During Sega’s recent FES 2018 stream, the company announced a mini version of the Mega Drive will be released in Japan later this year.
Screenshot: Sega
Sega didn’t show much more than the actual model, so details are scarce as to what kind of hardware or software is packed in the lil’ machine. We do have an idea of how small it is, though.
「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
No word on games yet, or when this Mega Drive Mini might make it over to Western shores. Right now, it’s just set for Japan sometime later this year.
Sega already dipped its toes in the water with the AtGames Sega Genesis Flashback HD last year, which turned out to be a little more disappointing than Nintendo’s Classic lineup. While the updated version addressed the major issues, it still wasn’t quite there yet.
AtGames has said via Facebook that the Mega Drive Mini will be “powered by the latest AtGames technology”.
If you can’t stand waiting that long to play some Sega classics, don’t worry — the company also announced a number of Sega classics would be coming to the Nintendo Switch under the Ages label, including Sonic The Hedgehog, Phantasy Star and Thunder Force 4.