Genesis Done Right

It's not up to the minute news, but it nevertheless needs to be mentioned... Sega's releasing a miniaturized Genesis, but this time AtGames has nothing to do with its design or manufacture. Better still, M2 will be handling the emulation software, which is assuring considering the work they've done in the past. Hey, they managed to make an old beater like the 3DS handle arcade hits like Space Harrier and Galaxy Force II! Making this system (presumably running on ARM-based smartphone hardware, like everything else in this product class) run thirty year old Genesis games should be no trouble at all for them.

Nice package! (Not Sonic; I don't think he
has anything down there.)
(image from The Verge)

The Sega Genesis Mini hits store shelves on September 19th, and will include forty games. Not everything you loved on the Genesis will be here, of course, but big names in the system's library like Comix Zone, Gunstar Heroes, and Castlevania: Bloodlines have already been confirmed. Beyond that, you'll be able to play the games as they were released in America, Europe, or Japan, which would be especially handy for Dynamite Headdy and Contra Hard Corps, since the overseas versions of both were a lot less difficult. (We don't know that these games will be in the Genesis Mini, but why wouldn't they be? Hell, even Ecco the Boring-Ass Dolphin made the cut.)

There's a lot about this machine we don't know yet... will there be an SD card slot available for adding games? Why is the cartridge slot on the top hinged if it's too small for real Genesis cartridges? Will real Genesis cartridges fit anywhere in this system? And why is Sega including three button controllers with the US version of the Genesis Mini when the six button controllers were so much more comfortable and functional? These mysteries and more will be revealed when the system launches in the fall, just in time for the thirtieth anniversary of the launch of the original Genesis.

Special thanks to Kotaku for the scoop.