After the Nintendo Classic Mini retro console was revealed in 2016, a wave of nostalgia literally swept the world, as the NES was an iconic console in the 80s in the West and in Japan, and came to Russia in the 90s in the form of the Dendy. A year later, Nintendo released the SNES Mini, which at a moderate price became popular in its own right, and “pirates” learned to use it as a multi-emulator of retro consoles. The success of gaming nostalgia was slowed somewhat by the ill-fated Sony PlayStation Classic, which had not been teased by only the laziest in the gaming industry. And now, in 2019, it’s time for a reboot for the mega-popular Sega Mega Drive. The announcement of the retro console is all the more interesting because, unlike Nintendo and Sony, Sega hasn’t made a console in almost 20 years.
And here’s another welcome release of the iconic console’s release. On 3 June 2022 Sega unveiled an updated version of the retro console called the Mega Drive Mini 2 (Genesis Mini 2) for fans of older games. Such news has been incredibly encouraging to many fans of this legendary game console. Let’s find out a little more about what to expect from it.
What Will the Console Look Like?
The design of the new console is based on a scaled-down version of the appearance of the popular Sega Mega Drive 2 console, which came out in 1993. In fact, it’s a compact version of the Mega Drive 2 with the original cartridge port look and the power and reset buttons.
Visually, we’ll see a copy of the 16-bit Segovian set-top box, no change. It is clear that the media is not the cartridge, but the images are downloaded to the internal memory. Its capacity is not specified. Launching takes place via an emulator.
The Mega Drive Mini 2 measures 12.1×11.5×3.2cm (WxHxV). The console supports 480p and 720p video resolutions, there’s an HDMI port and USB power.
Games for Sega Mega Drive Mini 2
A company release said that the new Sega Mega Drive Mini 2 will be released with a built-in drive that will contain 50 original Mega Drive and Mega CD games. In addition the console will contain games released on other platforms. The whole list of games, according to the developers, enjoys huge interest from fans.
Sega’s representative explained that all the games are played as usual for fans, without any modifications or changes. Also important is the ability to save the game’s progress. To this end, a game interruption function has been added to the console.
The exact list of games can’t be revealed yet, but in the release trailer the following games have been spotted:
- Fantasy Zone,
- Silpheed,
- Shining Force CD,
- Sonic CD,
- Mansion of Hidden Souls,
- Popful Mail,
- Virtua Racing,
- Bonanza Bros,
- Shining in the Darkness,
- Thunder Force IV (Lightening Force: Quest for the Darkstar),
- Magical Taruruuto-kun.
Game Library Updates
What we certainly weren’t expecting from SEGA was the release of 13 more games in March 2023. That’s exactly what the company announced earlier. This number of games will include new franchises as well as remasters and remakes of much-loved games.
Over the past fiscal year, the company has informed shareholders of strong game sales for consoles and PC, resulting in increased profits. In terms of numbers, around 4 million copies of remakes, remasters and spin-offs were sold from March 2021 to the same period in 2022. Lost Judgment, Sonic Colors Ultimate and Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania top the sales figures.
By March 2023, SEGA expects to see an even greater increase in profits through anticipated new game releases. Versions of the classics and spin-offs are expected to sell 5 million copies, bringing total sales to 13 million.
When to Expect?
Initially planned for release in Japan, the release date in Europe and the US is not specified. It will depend on demand. The Japanese price in dollar terms is $85 and the release date is scheduled for 27th October this year.
Finally
The new release and the announcement of the company’s plans to launch and relaunch a number of games for its products has seriously stirred the blood of true fans of this gaming console. Will it become a new breath in the market or just fun for the old-timers? It’s too early to tell, but we can’t wait to play the new releases from the favourite developer!