Gematsu reports Sega has now delayed the Mega Drive Mini originally scheduled to arrive in Japan this year.
According to Sega, the response to the announcement in the west was bigger than it expected. There are now plans to give the system a simultaneous release worldwide in 2019. This covers the Genesis model for North America and the Mega Drive system for Europe.
Sega has also cited how it wants to achieve a level of quality that fans would expect. It has reportedly established a system to rethink the design of the device, with the original core team now working alongside proven Japanese software developers.
It wouldn't be a surprise if Sega decided to hold off following the news AtGames - a US firm who have been making officially-licensed Sega consoles for the past decade - are allegedly involved. As already explained, AtGames' systems don't have the best reputation among retro game lovers, and are often plagued by poor quality emulation and bad audio.
Will you be picking up a Sega Mega Drive Mini when it is finally released? Tell us in the comments.
[source gematsu.com]
Comments 32
All we ask from you, Sega, is to at least give us better emulation than Tectoy's.
It really shouldn't be that hard.
“...The response was bigger than expected... “ Sega and Nintendo need to understand people’s love for old games!
Not sure that I believe this. AtGames was on the eve of announcing the release, the FCC has reviewed the unit, etc.
This will be running the popular open source Genesis Plus GX emulator by the way. The flawed AtGames developed emulator for the initial 2017 high-definition Sega Genesis Flashback, while a huge leap over the standard-definition GOAC technology that AtGames destroyed their reputation with, is now by the wayside.
It also has a SD slot and supports the loading of roms, a feature we've yet to see in an AtGames Sega Genesis system that has a cartridge slot for original media.
Here's the manual for it, courtesy of the FCC.
https://fccid.io/2AMTQ3680SEGA18/User-Manual/User-manual-3952641.iframe
The SD rom loading feature is unadvertised in the manual and may require the user updating the system firmware to enable it, but it's there I've been told.
I know that it's too early to be asking this but, does anyone else see this being successful? I'm not saying this to bash on the mini console, but I personally don't(aside from the UK maybe).
Sega wants quality? Really? Really, Sega? Still licensing to At Games, and you want quality? Internal dev teams consistently outdone by fan studios... sonic games far from competitive with nintendo’s character output... emulation not by M2 always janky... good IP forgotten in the dust... I could go on and on... Oh, but at least you’re still decent in the amusement business, right? Lol
I'll pass on this, but I'll definitely buy Sega Genesis Classics on the Switch. I already got burned once...
With that mega drive collection coming to Switch, I can't see any reason to buy one of these. But then again, I am in that minority that sees the NES and SNES classics as gimmicks and would rather have those collections of games on the Switch too.
If the product is of the same standard as the NES and SNES Classic Mini, I will buy it. Sadly, I don’t see that happening.
If it can match the emulation and sound quality of NES and SNES minis, I'd easily get it. I love the mini consoles (played them more than my PS4 this year) and I missed out on most Genesis games besides Sonic. But I am not optimistic as long as ATGames is involved...
I would not be surprised if Sega went to AtGames and wanted to tweak the system more.
If it helps the accuracy it is well worth a delay.
If At Games has anything to do with this then it will be garbage, regardless of how long it's delayed.
All they have to do was put a Retro Pi inside a Genesis shell and throw over 80 Sega Genesis and SMS games in there for $40. That is all they have to do and I'll gladly buy it. C'mon, if Retro-Bit was able to include over 100 games (all which they don't own or make) with the RetroCade, there's no reason Sega couldn't include all 80 of their own Sega Genesis/SMS games on their own plug and play system.
So months after people complained about AT Games involvement... they decide to hold off. They're not exactly quick...
Sony annouced the PlayStation classic to release this year. Sega probably doesn’t want to go up against that. Don’t blame them
I'll pick one up. Along with a PS1 mini 😊. The negogeo, I've cancelled my order for that. Way too over priced here in Europe.
Bit pointless when my NES Mini can play Genesis games, Master System ones, and even 32x games.
Come on SEGA you did more Systems then just the Genesis. (even having the add on games like Mega CD and 32x would be that hard to add)
@ClassSonicSatAm you play Sega games on a nes mini controller??
Comments like this make me think not everyone understands the appeal of these mini machines.
You can play all on a cheap rasperberry Pi...
You really should....
The reason I don’t is I want the correct controller for the genuine experience and it’s cool to have the various consoles.
I'm calling it now; the "proven Japanese developers" are M2!
I’m getting into these mini consoles to allow me to semi retire my originals but atgames makes me hesitant.
Oke this one i am interested in! NES, SNES, SEGA MEGADRIVE!
Sony can stay away, this is classic.
If only Nintendo and Sega got together like one. Sega (the New Rareware) will never happen tho. But all those great games aside from sonic.
Altered beast was my favorite, it was to hard to finish but even then i loved it.
Havent heard good things about these Atgames mini consoles.
@Alto Who would of thought it right?
with sega on board hopefully that means it will be better than atgames usual rubbish
Hope emulation is top-notch. They need to nail these kinds of things perfectly. Hopefully a review somewhere before it releases.
Good. Really hope they do this the justice it deserves. They were very close before, and in some ways were actually doing better than Nintendo with previous systems (amount of games, options to play physical carts, wireless controllers, etc), but the quality of the actual emulation and stuff just wasn't there (especially the sound). I just want to see Sega do this right, much like it seems Sony is doing with its recently announced PlayStation Classic from what I can see.
@Stocksy I use the Classic Controller VC or the SNES pad both work just fine.
If I wanted a mini Mega Drive with a few games, has the actual controller I would just use this https://segaretro.org/Arcade_Legends_Sega_Mega_Drive which I had in the early 2000s, you would think with better emulation and memory cards, they would add some 32x and Mega CD games.
Don't know about you but I'm getting sick of re-re-releases of Mega Drive games, I already brought enough of these.
@impurekind Exactly. If I felt it was up to the NES and SNES minis, I'd definitely buy this. The MD/Genesis was hugely popular. If the SNES mini can do well, so can this. Just need to cross that quality tipping point, and it's important that it looks like the original hardware because a big part of the draw is like a functional little collectible suitable for display.
Feeling the pressure to make your retro system good, eh Sega? Trust me Sega, it's for the better. STRIVE for quality please, your fans will thank you
Bring on M2 to handle the emulation... That is all.
Or even better.. Hire Kevin "Kevtris" Horton to write a Sega Genesis FPGA core. Then it will be 100% perfect.
This is nice and all but what we really need is the Master System Mini!
A wise decision for now. We don’t need another History Repeats Itself Mini.
The 2018 AtGames system has had a stealth release and is available now at various retailers.
Main cosmetic identifier between this and the original Sega Flashback HD is the volume slider, which wasn't present on the 2017 model.
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