In a surprising twist of events, both Sega of Japan and Sony Computer Entertainment Japan have announced that they have struck deals with Bandai to produce games for the WonderSwan Color.

For the uninitiated, the WonderSwan Color is a 16-bit second generation handheld from Bandai that is only available in Japan. Bandai had originally planned to release the machine in the West but were solidly dissuaded by the disastrous failings suffered by SNK Corp when it tried to entice Western gamers with its Neo Geo Pocket Color.

It would appear that Bandai’s take on this situation has changed somewhat. The Neo Geo Pocket Color was very much a hardcore gaming machine and its software lineup reflected this. The vast majority of games were first party SNK games that simply lacked the mainstream pulling power of the Game Boy Color armed with Pokemon and the rest. Bandai is said to be considering the possibility of arming its console with some big games from major publishers and developers and launching the WonderSwan Color in the West.

The first game to be confirmed as coming from Sega is the 1989 arcade classic Golden Axe, a game that is already confirmed for Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance.

It is unclear what Sony, thus far unproven in the handheld market, might have planned for the console.

More as soon as it comes in.