Those of you who thought that Sega game designer Yu Suzuki is finally his own man after severing ties with the company is only partially correct in that assumption. According to Sega of America president Simon Jeffery, Suzuki is still very much in their payroll. More details in our full article.

Whether it's Turkey Day or Christmas, we feel the need to thank the greatest figures in video game history for their contributions that made gaming as fun as it is today. For decades, we've seen creative minds emerge and bring forward games that amaze the world, but they don't get much recognition. But now, we have enough time to list down some of the greatest geniuses behind phenomenal landmarks like Mario, Wolfenstein 3D, and even The Sims.

  

There was a time when Sega had 65% of the gaming industry's market share in North America - the time when Sonic the Hedgehog was a lot cooler than an Italian plumber, the time when Yu Suzuki was comparable to Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto. Arcade fans spent countless hours getting the fastest time in Hang-On, perfecting the act of not killing civilians in Virtua Cop, and trying to beat in Virtua Fighter.

It's sad to see one of the most influential companies in video game history struggle in today's tough competition, but we have to admit that Sega's presence is not as strong as it was before - not as strong as it should be. Some credit this to the losses that came with Dreamcast's fall, while some point fingers at lackluster games in recent years. What we can be certain about is that fans want to see Sega in its former glory.

A quick look at Sega's upcoming and recent games line-up reveal familiar titles for young and old, most on multiple platforms. Where's the problem, then? Pretty much every gamer is part of their target market, especially since most of Sega's established franchises are aimed at the biggest audience possible, so why is the company not doing as well as other publishers?

Without having to nitpick on quality of particular titles that didn't experience warm reception, let's just put up a battle plan that would rile up Sega fans while giving the former champ a good chance of propelling to the top. In other words, a Sega fan's wish list.

Read the entire article right after the jump!

Virtua Fighter 5 has come a long way, baby. The PS3 version of the kick ass franchise can trace its roots back to the 90s. The game was developed by Yu Suzuki and was was released as an arcade game in 1993. Back then it ran on hardware developed by Lockheed Martin and Sega.

Virtua Fighter 2 was released in 1994 followed by Virtua Fighter 3 two year later. Virtua Fighter 3tb, the version that added  tournament battles featuring more than two characters (not simultaneously) was introduced in 1997. Virtua Fighter 4 came in 2001 on the NAOMI 2 hardware. Another version of Virtua Fighter 5 was released this year for Sega's Lindbergh arcade board.

In 1998, the Virtua  Fighter series was recognized by the Smithsonian Institution for contributions in the field of Art and Entertainment. It is currently a part of the Smithsonian Institution's Permanent Research Collection on Information Technology Innovation and arcade cabinets can be seen at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Who knew a martial arts videogame would end up there?

Virtua Fighter 5 for the PS3 is set for a Spring 2007 release.