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Sega Genesis Mini Delayed To 2019

Not this year.

By Eddie Makuch on September 19, 2018 at 9:15AM PDT

18 Comments

The Sega Genesis Mini has been delayed to 2019. Originally announced with a 2018 release date, the little system is now scheduled to arrive next year, Sega announced in a tweet.

Gematsu translated the Japanese tweet and quotes Sega as saying it decided to push back release in part to allow the company to launch the console around the world simultaneously.

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Now Playing: Sony Announces PlayStation Classic Mini Console, Sega Delays Genesis Mini - GS News Update

Sega added that it wants the Sega Genesis Mini to have a "level of quality that Sega fans expect," according to Gematsu. The delay also apparently relates to the fact that Sega is looking to "rethink the design of the device," according to the site.

The Sega Genesis Mini, or Mega Drive as it was known in Japan, was announced back in April. At the time, Sega said it was scheduled to launch in 2018 but did not share any other details.

It won't be the first mini version of the Sega Genesis. The officially licensed Sega Genesis Flashback console from AtGames was a major disappointment.

Plug-and-play consoles have proven to be incredibly popular, at least in the United States. Sales of such consoles grew by a factor of 21x in August 2018 compared to last year; year to date, dollar sales of plug-and-play consoles jumped 400 percent. The NES Classic leads the way in terms of total units sold in 2018, while the SNES Classic, which is more expensive, has driven the most dollar sales.

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BoxerBlake

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Edited By BoxerBlake

If they ditch AT Games, then there's a chance that this will be a success. AT already made some of the worst hardware/software possible for past minis.

Upvote • 5 years ago

smashthestars

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smashthestars

Whats up with the N64 mini? Thats what everyone really wants to know.

2 • 5 years ago

kickinlikesally

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kickinlikesally

@smashthestars: Agreed. Although I heard even if it gets made, Nintendo will have a hard time including Goldeneye because Microsoft apparently owns Rare now. There are plenty of other good games, but I really want that one on the system.

Upvote • 5 years ago

inkman66

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inkman66

Sega ….. admit it...… you are scared of the PlayStation Mini.

Upvote • 5 years ago

videogameninja

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videogameninja

SSEEEEGGGGGAAAAAA... Mini!

-MINI BANDWAGON NINJA APPROVED-

2 • 5 years ago

DaVillain

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DaVillain Moderator

Take the time. This wasn't on my radar anyways.

Upvote • 5 years ago

amaneuvering

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amaneuvering Online

I really do hope this genuinely means they will be giving this system the love it deserves. If it simply matches the level of all-round quality of the SNES Classic then it will be worthy.

2 • 5 years ago

xantufrog

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Did they realize the AtGames prototype sucked like always and they needed to push on the company to do something better for once?

4 • 5 years ago

datriax

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datriax

"Sega added that it wants the Sega Genesis Mini to have a "level of quality that Sega fans expect..."

Since when has Sega cared about the "quality" of these P&P consoles? lol

Okay, Sega...

Upvote • 5 years ago

greatatemi

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greatatemi

Why do they even want to have a "mini" version, when they already have a library of Genesis games on Steam(with VR support also)?

Upvote • 5 years ago

wanderz

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wanderz

@greatatemi: why do THEY want it... because they know they can make money with it.

all the games on the nintendo mini classic systems are easily available elsewhere (some not so legally) but the systems sold very very well.

i'm sure plenty of people that don't have gaming computers, or just don't know any better will buy them.. if not for themselves, then for kids.

Upvote • 5 years ago

jinzo9988

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jinzo9988

Sega added that it wants the Sega Genesis Mini to have a "level of quality that Sega fans expect," according to Gematsu.

Oh my God what a horrible thing to say considering the plethora of shitty Genesis plug-and-plays from AtGames, who is also making the Mini.

2 • 5 years ago

Red_Frog

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Red_Frog

Just taking the license away from AtGames would be a step in the right direction, they've already proven multiple times they are incapable of creating a quality product. Roll the dice with someone else.

3 • 5 years ago

lion2447

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lion2447

Sega may have already ruined their chances for an actual official console by letting AtGames make a licenced version. It was terrible. A RasberryPI could do a much better job and it is far cheaper.

The AtGames Genesis couldn't even get a standard control scheme for selecting the games. Seriously using B and C buttons to navigate games? What...was the d-pad broken during development?

6 • 5 years ago

scatterbrain007

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scatterbrain007

@lion2447: Seriously? The D-pad wasn't used to choose what game you wanted to play?? That would have pissed me off to no end.

Upvote • 5 years ago

lion2447

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lion2447

@scatterbrain007: From reading Gamespots other article, you needed to use the B and C to navigate the categories, and the d-pad to then select a game.

I could get around that, if the console actually played well. However, every review I've seen mentioned that there are frame drops and lag playing any of the games. For games that required precision moves, that pretty much makes them impossible to play. I figure if an emulator that can be downloaded for free ends up being far superior to this, then why waste the money for a cheap plastic body.

The other killer is that it was not even made by Sega. If they are going to sell to the nostalgia crowd, it has to play as well as the original, include games people actually know, and most importantly, be made by the original manufacturer. At the very least if they were going to source it out, Sega should have been the QA of the process and not rely on the outside company's QA.

Upvote • 5 years ago

scatterbrain007

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scatterbrain007

@lion2447: "You needed to use the B and C to navigate the categories, and the d-pad to then select a game", that's still stupid. Navigating any menu should be the D-pad's job Everytime, not a face button. Agreed on everything else, SEGA needs to stop being stupid SEGA and start being good SEGA from the 90's. Fat chance. Capcom seems to be waking up, we can only hope SEGA follows suit.

2 • 5 years ago