Sega today announced Virtua Tennis 3 for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, expected in spring 2007 can it steal back the title of best tennis game from Top Spin 2? From the looks of the first five Virtua Tennis 3 screenshots, it does have a slight graphical edge.

LONDON & SAN FRANCISCO (April 25, 2006) – SEGA Europe Ltd. and SEGA of America, Inc. today announced they will be publishing Virtua Tennis 3 TM. Virtua Tennis 3 TM takes to the court on the Sony PlayStation® 3 computer entertainment system and the Xbox 360TM video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. Virtua Tennis 3 TM gives gamers the opportunity to experience new levels of realism never thought possible on a home console system.

The Virtua Tennis series has been well-received by critics and fans for its ease of play but difficult to master gameplay. With Virtua Tennis 3, the series returns with enhanced photo-realistic graphics and advanced player animations that perfectly match the behaviour and mannerisms of individual professional players. Next-generation systems allow gamers to see the most detailed expressions on the faces of their selected players as they battle to win heated tournaments around the world

"This is shaping up to be an outstanding title - a genuine next generation sports game," commented Matt Woodley, Creative Director of SEGA. "Instant appeal and all the best of the VT brand is being added to an array of new gameplay features. Virtua Tennis 3 provides a must have in-depth experience - though I'd say the graphics alone are reason to buy and the quality is so sharp and clear you can even see the veins on the players necks!"

Take on the world's greatest tennis stars on any court surface worldwide; with newly added players and improvements to the game's AI, Virtua Tennis 3 has upped the challenge to becoming the top seed of the tennis world. In Career Mode, gamers will travel the world and take on the biggest stars of the tennis world. Improvements to the Player Creation Mode allow gamers to customise their own tennis star with increased detail like never before.

No Virtua Tennis title would be complete without the popular and addictive mini-games, and Virtua Tennis 3 is no exception. In addition to the popular mini-games from previous titles used to sharpen players' skills, there will be a whole host of brand new games to keep players' in top form.