e went behind closed doors at Sega today during the 2006 Games Convention to go hands-on with both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Virtua Tennis 3.  Sega today revealed that two different teams were working on the game.  Sega’s arcade team AM2 Japan is developing the PlayStation 3 version, while World Tour developer Sumo is handling both the Xbox 360 and PSP versions.

The console versions will include 12 mini-games, in which 10 are actually new.  Also, while Virtua Tennis has previous only allowed three sets, VT3 will allow for five.  Sega promises a new court games mode, which they’re explaining is a meld of multiplayer and mini-games.

Sega also released the roster of playable characters which include a host of pros.

Female:
Amelie Mauresmo
Maria Sharapova
Venus Williams
Martina Hingis
Nicole Vaidisova
Lindsay Davenport
Daniela Hantuchova

Male:
Roger Federer
Rafael Nadal
Andy Roddick
Tim Henman
Lleyton Hewitt
David Nalbandian
Sebastien Grosjean
Juan Carlos Ferrero
Tommy Haas
James Blake
Mario Ancic
Gael Monfils
Taylor Dent

As far as visuals, the PlayStation 3 version is notably better.   With much more defined facial features, crisper stadiums, and realistic cloth movement, the PlayStation 3 version is the best looking Tennis title we’ve yet to see at this point. Sega admitted the title was still early in development, and while planned for a spring 2007 release, we’ll wait until we get our hands on more final code to give the last verdict.