Sega is making a mini-Genesis 2 and I am really tired of mini consoles. Just sell software collections, you cowards!

Sega is making a mini-Genesis 2.

While it's not clear it will come out outside of Japan it seems likely. They're including Sega CD games this time and I'm really interested in the lineup announced so far, but I'm so tired of buying mini-consoles. I don't want more random clutter, and it drives the price up to buy hardware that just replicates what we already have. I play the Sega Genesis collection on Switch/Xbox/PS4 a lot more than my mini consoles because it's on machines that are already hooked up. The emulation isn't particularly better in my experience either. The Sega Ages collection on Switch had great emulation for most games, and lots of extra options as well.

I'm really tired of all these games being split across all this different hardware. The companies could at least make them available on the platforms we already have as well as the specialist hardware. It would also be fine to sell original style controllers for the current consoles (as Nintendo does for the Switch Online games.)

Do we really need more plastic to keep track of, and yet more cords and HDMI requirements for our already overloaded entertainment systems?

I'm sure someone will say "just pirate the games" via MISTer or whatever, and I'm not responding to that argument because it's obviously out there for those who want to do it but some of us do not support piracy. But it seems like we get further and further away from the convenience of the Wii's Virtual Console to the point where now we're expected to buy dedicated consoles and subscription add on packs and the whole mess just sucks.

It's weird to do another, but Silpheed rules. Hopefully that means they do a Sega CD collection eventually.

Ah, and they're selling an almost 5,000 yen SegaCD add-on that is only cosmetic. I should be surprised but they did the same thing with the first Mega Drive mini with the Mega Drive Tower add on. That one at least had the MegaCD and 32x and for a cheaper price of almost 4,000 yen.

I'm sure it'll satisfy someone's nostalgic hunger for items that remind them of their youth.

Nintendo ruined the retro gaming experience. The Mini-NES was incredibly lucrative and generated an insane amount of buzz. They've already proven the mini-console approach to packaging nostalgia is genuinely effective, why sell your old games any other way?

It does suck, but... Until people stop buying these things I don't see it changing.

I just don't get the "hate" for having the option of buying a retro themed piece of hardware. Don't like it? Don't buy it. Let people waste there money however they like, and let companies take it. If the only option is to buy hardware and digital is not an option down the road then ill shake my fist at the sky. Or if its subscription only kinda like Nintendo is doing, and Sony might try with there higher tier PS+. Which is why we probably wont see a N64 mini when Nintendo can keep getting $50+ a year, and STILL sell you more $50+ plastic controllers that becomes "useless" unless you keep paying that yearly fee.

I think most of what was on the mini Genesis was already sold digitally in collections, which is why i dismissed it out the gate because i had them on steam. And that mess of a PlayStation classic you could buy most if not all of that on PSN, and hopefully they end up on PS4/PS5 now that they are emulating. And Sega has made a collection i think for damn near every generation. So i assume at some point all/most of these games will be available digitally sans hardware. Other then Star Fox 2 i think all these games have been available in some form or another, even if its subscription based which i don't like. And Sega has been the only one who actually has made them digital collections.

Yeah, it's clearly aimed at a very specific crowd. I wanted to pick up a classic SNES because it's a genuine blank spot in my gaming history but it still can't match up to the convenience of PC emulation.

Collectors and parents will get what they need out of this. For everyone else, there's dozens of Sega collections that probably already have you covered.

@lego_my_eggo: If all the games were made available digitally I wouldn't care at all. But in fact there is not perfect overlap between the first Mini and the stuff available digitally, including some of the best Genesis game like Castle of Illusion and Alesia Dragoon. Similarly the SNES classic is the only way to get Super Mario RPG (though that was on the Wii U) and some other stuff (though some of that has since come on to Switch Online.)

Games like Popful Mail have never been re-released at least in the West. If they eventually do a digital collection that's not just the same games they keep re-releasing over and over (which won't work well anyway since the 8th gen collection is backwards compatible) then I will feel differently.

Normally, I might agree, but for the Genesis specifically, buying more cords and plastic is just true to the original experience. For nostalgia's sake, playing these games should be as convoluted and inconvenient as possible.

On the other hand: it IS nice to just have a machine that can play those games. Backward compatibility ain't what it used to be.

I'm with OP, having the option to buy the nostalgia hit of a mini console is fine BUT the games should be available to purchase on their own.

I completely agree and also wonder why we live in this world where this isn't easier than making a fucking mini console to get these games that literally everyone wants and would gladly pay for.

Oh right, capitalism combined with this being the darkest timeline.

I got the Sega mini for like $12 about a year ago and just got now to displaying it and have a huge steam collection of Sega games I got for $1. I'll probably wait til this gets super cheap to do nothing with as well.

Konami put Castlevania Bloodlines on the first iteration, so I'm hoping Snatcher makes it's way to this one. Otherwise yeah probably more plastic junk taking up space.

I wish SEGA would just put Virtua Racing on PC or at least the other consoles. Bahhhhh

This isn't the solution, because it still involves buying more plastic and shit to plug into a tv and it probably ends up being more expensive, but I just finally pulled the trigger on buying just a regular ass Genesis. I half expect it to show up and just be broken or a box of rocks or something, but a lot of the games I'd want to play are never going to be on a collection of any sort anyways, so we'll see how this goes.

@eukara: There's a pretty good port of Viritua Racing arcade on the Switch under the Sega Ages line, a line that I really liked and am sad they discontinued with fewer than 20 games.

@bigsocrates: Yeah, that's the version I meant - I don't know why they decided to only release that on Switch. Like at the time it came out the PS4 was still doing gangbusters right? I just wish they'd port more of their games... I'm a guy with a big oomfie setup I'd love to play Virtua Racing at high framerates on a nice big flashy screen and not a handheld like that. Bah.

When I got my Series X on launch, I had to buy a used Xbox 360 just so I could buy Daytona USA and a few of their other XBLA titles (that are all backwards compatible, mind you...) because SEGA didn't make them available for next-gen store either. They just straight up make it a pain to play a lot of these damn games.