MegaDrive Genesis Mini available on Sep.19 worldwide (NTSC + PAL; $79.99 with 2 controllers) - M2 doing emulation, Yuzo Koshiro doing menu music!?

[Deleted member 47318]

Somewhat disappointed by the news that we're getting three button controllers, but I will probably be able to overcome that if the Mini is compatible with the upcoming Retrobit pads.

My bigger concern is that this appears to be more of a "nostalgia catered to each region" device so far, rather than the SNES Mini's "here's the best our platform had to offer". There's not much appeal to playing Altered Beast or Mean Bean Machine again; just reveal the good stuff like Centy/Soleil, Lighting Force, Hard Corps and Rocket Knight Adventures.

They should focus on the games that have withstood the test of time, the ones which actually gained in popularity long after the system itself died.

So if Sega has better stuff waiting they should just reveal all of it already, especially when Sony last tried that approach but wasn't able to live up to it.

 

[Credo]

I thought about getting a pre-order in on the JP version in case they make the majority of the games have the different region options, but I don't know any twitter accounts or anywhere that post anything when something like that goes up for preorder. I've never seen Wario tweet anything about any JP version of these mini consoles. Do any of you know any place I can follow that reports that stuff pretty quickly?

 

[Naked Snake]

I thought about getting a pre-order in on the JP version in case they make the majority of the games have the different region options, but I don't know any twitter accounts or anywhere that post anything when something like that goes up for preorder. I've never seen Wario tweet anything about any JP version of these mini consoles. Do any of you know any place I can follow that reports that stuff pretty quickly?

Click to shrink...

I reckon it will be posted here soon after it's up. I've been checking Amazon JP for it regularly, and will post here if someone doesn't beat me to it.

I don't think you need to worry about it selling out quickly. This isn't a Nintendo product :)

 

[Black Chamber]

My bigger concern is that this appears to be more of a "nostalgia catered to each region" device so far, rather than the SNES Mini's "here's the best our platform had to offer". There's not much appeal to playing Altered Beast or Mean Bean Machine again; just reveal the good stuff like Centy/Soleil, Lighting Force, Hard Corps and Rocket Knight Adventures.

They should focus on the games that have withstood the test of time, the ones which actually gained in popularity long after the system itself died.

So if Sega has better stuff waiting they should just reveal all of it already, especially when Sony last tried that approach but wasn't able to live up to it.

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Well said.

I agree the list should be revealed in it's entirety. Trickling releases that may end up disappointing fans to the point of not buying this console is a potential result.

 

[Hieroph]

I don't think you need to worry about it selling out quickly. This isn't a Nintendo product :)

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Haha, that's right. I hope Sega produces millions of these, if it's as good as it looks like it's going to be.

 

[Barely Able]

Got an amazon preorder since they don't charge. If bloodlines is announced for the castlevania collection then there doesn't appear to be much reason to get this with the current lineup. Probably need 25% obscure/unreleased stuff from the rest of the lineup to make me keep. I can live with other collections as I have no sega nostalgia and have multiple versions already.

 

[Aaron]

Somewhat disappointed by the news that we're getting three button controllers, but I will probably be able to overcome that if the Mini is compatible with the upcoming Retrobit pads.

My bigger concern is that this appears to be more of a "nostalgia catered to each region" device so far, rather than the SNES Mini's "here's the best our platform had to offer". There's not much appeal to playing Altered Beast or Mean Bean Machine again; just reveal the good stuff like Centy/Soleil, Lighting Force, Hard Corps and Rocket Knight Adventures.

They should focus on the games that have withstood the test of time, the ones which actually gained in popularity long after the system itself died.

So if Sega has better stuff waiting they should just reveal all of it already, especially when Sony last tried that approach but wasn't able to live up to it.

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Eh, speak for yourself, I fucking love Mean Bean Machine. I recognize it's been bested by other Puyo games but the core gameplay holds up.

Well said.

I agree the list should be revealed in it's entirety. Trickling releases that may end up disappointing fans to the point of not buying this console is a potential result.

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I will agree with this though. In this thread you're getting a lot of "selection doesn't seem very impressive" comments when it's like, they still have 30 more to go. But I understand when they trickle it out like this you'd expect the cream of the crop to be in the first announcement. And right now, this only has Bloodlines going for it over the usual offering.

