Sega Starts Its Own Retro Revival With Mega Drive Mini Console Unveil

Retro gaming is huge right now and the resurgence in tiny versions of classic consoles is mostly thanks to Nintendo starting it all with its NES Classic Edition and SNES Classic Edition consoles that were huge successes last year. Sega now wants to get into the retro gaming action with a smaller version of its classic console the Mega Drive. Gamers in the U.S. who were lucky enough to have one of these back in the day will remember it as the Sega Genesis.

During the SEGA FES 2018 stream Sega announced the Mega Drive Mini console to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the launch of the platform. Three decades -- that should make people that bought one of these back when they launched feel old. Sega is playing coy with the details on the little console, however.

We have a couple images of the device that give us an idea what it will look like and just how small it will be. The size seems on par with Nintendo's tiny retro offerings. What we don’t know is what games the console will come with. We do know that the console will run AtGames technology. Sega has licensed the name to that company previously.

「メガドライブ」誕生30周年記念！
『メガドライブ ミニ』（仮称）2018年発売決定！

思い出の名作ゲームの数々が、これ1台で楽しめます！#セガフェス #メガドライブ #メガドライブ30周年https://t.co/HWj6NFL96y pic.twitter.com/0C9QH1l5Mr

— セガ公式アカウント (@SEGA_OFFICIAL) April 14, 2018

We would assume the console won’t use cartridges and that the cartridge slot is only there for style. Presumably, we will be talking a bunch of games stored internally with the ability to choose what you feel like playing from the system menu. You can bet the popular Sonic the Hedgehog game will be part of the lineup and I hope Altered Beast will be too. Pricing and availability on the Sega Mega Drive Mini also hasn't been announced. More details as we find them...