After the success of the Sega Genesis Mini, as well as the Game Gear Micro in Japan, it seems the company is considering producing more compact versions of its previous consoles.
In an interview with Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu, Yosuke Okunari, one of Sega’s producers, spoke to the possibility of more miniature consoles, “I think for the next one, we may go with a concept close to the Genesis mini. If I have to say some names, it could be an SG-1000 Mini or a Dreamcast Mini.”
The SG-1000 was the company’s first console, released in 1983, the same year that the Nintendo Entertainment System launched in Japan. Unlike the NES, the device never launched in North America, and therefore a mini version would be an item only for the most niche of collectors. A rereleased Dreamcast would be a different story.
After the SG-1000, Sega released the Sega Master System and Sega Genesis, the latter of which came close to competing with the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The company then fumbled with the Sega Saturn, its 32-bit architecture outmatched by the power of Sony’s PlayStation and the Nintendo 64.
Sega’s final attempt at a console, the Dreamcast, was a device made for the future of gaming. A modem was built directly into the console for internet connectivity. Unfortunately, its lack of support for DVDs crippled the system, which was directly competing with the PlayStation 2, and in three short years, the console was discontinued.
Gamers’ nostalgia for the little console that could is strong, however, as beloved games such as Phantasy Star Online, Shenmue, and Crazy Taxi all made their debut on the device.
It doesn’t sound like any formal plans for more miniature Sega consoles are in the works at the moment, however, at least according to Okunari. “The Game Gear Micro is only sold domestically in Japan. When we do the next one, I feel like the project scope will be much bigger as we gaze upon the world. So we won’t be able to release it at this time the next year or two years after the Genesis Mini. We can’t make it that quickly [laughs].”‘
So, a Dreamcast Mini may be coming … but you shouldn’t hold your breath.
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