 

[Deleted member 1726]

Somewhat disappointed by the news that we're getting three button controllers, but I will probably be able to overcome that if the Mini is compatible with the upcoming Retrobit pads.

My bigger concern is that this appears to be more of a "nostalgia catered to each region" device so far, rather than the SNES Mini's "here's the best our platform had to offer". There's not much appeal to playing Altered Beast or Mean Bean Machine again; just reveal the good stuff like Centy/Soleil, Lighting Force, Hard Corps and Rocket Knight Adventures.

They should focus on the games that have withstood the test of time, the ones which actually gained in popularity long after the system itself died.

So if Sega has better stuff waiting they should just reveal all of it already, especially when Sony last tried that approach but wasn't able to live up to it.

Click to shrink...

Somewhat premature when we only know a quarter of the game collection

 

[Dreams-Visions]

can we just assume all the Sonic games are here?

best version of Earthworm Jim?

any chance for NBA Jam SE?

how about Aladdin?

Eternal Champions?

 

[Deleted member 34949]

can we just assume all the Sonic games are here?

best version of Earthworm Jim?

any chance for NBA Jam SE?

how about Aladdin?

Eternal Champions?

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Sonic 3 definitely isn't coming, maybe EWJ considering Interplay is basically a holdings company these days, NBA Jam and Aladdin probably aren't happening because of licensing, and I feel like Eternal Champions could go either way.

 

[ProtomanNeo]

Strider, Shinobi Shadow Dancer, and Contra are few that should probably be present that there would be little to no issue getting.

 

[Dr Doom]

I thought about getting a pre-order in on the JP version in case they make the majority of the games have the different region options, but I don't know any twitter accounts or anywhere that post anything when something like that goes up for preorder. I've never seen Wario tweet anything about any JP version of these mini consoles. Do any of you know any place I can follow that reports that stuff pretty quickly?

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He posted JP Super Nintendo and also the golden edition of Famicom (which is still in stores here)

 

[Shaneus]

I hope we get some hackability on here. I'm sure it will happen, just crossing my fingers for it. And SVP emulation.

And a Mega CD game or two, that would be an insane addition if they could throw a game or two like that on the thing (and emulate it well). Maybe Sonic CD? Though if they were to do that, they'd probably do it with Ecco CD as well :/

Are we doing predictions now? Here's my list of some-hopefully-but-some-likely titles:
Sub-Terrania
Ranger X
Virtua Racing
Sonic 3D Blast
Vectorman 1 or 2
Alien Soldier
Ristar
Rocket Knight Adventures
Streets of Rage 2
Wiz n Liz (plz!)
Story of Thor
Phantasy Star IV
Revenge of Shinobi
Outrunners
Landstalker
Thunder Force IV
Herzog Zwei
Golden Axe
Wonder Boy in Monster World
Elemental Master
Smash TV
RoadBlasters
Ghouls 'n' Ghosts

I've dropped some of the Sega Ages titles in there, because I don't think Sega would expect this to cannibalise sales. Keep in mind Sonic 1 is on it already, and that's a Sega Ages title too.

 

[Giant Enemy Crab]

Also need a nomad Mini :)
The rumoured retrobit version would remain far to big for my pocket.(original size)
http://www.nintendolife.com/news/20...rrecting_segas_switch-like_handheld_the_nomad

 

[Deleted member 47318]

Somewhat premature when we only know a quarter of the game collection

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The issue here is more that we've seen a dozen ways in which most of these games be re-released in the last couple of decades/generations. For better or for worse, they've been devalued beyond belief by now; whether through simply making them available everywhere where possible (good), or through licensing them out to every worthless company under the sun (bad)... and that's before getting into whether all of these stood the test of time.

And if Sega doesn't release the full list at once they're simply hampering their own marketing efforts. The SNES Mini didn't leave people speculating about vague what-ifs, bit simply left them thinking "goddamn" and being impressed at the amount of value provided by these all-time classics. Super Mario World and A Link to the Past don't just appeal to those who grew up on them, but also those who ended up emulating them instead, and newer fans who wanted to finally try them out themselves. Ecco and Altered Beast are decidedly the personifications of "you had to be there to get it".

Bloodlines is the best thing so far, but it and Hard Corps will likely soon get cheaper and more readily available collection releases courtesy of Arcade Archives instead.

