February 25 in the US, February 26 in Europe) the website lists Vive, SteamVR, and Oculus versions coming soon.

Space Channel 5 and its sequel (which is the only one of the two available on PC) were deeply strange rhythm games from the early 2000s in which a journalist named Ulala who lives in the 1960s idea of the future defeats aliens in dance-offs. They featured cameos from Michael Jackson, who played a character named "Space Michael". That's one thing this new VR version will presumably leave out, though it does look true to the style of the originals. (Original voice actor Apollo Smile has been replaced by Cherami Leigh, who voices the lady version of V in Cyberpunk 2077.)

While it's a shame this new Space Channel 5 game, subtitled "Kinda Funky News Flash", will only be available in VR, it's nice to see Sega bringing back one of their old series people actually liked. Jet Set Radio next?

Jody Macgregor
Jody Macgregor
Weekend/AU Editor

Jody's first computer was a Commodore 64, so he remembers having to use a code wheel to play Pool of Radiance. A former music journalist who interviewed everyone from Giorgio Moroder to Trent Reznor, Jody also co-hosted Australia's first radio show about videogames, Zed Games. He's written for Rock Paper Shotgun, The Big Issue, GamesRadar, Zam, Glixel, Five Out of Ten Magazine, and Playboy.com, whose cheques with the bunny logo made for fun conversations at the bank. Jody's first article for PC Gamer was about the audio of Alien Isolation, published in 2015, and since then he's written about why Silent Hill belongs on PC, why Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale is the best fantasy shopkeeper tycoon game, and how weird Lost Ark can get. Jody edited PC Gamer Indie from 2017 to 2018, and he eventually lived up to his promise to play every Warhammer videogame.

Latest in VR
A simulation of a LAN party using the app LAN Party
LAN Party simulates LAN parties without the LAN
Mark Zuckerberg pretends the metaverse is cool
The metaverse could be a 'legendary misadventure,' Meta executive says, if Reality Labs doesn't turn things around in 2025
A Meta Quest 3S, alongside a Quest 3 and Quest 2, on a stack of PC Gamer magazine.
I'm still waiting for a high-end VR headset good enough to make me ditch my Quest 3
The Pimax Crystal Light VR headset on a table
Pimax Crystal Light review
Anime characters, bearded men, and a lizard gather around a treehouse
Eight years after arriving on Steam, VRChat just hit a new peak concurrent player count
A Meta Quest 3S, alongside a Quest 3 and Quest 2, on a stack of PC Gamer magazine.
VR gaming was one of my favourite hobbies of 2024 and it's because I've noticed myself using it as a meditation exercise
Latest in News
A Viera looking confused in Final Fantasy 14.
Old armor continues to fall victim to Final Fantasy 14's bizarre two-channel dye system, unless you're super into changing the colour of teeny-tiny eyelets: 'Why even bother at this point?'
Starfield: Shattered Space
By the time Bethesda was on Starfield, you'd 'basically get in trouble' for breaking schedule, says former dev: 'A lot of the great stuff within Skyrim came from having the freedom to do what you want'
Otter AI Meeting Agent
As if your work meetings weren't already fun enough, now Otter has a new all-hearing AI agent that remembers everything anyone has said and can join in the discussion
Monster Hunter Wilds' stockpile master studying a manifest
As layoffs and studio closures continue to deathroll the western AAA industry, analyst points out 5 of 8 major Japanese companies hit all-time share prices this year
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide Ogryn
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide adds a psychic horde murderzone mode and makes Ogryns even smashier
A woman wearing a VR headset with dramatic, colourful lighting across the background
'World’s smallest LEDs' could lead to accurately lit screens with 127,000 pixels per inch and much more immersive VR
More about vr
A simulation of a LAN party using the app LAN Party

LAN Party simulates LAN parties without the LAN

Mark Zuckerberg pretends the metaverse is cool

The metaverse could be a 'legendary misadventure,' Meta executive says, if Reality Labs doesn't turn things around in 2025
A Viera looking confused in Final Fantasy 14.

Old armor continues to fall victim to Final Fantasy 14's bizarre two-channel dye system, unless you're super into changing the colour of teeny-tiny eyelets: 'Why even bother at this point?'
See more latest
Most Popular
A Viera looking confused in Final Fantasy 14.
Old armor continues to fall victim to Final Fantasy 14's bizarre two-channel dye system, unless you're super into changing the colour of teeny-tiny eyelets: 'Why even bother at this point?'
Otter AI Meeting Agent
As if your work meetings weren't already fun enough, now Otter has a new all-hearing AI agent that remembers everything anyone has said and can join in the discussion
Starfield: Shattered Space
By the time Bethesda was on Starfield, you'd 'basically get in trouble' for breaking schedule, says former dev: 'A lot of the great stuff within Skyrim came from having the freedom to do what you want'
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide Ogryn
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide adds a psychic horde murderzone mode and makes Ogryns even smashier
A woman wearing a VR headset with dramatic, colourful lighting across the background
'World’s smallest LEDs' could lead to accurately lit screens with 127,000 pixels per inch and much more immersive VR
Monster Hunter Wilds' stockpile master studying a manifest
As layoffs and studio closures continue to deathroll the western AAA industry, analyst points out 5 of 8 major Japanese companies hit all-time share prices this year
The NES themed 8BitDo Retro mechanical gaming keyboard on a blue background
I love the 8BitDo Retro C64 keyboard but I'd pick its cheaper NES-themed model near its lowest price ever during Amazon's Big Spring Sale
Microsoft's iconic Bliss wallpaper
From pixels to pinot: The Windows XP 'Bliss' wallpaper hill was real and this is what it looks like now
gta 6 trailer
Publishers 'don't want to be anywhere near' Grand Theft Auto 6 when it launches: 'It's proving to be very stressful'
An image of a Helldiver from Helldivers 2 shooting at a red dragon from Dungeons & Dragons.
'Ok, so dragon builds are a thing now': galaxy-brained Helldivers 2 player incinerates a bile titan with a hover pack and a flamethrower