Sega today announced plans to release Virtua Tennis: World Tour for the PSP handheld system. Yes, the much loved tennis title that originally appeared on Dreamcast in 2000 and later made stops at: Playstation 2, Game Boy Advance, N-Gage, PC and Arcade (not sequential) in one form or another is coming to PSP this (wait for it…) Fall.

The game is set (oh, pun intended, I assure you) to include 4 different types of courts, (Clay, Grass, Carpet, Hard Court) a character creation template and in-game customization feature that allows you to change you character’s appearance with goods bought in game, WIFI multiplay for up to four players, 3 different gameplay modes, and what Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President of Entertainment Marketing for SEGA of America, Inc. described as: "a robust roster of licensed players.”

While online play would have served as a definite deal maker, the lack of it surely doesn’t dissuade the truly discerning gamer that knows a good time when he/she sees it.

As far as the licensed players are concerned, those in the know; know Kournikova’s a ho. Here’s to hoping Venus and Sernia will be included. Pete Sampras? Eh, I could go either way.*



*not an admission of homosexuality