Everyone knows that one of the best parts of the original Nights into Dreams for Sega Saturn was Christmas Nights. Well, not everyone…. Sega has been mum about the inclusion of the holiday-themed expansion — originally released for free as a promotional item and “thank you” from the developers back in 1996 — in the upcoming HD remake for Xbox Live Arcade, but x360a.org may have just spoiled the surprise.
The Achievements listed for Nights into Dreams HD include the Merry Christmas! Achievement, where players must clear the Christmas version of Spring Valley for 10 Gamerscore. That seems pretty straightforward to me, and x360a is an extremely reputable source for official Achievement listings and leaks. This weekend at PAX, I asked one of the Sega staffers demoing the HD remake about Christmas Nights, and he said they hoped to make an announcement about the game’s final content in the next few weeks.
Considering Christmas Nights was originally a gift, it would be in incredibly poor form to sell the expansion as paid downloadable content. Likewise, the HD remake’s release is so close to Christmas anyway, it’s probably easier (and cheaper) for Sega to include both versions all in one download.
GamesBeat has also reached out to Sega via email for confirmation and will update the story when the company replies.
Update: Sega commented that they could not comment, but hope to make an announcement soon. I wonder what it will be?!!!