Old-school gamers look back fondly on consoles such as the Sega Genesis, which launched the esteemed careers of such characters as Sonic the Hedgehog. Very soon, you can relive those bygone gaming days on your very own iPhone.

While Apple has been fairly hardcore about denying emulators a place at the App Store table, Gizmodo is reporting that Sega is about to unleash an official, approved app called Ultimate Genesis in early February.

Of course, Sega is no stranger to the App Store, having already released a handful of titles, including Golden Axe, Streets of Rage and the aforementioned hedgehog. Those releases were technically emulated, meaning the apps were emulators with the official ROMs packaged inside -- great for gamers since they were faithful adaptations, although they were a little slow on anything prior to an iPhone 3GS.

Thanks to the App Store’s in-app purchasing system, Ultimate Genesis will initially be a free app, which includes Space Harrier II. You’ll be able to buy additional titles, with four planned at launch: Sonic the Hedgehog ($5.99, same as the standalone version already on the App Store), Golden Axe ($4.99, ditto), Ecco the Dolphin and Shining Force ($2.99 each).

Apple appears to be loosening up on its previous restrictions on emulators (at least officially licensed ones), having already approved the $4.99 Commodore 64 app at the end of last year, which comes bundled with eight free classic C64 games.