 

[liquidtmd]

I am apprehensive about them holding back on the games list purely because Sony pulled the same trick with the PS mini

Really need at least 5-10 games that haven't been the usual suspects on the Sega retro circuit list over the last decade to make it a must buy (like Bloodlines)

 

[Credo]

I reckon it will be posted here soon after it's up. I've been checking Amazon JP for it regularly, and will post here if someone doesn't beat me to it.

I don't think you need to worry about it selling out quickly. This isn't a Nintendo product :)

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Thanks. I'm already watching the thread, so hopefully I'll catch one of the alerts in time.

 

[ZeoVGM]

Sonic 3 definitely isn't coming, maybe EWJ considering Interplay is basically a holdings company these days, NBA Jam and Aladdin probably aren't happening because of licensing, and I feel like Eternal Champions could go either way.

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We don't know if Sonic 3 "definitely" isn't coming. It's not as if they will literally never port it again. Eventually, they'll get whatever issues there are sorted out.

 

[Deleted member 34949]

We don't know if Sonic 3 "definitely" isn't coming. It's not as if they will literally never port it again. Eventually, they'll get whatever issues there are sorted out.

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It hasn't been re-released on consoles in close to a decade, we know of at least one attempt to port/re-release it that was directly turned down by Sega, and even the shitty AtGames consoles include every Sonic game but 3. I feel like if they felt there was a worthwhile way around it, they would've done it by now, especially considering they've shown no qualms for editing Genesis games that may have otherwise presented legal issues before (Revenge of Shinobi in particular).

Could it change in the future? Maybe, but the current trajectory with Genesis compilations points to "No", and it's not unreasonable to have expectations adjusted accordingly.

 

[LewieP]

It hasn't been re-released on consoles in close to a decade, we know of at least one attempt to port/re-release it that was directly turned down by Sega, and even the shitty AtGames consoles include every Sonic game but 3. I feel like if they felt there was a worthwhile way around it, they would've done it by now, especially considering they've shown no qualms for editing Genesis games that may have otherwise presented legal issues before (Revenge of Shinobi in particular).

Could it change in the future? Maybe, but the current trajectory with Genesis compilations points to "No", and it's not unreasonable to have expectations adjusted accordingly.

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There's some hope. It got made BC for Xbox One, and it's still available to buy on Steam.

 

[Radarscope1]

Nice to see they're finally taking this kind of thing seriously.

 

[ZeoVGM]

It hasn't been re-released on consoles in close to a decade, we know of at least one attempt to port/re-release it that was directly turned down by Sega, and even the shitty AtGames consoles include every Sonic game but 3. I feel like if they felt there was a worthwhile way around it, they would've done it by now, especially considering they've shown no qualms for editing Genesis games that may have otherwise presented legal issues before (Revenge of Shinobi in particular).

Could it change in the future? Maybe, but the current trajectory with Genesis compilations points to "No", and it's not unreasonable to have expectations adjusted accordingly.

Click to shrink...

I agree it's unlikely -- and I might not get it if it's not included, to be honest -- but at some point they will figure it out. I doubt it's with this release, unfortunately, but I'm not giving up all hope.

 

[Aaron]

Sonic 3 definitely isn't coming, maybe EWJ considering Interplay is basically a holdings company these days, NBA Jam and Aladdin probably aren't happening because of licensing, and I feel like Eternal Champions could go either way.

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If Sonic 3 makes it on I'll just be pleasantly surprised at this point. Like you said clearly there's something going on there that Sega just doesn't want to deal with.

As for EWJ, anything that was on the Wii Virtual Console should be fair game. Sure, that was years ago that they were released, but you could technically buy both games as recently as a few months ago. In fact there were quite a few Genesis games that aren't commonly rereleased that were available through that service.

I think Disney would be willing to license out Aladdin (and maybe Lion King - both of which have live action remakes coming out this year - and the Illusion games), it'll just be a matter of how much Sega's willing to pay. I think Aladdin would be such a big score that it'd be worth it, the only games that outsold it were Sonic 1 and 2.

NBA Jam bums me out as a non-inclusion but my understanding with sports games is they'd have to pay royalties to all the players, is that right? Then again, Nintendo included Tecmo Bowl in the NES Classic and that used real players.

