Virtua Tennis To Ace 1080p On Xbox 360 [Update] News

SEGA Europe has today confirmed that the upcoming Virtua Tennis 3 on Xbox 360 will be supporting 1080p resolutions, and will feature Ranked and Player Matches over Xbox Live - a first for the franchise. The sports game will be the first Xbox 360 title to take advantage of the platform's 1080p capabilities, which formed a key part of Microsoft's system update last autumn.

Following in the footsteps of Project Gotham Racing 3 and Rockstar Presents Table Tennis, Virtua Tennis 3 will also include a spectator mode called VT:TV, allowing gamers to watch some of the other matches being played online.

"Virtua Tennis 3 on Xbox 360 is definitely the next generation of tennis" commented Matt Woodley, Creative Director of SEGA. "We're striving to create games which not only have great gameplay but also can make the very most of the Xbox 360's amazing technology."

"We're thrilled to be able to say that Virtua Tennis 3 will be coming to Xbox 360, showcasing an online experience with Xbox Live that you won't find on any other systems and spectacular 1080p graphics," said George Peckham, general manager, global third party publishing for the Interactive Entertainment Business, Microsoft. "Fun and easy to pick up and play, Sega is hitting another ace with Virtua Tennis 3."

Virtua Tennis 3 will also be heading to both PlayStation3 and PSP in March, though SEGA's omission of Sony's next-gen system in the 1080p and multiplayer modes announcement does raise unexpected questions as to whether the functionalities will be included on the PS3.

[Update] SEGA Europe has confirmed to TVG that the PlayStation 3 version of Virtua Tennis 3 will support 1080p, but there's no announcement that it will support online gameplay.