Since the peak of the mini console fad, fewer companies are giving the idea a chance. By the end of the year, it will have two new retro-minded machines.
The only one coming to the US is the mini Genesis. The system in question will only be available for around one-tenth of the total count.
The news came as a surprise. After the Genesis Mini 2 was announced, Ars reached out to the company to find out who was making and shipping the system.
The Mega Drive 2 was announced months before the Genesis Mini 2. This is a follow-up to the concept of the previous year, only with an entirely new selection of built in, emulated classics from the 16-bit console generation.
The promotion and shipment of the Genesis Mini, which is due to ship on October 27, appears to have been handled by the Japanese company, Sega of Japan. The official site is in English, but it is hosted in Japan. For interested buyers, the Genesis Mini 2 is only available through an Amazon US listing, which claims that all purchases will be shipped from Japan, skipping Amazon's usual Prime shipping discounts and guarantees.
My questions about Genesis Mini 2 shipments were forwarded to Sega of Japan's corporate office, which confirmed that the new console was only for Japan. According to a letter from the president's office, the company had to make a small amount of Genesis Mini 2s and Mega Drive Mini 2s because of the global chip shortage.
The letter states that the number of units for this project make up less than the previous Genesis Mini.
AdvertisementWe don't know how much this manufacturing count is reduced since the original Genesis Mini and Mega Drive Mini sales were never announced. The original Genesis Mini seemed to fall somewhere between Nintendo's own systems and the disappointing PS Mini. The Genesis Mini stock was accessible through early 2020 and had its own deep discounts by May 2020.
Most miniaturized consoles from the past decade have come and gone with only one or two manufacturing runs, much to customers' chagrin. Sega's statement doesn't suggest confidence that we should expect anything different from their newest machine—and the same goes for the Japan-only Astro City Mini V, which will resemble the 2020 Astro City Mini (which I previously reviewed) but this time includes a vertically oriented monitor and classic arcade games to match.The statement doesn't clarify what percentage of scaling may have been applied to the Mega Drive Mini 2 compared to the first Mega Drive Mini, but it doesn't mention anything about a European model, which leaves us doubt that the system will be made in Europe.
The Genesis Mini 2 is still available at a price of $103 on Amazon's US site, despite the fact that it is based on the Japanese currency. If you are interested in the Western version of Genesis Mini 2, you should not hesitate to place an order.
Ars Technica has already ordered its own Genesis Mini 2 hardware and is in touch with Sega of Japan to get its hands on the system before it launches. My review of the original may help you make a decision before it's too late. The Genesis Mini models are made by the same team at M2 and they all have the same emulated core and interface. I mostly praised that system for its price-to-content ratio and glowing emulation performance, and this system's announced games thus far include serious Genesis and Sonic CD classics at a similar price-per-game ratio.
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