 

[Deleted member 34949]

Yeah, I don't think Sonic 3 is never going to see a re-release ever again, but as it stands, I don't see the Mini being the catalyst for Sega to do something about whatever's going on with it (Though by all means, it really should)

If Sonic 3 makes it on I'll just be pleasantly surprised at this point. Like you said clearly there's something going on there that Sega just doesn't want to deal with.

As for EWJ, anything that was on the Wii Virtual Console should be fair game. Sure, that was years ago that they were released, but you could technically buy both games as recently as a few months ago. In fact there were quite a few Genesis games that aren't commonly rereleased that were available through that service.

I think Disney would be willing to license out Aladdin (and maybe Lion King - both of which have live action remakes coming out this year - and the Illusion games), it'll just be a matter of how much Sega's willing to pay. I think Aladdin would be such a big score that it'd be worth it, the only games that outsold it were Sonic 1 and 2.

NBA Jam bums me out as a non-inclusion but my understanding with sports games is they'd have to pay royalties to all the players, is that right? Then again, Nintendo included Tecmo Bowl in the NES Classic and that used real players.

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The NBA Jam issue may come down to player likenesses and team logos/names making things a little more complicated (However primitive they are today, considering it's just the character select portraits); Tecmo Bowl not having actual likenesses (As well as the original game also not having actual team names) probably helped in regards to getting on the NES Classic in addition to it's Virtual Console presence.

I think if there's any one licensed game I see getting on the Mini, it's Castle of Illusion, especially considering Sega still has the license for and continues to sell the remake. I'd imagine negotiating with Disney would be considerably easier in that case (IIRC, the original game was even a preorder bonus for the PSN release of the remake; M2 handled the emulation for that, too!). I did forget that Aladdin sold as insanely as it did, though and it'd make good cross promotion with the movie; along with being one of the standout games on the system, of course.

 

[scamander]

So, is it confirmed the Japanese Mega Drive Mini will include US and PAL versions of some games as a bonus, but the Western mini console won't get Japanese games? That's really weird if true... It's also really confusing that half of the games so far are exclusive to one region or the other. Unless of course they will be confirmed for the other region at a later date, which I assume will happen for Sonic (2) at least.

Anyway, I've never owned a Sega console, so maybe I'm getting it if the games on it are good.

 

[Kaworu]

So, is it confirmed the Japanese Mega Drive Mini will include US and PAL versions of some games as a bonus, but the Western mini console won't get Japanese games?

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Is that confirmed?

 

[shadowhaxor]

Is that confirmed?

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Seeing how they updated the US version and took out the Japanese titles. I'd say it's a done deal.

 

[OmegaDL50]

Seeing how they updated the US version and took out the Japanese titles. I'd say it's a done deal.

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I hope M2 isn't making the same mistake SNK did with the Neo-Geo Classic by having regional specific versions of the console with different games.

I'd understand the Japan only games being omitted, but a significant portion of the Genesis library had multi-regional roms.

 

[Aaron]

Seeing how they updated the US version and took out the Japanese titles. I'd say it's a done deal.

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They have different games, but that doesn't mean they can't include the regional variants. Sonic 1 has some differences between versions and then there's like, Bloodlines.

 

[yap]

We're not getting the Japanese exclusive games.

It's not confirmed whether we're also getting the JP versions of the games that are included for us.

 

[Mindman]

If this doesn't have Sonic 3 it's going to feel very incomplete.

 

[Camstun187]

Another imperfect collection of games on a novelty specialty item.

Such yes

 

[CopperPuppy]

PLEASE have Ristar and Rocket Knight Adventures

 

[shadowhaxor]

We're not getting the Japanese exclusive games.

It's not confirmed whether we're also getting the JP versions of the games that are included for us.

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I'm waiting for my Sega contact to get back to me. I've asked about that, if the list of games has been confirmed and why the West isn't getting the 6-button controller.

Hopefully, I hear back something soon.

 

[lupinko]

Well according to this thread, looks like Sonic 3 continues to be on Hard Times.

https://youtu.be/q9sdsclDwas

 

[ThEoRy...]

In case I missed it has anyone talked about the following found on the JP website?

Non functional parts confirmed.

But also, more importantly, hardware revision modeled after the second Genesis version?

 

[Naked Snake]

No this is probably referring to the box design being different for the two controllers edition and not the console itself.

 

[Sheng Long]

I'm waiting for my Sega contact to get back to me. I've asked about that, if the list of games has been confirmed and why the West isn't getting the 6-button controller.

Hopefully, I hear back something soon.

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Please keep us updated!

 

[Ardiloso]

How can Sega JP do everything right while western Sega fuck up so many things? It's like 2 different companies, like it was back on the 16 bit days.

 

[yap]

Edit: might be best to ask someone who speaks the language than rely on machine translation

 

[rawhide]

They're not makind a model 1 and model 2 version, it's just the packaging that's different.

 

[duckroll]

Seeing how they updated the US version and took out the Japanese titles. I'd say it's a done deal.

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I think you might misunderstand the question people are wondering about here. It's not whether the US is getting JP only games, but rather whether the games included in the US system will have multi-region roms. For example, in Japan, Bloodlines allows you to toggle between the US, EU, and JP versions of Bloodlines. If a game only has a JP version, it makes sense for it to be only on the JP system. But will the US system also allow toggle between US/EU/JP versions of the included games with multiple regional versions, like Bloodlines?

 

[rawhide]

edit: scratch that, the JP answer I read was still non-committal in the "we should let US/EU respond" way, so while I'm confident it's true of all versions, I'll wait for them to give the word.

 

[sleepnaught]

As someone who only plays retro games and don't like modern ones, this is a blessing. More excited for this than any other modern consoles. Now give me a saturn mini and I will be happy.

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I hear you on that. Other than my Switch, I only play and collect retro games. As someone who never owned a Saturn, a mini would be at the top of my list to get.

 

[duckroll]

My dream list of games:
- Rocket Knight Adventures
- Landstalker
- Pulseman
- Beyond Oasis
- Phantasy Star IV
- Spiderman vs Kingpin
- Crying (Bio-hazard Battle)
- Alien Soldier
- Bare Knuckle 2
- Zero Tolerance

 

[Aaron]

I hear you on that. Other than my Switch, I only play and collect retro games. As someone who never owned a Saturn, a mini would be at the top of my list to get.

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A Saturn mini in particular would be such a boon for the retro market. It's ridiculous that you have to cough up at least $500 for something like Panzer Dragoon Saga. At least most of the best PS1/N64 stuff is readily available (not necessarily on current gen but PS3 and Wii U, respectively).

I read before that Majesco was planning on reissuing the Saturn and some of its games around 2000ish, much like they did for the Genesis and Game Gear. It's a damn shame they didn't, they knew which games were in demand (Bloodline, Hard Corps and Hyperstone Heist all got Majesco reprints, for example) and that helped keep prices down for a bit.

 

[Lowblood]

Y'all are a lot more confident about Disney games on here than I am. I'm sure it's possible, I just wouldn't bank on it. If Disney wants a lot more money for them that hurts the chances as well, there's only so much profit margin on an $80 plug-and-play.

I do like the chances of this having games that don't show up much in Genesis compilations though. Konami and Namco are on board, if Capcom is too then that's probably 8-10 games right there. At that point Sega just needs to include 3-5 rarities of their own (CRUSADER OF CENTY) and we're gold.

I'm actually curious about what Namco might include for the US. Apparently Pac-Man 2 was only released for Genesis in the west. Surprised we didn't get that as Wrestleball's replacement instead.

 

[TuMekeNZ]

Really want this. I know I have most of the great 16 bit games across Xboz, PS4 and Switch but I'll buy them again. My daughter can enjoy these mini consoles once she is a bit older.

 

[duckroll]

A Saturn mini in particular would be such a boon for the retro market. It's ridiculous that you have to cough up at least $500 for something like Panzer Dragoon Saga. At least most of the best PS1/N64 stuff is readily available (not necessarily on current gen but PS3 and Wii U, respectively).

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I think one issue is that Saturn emulation is still not a completely solved issue. It would take more work than usual, and even with really good PS1 emulators available now, the PS1 Classic ran into quality problems that these retro plug and play consoles don't usually do.

 

[rawhide]

IGN Japan just published some developer comments from Sega Fes that all but rules out games with difficult licenses, as well as Saturn Mini (too expensive to build something that'd sufficiently emulate Saturn, "maybe in ten years").